Lots of different Santas!

On Friday Marty was invited to join an elite group of internationally successful plumbers, he even got to have a steak lunch. I decided that since I wasn't privileged enough to be invited that I was going to treat the boys to super elite day of Christmas fun. We went to the grocery store for some supplies, then we headed for the Mall. Last week I took the boys to Big Lots and had them each pick a toy to give to Toys for Totes, and we were going to drop it off and talk to the police officers, which they were very excited about. Tyson was a little awe struck by the officers.
The plan was to say hi to Santa and play at the play place. I don't push Dylan into doing stuff much anymore, so they played for a while and when he was ready we went over to see Santa. He really wanted to go first but pushed Tyson head of him instead. I didn't have my camera, but Tyson's face was classic. He just starred with no expression the whole time, it was hilarious. Dylan was all smiles and so excited once he realized it was ok. We had such a great time, they are so fun to hangout with, I just love, love them.
On the way home Dylan and I had the following conversation.
Dylan-Mom there are lots of different Santas.
Me-Yep you're right there are lots of different Santas.
Dylan- Why?
Me- Well , because there are so many kids in the world, there have to be alot of Santas to be able to get to all of their houses.
Dylan-Oh, there is the North Pole Santa, the Santa from the church, and Santa by the big tree.(at the Mall)
These were all of the Santas that he has seen this year. I was impressed that he was so observant and noticed that they were not the same. So now we have 3 Santas coming to our house this year. We have to make cookies for all of them. Cute stuff.

Polar Express

Thursday Marty's parents came up for a visit and to join us on the Polar Express.

Before our adventure to the North Pole, the boys got a surprise gift dropped off on the door step from Santa, new pjs. Dylan kept saying "Oh thank you Santa, Oh thank you Santa for the new jammies." That was only the beginning. We decided not to tell them what we were doing until right before we got to the train station. So worth it, they were so excited. If you know Dylan and Tyson, trains are their world, and to be able to ride on one and go to the North Pole, wow that was so exciting for them. They have both had the spirit of Christmas so much this year, it has been so cute to watch them. I have enjoyed watching the wonder and magic of the season through them.

At the depot waiting to get on the train.

Dylan looked out of his window almost the whole time. He was so cute, there was music playing, and he just danced and danced and watched himself in the reflections of the glass.
Arriving at the North Pole, Dylan was a little disappointed that we couldn't get off the train and take a tour of the North Pole.

Finally the moment they were waiting for, Santa. I kind of thought they were going to freak out, but no way. They have talked about Santa for so long and finally he was real to them, they loved him.

Dylan got to give him a high 5. He was a little sad that he didn't get to spend more time with Santa, he said after Santa passed, "But I want Santa to sit next to me." He didn't want to see him leave.

What a fun thing to do, it was so worth it to see that magic in their eyes. I hope that they understand that Christmas is really about our Savior and His birth. We have talked about that alot and they love Baby Jesus and the story of the Nativity. I hope they can see Santa as someone who loves our Savior and loves all of God's children. And as someone who is so giving, so kind and so happy. We hope that you all have a magical season.

Pies and Perkins Family Christmas Party

I didn't realize how much I like to make pies until this year. I made a couple of pies of the Daddy Daughter Date for the Activity Day girls. They turned out pretty good so I decided to make a couple more for Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving at home by ourselves this year. It was a nice quite day. Dylan had pinkeye and a cold, so he was a little miserable. It was nice to just spend a few days as a family. Dylan and Tyson are great helpers in the kitchen, these boys are going to be great cooks when they get older.

We even made some little individual pies, the boys loved those.
My family has a tradition that we do at our family Christmas Partys every year. We make homemade Christmas tree ornaments and an exchange game with them, everyone gets one even the babies. It has been fun in the past years and it is even more fun now because the boys get to help make their ornaments. We made these little mice for them, so cute and very simple.

This was the first year in quite a while that everyone was at the party. There were 35 of us jammed into my parents house. These are all of the grandkids. Tyson wasn't feeling good and didn't want to be in the pictures so Grandma and Dylan were holding him down. My dad is holding the 3 babies that were born this year.

