Pinney Family

Happy New Year's!!!

2012-01-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve, Ryan and I had a nice dinner out with friends. Then we went home to be with the kids, and I tried to pretend it was not New Year's and was just going to send them to bed. Too bad they are smart and figured it out in time. We started off the New Year with 9am church, so we celebrated with New York. :o) I didn't think to have my camera ready for the moment, so this video is actually when the madness was dying down. :o) Fair warning, it's loud and annoying....

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

R.J., The Deacon

2011-12-26T18:35:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 15 R.J. turned 12. It's so weird how old he is getting. We now see eye to eye, he's only three inches shorter than me, and his feet are two sizes bigger. He's such a sweet, wonderful boy and I love him so much. This year, he chose an ipod touch in lieu of a birthday party. And I got a great deal with my first ever Black Friday experience. :o) On Dec. 18, R.J. was ordained a deacon. He was so excited about it. On Christmas day he was able to pass the sacrament for the first time in church. When I told him it would be on Christmas, he was so cute and said, "It will be my Christmas present!"

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T18:54:00.000-08:00

This year, our family Christmas Eve celebration was at my house. I was very proud of myself for making these rolls for dinner.... Don't they look amazing? I made about 65 rolls and ended up with way too many! After dinner, we had our Christmas Eve pinata. This is a tradition in my family since before I even existed. I remember so many Christmas Eve's, watching my mom paint Santa on a paper sack, and then helping her curl strips of paper for Santa's beard. I cannot paint Santa to save my life, so thankfully, my mom made this one for me awhile ago that I could use. We were supposed to have about 20 people over for our Christmas Eve party. Slowly but surely, almost everyone had to cancel because they were sick. The stomach flu was going through the family. So Jon was the only person who showed up! We had lots of extra yummy rolls, and it was a nice, quiet evening, but still fun!

Fort Making

2011-12-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

Last month Ryan took the two older boys to Utah for his nephew's missionary farewell. It was a quiet weekend for me, Conner & Sienna. On Sunday they spent hours building this fort and playing in it.

Sienna's Holiday Luncheon

2011-12-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

Sienna's third grade class had a fun holiday luncheon that I was able to help out with. They just finished reading "Little House in the Big Woods" so they fashioned their party after that. The decorations and all the food were from that era, as well as the gifts they were to exchange with each other. Sienna was supposed to make a baby cradle, and I thought a blanket too. Turns out we didn't have to do both. I was stressed, I can't sew well at all. I was really proud of this little blanket I made, and so was Sienna, she didn't want to give it away. I tore up a pair of pants of mine and an old curtain. :o) It's my first sewn blanket ever, and I was so pleased with myself. The actual cradle was a little lame, but it did actually rock, thanks to a little help from Ryan. When I saw the cradle Sienna received from one of her friends I was a little embarassed, hers is so fancy. My redeeming grace is that we were the only ones who made a blanket and a mattress! So my ego was restored... These boys were so cute. When I pulled my camera out to take pictures of Sienna, they yelled for me to "Wait! We want to be in the picture too!!" So there they are... Sienna's cradle also came with a stuffed animal. Cheaters. Why didn't I think of that??

More Funny Sleeping Habits by Conner

2011-12-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas Lights

2011-12-13T22:15:00.000-08:00

We love driving around every holiday season looking at Christmas lights. There is a neighborhood nearby that we never miss. This year we bundled up, loaded up with hot chocolate, and walked the neighborhood with some friends. I hope we do this every year from now on! Here's Conner with his best buddy Holden. These boys are so much fun. Some of the mom ladies.... And the Dads... And here's most of the kids. We had a lot of trouble trying to get everyone together for group photos, so unfortunately, a few special people are missing in every one. Maybe next year...

Christmas Breakfast

2011-12-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

Our ward had a Christmas breakfast and we came in our jammies! Sienna was happy about the coloring station... Braden is also happy to be here, lol... There was an actual photographer taking pictures with Santa, so hopefully hers are better. R.J. was off doing a scout activity and Braden has never ever been willing to sit with Santa... Conner & Holden, Besties....

2011 Soccer Season

2011-12-09T09:24:00.001-08:00

We had a fun soccer season this year, with a bit of chaos, but that's expected when you have 3 kids playing, and they never play at different times or conveniently close fields. Sienna played U10 this year, which was a little bit of a scary place to start, having never really played soccer. The other girls knew what they were doing and Sienna didn't. Now that soccer is over, she has vowed to never play again. Maybe it was the intense coach and the other girls always yelling at her, with a combination of too much running, but she didn't enjoy it much at all. The only saving grace was the snack time at the end of the game and the fun team party they had at Strikes Bowling Alley at the end of the season. Weirdly, there was only one girl on the team smaller than Sienna. I've never experienced having a child who is the smallest, it was different for us. Conner also enjoyed snack time... We had a great season, weather-wise, most of the days were perfect and sunny. But at the end of the season, we had a couple of very cold, wet days. The one below, was the coldest and wettest, but we brought hot chocolate along and barely survived... It was fun watching Braden this year, also in U10, finally make an effort. The below picture is my favorite, the classic-try-to-kick-the-ball-while-it's-still-flying-through-the-air-move. Every boy seems to try it at least once and it always makes me laugh. Oops, another shot if Sienna in the wrong place. She's getting ready for the ball that is finally coming her direction... Running so fast... R.J. played U12 this year for the last time. R.J. is a pretty good soccer player, and a majorly fast runner. It is really exciting to watch him play. The struggle with his team this year is that only one boy could really play goalie, and nobody else even wanted to try. So, the coach put R.J. in as goalie quite a bit, which is agony for me. He isn't a bad goalie, but it's not his strength, he really shines when he gets to run. Here we have a little harmless pushing... Until next year...

R.J. The Babysitter

2011-11-25T22:03:00.000-08:00

It's been fun for us, now that R.J. is old enough to babysit. And things actually go pretty well as long as we add a lot of bribery to the occasion. :o) One thing he struggles with though, is getting Conner to bed. So sometimes when we get home, this is what we find... So cute.

