Christmas Day

Christmas Morning

We were all up late the night before with all the Christmas eve stuff going on so we didn't even get out of bed till 10am. The kids let us sleep, it was so nice! We had a wonderful morning opening presents and especially playing with everything and making messes. Everything was a big hit. It's funny since they are young enough we wrapped some things they already got and they had played with some of their other presents. Unwrapping was just as much a surprise and so much fun! Trying out his new bike (actually he's been trying out for weeks, but now he can actually ride it for Christmas) :)

Mason loving that new couch/bed

Porter and Daddy spent quite a bit of time in the tent this morning "sleeping" and playing

What a COOL tent from Grandma! We ALL love it!

Stockings and presents

The first thing Brent did with his new Rotary tool was go out to the garage and do this:

Sweet!!Curtis Christmas

I didn't get very many pictures at this wonderful event :( I guess when there is a professional around I feel like I don't need to take any more. This was such a fun day! Nikaela figured out a delicious meal for us to make. We all brought our part of the meal and spent the first while leaning these new recipes and making them. It was a japenese idea made american called bento boxes. The recipes she chose were fantastic! THANKS NIKAELA!!! We sat down and ENJOYED our feast! Next we sat around and took turns giving and getting! This is always quite loud by the end but again always so fun to watch how everyone likes their presents. We had a great time!

What a handsome boy!

The Boys were so helpful! They handed out presents and helped open them! :)

Wade Christmas

We usually do our Wade cousin Christmas on Christmas day but since families are branching out more and more we did it the Monday before Christmas which worked out GREAT! We all met at the Durfee’s home and started off with a yummy dinner and mingling. Then time for the Nativity, there are so many of us that the younger one’s do it and we all sing. Then we exchanged gifts. We all just gave to the cousin in our age group which was much better and then my grandma gave her presents out. I promise she works secretly on these ALL year. She gives to EVERY SINGLE PERSON!!! With 35 grandkids, many in laws and even more great grand kids you can imagine this is quite a feat! Every one is specifically for that person too. It is incredible. We got so many things just from her. Including MANY books! Which we love! Thanks grandma!!!Proof We were there :)

Must have his hugs, kisses & Butter

Goodbyes

Lately Porter Must have his hugs and kisses from us when we leave. I don’t know how it is when I leave. When Brent leaves and forgets to give Porter his hugs and kisses Porter runs to the door or the garage and is so sad saying “ I need hugs and kisses from daddy!” The few times my phone worked I made Brent come back to say goodbye properly. I keep reminding him that he is not to leave without it. Porter is fine as long as he gets to say goodbye right. He gives the BEST BIGGEST hugs. We love them!

Can you say BUTTER?!!

I caught this little sneak with the bread and a little butter. He pulled it down off the counter and decided he’d take matters into his own hands. Only a little butter on the floor, but he wasn’t too happy when I scrapped most of it off his bread. I’m just glad I found it before he started eating it…YUCK! Kids are so funny!

Christmas Eve!

We did our first annual Curtis family puppet show. We had a lot of fun and hope everyone else did. It was so fun to do a show together as a family and it was especially great to get the grandkids and in-laws so involved! They did great with the quilt quartet and Nikaela did a fantastic job singing Santa Baby. Porter was still pretty shy but got out and did quite a few numbers with help. Oh and Mason LOVED it. He did NOT want to let go of his peppermint stick, he kept trying to go out and perform! Silly Mason, with the help of Daddy he was a star in Frosty Way. As we were all dancing on stage Brent held Mason up behind the curtain to do his own dance, Next year we’ll be more on top of it to get the word out and have a better date. We had a pretty good turn out though.

I have always loved the Olsen Christmas Eve tradition. We meet at Mom Olsen’s about 5pm and have a delicious dinner!! I think she made everything this year and it was superb!! THANKS! Then the kiddos go and get their costumes on for the nativity. Porter was a shepherd this year, but daddy had to help him as the shy side came out again. He was super cute though!! The story is well narrated with several songs throughout. Then it is present opening time. We got spoiled!! The boys got legos, bath toys, books, and a tent that they absolutely LOVE!! It’s always fun to see everyone open their presents! This year the adults focused on giving something that they could spend time with that person. Brent got a massage from Launi and I got a trip to ‘As you wish’ with Eric. It’ll be fun!