And this is my whole family. I am very grateful for all of them. I wish we could spend more time together, I love them all and hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

Last Weekend

Last Friday we went to Tempe to spend a few days with Marty's family. We had a busy weekend planned, but we had alot of fun.

We dropped the boys off Friday morning with Grandma. Marty and I got to have a whole day date. We had a great day together, he is really fun to hang out with. To top off our date, he took me to Rubios for dinner. I love Rubios.

Saturday morning we went to Freeman Park for family pictures. It is a really popular place for pictures, I think there were 10 other families there taking pictures also.

There were some duck ponds, the boys loved watching to ducks and throwing dirt in the water.

I thought this was a cute one that I took of the boys.

There was a little kind of carnival inside to the park that had a train ride. We had a few minutes to wait before we could get into the park and this boy could hardly contain himself. He wanted to ride that train so bad. I snapped this pic of him waithing by the gate. Man he is one handsome boy. Tyson was very also very excited.

On the train.

There was a little ferris wheel. Dylan laughed the whole time and Tyson was very nervous, we finally got a little smile. Dylan rode three times.

After a morning of fun we went back to Grandmas had some lunch, all of us girls got ready to go to Phantom of the Opera, Marty took Dylan to a walk in clinic because he got pink eye, and Tyson took a nap.

Phantom was awesome, so glad I was able to go. The music, costumes, performance was just amazing. I loved it.

After Phantom Marty and I went to a friends wedding reception in Pheonix.

Sick Days!

This is what happens at our house on sick days. We play marching band, Tyson plays in his underwear and Dylan and I in our pjs. We put a lot of miles on the trains and cars, did some crafts, colored and watched way to many movies. We are all feeling so much better though.

This was really fun. I have a stack of magazines and I had the boys go through and find pictures of things they are thankful for, we cut them our and glued them to foam sheets. It was fun to have them repeat back to their dad and grandparents the things they picked. I put a loop on them and they are hanging in the kitchen so they can see it everyday.
And this is what happens when I have a busy day of baking. I gave each of them a little flour in a bowl to drive there trucks through. The flour didn't stay in the bowls very long. Big mess but they were happy and let me finish my pies.

Halloween 09 and a few other things.

Dylan and Tyson were so excited for Halloween, they even got to wear their costumes quite a few times which was nice. Dylan really wanted to be a mountain lion, but I couldn't find a mountain lion costume. He decided on being a brave lion. Isn't he so cute?

And here is my Tyson chicken. He actually had two costumes this year. The first was a dragon, which I bought a couple of months ago, then I saw these chickens at Old Navy. He had to be a chicken, for those of you who don't know, Marty calls him Tyson chicken. He did get to wear both costumes though.
Excited to go to the church for Trunk-or-Treating.

I tried a new breakfast the other day, pumpkin pancakes. I've wanted to make them for a long time, but I get a little nervous making new things around here, most of the time nobody likes it but me. Well this time was it was a hit, Marty liked them, and Dylan said, "Mom, I love pumpkin pancakes." Phew !

My mother-in-law showed me these cute stuffed pumpkins when I was down visiting last month. I decided to have the Achievment Day girls make them for our last activity. It was a huge success, they loved them. They all turned out so cute, and the girls even named their pumpkins. So I had six leftover and my goal for this month is to finish my unfinished projects and I really wanted to get these done. So here is one set, I think they are so cute.

I am so proud of this boy!

Man do I love this kid. He could move mountains if he wanted to. For those of you who know Dylan very well, know that he has anxiety about new situations, and old situations for that matter. Like crying everytime we dropped him off in nursery for 18 months. He has always just been an anxious kid. We decided to put him in preschool a few months ago hoping that it would help him get ready for kindergarten. Well needless to say it was not good. He hated it. The teachers said he just wasn't ready, maybe try again next year. I was so discouraged, we just haven't known what to do to help him try to get over this. So I thought great another year of this and he will probably do the same thing next year. I am so thankful for answers to prays and teachers that thought enough about Dylan and realized that there was a problem. I got a call we got the ball rolling, we are working with some wonderful people who have set up a great plan to help Dylan work his anxieties. So last week was his first week back to preschool, I'm not gonna lie, it was rough. I was ready to throw in the towel a few times, but his teachers kept encouraging me as well, that everything was going to be ok. Well starting yesterday at the primary program, I was finally at peace and knew that he was going to be just fine and we are going to get through this with no problem.