Survivorman

2011-11-19T13:58:00.000-08:00

Braden loves TV shows where survival is the goal. His favorites are "Monsters Inside Me," "I Shouldn't Be Alive," and a new discovery, "Survivorman." This guy goes out into wildernesses of all kinds, like jungles, or the Arctic, and just simply survives. Braden LOVES it. So, we were at a soccer game of R.J.'s and this is what Braden spent the 1.5 hrs building... It was actually pretty impressive. If I ever have to go on Survivor or something like that, I hope Braden is on my team.

Junction Turkey Trot

2011-11-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Our school's annual turkey trot is really fun. Someone always dresses up as a turkey, and the fastest runner for each grade wins a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. Last year R.J. won a turkey for me. This year, Braden & Sienna gave it their best shot. They both ran 9 laps, but sadly that wasn't enough. But don't worry, we still had Thanksgiving. Braden started out strong, look at him go, right in the front of the pack... After a few laps, he started to lag. This is a lot of running for those of us who don't love running! All done, and still alive! Now it's Sienna's turn... Sienna also tried really hard. And she stopped for a drink after every single lap, lol... Phew!

Family Pictures

2011-11-14T10:54:00.001-08:00

Several months ago, I set up an appt. for family pictures with a friend & talented photographer. When we made the appt. it was still sunny at 6pm. When the day came to get our pictures taken, it was dark at 6pm. So we rescheduled. The rescheduled date came and the sun was out, but the wind was blowing a million miles an hour. So we rescheduled. Our appt. is now set for tomorrow, and sunny skies are in the forecast. But this is what I found... Am I doomed? I don't know. Wish us luck that we can do a cute enough comb-over and still have decent family pictures this year!

The Most Beautiful Centerpiece in the World...

2011-11-13T19:54:00.001-08:00

Too bad it didn't last.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

The Horse... The Sniper... The Angel... and The Leaf Blower.... Braden changed his costume for trick-or-treating, he is a Gangster now...

Halloween Concert

2011-11-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

R.J.'s 1st band concert was last week. It's hard to get a good picture at a band concert! I learned some things about R.J. at this concert that I didn't already know. I knew he was in the regular band and that he had also joined the jazz band. I didn't know that he was in the ADVANCED jazz band. And I didn't know he tried out for a solo and got it. R.J. loves band. I don't know if he'll burn out, most days he has it 3 times in one day, but for now he loves it.

Operation Caramel Apple

2011-11-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Operation Caramel Apple was a huge success. Without absorbing the ramifications, I signed up to bring caramel apples to a theatrical performance of R.J.'s G.A.T.E. class. At the time, I did not know it was a fundraiser and the teacher wanted to SELL the apples. And she wanted me to make a lot. So now I was stuck, having never actually made caramel apples before, and now they need to be pretty. Step in friend Tammy. Tammy saved my life. She came over and helped me make 29 caramel apples (I started with 30, but Conner grabbed one, pre-dip, and took a huge bite). And guess what, it wasn't that hard, it was fun! Of course, later I made 3 all by myself and it wasn't as fun or not hard. I've decided the success of caramel apples depends on two sets of hands. Thank you Tammy for saving the day! And P.S., every last one of my apples was sold. :o) And here is R.J. in his performance, reciting a couple of stanzas from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven."

The Bernhard Museum

2011-11-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

The much-anticipated 3rd grade trip to the Bernhard Museum has finally arrived for Sienna. You have to dress like a pioneer and learn all the things they had to do, back when this was a working farm. Sienna learned how to do laundry, make soap, make her own doll, build a fruit crate, make biscuits, and something else I can't remember now. But it was really fun! I was able to go with her and be in charge of wood-working. And I pulled it off. :o)

Mommy Bouquet

2011-10-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Conner brought me flowers from the backyard. He found an old bottle of bubbles for a vase and even put water in it. So cute.

Cross Country

2011-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

R.J. tried his legs at cross country this year and it was really fun! R.J. loves running, but long distance has never been his thing, he likes sprinting. I thought he did really well. It's amazing to me how fast these kids are. R.J.'s fastest time was 10:36 for 1.5 miles. That's really fast! But he was right in the middle with that time. The fastest boy ran it in 8:40, which is so unbelievable to me. R.J. is a lot like me when it comes to running in the heat, we can't do it! Ryan calls us "wilting flowers." In this first picture, it was so HOT! We, the spectators, were so miserable, it was probably close to 100 degrees. Those poor runners were probably close to death! R.J. posing like a runner. :o) Go R.J.! This course was a tough one, so many hills. R.J. is the one in the middle. Approaching the finish line... Time for a water break....

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

2011-10-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

October 10 was Thanksgiving for Canada. Braden is obsessed with Canada and has been for years. He really, really wanted to celebrate this holiday! It turns out Canada's Thanksgiving is pretty much the same as ours, food wise. It's hard to do a turkey last minute, but we did the best we could! We pulled out the fine china and had chicken, homemade mac & cheese, green beans, sparkling apple juice, and for dessert we had pumpkin pie and homemade vanilla ice cream. It was delicious and Braden was happy. In our defense, we do have ancestors from Quebec. :o)

Girls Night

2011-10-20T22:25:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I took Sienna along with me when I was getting my hair done. She was so excited about it. I was only taking her to get her bangs trimmed, but my hair stylist is so great, and gave her the full treatment. Sienna was in heaven. Afterwards, we had dinner together and then I drug her on a few errands. As I was driving home, I saw that beautiful light on the newly re-opened Krispy Kreme establishment that says in all its glory, "Hot Donuts." It was almost 9pm, so I called Ryan and asked him to keep the kids up a few more minutes, for I had a surprise. I brought those hot donuts home, and Sienna pretty much got tackled as she walked in the kitchen with these glorious melt-in-your-mouth donuts. The moment lasted less than 2 minutes, as every last donut was instantly devoured. I almost had my hand bit off trying to get my two allotted donuts out of the box. Conner seriously shoveled his in his mouth faster than I've ever seen him shovel. So I guess hot Krispy Kreme donuts is a hit, and I remain a favorite for the time being.