Our handsome little Shepherd!

Grandpa Calhoun and Mason were having a great time after the party. He seriously sat there for 10-15 mins with grandpa just talking away. That's a LONG time for a 1year old!!

Our version of the Nativity with the newest member of the family (Lacy) as baby Jesus. Yup, Porter wanted daddy to be with him.

Caroling Hayride

Every year we get together with the Wades and go on a Hayride singing Christmas carols. My dad gets the trailer and Drives around as the rest of us enjoy our time on the hay. It was fun to see some out of Towner families and everyone else. We got a lot of great shots.

Porter was off in the corner with Joyze and Lindsey

Mason found some friends to hang out with. Isreal and Stephanie!

Our time to cuddle!

Daddy did a great job keeping Mason warm!

Christmas at the ZOO!!

I think I see a new Christmas tradition! This year Grandpa Olsen (Brent’s dad) organized a night at the Phx Zoo Lights. It was so much fun! He reserved our own little area at the Zoo to have our party at. It was very organized and well put together. The fun all started at 6pm in our private area. There were area heaters to keep us warm (thank goodness) and yummy food upon arrival. We ate subs and chatted. Next on the list was Santa. Eric was Santa, didn’t necessarily fit the physic (physical attributes) of Santa but he was sure cracking us up! The kids weren’t fooled, but still very excited to see Santa’s helper and get their stocking full of goodies and toys! They were given candy (not much, very thoughtful) gloves, silly string, cars and other fun things! Then it was time for the adults to have some fun. We did an elephant exchange, with a limit of $5, that I must say was a big hit. It was fun to get and give in a fun interactive game. Its always fun to see the creativity. Gifts varied from canes and candy, to large remotes, dinner, homemade goodies, blankets and tools. Then we went to walk around the Zoo and check out all the lights. The singing trees were of course the big hit. We got to ride the Marry-go-round and check out Stingray Bay. It wasn’t even too cold. LOTS of fun for EVERYONE!! Thanks Dad for all your time putting this together. It was a big hit!!!

Chowing down the subs that were waiting for us when we got there. The stroller worked out as a great high chair and Porter was sure enjoying the food!

Reindeer Mason, he loved having that thing on!!

Brent got attacked, to say the least. Silly string was in all the kids stockings.

Porter's not so sure about this silly Santa...

Too young to care who's lap I'm sitting on :)


Walking around the Zoo to see all the lights! No we don't have a double stroller. We had fun Chasing each other around though!

Mason's favorite part of the carousel was looking at himself in the mirror! Can you see him?

Porter went with daddy for a ride on the Carousel!

More Family Pictures!!!

You know the ONLY problem with having a fantastic photographer is that its hard to pick ONLY a few pictures to hang up. They are all so BEAUTIFUL!! Thanks to Nikaela! It's so fun to go out to different spots and just have fun together while she does all the work. Check her site out here. LOVE THEM!!! Which one do you like best? See what I mean...it's a toughy:) Luckily this is just the thing you want a lot of choices with...good shots of the family.

FUN Thanksgiving pictures

So I just got some fun Thanksgiving pictures from Justin that I HAVE to share.

Daddy and Mason racing to finish their feast!!
(Mason was totally pigging out and daddy came over and joined him)

Porter and Brayden found the REAL party out on the trampoline with their cool buddies
Lindsey, Dallin, Tyler and Slade

Brent and I just.....

This was HILARIOUS!! Mason found two forks to use but couldn't quite figure them out so he just started digging in with his face, he did not, however, let go of those forks. He just might need them after all. He got quite the crowd but didn't even notice, he was way to busy chowing down.