The primary kids have been practicing their program for a couple of weeks, Dylan had his part memorized but wouldn't say it into the microphone. When it was time for the kids to go to there seats, Dylan asked me to walk him to his seat, and I did. The Sunbeams were first to say their parts, I was expecting some crying and his teacher pulling him to the microphone, but nope, he marched himself up to the podium said his part clear as day. I was so happy. Marty and I were standing in the very back, if the congregation would have turned around they would have seen two proud parents doing the happy dance. I was so proud of him, it just brought tears to my eyes. Then today on the way to preschool, he asked if I could walk him to his class. I was more than happy to do that. He walked into class, being so brave, he gave me a hug and a kiss and said see ya later mom. I cried all the way home. This is a huge milestone, I am so proud of him.

What's going on at our house.

P90X

Marty and I started P90X about a month ago, the workouts are intense, but we really like it. I have so much more energy since we started, I need all the extra energy I can get. Marty even does yoga now.

Dylan and Tyson like to hang from the pull up bar.
Ok, Tyson doesn't like it so much.

A couple of weeks ago I took the boys and we ventured down to Tempe for a few days. The boys spent time with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lisa. I went and spent a day with my girlfriends that I grew up with. (Myself, Tara, Tana, and Amy) We spent the first 18 years of our lives together and now we go years without seeing each other and we live in the same state.

We had a great time catching up with each other and letting the kids play. Tara has 3 1/2 year old named Brett, Tana has a 2 1/2 or so year old named Traven and Amy has a 4 1/2 year old named Dayson. Pretty cool we all had boys first, the second kids are 2 boys and 2 girls. That is one reason why I went to visit, Tara had her second baby a few weeks ago. Pretty good story, she was born in the car on the way to the hospital. I love my friends, we've had a lot of fun together through the years.

Friday before we came home we went to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lisa. Sorry, once again these are out of order.

Grandpa got Dylan and Tyson a treat. Dylan sucking face with an Italian Ice.

And Tyson with his oreo ice cream bar. Love the tongue. He got a few baths in the drinking fountain from this tasty treat.

Tyson enjoyed watching the monkeys eat breakfast, and pick bugs off of each other.

Dylan was starting to get bored.

This was a really bad picture, but I had to keep it in. Dylan was tired of me telling him to sit down and smile for the camera.

Last weekend our friends the Thom's took us to the coolest place, they call it the boulders. It is less than 15 minutes from our house. The boys loved it. We each brought our own dinners, chili and cornbread. We enjoyed a nice evening, with good friends, good food in a beautiful place.

Aunt Lisa came to visit last week. We had a good week, it went by way to fast. She is so much help and the boys love her. She taught me how to use my cricut, which I am so excited about. We did a couple of crafts. We made trick or treat signs, the other side says give thanks for Thanksgiving, and we did the three pumpkins. I forget how much I love doing crafts.

And we made Halloween sugar cookies, yum, yum. Thank you Lisa for all of your help and for playing lots of trains.

One last thing, I have to say that I love fall. It is my favorite season. I love getting out the long sleeves, and sweaters, the colors of the changing leaves, the smells in the air, the crafts, getting to make stew and soup and chili, getting out the decorations, pumpkins, I have discovered that I really love pumpkins, especially anything pumpkin that you can eat. I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls the other day. I just love this time of year, it is fun to have kids and see them have fun with the season also.

Labor Day weekend

I am getting to be so lazy.