General Conference

2011-10-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is our first General Conference since I canceled television last month. It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. We connected my laptop to the tv, but the audio and the picture kept getting out of sync, so the mouths weren't matching the words being spoken most of the time. :o) It was annoying. But somehow we managed to still get some good spiritual upliftment. Hopefully by next conference, we will get it together on the technical side. And anyway, my first attempt at making completely homemade donuts was a huge success! You probably didn't know this, but you don't have to be awake during conference. As long as you are in the same room as the prophet, it's okay. His message will make its way to your dreams. Now you know...

Potty Trained!

2011-10-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a long road, but I think we finally made it. One week with no diapers, not even at bedtime. Thank you ring pops and dollar store cars for your bribery potential.

Loss

2011-10-11T13:26:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, Braden found a fluffy baby bunny on his way to school. It was outside the fence at school with a crowd of kids around it. Something was wrong but it was still alive. Braden wanted to save it but didn't know what to do and when the bell rang, he felt like he had to go to class. He thought about the little bunny all day and when school was over, immediately ran to where he had left it. He said it was still alive, but barely. He rushed home with it, but unfortunately, by the time he got home, the bunny had died. It was devastating to see him so upset. Braden has always loved creatures of all kinds, and this, a baby, that he thought he could save, just took him over the edge. So I agreed to a funeral, hoping that would give him some relief. We found a little box and R.J. sealed it nice and tight. Then R.J. dug a hole in our backyard, and we buried the bunny. Braden wasn't satisfied, so he made a little headstone for it. We had a long hard day, couple of days actually, but Braden seems to have gotten over the worst of it. This is our first burial, unless you count Buster Brown Pinney, our scorpion, who has been preserved in our freezer. :o) I don't think we should have pets at this house, it's just too hard.

Homework

2011-10-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

This was so funny to me. Conner got a hold of Braden's math homework, and tried to answer the questions. :o)

Conner & Sienna

2011-10-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

All of my kids LOVE blankets, the house is usually covered in them. But Sienna & Conner win the prize. I always find pictures on my camera of these two and their shenanigans. I have a shocking number of blanket fort photos taken from every angle. I liked this one a lot, so sweet when they're having fun together.

Band Protegee

2011-10-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Lake Tahoe

2011-09-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day Weekend we spent a day at Kings Beach in Lake Tahoe with our friends the Krupp's. It was so beautiful and SO much fun. The highlight for the kids was definitely the crawdads, yuck! The Krupp's brought hot dogs and strings to go fishing for crawdads and caught so many of them. Conner loved it! So we had to go for a walk to the docks and try to catch some ourselves. Unfortunately, me & Conner were unsuccessful, but it was fun to try. Until some of the kids dropped a couple crawdads next to our hineys, we almost fell overboard trying to get away, they crawl really fast! Sienna spent most of the day either swimming around on the surfboard, or pushing the boys in the boat. I don't think that girl ever got out of the water. When Raimi busted out her fancy camera, Sienna kept asking to have her picture taken in several different poses. So then Conner followed suit. Sorry Raimi for all the pictures you were forced to take of these two! Braden doesn't like water. We go to the beach every year and he never sets foot in the ocean. He digs in the dirt mostly. So I almost died of shock when this happened... Our family, Conner never could get that right eye to open. :o) Thank you to the Krupp's for inviting us on your outing. It was a great trip and I hope we get to join you again another day.

Band

2011-09-18T22:30:00.001-07:00

For R.J.'s elective in school, he chose band. He played the trumpet last year and really liked it. However, his new band teacher convinced him to switch to the trombone, and for some reason, this makes me giggle, I don't know why. But no one else was playing it, and the school had an instrument we could borrow, so I decided to go with it. Now that R.J. is playing the trombone, it has freed up the trumpet and Braden has decided he wants to give it a try. He's had one band practice so far, and declares that he can make the loudest sound out of everyone in the band! Good job, Braden.

I in a Boat!

2011-09-15T09:07:00.001-07:00

A little while ago, Conner was taking a "nap." I heard him start screaming for me, and thought something was wrong. I ran up stairs, burst into his bedroom, and there he was, sitting in a basket, wearing his army uniform and yells, "I in a boat, Mom!!" I couldn't help laughing. And somehow the Army uniform does sort of look like a captain's uniform, don't you think? I also thought it was cute that he was actually able to get it on, even the jacket is buttoned, sort of, but he forgot the zipper. I think he's so cute. :o)

1st Day of School

2011-09-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

This year is a big one for R.J., starting middle school. It's weird for me, and yes, I was only 12 when he was born. The night before school started, we went to registration, got his schedule and wrote a dozen checks for a gillion dollars for all the things he needed to make his year successful. He is so excited about middle school, the independence, having a phone, riding the bus, running cross country, being in the band, advanced math, GATE, and the reptile club. He wants to do it all. Hopefully he doesn't burn out any time soon. On the first day of school, Conner really wanted to be a part of it all. He insisted he was going to school too and put on a backpack and convinced Ryan to make him a lunch like everyone else's. Once we got to the school, he panicked and kept saying, "Don't leave me here!" Conner would not let R.J. take a picture by himself. Braden is a 4th grader this year, but because of weirdness in our school district, this will be his last year at our elementary school. He will never get to be the big man on campus, because next year our local M.S. is opening with 5th through 7th for the 1st year it's opened. Sienna is a 3rd grader now. She is already doing great, following all the rules, and doing all her homework by herself without being asked. And Conner is home with me. But he wanted his picture taken too. :o) R.J. was really excited about getting to ride the bus so I've decided to go with it. Conner really wants to ride the bus too. R.J. is his buddy and he's always so sad to see him go. Sienna ready to work hard on her 1st day. Braden wandering around with his 100-lb bag of school supplies, looking for his desk. It's going to be a great year!! (crossing fingers)

Hard at Work

2011-09-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

Conner loves to be a "helper." He cries if I scramble eggs because he wants to do it. He is constantly dragging chairs around the kitchen or climbing counters so he can do it himself. He especially loves stirring things. One day he discovered a bolt loose on his trike. He insisted he could fix it all by himself. His tools of choice were a box of safety pins. I don't know what he accomplished, but he worked on it for a really long time!