Twilight Date

Camille and Justin joined us for our date to see 'Twilight' FINALLY! I have been so excited. It was a good movie too! I was trying to compare it to the book the whole time so I want to go see it again, but I think it was pretty good. Brent even liked it. It was fun to have him there and after asking questions about everything. When I read the book I kept him up on what was going on, but obviously didn't give him every detail so he had some questions. It was fun! We then went to eat at In and Out (the diner scene made us all kinda want Hamburgers) and then Christmas shopping. What a FUN NIGHT!! I LOVE DATE NIGHT!!!

Parade of Lights

Ok so I'm so mad that my XD card, we used in the camera, this night broke right after we got some GREAT pictures. A friend told us about a 'Parade of Lights' held in Casa Grande that started at 5pm on Sat. So we took the boys, grabed some Taco Bell and hurried on down. This year has been so much fun with Porter somewhat understanding Christmas! He loves the lights, the trees and especially the Christmas Music! In fact shopping is a whole different experience, he's so occupied looking at all the cool christmas stuff that he doesn't even bother being a pain ;) . Anyway back to the parade... So it was quite the picture. We decided to use both stollers and got there just as it had started. Of course the steets were totally full already so we walked a few blocks to get a somwhat open spot. Brent had the bigger stroller that was capable of off roading in the rocks and I ended up carrying Porter and the stroller though half of it. We found an OK spot and Mason ate dinner in the stroller while Porter was totally enjoying the show! It was so fun! Everything was lite up with Christmas lights. There was music and all sorts of creative floats. Quite a few Fire trucks drove by all lite up and there were ever fire fighters covered with lights. Porter thought it was all pretty cool. It was SO MUCH FUN!! It was a little chilly, but we had our coats when we needed them and really enjoyed that family night! It will definitly be on our list for next year.

Big helper!

Porter is a BIG help these days! He has just about always cleaned out his tub toys and he has helped me here and there sweeping , picking up toys, but tonight he was a real help. He helped clear the table and loaded almost the whole dishwasher and I must say it was prettier than whenever I do it. Take a look at the silverware and utensils all lined up so perfectly! What a great job! Uh oh here comes the Mason monster to take it all out of the dishwasher as always.

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

the Puppeteers

Every year we have quite the weekend over thanksgiving! I love all the business and crazy schedule with family and loved ones. It all starts out Thursday morning for a breakfast Turkey trot with bagels cream cheese and Grandma Wades famous fruit salad, It's all delicious and then we play some sport with all the cousins, usually ultimate frisbee, and then we get our bikes or rollerblades and ride around the church in a big parade. Mason spent the whold time napping and Porter played with Gideon the whold time, they had so much fun. Next usually comes the Curtis traditional lunch, but since Nana passed away this last year it was canceled. Instead we joined the Wades for a delicious lunch. It was a fun haning out with cousins esp for our boys to hang with their cousins. Brent invited two of his class mates from ASU to join us for their first Thanksgiving dinner ever (they are Chinese). We played some games with them and had a blast. Mason was really cracking us up during lunch. He would hold a fork in each hand and then dive in with his face, it was hilarious. The wades also have a dance that night but we went over to Mom's (Olsen) house, met up with her and Eric, put the boys down to bed and ended the day with hotdogs and some good quality time. That night my sickness had gotten the worst of me and I didn't sleep most of the night with a super sore throat. Therefore decided not to do our normal Black Friday shopping early that morning. I did get out for a couple hours with Camille, but was too sick to do anything else that morning. I had planned on being at our all day puppet show, then hang out with the Flake family, then go see Twilight, but Migraines and sore throats didn't allow it. The next day, however, Porter and I headed over to puppet practice and were joined by Brent and Mason a couple hours before the show. We had a great time doing the 2 shows. One was at 4 and the other at 7. Porter was in quite a few numbers and did a really good job!! He still needed some guidence but was so cute and really stole the show in my eyes! I loved doing the show too, it's such a special tradition. Brent was even a part of the show as one of the quilt quartets and Mason, of course made an appearance. We got home about 10: 30 that night. It was quite a weekend!

Dinner Break in between shows

Practice

WOW! Great job boys!!

Pictures to come!......