Here is Labor Day weekend at the County Fair. We got there right when they opened on Saturday morning. It was awesome, no one was there, we didn't have to stand in line to wait for anything, and the boys were so happy and excited to be there. Tyson was so excited because he was tall enough to ride on the same rides as Dylan. Of course they found a train. I love Dylan's expression, he must have seen something really cool. Tyson wasn't really sure what to do.

Dylan the conductor, I am pretty sure he would have stayed there all day.
And there were bulldozers for Tyson.

And the bumble bee ride that Dylan loved last year, Tyson loved this year. Dylan wouldn't get near it.

And then the best part of the whole day, except for the model train exhibit, was the DEMOLITION DERBY. It was awesome. We packed a lunch, which you're not supposed to bring in your own food, but I am not paying $7.00 for a turkey thigh thank you very much. Dylan and Tyson loved it. To this day, everything is demolition derby. I think this might keep them going until next year. Marty was totally into also, he already has plans of building a car, and finding a driver. Dylan and Tyson have already picked out colors for their trucks, Tyson's is purple and Dylan's is black.

The Tuesday after the derby we had our own little demolition derby. I got in a tiny accident in a parking lot. You would think the boys would have been a little scared, nope they were like ya, smashing cars. They thought it was awesome, not so much for me.

Molokai part II

Sunday we got up and got ready to go to church. When we got to the church house a member of the bishopric said church was cancelled because of the fire. A fire broke out on Friday night and the roads were closed so the members couldn't get out. Also alot of the men were fighting the fire. When we left on Tuesday it had burned about 7000 acres. They were in there dry season and it was really dry. So we just decided to go drive around and explore some more.

Hi Mom!
This is the wharf. The ferry is the ferry that goes to Maui.

We drove on a dirt road forever to the south side of the island, to a place called Lono Harbor. It was a really pretty place. There were some little bays that would have been perfect for snorkeling. The beaches were really nice also.

A picture of us, I learned how to use my timer on my camera.

Monday we went beach hopping and did some more snorkeling, and relaxed.

Tuesday we went out on a boat with Captain Mike to do some snorkeling with the sea turtles. He took us out about a mile from the coast. I was totally nervous I thought it was going to be alot deeper than it was. I forgot to take pictures, I was to caught up in being scared. I had a life vest on so I was totally floating, but I thought the water was deep so I freaked out a bit once I got in the water and the water was freezing, ok by my standards. I don't like being in cold water. Marty was trying to be very encouraging and supportive through all of my whining finally he said, " Just put your face in the water." I did and I was fine. It was super amazing, we saw a whole bunch of really colorful fish. We really wanted to see the turtles, if we put our head out of the water we could see them coming up for breath a little ways off and we would go over to where they were, but could see them. We figured they just went below us and camoflaged into the rocks and stuff. So we were swimming with them we just couldn't see them. I only lasted 45 minutes, I was to cold to stay in any longer. I got in the boat and Marty went chasing turtles. The Captain and I would see them pop up and we would tell him how far to go. He didn't ever see any, I guess they were to fast. Some of those turtles were huge though. I would have loved to swim close to one.

After that we had a while before our plane left so we went out to a look out over Kaulapapa.

There was this cool wall and the seacliff wall just on the other side, but I had to get one of these shots.

I snapped this one of us with the timer. Funny story, when we got to the lookout there was another couple, I always ask if I can take pictures if I see couples with no one else around. Then I ask them to take ours, works out quite nicely, we both get a couples shot. Except this time, Marty and I weren't in the picture. Hummmmm. Whatever, the timer worked good too.

Then we went to the airport, gave our cool rental jeep back and got on our little plane and flew to Oahu. We waited there for 3 hrs before our flight home. We had a wonderful trip, it was nice to just hangout together and get over my fears, and just live at a slower pace for a few days.

Aloha!

Two weeks ago we left for Hawaii, we decided to visit a new island this time. We went to Molokai, which is considered the most Hawaiian of all the islands. There are only 7000 people who live on the island. We left Thursday morning from Pheonix, it takes about 6 hours to fly and we had a nice flight. We landed in Honolulu around 12:00 and then got on this small plane that took us to Molokai. Now I get nervous on big planes, and when I saw this I got really nervous. But it was a nice smooth 30minute flight. We met a young couple on the plane, kind of hard not to talk to new people when you're almost touching. Becky and Eric from upstate New York, they were there for a brother's wedding.