Big Boy Hair Cut

2011-09-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

I like Conner's hair long but Ryan hates it. This year I convinced him to leave it long just until our beach trip. He needed beach boy hair! Well, the day finally came that it needed to be cut, even I agreed. The place our boys get hair cuts keep records in the computer of every visit. They told Ryan it had been 54 weeks since Conner's last hair cut! I didn't realize it had been THAT long. So now his hair is cut and I have another year to relax about it.... I don't know what the basketball is about. Just making it more interesting. :o)

Free Car Wash

2011-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Sienna informed me she wanted to wash the van. Why not? It was pretty dirty. The funny thing, is after all that work, it still seemed a bit dirty to me.:o) And the serious bummer, something about the super hot day and the hose combination, cracked my windshield. :o(

Mt. Pleasant, UT

2011-08-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

After spending a week at my mom's house, we drove to Mt. Pleasant to visit with my brother for a few days. His house is so great, we had a lot of fun. These pictures are in a crazy order, but it took too long and I'm not doing it again! On the last day at his house, Robert took the kids swimming in Manti so me & his wife KayDee could go through a session of the Manti temple. It was my first live session and was very interesting! I loved it mostly, sometimes it made me giggle inside. :o) Sienna & Conner at the park, courtesy of Robert... Me & Kay Dee at the temple... I love this picture of Braden that Robert took... We spent a little while at a local park. Conner really wanted to swing on this tire, but the reality of it turned out to not be so fun for him... Braden & R.J. were more successful... Sienna had fun too... Conner likes to hide behind trees. Gives me a heart attack sometimes when I can't find him right away... Sienna & Kali... Static electricity!... The boys got to camp out every night in Robert's backyard. Isn't his yard beautiful! There's a stream with a bridge going through part if it, and the water was really fast! It made me a stress case trying to keep Conner away! Sienna loves to pose... Kali, Sienna & Conner... The highlight of the weekend was definitely watching Robert mow his lawn. He fell off the track when he was backing out of his trailer, that was exciting & a little scary! He also ran over a snake that went flying, yuck. The kids loved watching for a little while... Conner watched the whole time. Robert was going to let him ride along with him, and at first Conner was very excited and totally for it. But then Robert turned on the lawn mower and it was a no go! I couldn't get him anywhere near that loud, scary mower! There is a fun loft in Robert's house. I wish I took a picture of the ladder going up. Another heart attack for me keeping track of Conner... We had so much fun at Robert's house. We walked for ice cream, had movie nights & popcorn and loved hanging out with him. He is a firefighter and so he has a crazy schedule. But it was perfect for us because he had 4 days off in a row and got to spend every minute of it with us. :o)

Lapoint, UT

2011-08-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun week at Grandma's house this summer. We laid around and relaxed... Saw bats... and dragonflies... pretended to be blind... Ate LOTS of smore's (by the way, it's really yummy with a Reese's peanut butter cup)... practiced our pogo sticking skills... rode bikes... played with makeup (you can't see in the picture, but she was going for a "Jem" look and looked totally 80's, if you look closely you can see lipstick on her teeth!)... watched movies... played with a kitty... learned how to play the guitar via youtube... ate pancakes... canned peaches... played games... hung out in the back of Grandma's truck... got tied up... celebrated Grandma's birthday with homemade ice cream and chocolate zucchini cake... We had a wonderful trip and it went by fast. Grandma's house is the funnest place to be. Can't wait until next summer!!

New Bike

2011-08-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Sienna got her first ever brand new bike this summer. We've given her bikes before, but they were always second-hand and never lasted long. She's very excited about this cute girl bike. I'm sad to say the fringey things on her handle bars did not last long... R.J. & Braden both have broken bikes. So Ryan combined the two and now we have one working bike. Bummer for one of them.

Do As I'm Doing

2011-08-12T09:15:00.001-07:00

R.J. has become our new gardener this summer! The self-propelling part of our lawn mower is broken so mowing the backyard takes him a LONG time. And he gets hot and sometimes needs to take breaks. Conner wants to be just like R.J., and so he followed him around the ENTIRE time he was mowing. R.J. told him to stay back so he wouldn't get hurt, so he stayed a respectful distance behind, but continued to follow him & copy him for the full 45 minutes. And when R.J. got hot and needed a drink of water, so did Conner!

Summer Swim Lessons

2011-08-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

This year I only enrolled Braden & Conner in swim lessons. For whatever reason, Braden just doesn't want to swim. I told him it was a safety issue, he needed to know how to swim for my peace of mind, and I would keep make him take lessons until he could do it! He did a good job this year. He didn't pass the class, but only has 2 skills to master before he does. And the instructor also suggested he try paying better attention during the lessons. :o) This was Conner's first year of lessons. He loves being in the water, but he didn't like being sent off in the water without me. He often tried running away, and succeeded once. He got away from his instructor and took of running, it took a group effort to catch him! This boy was Conner's favorite teacher. He wouldn't get in the pool until he showed up. Conner didn't pass his class either, but I wasn't expecting he would. :o)

Ooey Gooey Smore's

2011-08-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Sienna has a cookbook she got from a past birthday and is always begging to cook for us! For an FHE last month she made us yummy smore's made from crescent rolls and they were delicious. Conner couldn't wait to try some. :o)

Far West Lake

2011-07-30T13:26:00.001-07:00

We had a fun day boating with friends a couple of weeks ago at Far West Lake. It was a really nice day, and we had so much fun visiting and playing in the water. Does Sienna look a little scared?? Thank you Raimi, for taking all the wonderful pictures! Thank you so much Packers, for being such great friends and sharing your boat with us!

Carpinteria Beach

2011-07-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a million pictures of our beach trip about 3 weeks ago. We love this annual beach trip, we look forward to it all year. We get to do spend time with the whole Pinney family and do a lot of fun things. We dig big holes... Celebrate the 4th of July... Find stray dogs, and then feed them popsicles... Hang out with Grandpa... Sing songs... Play with cars... Show off with inappropriate Barney songs to the tune of Joy to the World... Eat ice cream cones... Enjoy mornings on the deck... Visit with my SoCal sisters and some of their kids... Have baptisms... Take lots of family pictures... All 8 Pinney kids... The 8 Kids & their families... Two of my sisters & two nieces... Watch Jerich play video games... Take walks... Eat lots of yummy candy at Robitaille's... Play around outside Robitaille's... Watch movies (and sometimes pick our nose)... Eat too much sand... Learn how to enjoy the water... Wear girl sunglasses... Try to take nice family photos in the sand... Go running on the sand... Play with cousins... Have Justin Beiber Fever movie marathons... Enjoy beautiful sunsets... Strip... Try to play without fighting... Have Family Home Evening... Dig in the sand... Go swimming... Take naps... Throw sand EVERYWHERE... SMILE! How many days till next year???

