Christmas pictures

So Elizabeth sent us a CD of pictures she took. She has a lot more talent in photography, and a much nicer camera, so I had to post a few, okay, well maybe more than a few.

James is 6 months old!

James is 6 months old. It seems like he just grew up all of a sudden. He sits up, and rolls all over. He is cutting his second tooth, but I'm stoarting to feel it- so hopefully it will come through soon! He loves to talk and laugh, especially at Spencer!

Aquarium

We ended up staying an extra day in Albuquerque. I think that may have been the highlight of Spencer's trip. He got to play "boy games" with his cousins Conner and Scotty, and came home with a black eye to prove it. He loved having some to run, and wrestle and play ball with. He also got to visit his favorite place in the world, an aquarium. We took Spencer to an aquarium about a year ago and he was so enthralled by the fish we could not get him to leave. This was no different. Those of you who know Spencer know he does not sit for anything- but he will sit for hours watching fish. Conner and Scotty had been there before, and they were not as enthralled. Spencer could have spent a few more hours there. James seemed to like it too.





There was also a neat botanical garden there. This is the only picture we got there, but Spencer was trying to make the ant go- it didn't work!

Thanks for a great time Deon and Dillan!

Christmas

We moved James out of our room after the Christmas holiday, which has done wonders for my sleep, but unfortunately the only other room is the computer room, so I have to find time to blog when he is awake.
For Christmas we went to Dallas to see Devon's family. It was a full house and a great time! It actually snowed the day after we got there. Spencer and Grandpa built a snowman, but Elizabeth has those pictures, we'll have to post them later.
On Christmas Eve Kelsey and I decided it would be fun for our kids to do the "Christmas Play." They didn't think it would be so fun. In the end Aurora was the only willing participant. Oh well, maybe next year!


Here is a picture of the boys in their PJ's from Grandma Gosney. Of course they are not both smiling in the same picture!


Spencer got tools from Santa. We was pretty excited. He wore the goggles around all day and kept "fixing stuff". I can't believe we didn't get a single picture of James on his first Christmas morning, but in our defense in was a crazy morning. As Catherine put it "If that's low key, what is a normal Christmas like?" James really has a hard time with crowds, but thankfully this is the only time he seemed overwhelmed during our trip to Dallas.

Here we are in front of the tree, I guess James is in these pictures!


We had a great time. I'm surprised we don't have more pictures, but maybe some other family members have one's of my kids to share. Devon' must have gotten all pictured out in Mexico.
We did get to do a lot of fun things in Dallas that we can't do in Monument Valley. We played ball at the church, went to a park (where Spencer discovered his new favorite, the tire swing) and played on the toys at the mall. We also hit a lot of "after Christmas" sales and got some good deals.

James' first food

Today James tried his first food. I didn't think he would do to well, and I was actually secretly hoping he wouldn't because of the crazy upcoming holiday, but he loved it! He even made some smacking sounds to tell how good it was!

Monster hunting

Spencer's new favorite pass-time is monster hunting. He (and Devon) will go around the house looking for monsters. When they see one they run back to the couch and hide under the blankets. Then they do it again about a thousand times. Daddy is his favorite partner in crime.

So this is what you need for a good monster hunt. You need a hunting hat, and a weapon- apparently a plastic spade works exceptionally well.

James is a Junior Monster Hunter right now, he has to wait until he can walk to go on the serious hunts.

Our Trip

We left on Saturday November 14th for my grandpa's funeral. We were glad we left early, because when we hit the Spanish Fork Canyon the snow was horrible. There were semi's pulled over on the road and sort of to the side of the road to put on their snow chains. It was crazy! Devon is a great driver, and we made it through without a scratch.



The funeral was very nice, it was good to remember what a great man my grandpa is.
Devon left after the funeral, but I stayed and then went to Idaho with my mom. We came back and met Devon in Salt Lake for Thanksgiving. It was fun to spend time with family, but Devon and I decided we were apart for too long, and James decided he was away from his own bed for too long. We had a great time, but it's good to be home. Here are some pictures of the boys having fun with cousins and grandma and grandpa!