From the plane, flying over Molokai. There is alot of farming on the island, and it gives people jobs, most of it is genetically modified corn that a company is doing research on, so it can't be eaten. The locals don't like having it there and not being able to eat it, but it brought much needed jobs to the locals. Almost everything has to be brought in to the island. When you hear that milk it like $6.00 a gallon, it really is, we bought a half gallon for over $3.00. So food is super expensive. They teach the young kids and talk alot about sustainablity, like grow a garden, and go fishing, and hunting. There are deer, wild pigs, wild goats, and wild turkeys, that they can shoot for food,.

So we landed, got our totally awesome rental car, sorry next picture. a 4 door jeep. By far the best rental car we've ever had. We were kind of sad to give it back.
Then we went to find our place. I loved it, again by far the best place we have ever stayed. It was so cute and had a washer and dryer. I brought home no dirt laundry. We enjoyed our quite mornings listening to Hawaiian music, eating our cheerios and toast on the balcony where you could see the ocean in the distance. It was very relaxing.

Then we went exploring. We drove to the east side of the island, we were staying on the west side. The island is about 60 miles long and 20 miles wide. We got going up this one way, windy road, we didn't make it the end, it started to get late and we decided we better go back. I am sad we didn't ever have the time to go back. There was a waterfall you could hike to with a guide and some white sand and black sand beaches on the other side of the mountain. So we heard. Maybe next time.

We stopped at this beach called 20 mile beach. It was a little beach, but it was supposed to be good for snorkeling. That is Maui in the distance. Pretty cool, we could see Lanai from the west side of the island.

Friday morning we decided to ride some mules down to a peninsula called Kalaupapa. The only way down there is by this trail, boat or plane. We went down 1700ft, there were 26 switch backes. It was only about 3 miles but we went straight down. It was tough on the knees, I finally just had to bend my legs so there wasn't so much impact on my them. I had a sore bum and sore knees for a few days, but it was well worth it.

Marty on his mule.

This is what we went down.

This was the top of the trail and that is where we were headed.

This town was a leper colony. Anyone who contracted lepercy was banished here. There were anywhere between 7000 and 8000 people who lived down there. Right now there are only 18 people who had the disease or are decendents of others who had it. It is now a National Park, so they take care of the up keep of the town and restoring the buildings. The Department of Health go in once a week to take care of the former patients because most of them can't see and can't walk and are in poor health. We stopped at a little market for a potty break, everyone was friendly, they even had picked some fresh mangos for us before we got there. We went to another smaller town called Kalawao and saw another colony and some beautiful scenary. There was a Father from Denmark, named Father Damien who went there in his twenties and took care of the sick people and built the colony and churches, then contracted the disease and died in his 60s. Pretty interesting place, kind of sad, yet beautiful.

This was the view from Kalawao. Absolutely beautiful. See that little island, that is where ships would bring people with lepercy and dump them over board and then they would have to swim to the island. And those seacliffs are the tallest seacliffs in the world.

After we arrived back up to the top, we went to a macadamia nut farm, and learned about macadamia nuts, and ate them.

Saturday we went to Dixie Beach and Marty taught me how to snorkel. For those of you who know me very well, know that I don't swim very well and deep water freaks me out. So I was freaked out, but thanks to a wonderful, supporting hubby who pushes me to grow and learn new things. I learned how to snorkel. The rest of the day went beach hopping and I have to say that I am now in love with snorkeling.

We also got to spend some time looking around the little shops in town, and there was a farmers market going on, I bought more mangos, a papaya, and a large avocado, like the ones I used to love to eat in Brazil.

We walked up to a point and got this shot looking down towards our condo. That beach is called 3 mile beach, whick is the longest beach in all of the Hawaiian islands. White sand beach for 3 miles and no one around, priceless.