the hostess with the mostess

put together a great adult Christmas dinner this year

with the fanciest table around! I love the cranberries and ornaments in pretty dishes.

A few of us ladies where we hung out all night, around the island where all Jamie's tasty apps and Riley's top-notch selection of bevs were. Dunno what those boys were thinking chilling on the couch.

Dinner was delish - Sarah's awesome brisket, Paige's tasty salad, Camie's bacon-y potatoes and rolls and Brooke's yummy pasta salad.

We had an fabulous white elephant exchange too. Camie got Jamie's infamous sweater from last year's Christmas sweater party. I can't wait to see her rock it at church - she'll be $60 richer from all the bets!!

Jeromy and Matt sharing a good laugh over a coupon book. Don't think I've ever seem Jeromy quite so red!!

And evidently Camie and Jamie love each other.



More highlights:

Paige's gorgeous gold ensemble; Jamie V's "kid" dinner plate; reading Brooke's text at the dinner table about her plumbing fiasco; covering up Matt in the picture with all my vainness; not doing such a good job of hiding that my secret scratcher present was a good one and then working to get it stolen away from Jamie when she stole it away from me; Brad's outfit change after ping pong; Jeromy's Big Hunk; me and Patrick thinking a Michael Bolton CD was way funnier than anyone else did

california part 3: lake tahoe

It had been a few years since we'd been to Lake Tahoe - how could I have forgotten how beautiful it is!! My dad had a friend that let us stay in his cabin for the weekend and what a treat! We went up on a Friday night and went hiking the next day.

Crazy cousins climbing every boulder in sight!

All the hikers minus Grandpa. He had us all posed on these cool stumps.

The end of the hike had this great little waterfall. Of course all shoes must be removed and all heads must be dunked in the freezing water!

The boys found a patch of snow that was still there. And here are the girls.

Nearly finished with cold IBC rootbeer waiting, a hiking tradition. What a gorgeous view!



Some hot tub fun! This picture captures them all so well. What is Kyle doing?

We took our time after dinner and wish we didn't because we went down to the park by the beach and it was a blast! The crazy boys went into the freezing water and swam all the way to the buoys - even Carter! Then of course there was playing catch until it was too dark to see.

Me and my dudes as the sun is getting ready to set. The following day we hit church then had a tasty Sunday dinner before we went home. My dad and brother took the boys to play baseball on a ball field they found and I might've gotten to read on the sunny porch for a couple of hours. Heaven!

Another fun highlight was taking the boys on a little walk while the cars were getting loaded up. I bonded with my nephews and had fun carrying Kyle who thinks that getting carried constitutes a walk. I love the way he says Aunt Nikki. Little boys (and girls, for that matter) melt my heart!

My parents always show us an awesome time. What a great weekend!

california part 2: other fun stuff

When we go to Granite Bay, we pack it all in! This year was no different, although with the shorter time spent there were a few "usuals" that didn't get done. I think I was most sad about not getting to go to San Francisco. Of course, the favorite is lots and lots of pool time. I think the thing they like best is waking up to swim first thing so they can forgo a shower. It counts in the summertime, right?

I don't think my brother and I have enough boys between us. And this picture is even missing Kyle and their new baby on his way!

One fun highlight was getting to go to the California State fair. We hadn't been able to go in forever because they kept holding it in September. They held it early this year and my mom took us on the one ticket per ride day! What a blast!

Cute grandma and the boys

Jake riding the scariest ride known to man, by himself because I'm a wuss! Grandma had this great idea to help them earn ride tickets by how many pages of school work they did and they sure took that seriously! Earned themselves lots and lots of tickets.

Dylan and Carter waiting for their ride to start

3 boys waiting for the swings to start - they loved this ride!

I was able to meet my highschool friend Mimi and her family for yogurt one evening. We hadn't seen each other in years! It was so fun to catch up and her husband and family were so sweet.

One evening Scott and Carrie treated us to a park barbecue and cousing playdate. It's always so fun to get the boys together. They had fun eating hot dogs, playing on the splash pad and getting soccer pointers from Uncle Scott.

Aiming for the impossible - 6 boys looking at the camera!

My dad always has fun taking the boys to the golf course. He took them one afternoon and they got to spend the whole day with Grandpa while my mom and I got some hanging out in. They had a great day! One of the highlights was getting to ride in my dad's friend's Ferrari. My boys have gotten really obsessed with cars lately and when they found out my dad's friend had a Ferrari, they about died! Imagine their surprise when they were able to get a ride! Honestly I think that this is what they talked about most out of all the things they did in California.

What a treat!

california part 1: kayaking at lake natoma

Hurray for California time! We weren't able to visit my parents quite as long this summer but we were still able to manage a good two and half weeks. We always enjoy some one-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa Motley and to play with our cousin buddies. On our first Saturday there, we took my parent's new kayak to Lake Natoma (which really feels like a river) and had a fun picnic and turns on the kayak.

Dylan and Ryan

Jake's taking a break from the freezing water

Grandma taking a turn with the boys. It turns out Jake and Dylan are both really good paddlers! My kids are getting big.

Kyle is helping Carrie to paddle. I thought that was so adorable! Carrie might be the most fun pregnant mom I've ever seen - she's like 8 weeks from her due date here (I hope I got that right)! Maybe Scott is doing all the work?

