We Rock!

I think Paul has been secretly wanting to get Guitar Hero for himself, but won't admit it. He tried to convince Dakota to buy it with his Christmas money a couple of days after Christmas, but Dakota had never played it and wouldn't do it. Then we went to Amie and Bryan's for Steve's birthday. They got Guitar Hero for Christmas and our kids got a taste of the game and loved it.

Fast forward to today. Paul cashed in some credit card points and earned a Best Buy gift card, so today while I was making dinner he slipped out to Best Buy without the kids noticing. He came back with Guitar Hero World Tour, the full band edition! Dakota was on the couch playing Hunter's Leapster. Paul brought it in and sat it on the floor about 10 feet away from Dakota. He didn't even look up. It sat there for a good 15 minutes before Dakota finally noticed it. He started screaming, he was soooo excited!

So tonight we have been honing our rock star skills. We started out with some Beastie Boys, No Sleep Til Brooklyn. It didn't go well. We were booed off the stage. That was followed by REM, The One I Love, we went a bit longer before we got booed off. It's really a blast! Dakota sang the Linkin' Park song from Transformers, then Hunter sang the same song. Dakota did One Way or Another, by Blondie. Of course now they don't want to go to bed! When we finally got through a song, the game puts the words "You Rock" on the screen. Paul turned to Hunter and said, "You Rock!", and Hunter said, "I Rock!". Too cute!

The last picture is the first song. Hunter contributed by biting his toenails instead of singing. Lovely, huh? He did get into it after he took care of the toenail. Apparently we need to trim his toenails more frequently! The boy has priorities.

Christmas Day

Winners for the most annoying toy: The Arnesons (my sister's family). They were kind enough to seek ou the most annoying toy they could possibly find and bestow it upon our child.

It's called a Yakkity Yak voice recorder. Seems innocent enough, but it is incredibly LOUD. Here is how it works: the child presses a button, it beeps loudly, something like a smoke detector whose batteries are getting low, the child says something into it, the device plays it back either very slow or very fast. Playing it back fast sounds something like the dolphin chatter effect from Spongebob Squarepants. This wouldn't be so bad if kids weren't so enthralled with the toy. They play it back over and over and over and over...

"Why", you might ask, "would someone want to punish you with this device?" Apparently when Steve was a baby, we bought him, (with no malicious intent) a baby keychain that made noises. An innocent baby toy! Really, I don't think it's just punishment.

And how do you get back at parents who willingly purchase drums for their kids? I don't think we could get revenge if we tried!

We had a wonderful and busy Christmas! We started out opening presents at home. So far, our kids have been really good about not getting us up early on Christmas morning. In fact, last year my parents called and woke us up. They had been sitting in the driveway waiting for us to get up so they could come in! This year, the kids slept until probably 7:30 and we called my parents when they woke up!

As usual, Santa kind of over did it with our kids. But they're great kids and have been pretty good. They both got lightsabers. I know, we already had five lightsabers, but Hunter told Santa he needed another and of course Dakota got one, too! They got the XBox that Dakota has been asking for along with a nice selection of games.

Santa even brought the dogs blankets for their kennels, despite the fact that last time we got them blankets, Princess ate them. Literally consumed them. So far so good, though. She hasn't tried to eat this one! And really, why should Haley suffer because Princess is insane?

After Christmas morning here, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Phipps' for more presents and Christmas dinner. Yummy ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, all the fixins. It was nice to see everyone. Dakota and Hunter were thrilled to see their cousins. Aidan gave Dakota and Hunter a small Cookie Monster snow globe. It was so sweet! With all of our different schedules, it's hard for us to get together!

After my parents, we made a quick stop home to unload and then headed to Paul's cousin Tim's house. Fortunately both my parents and Tim live within a few miles of us, so we didn't do much traveling. Paul's Aunt Carol and Uncle Pat were there as well as his parents and Robert. We spent some time visiting with them. They had food, too, but by that time I was stuffed!

We had a really wonderful Christmas. I'm so glad that we are able to spend it with our families.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve this year we had the grandparents and Robert come over for dinner, gingerbread houses and some present opening. Paul and I decided that this year we would let the grandparents help with the gingerbread houses since we've done it so many times. It somehow ended up in "teams", Hunter with Grandma and Grandpa Lanphear and Dakota with Grandma and Grandpa Phipps. I'm not sure who "won", but Dakota did at one point say something like "hurry, we're winning". Who knew decorating gingerbread houses would turn into a race? The grandparents did a great job. Kudos to Grandma Lanphear who perservered even after Paul (aka Lenny) squeezed the frosting bag so hard that it burst open at the seams! She managed to fashion a frosting bag by snipping the corner off of the green frosting bag. It was quite impressive!