The Reds

2011-07-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

R.J. really likes baseball. But last year he really lost his confidence. He struck out almost every time he was at bat, and was feeling like he was done with baseball. I'm glad he played again this year. We kept him down instead of moving him up to Majors, and he had a really good year. His team lost about the same amount of games as they won, but R.J. had some really good hits at bat, some really good plays on the field, and even got to start pitching, which is something he's always wanted to do. He wasn't a great pitcher, it was his first season every doing it, but he improved every game, and towards the end, started striking people out. He loved it! Oops, the wind up is a little out of order, but I think it's so cute watching him pitch. :o) It was also incredibly stressful. There's a lot of pressure on the pitcher! Receiving the trophy The Team

The Giants

2011-07-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

This year in Little League, Braden was on the Giants. He joined a team where most of the kids had been together for about 3 years. They were really good. They were undefeated this year, except for one game that was tied. And they won the championship! Braden is not much of a player but it was fun to be on a winning team and he had a few good moments. Every once in awhile, Braden played catcher. This usually meant, he would squat in this position and stay as still as a statue while the balls bounced off him and all around. Here is one of his great moments, where he made it all the way home. He had some trouble connecting with the ball most days. But half of the season they had machine pitch, and he started to get pretty good with that, since the balls were pitched pretty consistently. Toward the end of the year, he got better at hitting, but still mostly struck out. At least he finally started striking out while swinging. Way better than striking out while you just stand there doing nothing. :o) They won the final game in the tournament 7 to 0! It really was amazing and fun to be on such a good team. Every one should have the chance to be a winner once in their life! The team was so excited!! Braden got his trophy early because the team party was on Sunday, so he had to miss it. Luckily, he made it to R.J.'s party right after this game, so he wasn't too bummed about missing his. It was a fun season, and I'm glad we finished on a high note, since there is a very good chance Braden will not want to play again ever!

Santa Cruz / Monterey Bay

2011-07-15T09:24:00.001-07:00

Last month Ryan had a speaking engagement in Santa Cruz and as "payment" they were going to give him free tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. So we made it a family day. We left the house at 6 in the morning which was rough, but we made it to Santa Cruz in plenty of time. We dropped off Ryan at his thing and swung by a nearby Safeway to pick up donuts and chocolate milk. Then we were off to the beach. It took awhile because first we decided to drive around and scope out the best place to play. We decided the boardwalk area was best, but every parking lot was $12!! I could not force myself to pay such a price for only 1 or 2 hrs. After getting lost here and there (lots of one way roads!) I finally found a change machine on the side of the road, and got a prime parking spot in front of a parking meter and we saved a lot of moolah! It was very cloudy and cool, but since we were dressed appropriately, it actually felt really good. Conner was recovering from the stomach flu, and it appeared as if Braden was coming down with it, but we managed to have a really fun day. Sienna "accidentally" fell in the water. I brought extra clothes for Conner but no one else. Bad planning on my part. She was completely drenched with no sun to dry her out. Have you ever tried to peel of wet skinny jeans? It's not easy. Once Ryan was done, we headed off to the aquarium. This is a bad picture, but Conner loved these penguins and he discovered that if he used his finger on the glass like an ipad, the penguins followed his finger perfectly. It was really funny. He led them up and down over and over, and they followed his finger every time! Here is a simulated wave that crashes over your head. Conner loved this too. Here are the boys waiting expectantly for the wave... How exciting! The wave is here! Conner LOVED the sting rays because you were allowed to touch them. We stayed here for a really long time. R.J. loved it too. Until Conner thought it was a good idea to start tasting the water, then it was time to move on. Everywhere we went, this lady showed up (she was an employee). It was weird. Braden was so interested in everything, and really talked her ear off. He had a million questions, but he also felt inclined to teach her about everything, very funny. (so weird, the picture disappeared and I don't know how to get it back, oh well.) Sienna posing at the aquarium. As you can see, she's had a wardrobe change. Her jeans were unwearable so we had to stop at an Old Navy and buy an emergency outfit. We scored this skirt in the clearance section for 6 bucks. The jelly fish were awesome and Sienna took a million pictures. Most turned out awful, but this one was okay.

World's Largest Swim Lesson

2011-07-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVE the Guiness Book of World Records. We have the current edition, and they are always poring over it, sharing all the random facts with me. So when I saw the opportunity to participate in the World's Largest Swim Lesson, I knew we couldn't pass it up. The kids were SO excited, even though we had to arrive at 7:30 in the morning! That was brutal, but at least it was a nice, sunshiny day. Here's a nice picture of the kids squinting in the sunshine.... The goal was to have 25,000 kids receive a swim lesson at the EXACT same time all over the world, I think it was somewhere around 16 countries that were participating. Last year's world record was only 4,000 kids, so they were breaking the record by quite a bit! Here is Braden jumping in the water and practicing his life jacket skills... Sienna swimming on her back..... And I guess she's feeling cold right here?? Don't know what this expression is about.... R.J..... Check out R.J.'s graceful form.... And here are all the kids who participated at our local aquatic center... P.S. This happened a month ago, I'm trying to catch up my blog, I'm getting closer!

Sienna's Baptism

2011-07-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sienna was baptized on Wednesday, in Carpinteria, CA at our Pinney family vacation. It was ALL family and there are so many of us! It was a perfect day and so special. The spirit was strong and we feel blessed to have such a large, wonderful family. Sienna planned the program completely by herself, and it turned out perfectly. Thank you everyone for all your help on Sienna's special day. Ryan finally got to wear a jumpsuit! I don't know why, but he loves them and has always wished he had one. :o) My mom made Sienna's dress, using my wedding dress. Sienna loved it, and felt so beautiful.

