Where is Mr. Prickles?

What is a Mr. Prickles you might ask? Well he just happens to be a Hedgehog and a cute little one at that! Darren carries him wherever he goes. Today he went to the park with us, he was present during Easter egg hunting and now he is safely snuggled in bed with Darren. The funny thing is he isn't even Darren's stuffed animal. It happens to be his big brother Kyle's. He is kind enough to let Darren play with him and occasionally sleep with him. How fun it must be to have a friend who is always willing to go anywhere and do anything you want! Oh the places they will go! : )

The Christmas Sing-A-Long at school..!

Every year at the Kyle and Darren's school they have a sing-a-long. Each class performs a song in front of the crowd. Darren's class sang Jingle Bells and although he's smiling in these pictures he was extremely bummed that he didn't have a bell to jingle...lol. They only had a few to pass out and his was misplaced at home. But he cheered up when he got to see Santa at the end of the evening....although he did tell me that he knew it was a "helper Santa". The "Real" Santa was to busy to come to his school. So cute. Kyle's class sang "Up on the Rooftop" , which is one of my favorite songs. It was a really fun night! Grandma Trish came and Aunt Heidi surprised us by showing up to join in the fun! Good Times!!

I have been slacking off....!

So I haven't blogged in a while now and everytime I read a friends blog it makes me feel guilty... So here I am back at the keyboard. The last few months have been a whirlwind. I feel like time has been passing by so quickly. The kids are already through their first trimester and Christmas just snuck up on us out of nowhere...! Knock it off!....lol. We need time to enjoy the present more! I wish we could add a few more hours to our days! That way I wouldn't have to choose whether I want to clean the house or go outside with the kids..! I could do it all..! Oh well, have to settle for the 24 hours in day that we get now. So the kids and I have been busy over the last few days working on the Gingerbread house we made. Here are a few pictures for you to see all of our creativity at work. Hope everyone has an awesome Christmas and a Fantastic New Year!

Backyard pools....wish we had one!

Darren relaxing in his bucket of warm water!

"I'm the perfect fit mom"!

Apparently if you blow bubbles (or in Darren's case pump air) into a bucket with
warm water it qualifies as a spa! Didn't know that.....

Smores Rule...............!

Start with......

Graham Crakers.....

Hershey's Chocolate Bars......

Jet Puffed Marshmallows..........

Burn them beyond recognition....at least that's how mom likes them!

Then try not to make a mess while eating them... (yeah right)..!
So yummy....just can't get enough.

Soda Springs......!

We spent one glorious week at Daniel's uncles cabin in Soda Springs. The scenery is just breathtaking, some of the biggest trees, a beautiful lake and breathtaking views of the mountains. We had a cabin full of family and friends. Papa, Grandma, Daniel, Me, My sister Hannah, Kyle , Hannah, Darren and my niece Ambria. Daniel's brother Kevin & friend joined us for the weekend as well as a friend of Daniel's parents. We spent our days playing down at the lake, riding bikes and playing board games. It was so much fun and the kids had such a blast. The Saturday before we came home we took the kids and my sister to West End Beach on Donner Lake. We rented paddle boats and floated down the creek leading to the lake. It was such a fun day. We ended our day there with ice cream....yummy! We were so sad to come home....

The kids on the paddle boat.... I love this pic!

The intensity on their faces cracks me up......

Ambria playing in the sand...!

Aunt Hannah & Darren

Hannah jumping off the pier at Serene Lake...

Almost the whole gang........

Oscar, we will miss you!

I took this picture of Oscar and Daniel Wednesday night. Oscar hasn't been feeling well the last few months and we have been doing everything we could do to help him. Change in diet, countless medications, frequent Vet visits. He seemed to be showing progress in some areas but his breathing has been getting worse. We have had to help him physically get in and out of the house lately to go potty. I made an appointment Wednesday to take him in and I had a feeling they were going to ask the horrible question... "Do you think it's time" ? Nobody wants it to be that time..... Thursday Daniel woke up early and went straight to Oscar, he was acting really funny and his eyes were darting back and forth. Daniel immediately took him to the Vet. He called me after about 30 minutes and told me that they think he has a brain tumor now and his breathing could be due to blood in his lungs. Our options were limited and short of surgery which could just prolong the inevitable Daniel decided to have him put to sleep. I was headed out to meet him so that he wouldn't have to be alone and Kyle said he really wanted to go with me. Once there he went in the room with me and said goodbye to Oscar. It was so freaking sad.....Oscar is older that Kyle by about 2 years and so he has known him his whole life. He then waited outside while they gave Oscar the injection. His breathing slowed down to almost normal and then he was gone, the whole time Daniel was saying I love you Oscar, I love you, you were the best dog ever. I'm so sad for our family that we will be without him. He really was a great dog, he was awesome with the kids ever since they were babies, very protective of us. He will be very missed...