The busted toe. .

Grace was helping set the table while in Colusa last week, and dropped a big plate on her big toe.  It split her toe open and there was a lot of blood! It was one of those moments where I wanted to look away, but realized that I was the one who had to examine it and decide if we'd go to the ER or not! Fortunately, my mom was there, and could help with bandages, etc.  But when she asked me how deep the cut was, I truly did not want to assess it because I was afraid of what I'd see!

We decided to treat it ourselves, and while we were doing so, Will and Kate looked on very concerned.  They knew this was bigger than just an "owie".  Kate went to Grace and gave her a big hug.  And Will looked at Grace and said, "I'll finish setting the table for you.  You can go watch a show."

Through her tears Grace said, "I don't want Will to finish my job because I don't want him to get hurt like me."

It was one of those sweet moments that I told myself I should write down, so that's what I'm doing:).

What we've been up to lately. . .

We ended January with a trip to Newport Beach. Pat had a board retreat there, so I went with him.  It was great to get away for a couple days!  And we appreciated my parents coming up to watch the kids! 

The kids drew pictures of what they liked doing with Grandma and Grandpa when they were babysitting.  

This one's from Grace:).

We drove down to Colusa to hang out with family and go to Clay's baptism.  Even though it rained most of our trip, our first and last day were really nice, so we took advantage of being outside! It was especially nice b/c there was a huge snowstorm in Portland while we were there!

Enjoying sunshine in the backyard. 

The kids loved the Farm Show!! 

Clay's 1/2 birthday!

The kids loved hanging out with Clay!

And going to Anna and Em's new house.  Uncle Eric was a monster.  And I think Kate was actually afraid of him:).  

Baptism time. . .

Peek-a-boo! 

Grace wanted to play Go Fish with anyone who would play with her! 

Taking advantage of sunshine after the storm on our last day! 

We got to hang out with Owen and Levi for a little bit on our way back home!

Levi is too cute! 

In between trips, we've been spending a lot of time around the house! The kids are in a nice stage where they play pretty well together and by themselves.  And Grace and Will are old enough to play games.  We play a ton of SORRYand Uno.  Grace is just getting where she can play both, but you have to watch out that she doesn't set up SORRY with a 2,2,1 on top and insist on going first:).  And I can't let her deal for Uno b/c somehow she always ends up with all the draw fours!
And lately Will always beats me in SORRY, even when he is very honest! I guess I need to work on my game:).

Our babysitter made a super obstacle course with the kids! 

New Year's at the Coast

 We went over to the coast for New Year's Eve/Day to see Aunt Jackie, Uncle Clain, and Joey.  It was great spending time with them!  And Uncle Clain took us out on our first crabbing expedition, which was fun!

Grace and Will got to help pull up the crab cages!

We went down to the beach at sunset.  It was so pretty! 

Christmas. . . .

CHRISTMAS EVE. . . .

We spent Christmas Eve at Pat's parents, which was really fun! We had dinner and opened presents.

And, we had a very special visitor . . . .

 

Snack time. . . 

Dinner time at the kid's table. 

Back at home. . Everything was ready for the next morning. . . .

CHRISTMAS MORNING. . .

My favorite part of Christmas morning was that the kids only had a couple things in their stockings, Will and Kate got little dinosaurs, and Grace, stickers.  Before they even asked to open their Santa gifts, they sat down and played for about 15 minutes with their stocking gifts.  Grace put all her stickers in her sticker book, and Kate and Will played dinosaurs.  It was awesome because it slowed down the whole morning! I hope they can have that much self control in the years to come:).

Skittles and a lollipop! Just what I wanted!! 

Kate and her "babies". 

They loved their new e-reader! 

And the girls loved their new bedspreads/pillowcases that Aunt Karen made!! 

Grace's Birthday/Mom's visit

We had a fun and very busy week of pageants, performances, zoo lights, and Grace's birthday party! I told my mom that she came for one of our busiest weeks of the year! It was fun that she could join us at our activities.  And Grace especially loved that she was there for her birthday!

GRACE'S BIRTHDAY!

Grace is four! 

Her birthday party!

She's pretty excited to be with both of her grandmas:).

She got a bike for her birthday! She was nervous to graduate from the trike, but excited once she got going! 

ZOO LIGHTS

It looks like it was snowing, but it was just super foggy! Not too foggy to see the lights, though!

Will wanted to take our picture:). 

CHURCH PAGEANT

Church pageant.  Grace was an angel and will a shepherd.  

Then they got to see Santa!