Justin & Allie

2011-07-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Father's Day

2011-07-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

I know Father's Day was kind of a long time ago. I can't seem to get back on track, but whatever. It happened, here's the proof. I decided to get all domestic this Father's Day and it kind of turned out to be a bust. First of all, Ryan isn't an early riser, so this year I opted for a lunch menu instead of breakfast. I made BBQ beef sandwiches, but decided it would be "fun" to make some homemade potato rolls since Ryan loves potato bread. Well that was a bust. They took FOREVER to make, so he had his sandwich with a plain old hamburger bun. Another thing Ryan likes are Ho Ho's, which I find absolutely horrifying. But, I found a recipe for homemade Ho Ho's and thought, "fun!" Another bust. Those took longer than expected as well. So, his "lunch in bed" ended with a sandwich that was still yummy and some strawberries and Pepsi. We had potato rolls & Ho Ho's with our dinner. :o) Note to self: No more domestic diva aspirations! And yes, he's not really in bed anymore. I took too long to get the food ready so he had to hang out in our bedroom reading, so he could pretend to be served in bed by the kids. :o) P.S. The Ho Ho's were surprisingly delicious. But I totally forgot to take a picture. But I promise, they looked just like the originals.

Random Conner Cuteness

2011-06-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Movie in the Park

2011-06-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

I decided that Conner was ready for a movie in the park this year. In previous years, he was too much of a flight risk. We watched How to Train Your Dragon. It was FREEZING, Ryan had to go back home and get an arsenal of blankets. And there were technical difficulties with the screen, so we didn't get home until almost 11:30pm. We did it, it was fun, now we can move on. :o) The kids enjoyed all the free prizes more than the movie. :o)

MOM, I Stuck Up Here!

2011-06-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

Conner & Sienna were playing together upstairs. I hear Conner screaming, "MOM! I stuck up here, HELP!" I assumed he climbed up Braden's bunk bed and was scared to climb down. I should have known better.

Ouchy

2011-06-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Conner hurt himself, hardly at all. Sienna played mother and bandaged his thumbs with toilet paper and scotch tape. :o)

Nothing Sweeter...

2011-06-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

then a baby sleeping. And don't tell me he's not a baby!

Serve Your Fellow Man...

2011-06-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

To pass off a requirement for Faith in God, R.J. decided to serve his brother a picnic! He made tacos & burritos with leftovers from Sienna's birthday dinner.

The End

2011-06-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Cross Walk Duty is over, yippee!! I enjoyed it most days, if they were sunny & breezy. But there were some pretty freezing cold days where I wondered what in the world I was thinking. And I felt a little bit dorky in my get up, but anything to keep the kidlets safe!!

Sienna's 8th Birthday!

2011-06-18T09:01:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it, but my baby girl is 8! She woke up to birthday donuts, the movie Tangled, two shirts two headbands, and three pairs of shoes! She was very happy. Oh, almost forgot, she also got Justin Beiber baseball style fan cards. :o) We bought a couple of books to give to her classroom, and then for all her friends in class, we made these cds with all of her favorite songs, thanks Amy, for the suggestion, Sienna loved it! On the night of her birthday, we had a wonderful family dinner. We had yummy tacos, and then chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert. Somehow I convinced Sienna to have a party with just one friend. And then somehow forgot to take any pictures with that friend! She got two barbie dolls from her friend and plays with them constantly. They had pizza for dinner, watched Tangled and ate popcorn and licorice, had a fashion show, played with barbies, and stayed up all. night. long. Then we had delicious french toast made by dad for breakfast. Sienna crashed at approximately 3:30pm and slept till about 10am the next day!

USA Dress Up Day

2011-06-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Flag Day Yesterday!!

School Luau

2011-06-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

The kids really love our end of the year school luau. Mostly they just want a snow cone. This year I ordered the kids meals because it said it came with an ice pop, which I mistakenly thought was a small sized snow cone. It was just a popsicle. And my kids may never forgive me. Each grade performs a "hula" dance. Sienna is always very into it... After specifically telling Braden to stand where I could get a good picture, he went as far away from me as possible, stinker... Every year the 5th graders are notorious for picking a silly, funny song. This year it was "Tiny Bubbles." At first I thought it was cute and funny, until I realized the song was about champagne, and then I was annoyed that anyone thought a song about getting drunk was appropriate for 11-year-old's... But it was funny watching R.J. totally getting into it...

Girls Night!!

2011-06-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Last month the boys had a Father/Sons Campout. And even though I requested pictures, Ryan did not take a single one!! And it was Conner's first time too. He just does not understand the importance of capturing memories. But anyway, I took pictures because me & Sienna had our first official girls night! Woo Hoo! We started with a fabulous dinner of Taco Bell. :o) We then went to the movies and saw Rio, which Sienna really liked. I can't get passed the gross slobbery dog, yuck. After the movie we went to Dairy Queen and got banana split blizzards. Sienna loved having a special night, and didn't want it to end. When we got home after 10pm she told me she wasn't tired at all and wanted to do some scrapbooking! Too bad I was done and sent her promptly to bed. :o)

Snips and Snails...

2011-06-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

are so gross.

My Popcorn Party Secret

2011-05-30T21:50:00.001-07:00

For the past 4 or 5 months I have been exercising every single day, except Sunday. I'm tired and I hate it. The first 3 months I got up at 6 every morning so I could get it over with and have time for other things. But I hate it. I'm so tired and therefore, grumpy. So I've stopped getting up early. I still exercise every single day, except Sunday, but now I do it at 10am or sometimes not until after lunch, if I want to wait for Conner to go down for a nap. But usually I give him a bowl of popcorn and a Disney movie and his own little TV, and ignore him for an hour. Don't judge me! It's healthy popcorn! The downside: every time the TV comes on now he wants to know where is the popcorn?!

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission....

2011-05-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

I can't help it, my mind always associates boys who iron their own shirts with missionaries. And every Sunday it makes me giggle that I have a child who knows how to iron. And no, it wasn't me who taught him!

Mother's Day

2011-05-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is what I woke up to on Mother's Day morning... Double Chocolate Pancakes with Strawberries on top, AH-MAZ-ING!!! (I may have surreptitiously left this recipe sitting on the counter before I went to bed, along with hard to find ingredients. Whatever works, right?)