Messy face Kyle taking a break from throwing rocks in the water. It was great getting to know
his funny personality better since he was so much younger the last time we saw each other. He is an absolute riot!

My dad snuck one of me! I wish there was one of me taking all my little boys for a kayak ride - Carter on my lap, Dylan in the middle, and Jake helping to paddle up front. Pretty funny! No hubby this day. Patrick was traveling for work, again.

Carter and Sean

How lucky my kids are to have such fun cousins - and ones so close in age!

My dad taking Carter and Jake for a spin.

What a great day! Me and the boys love kayaking! We need to get ourselves one, I think.

high desert all stars tops team

At the end of spring baseball, Jake was nominated to play on the second of 2 All Star teams for the 9-10 year olds. Since Little League limited our district to only one team this year, the second team played in the TOPS tournament against some other All Star teams. It was a good experience for Jake - getting to practice a lot and play some fun games against other kids in the valley.

I am annoyed by the fact that in all of these Jake has sunflower seed cheeks.

This is the team lined up for the national anthem. I loved their uniforms and how this picture looked with all their names on the back. It was definitely a fun part for the kids - before the first game they announced the team one by one and called out their numbers. When I asked him, Jake said his best memories of the tournament was a tough catch playing center and hitting his stand-up triple!

carter is 5 - what the heck?!

Carter was able to celebrate his 5th birthday while we were in Seattle. He had so much fun planning his Star Wars themed party with Grandma Burnett. All the family was able to come. We had a delicious BBQ that Peg prepared as well as birthday cake and brownies.

My little buddy was big time spoiled with presents but was a little bummed to find out that he had to wait for them to get shipped to us in Arizona.

Here's a cute picture of Carter after he hit the pinata and also of him blowing out the candles with Pa.

I'm so happy to have Carter as a part of our family. He is so happy and mellow and easy. I love how he is still so snuggly and still likes to sit with me. I know that it is fading fast so I am soaking in every moment. I can't believe how fast 5 years old came for this little boy!

hawaii

In June, our friends Aaron and Laura Johnson invited Patrick and I to tag along on their couples only vacation to Oahu, Hawaii!! We got to stay at their time-share at the Ko' Olina resort. We took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa Burnett's in Seattle where they got to play with family and have their own little vacation. We so appreciate them being willing to have the boys - they had such a good time having one on one with G & G!

Patrick and I had taken a night or two away from the kids quite a few times before but never 6 whole days. We missed them like crazy but it was so fun to have Patrick all to myself for so long!! We will forever after take a trip away like that when we get the chance.

The Johnson's were great travel companions - we had the perfect mix of lazy and busy. Thanks so much for inviting us!

Celebrating Laura's birthday at Roy's in Waikiki

The view from our room! So gorgeous! ~ Our fab hosts, Aaron and Laura













Patrick taking a turn driving the convertible ~ our snorkeling spot on the North Shore


Some highlights:

Sleeping in

Steaks grilled to perfection by the men

Kayaking in the ocean and Patrick riding me to paddle faster so we could beat Aaron and Laura (which never happened - I was on vacation!)

The guys wounding each other in a mean game of swimming pool basketball

Reading tons of books and mags

Patrick and Aaron navigating us to Waikiki

Getting rained on with the car's convertible top down

Shrimp from the shrimp shack and shave ice from Matusmoto's

Morning walks on the beach with Dub

Laura trying to snorkel without a mask since we were missing one

Driving around North Shore looking for our house to retire in!

school's out!

School's out?! I'm mean, seriously. Where did this year go? I can't believe how fast it all went. Of course we had to celebrate a great year and we joined Dad in Tempe at one of our favorites, Oregano's.

This is Dylan with his awesome first grade teacher Mrs. Davis. I love this teacher and so does he! He has turned into a such good little reader, which has been fun to see. It was sad to say good-bye but we might not have to. Mrs. Davis is moving up to 2nd grade! Cross your fingers!

Dylan's enjoying his ice cream sundae at his party. It is so fun to see him in his classroom - he is such a great friend. And what is up with all the girl's grabbing their chairs and sitting right by him?! I also got to hear him read his report on diamonback rattlesnakes to the class. He loved being the center of attention and did a great job.

This is Jake with his 4th grade teacher Mrs. Hunt who usually doesn't wear her pajamas. They were having a pajama party. This year ended up being a good one for Jake and he learned lots of great things. I think my favorite is hearing all the stuff he knows about Arizona from social studies. He knows all the counties in Arizona and can label them on a map!



Jake and his good buddy Nick are seeing who can eat a piece of pizza the fastest. Jake and his friends are always all about the competition - what is it about boys? It's also fun to see him at school with his friends. He is a huge goofball when he's around them!

This is Carter on his last day with Miss Mechelle. I was feeling seriously teary - first, because my baby is done with preschool and second, because Miss Mechelle has been part of our lives for four years! First with Dylan and then with Carter. It is weird to think I won't be going there next year. Carter loves her so much and she loves him right back.




Carter with his classmates Kate, Lauren and Ethan. Haley wasn't there on the last day. I loved how his class was so small and they got lots of individual attention. Carter has made a lot of progress this year, especially in the last month. I'm feeling good about him going off to kindergarten.

Even if I'm oh so sad to see him getting so big.

We had a great year, my boys! Happy summer!

P.S. Carrie, maybe some baseball pics and posts are coming soon?