Our New "Baby"!

( So This post is 3 months old. The Puppy is 5 months old now.)
I finally got my Yorkie baby. 10 Years ago I asked for one and Cole didn't think it was a good idea since we were still having babies and that they would manhandle the small dog to death. That's why we got Winston. A larger version of a Yorkie. Well after Winston died I had a 3 week mourning period then started on Cole for a puppy.
I really thought he would get me one for Christmas and when that didn't happen the tears came and the quilt did him in. (Dang those female hormones!) So on Dec 26th and 9p.m. we got our brand new puppy and drove all the way to Wickenburg to pick him up. We have named him Dash and is great. The kids and I love him so much. Thanks to my poor husband for letting me get my way again.

Gardner Christmas Pool Jump

So we had the our Christmas pool jump and this time 4 wanted to take the challenge but only 3 actually did it.
Trevor was first and he got a free wii game of his choice. Ryan was 2nd and got a $25 Game Stop gift card. Erik chickened out so Nick was the last. It took him forever to finally jump. He only got $15.
Such a drama queen. Wonder where he gets it?

The 3 Brave soul! Gotta love them.

Christmas with Nana and Pop Pop

We brought back a ukulele for Trevor from Hawaii. To our surprise, Nana learned how to play one in college and Pop Pop can play a little as well. The two of the helped Trevor and he played some Christmas songs for us to sing to.

The boys waiting to dig into presents.





Pop pop put a lot of hard work into the boys presents this Christmas . Trevor received a " Harry Potter" wand and a wooden carved knife with leather sheath. ALL handmade with loving care by Pop pop. Erik and Ryan got wooden knifes in leather sheaths as well, and already have their own wands that he made earlier.

Now Nick and Jason got real knifes with hand made handles and leather sheathes. Jason's is made of Koa wood from Hawaii. Nicks however is made of Oosik which is fossilized walrus penile bone. Not joking. Nick loves the humor of it and showed it off to all.

BFCS Christmas Program

You know it's Christmas time when the school singing program pops it's ugly head again. This year was not as long or as bad as years pass. You know you must really love your kids to sit thru 2 1/2 hours of that!

Eriks 7th Birthday

So I have been extremely remiss on this blogging thing, as well as other aspects in my life. So let me catch up. Our baby turned 7 on Dec. 10th. We had a small family party plus Melody and Alene. (The boys think Mel is their sister anyway. ) We made him his favorite dinner, orange chicken and sticky rice. He got a special webkin from Melody and a DS game from us. We do have plans to take him and some of the younger kids to Bounce U at the end of the month. He wanted to wait until Melody got her cast off so she could go!!

Kauai - Day 5

Today we kayaked down the Wailua River and hiked to Secret Falls. The adventure was fun but very tiring. We had to kayaked 2 miles, then hike 1.5 miles to the "secret falls" with 100 other tourist! Then hike back to the kayaks and paddle back the 2 miles. Jason and Nick kicked our butts going back in the kayaks. We then went to lunch for Pizza and Dogs at Costco. You just can't beat the prices (same as the mainland and a bargain on this island) and the views are the best anywhere. Tomorrow is a sight seeing tour to the Koke e State Park. The Hawaiian "Grand Canyon". Pictures to come.

Kauai Trip - Day 3 & 4

Today was adrenaline junkie day. Zip lining high in the tree tops and jumping off 25 ft. water falls! What a day to remember!! It is Jason's 16th Birthday today and we wanted to make it a great one. I think we succeeded. We started off zip lining on 7 zips. Nick and Jason were pros. We then headed over to Kipu Falls. We had to trek through 1 mile of brush but it was well worth it. It is gorgeous! Just what you think of when you picture Hawaii to look like. We all jumped off the falls and did the swing rope, even Nana. Cole and I realized today that we are not as young as we were. He hurt his knee and I almost tumbled down the water fall trying to keep up with the teenagers.

Kauai Trip - Day 1 & 2

Well here we are on the beautiful island of Kauai with Nana and Pop Pop. We settled into our condo and got a great view! We drove around and saw the sites. We also got to have a puka hot dog. We had seen it on the food channel and had to go. It was soooo good.