Easter

2011-05-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Our ward does a fun Easter breakfast, easter egg hunt, and fun games to celebrate Easter. My job was to hide 600 Easter eggs. This is what happened to me after sloshing through gross, wet, muddy grass... My feet were so wet and cold and there is still grass on those shoes that will not come off. Our neighborhood association also held an Easter egg hunt, but only Sienna was willing to pose with the Easter bunny. Easter morning... I love Easter baskets. Growing up, we always found our Easter baskets in the kitchen. Every year, for my kids, I put them somewhere different! I cannot figure out a good place for them that I want to continue as a tradition. Nobody seems to care where they find them anyway.

Brotherly Love

2011-04-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

More Funny Sleeping Habits

2011-04-25T20:48:00.001-07:00

R.J.'s 1st Band Performance / School Open House

2011-04-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

Open House is a wonderful time where we get to see all the great work our children have accomplished and spend ridiculous prices at the book fair. This year was extra special because it included R.J.'s very first band performance. Braden's rendition of a pregnant cow. R.J. showing off that he is the fast runner in the whole school. I could not match this silhouette to Sienna's profile. I still can't see it. Can you? This is the funniest picture. In Braden's class, everyone has their desk in groups of four. Except Braden. His desk is all by itself at the front of the room, right up against his teacher's desk. I'm sure you can guess the reason! Studly trumpet player

Dinosaurs!

2011-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

I had a weird dream about dinosaurs last night. I don't know why, that is so random. I can't remember it anymore but I remember waking up in the middle of the night and thinking, "how weird, I just had a dream about dinosaurs." And upon further reflection, I remembered helping Sienna with this Dinosaur Diorama a month ago. At the time, I was so proud of myself and Sienna for our astounding artistic abilities, without any help from Ryan at all! But then we went to open house and I saw all the other dioramas, and I want to go crawl under a hole somewhere and die of embarrassment. Oh well, we can't be good at EVERYTHING!

iphone vs ipad

2011-04-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

So Grateful...

2011-04-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

I'm grateful that this cute little body is washable! And since my furniture isn't, I'm grateful this cute little body only colored on himself and none of my furniture.

Saturday is a Special Day

2011-04-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

During the Fall we finally finished our backyard, and with our new backyard, came 3 fabulous garden boxes! Last Saturday, I planted my fabulous garden. We have TONS of tomatoes (I'm the only one who likes tomatoes, but I just can't help myself), cucumbers, zucchini, strawberries, tomatillos, banana peppers, serrano peppers, and cilantro. I really hope everything grows! Conner keeps massacring my cucumbers. It's weird how he keeps going for the cucumbers, he's killed 3 plants so far. But don't worry, Ryan bought me 3 more today, and they are ready for planting! I also took Sienna to the Home Depot so she could make this fabulous basket. I think it's supposed to be for plants, but she wanted to paint it purple and give it a special function of some sort in her bedroom.

Starstruck

2011-04-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

My kids are dancers! Our school had a fun dance performance, and here is there debut. Braden was very stoic and serious the whole time. R.J. had a break dance solo. And if you're bored and have nothing better to do, you can watch there dances in their entirety. I know you want to.

Number 3

2011-04-05T09:49:00.001-07:00

Conner turned 3 on Sunday! It's so weird. I still think of him as my baby. It was the same day as General Conference, so it was a day of laying around and eating junk food all day! Yes, I made cinnamon rolls!! This is my first time EVER and it actually worked! I've always been overwhelmed by cinnamon rolls, they scare me. It turns out they aren't so hard, but it takes FOREVER and you (atleast, I) make a gigantic mess! I wanted to cut the recipe in half but Ryan wouldn't let me. So I made FIFTY-FOUR cinnamon rolls. That's 9 apiece... I don't think Conner really understands what it means to have a birthday. But I sang him the birthday song all day, and that made him giggle all day, too. And he really likes blowing out candles. And I'm trying to teach him to say, "I'm three!" Sometimes he will, but most of the time he won't. Happy birthday, Conner, everybody loves you!!

Sleeping Habits

2011-03-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

Number 9

2011-03-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

On March 20, Braden celebrated his 9th birthday. Along with celebratory donuts, he woke up to a couple of new kites and some legos, his favorite. I never take enough pictures. :o( We had a family dinner after church where we enjoyed pizza, candy popcorn, and some more donuts, but this time, handmade by Ryan. Yummy! Braden got some more fun presents from family. A week later, Braden invited some of his friends to go to Sky Zone to celebrate his birthday. I went online and checked times and prices, but it never occurred to me that they would sell out! Ryan saved the day and took them to SunSplash instead where they played lots of arcade games, and a couple intense games of laser tag. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the actual cake, but it was nothing fancy since I'm the one who made it. Braden is not a huge chocolate fan (weird, I know) and insisted that his cake be COMPLETELY white. So he had white cake with white frosting, and some more white frosting to decorate it. :o) And more great presents... Thanks everyone who celebrated this fun week with us. Braden is a fun, unique boy who keeps us laughing. Love you, Braden

Potty Training Has Commenced!

2011-03-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

FYI: If you happen to be potty training at your house, I advise AGAINST walking through your house barefoot. I'm just sayin'.....

St. Patrick's Day Fun

2011-03-21T12:34:00.001-07:00

Conner was angry about the green milk... School lunch treat... Don't worry, we had corned beef & cabbage for dinner, I just forgot to document it with a photo!

It's 80's Night!

2011-03-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

The school had a mother/son 80's dance a couple weeks ago (I know, I'm a little behind in my blogging.). Poor R.J. was at home puking, so me & Braden had to enjoy the night without him. We look awesome, right?! :o)

Just a Friendly Reminder...

2011-03-13T17:27:00.001-07:00

...to visit the temple this month! If you don't recognize these guys, may I suggest, hurry! This gave me a laugh, I'm not really admonishing anybody. :o)

Where's Conner??

2011-03-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

Blue & Gold Dinner

2011-03-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

Last week was Braden's first Blue & Gold dinner. He made corn on the cob cupcakes for the cake decorating contest and won the prize for most creative cake. He also earned a couple of arrow points and the music belt loop. Fun night! There were a few sick people at our house, so me & Braden enjoyed the night as just the two of us, which doesn't happen very often, it was nice.