The gingerbread houses were followed with opening presents from the Lanphear side. The boys got new Transformers pj's, Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, some Tupperware ball popper thingamajigs, clothes, all kinds of toys... It was a great evening. We are so glad that we were able to spend it with our parents.

The Polar Express

Snow Angels

Hot cocoa.

Waiting to get on the train.

The drive up.

We decided to take the kids on the Polar Express this year. For those of you who don't know, the Grand Canyon Railroad turns into the Polar Express during the winter and takes kids and their families to the North Pole, picks-up Santa and heads back to the depot in Williams.

It was us, Grandma and Grandpa Phipps, Grandma Lanphear and Uncle Robert. We all piled into my parents Suburban (the only 4WD vehicle owned by any of us) and headed north. We made reservations months in advance, so you don't really know what the weather is going to be like. It may have been a blizzard (I say "may have been" because I'm not really sure, I haven't lived in the snow since 1986, but it sure seemed like a blizzard to me!). My dad was generous in offering to take their vehicle and he drove the whole way as well. Thank goodness, because it was a bit treacherous! (Thanks, Dad).

I think we were all probably a little bit underdressed. Afterall, it NEVER snows here, and in the past 22 years, this was the third time we've been to the snow, so of course we don't have all of the gear (even if I lived in the snow, I think I would forgo the moonboots!). Maybe we're wimps because we've lived here for so long, or maybe it was because we just don't have the right clothes, but it was C-O-L-D! It actually wasn't so bad, except when the wind was blowing, which was a good portion of the time since it was a blizzard!

After we made it up to Williams, the kids played in the snow in the parking lot of our motel. They had a blast throwing snowballs at Dad. We had dinner at Denny's then headed over to the train depot. It was snowing and the wind was blowing AND, to top it all off, I slipped and fell in the snow. We waited inside for a while, but then headed outside to catch the train. Did I mention it was cold? Fortunately, the train was nice and warm. Ironically enough, we were given instructions on how to open the windows. Like we were going to open the windows!

Each car has its own chef and elf who entertain and serve hot cocoa and cookies. Our chef was Grant and our elf was Kaitlyn. Grant had a microphone and led us in games and Christmas carols. And by games I mean an "elf wave". He made the elf run up and down the aisle and everyone was supposed to do the wave, like at a football game. It was great fun! There was also a reading of The Polar Express.

When we got to the North Pole, Santa came on board. He goes through the cars and hands out silver bells to the kids. (Some of the grown-ups, too! I got one!) It was really a great experience. The kids were so excited. On the way back to the Suburban, I slipped AGAIN! But so did my mom and dad, so I didn't feel quite so bad.

Overnight, there was something like 12" of snow that fell and a lot of people were snowed into the parking lot. Fortunately, we weren't. The kids played in the snow a little more, made some snow angels, and threw more snowballs. We took great care to make sure that after the kids played in the snow, they had dry clothes on for the ride home. While we were finishing loading up, Hunter decided to make his way out to the car on his own. He blazed a brand new trail in his nice, dry clothes through fresh snow that was thigh deep on him. So much for changing him into warm, dry clothes for the ride home! Fortunately, it wasn't snowing on the way home.
We had such a wonderful time and we are so glad that my parents, Paul's mom and Robert were able to share it with us. Unfortunately, Paul's dad couldn't get off of work. Hopefully, if we do it again, he can be there, too!

Paul's Birthday

On the Polar Express with Dakota

Us with Eli...probably mid 1990's.

Our wedding day, January 4, 1992. With Amie, maid of honor and Kevin, best man.

Us after Paul's high school graduation.

A birthday in high school.

With Tom.

One day old.

Paul's 36th birthday was on November 24. (I told you I was behind on my blogging!) We had a small get together for Paul and my dad, since their birthdays are only two days apart. Nothing fancy, just dinner, presents and cake. His mom put together a wonderful photo album for him. It is such a great gift! These are just a small sample of the photos. I plan to eventually scan all of them so they will be available to post for whatever whim I may have. He's been warned that any photo could show up in my blog! I have included a few pictures of Paul over the years here.

Hope you had a great birthday, hon! We love you!

Thomas Donald Lanphear Jr.