SICK

2011-02-25T16:12:00.001-08:00

Things are not going well here at the Pinney household...

Sisters

2011-02-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

This weekend at Sunday's wedding, all of my sisters were finally together! I can't honestly remember the last time all six of us were together without at least one person missing. I also cannot understand why everyone always insists on facing the sun in pictures! Who wants pictures of themselves squinting?? It's so annoying. But no one would listen to me, when I tried to pose us on the other side of the tree! Because, heaven forbid, we have the sun behind us! Me, Lois, Liz, Linda, Theresa, & Bobbi Lois, Me, Liz, Mom, Linda, Theresa, & Bobbi TWINS! Me & Theresa More Twins!! Me & Theresa, and Jenna & Jamie (my sister Liz's twins)

Sunday's Wedding

2011-02-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

First Dance Daddy-Daughter Dance Conner watching the dancing Braden constructing something with the toasting glasses (plastic) Sienna danced all night Sunday's family Mom & Pyper With mom (aka grandma) With parents (my sister) Sisters & Mom Cutting the cake Bobbi, Me, Theresa

Did You Make Your Bed??

2011-02-18T05:37:00.000-08:00

So, I decided to tackle Braden's bed situation. I'm always telling him to make his bed, but I honestly don't check. It's a high bunk bed, I can't see what's going on, so I ignore it most days. Well, I wish I had a BEFORE picture. It was like a little nest, it actually looked quite comfortable. But I started pulling off blankets and throwing them on the floor, and he had 11 blankets! ELEVEN!! He also had two pillowcases, but no pillows, one stuffed animal, and NO SHEETS! Weird. So I made it beautiful, with a pillow, and only TWO blankets, made him study it for awhile, and told him this is what he should make it look like after he wakes up each morning. We shall see... While I love the IDEA of this loft bed, after it took me TWENTY minutes to make it, I'm seriously considering selling it! I hate making bunk beds, it's so hard!

Valentine's Day Loot

2011-02-15T15:56:00.000-08:00

When the kids got home from school with Valentine's treats in tow, they literally THREW their backpacks and dumped the candy bags. Nice. (See all their stuff scattered EVERYWHERE in the background?) After we cleaned up the tornado, we had a yummy dinner of homemade Costa Vida salads and chocolate fondue for dessert. This year we had our typical chocolate-caramel sauce, but we tried white chocolate for the first time also, and it was delicious.

Ice Cream For Breakfast

2011-02-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

That's right. We know how to party. (Don't worry, we added sliced bananas, so it's okay.)

My Techie

2011-02-11T12:57:00.001-08:00

Conner loves the Ipad. It makes me laugh, because he actually accomplishes things on it. He knows right where to find all the games. But, he doesn't understand my laptop now, and gets so frustrated when he puts his finger on the screen and NOTHING happens. It must be broken.

I Heart Pizza

2011-02-07T12:50:00.001-08:00

I never make pizza because I can't roll out dough. I get very frustrated and feel like a failure as a homemaker. :o) Whatever, I decided to try a friend's "easy" recipe from her blog here. I still can't roll out dough, and my pizza looked NOTHING like Amy's pizza. Her crust looked so beautiful and round, mine was sticky and not round. But guess what? It was still delicious. And I redeemed myself by making heart-shaped pepperonis, so I'm not a failure after all! And since there will be no wasting, we made a second pizza for the cut-out pepperoni extras.

Here Comes The Sun!

2011-02-05T17:39:00.001-08:00

Thank goodness for warm, sunny days to lift our spirits! I am so done being cold, and I know it's nothing like what others in the world are experiencing, but I still hate it! Today it was 70 degrees and we ate lunch outside. I'm so happy right now.

Daddy Daughter Masquerade Ball

2011-02-02T10:40:00.001-08:00

Pinewood Derby

2011-01-30T15:55:00.001-08:00

He's a Natural!

2011-01-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

R.J. was really looking forward to band in the 5th grade, but then budget cuts happened. We are so grateful to one of our teachers who has decided to start a little school band. R.J.'s instrument of choice is the trumpet. He is excited to follow in the footsteps of his Uncle Jon and Grandpa Jan. Today was his first band practice. As you can see from this video, he was born for this!!

Fishies?

2011-01-21T10:41:00.001-08:00

I've become accustomed to Braden's peculiar ways. This recent antic is, shall we say, creative? He has taken to putting pickles in baggies full of water and calling them fish. I thought I confiscated all the "fish", but no, my very confused toddler found a bag this morning and will not relinquish it! He keeps saying, "Hi fishies, look at the fishies, my fishies!" Then he'll look at me and say, "Pickle?" Then he'll go back to calling them fishies, and then say, "Pickles are washing?" I think he's flummoxed. I thought maybe he would like to eat the pickles, since he usually loves them, but that just stressed him out. I started to dump the water in the sink and he completely freaked out and kept pointing to the fish bowl, where the REAL fish are, and said, "NO! Put them here!" So, when Braden comes home from school, we will be having a little chat. NO MORE SWIMMING PICKLES!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was very small, one of my favorite traditions in our family is the Santa Claus pinata on Christmas Eve. My mom, an artist, paints Santa on a big paper bag. Then, she would cut tons of strips of white paper and would let us help her curl them for Santa's beard. The pinata was filled with candy, but also one present each from Santa Claus. This is a tradition that I really want to keep going with my family. But somehow it has been very difficult. With so much of Ryan's family around, we have so many parties going on, and Santa gets put on the back burner. This year, I kept making plans, but it kept not working out. So, this weekend I knew it was now or never. It seemed like such a HUGE effort to get out the Santa bag, figure out how to hang it, and of course, fill it. So we did an interesting version of this tradition. And the kids were just as happy. First we gathered the children. Then, I nicely handed each of them their gift from Santa. After they opened their presents, Ryan threw candy at them. And that's how you do a Happy New Year pinata!

Neverending Christmas

2010-12-31T23:49:00.000-08:00

We're the lucky ones. Christmas seems to never end at our house. With so much of Ryan's family in the area, we get to open presents FIVE times! Here's our final Christmas celebration, until next year... Thanks Papa Michael, Debra, & Lucille for a great day!

Christmas Aftermath

2010-12-29T14:02:00.001-08:00