I had wanted to do this post to remember Tom on his birthday, but I just haven't had time until now. As many of you know, Paul's brother Tom was killed in a car accident just over two years ago. He would have been 37 this year. It was a huge shock and a tragic loss. Tom was a really good person. Tom and Paul were very close in age and shared many experiences growing up. It was, and still is, so difficult for Paul. Paul has said that growing up, he can't remember very many times when he and Tom weren't together.
When Paul and I were dating we used to hang out with Tom fairly frequently. He and Paul would take their parents little Dodge Colt and come out to pick me up sometimes. Once when they picked me up, Paul was really upset with Tom because he has spilled a huge Slurpee while they were driving and it got on Paul, but not Tom. Tom was able to laugh at the situation (unlike his brother). We went to the first Lollapallooza with Tom, my sister Amie and her friend Sage. It was August in Phoenix at Compton Terrace. In other words, it was H-O-T hot! We had a blast anyway!
As time went on and we grew up and got jobs and whatnot, we didn't spend as much time together. We both really reget that we didn't spend more time together. Tom was such a wonderful person. One thing that we admire in Tom is that he was kind. He was always willing to help anyone. We miss him terribly.

Catching Up

I know I've been slacking off on my blogging recently. I've been really busy... REALLY busy. In addition to all of the holiday preparations, my latest class, Research Design, began this month. It's a tough one, but after this class I only have 2 more to go and I'll have my M.Ed. Of course, I'll be expecting you all to join me in lovely Plymouth, NH for my commencement from Plymouth State University, which I believe will be in August. Just kidding! :) It does look like a lovely town, but I doubt I'll be going. I am very much looking forward to being done with school for a while. It seems like I've been taking classes forever!

So, I'm trying to get some blogging in that I've been meaning to do over the past month. I hope everyone has a great New Year!

Celine Dion

Last night Paul and I took our moms to see Celine Dion. We planned it as a surprise. In fact, we bought tickets over a year ago! My mom figured it out a while ago, but Paul's mom was really surprised. When he told her we were going to Jobing.com Arena, she was excited because she thought we were going to a hockey game! After we got there, Paul finally told her.
We had great seats, 3rd row one the floor, but it was more like the second row because there was only one row of seats in front of us. Mohammed Ali was there, Celine introduced him, they shined the spotlight on him up on the club level, and he got a standing ovation. (Our seats were better than his!)
Now, I know many of you are thinking that I don't seem like a Ceine Dion fan. Generally, I listen to alternative music, not because it is labeled as alternative music, but because I like the way it sounds. The same holds true for Celine. I don't really care what genre her music is, she has great songs and an incredible voice.
That being said. Celine is an awesome performer. Her voice is just as good live as it is on studio recordings. She's very personable and really puts on a great show. This is actually the second time I've seen her, we saw her when she was in Vegas at Caesar's Palace as well. She sang most of my favorite songs, I Drove All Night, Because You Loved Me, To Love You More, a few covers, All By Myself, Alone (by Heart), and a few new songs. The only song she didn't sing that I wish she would have was A New Day.
Anyway, she puts on an incredible performance and we wanted to something special for our moms for Christmas to let them know how much we love and appreciate them. It was great to spend the evening with our mothers at such an amazing concert. I would have some pictures of us, but I forgot my camera!

Thanksgiving

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Lanphear's for Thanksgiving dinner. It was fabulous! Lots of great food and good company! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures to post of the fabulous feast. Needless to say, we all ate way too much. They boys each had two slices of pumpkin pie, although Hunter didn't have much to eat other than pie. Paul's cousing Jim figured out how to make fast friends with Hunter, Dakota too, by showing them a Star Wars video on his iphone. It was really great to see everyone.

Since it's Thanksgiving, here are some of the things I am thankful for (in no particular order):
Paul. He really is my soulmate and my hero. After nearly seventeen years of marriage, I sometimes forget to let him know how much he means to me. He is a really amazing person. He's a great father and husband and I don't know what I would do without him.

My kids. They are exhausting, but they are the light of my life. I am so proud of them and what great people they are turning out to be. They never cease to amaze me. They are smart and creative and I know that they will do great things in life.

My parents, in-laws, sister, sisters and brothers in-laws and their kids. I love them all so much. I wish we could spend more time together, but am grateful for the time we do get to spend with them. My nieces and nephews are all amazing kids, too, and I am so proud of them.

My students. Yes, that's right, my students. Some of them can be incredibly frustrating... okay, most of them are incredibly frustrating a good portion of the time. However, I have come to realize how important teachers can be in the lives of students. Even those students who seem not to care and seem to do everything in their power to sabotage their own education, deserve a chance. I think I am learning as much from them as they are learning from me.

In these trying times, I am also thankful that we have a roof over our head, food on the table and jobs to go to (knock on wood).

And most importantly, we have each other.

Bed Head

I'm not really sure what Hunter is doing in his sleep lately, but he has been waking up with some major bed-head. This is what he looked like this morning! Of course, when I told him I wanted to get a picture of his crazy hair, he had to go and get two light sabers to be in the picture with him!