12.25.09

So our kids weren't real excited about the big guy this year (as you can tell from the photo). But that all changed when they realized all the cool stuff Santa had brought them. Don't worry that our $10 train from Ikea got the same reaction and playing time as the retro blue Pottery Barn kitchen I found on Craig's list!

We hosted Brandon's parents and sister and her family this year and had a blast! We hit the train park, went hiking, shopping, and ate more food than a normal family does in a year! Thanks for making the trek Christensens, best Christmas EVER!

Chase Turns One!

Okay so Chase's birthday was actually 2 months ago (November 8th)...get off my back, it was a busy holiday season! Despite his expression here I think the big guy really enjoyed his birthday (and I promise he wore clothes)! I sent out Rubber duckies as invitations and one of my friends thought it was a toy for her new baby and missed the party! If you are getting something wierd in the mail guys it's probably from me! We had duck cupcakes (thanks no fuss fabulous!) and duck prints leading through the house and I let the kids fish ducks out of the pool for prizes. Does it get any better than that? NO! Chase was ready for

his nap before we got to his presents so we opened those later...thanks everyone for coming he loved it! Chase you're gettin' so big!

Phoenix...Where Have You Been All My Life?

No disrespect to all the places I've lived in my life but Phoenix is absolutely the best place EVER! It's warm and sunny ALL the time, has great shopping, great food and is close (sort-of) to family! We have had a blast since we moved in! We bought every pool toy possible only to realize our kids don't LOVE the pool and most times would rather take a bath in our tub (thanks guys! would've been good to know before we grabbed the house with a pool!) Here are a few things we have been doing this fall...

Here are Cooper and Chase hittin' the finger paints!
This was at the "Boo at the Zoo!" Halloween day. It was Super hot so we let Coop hit the fountains (which he actually liked more than the animals)!

Here are our little trick-or-treaters a monkey and a mouse! They had a super great time and we enjoyed all their candy! Thanks guys!

More pictures to come...Please feel free to come down and visit and give Phoenix a test run before you move down...or just pack your bags and head our way!

Free Hot Lunch Date Box...

Hello everyone!

Hot lunch is doing a giveaway at http://www.livingmymoment.com/.

here's how you enter:

1. go to www.livingmymoment.com/page/3 (this girl can seriously blog!)

2. Hot Lunch should be at the top of the page.

3. Follow the instructions to win your very own Hot Lunch Date Box!

Please, please, please sign up to win...its free!

thanks for your support! I love you man!

Cooper's Tractor Birthday!

So Coop turned 2! We found out he loves tractors...which makes sense since here in Iowa he sees more tractors than cars. So I talked with our local tractor dealer and had them drive this tractor into our backyard and we borrowed it for the party.



Coop was a pretty big fan of the tractor and I don't think he blinked for like 3 hours! It was the best! I filled our baby pool with dirt and trucks and cars and tractors and the kids loved it...not there parents so much.


We played pin the rocks on the tractor and did a rock toss. Coop didn't really eat his cake but he did want us to relite his candes llike 50 times.

Here is Coop and dad on the tractor.

Here is Cooper spending some one-on-one time with his new BFF.

We really hope Coop doesn't notice when the guy comes to take the tractor away tomorrow. At least he had some good memories and some photographic proof it was here! Happy Birthday big guy! We love you so much!

Coop Can Almost Speak English...

Our little coop has been working on his vocab and here are a few things he can say...

Pitt - EE - Poo = peek-a-boo (obviously)

Pie - Yo = Flower, grass and on special occasions trees

pem = pet him... referring to any animal he sees or even hairy people get the pem

milt = milk...I don't have the heart to tell him its a k not a t.

saw = chase...which is better than at the beginning when chase was the same word as cheese and geese.

beep, beep = which means put my milk in the microwave because I like it warm!

fip - fop = flip flop of course which is just in time for summer :)

Pee = please

diaper = diaper

diaper = sprinkler... so it makes our walks interesting when he is pointing at peoples sprinkers saying diaper

BEACH BABIES...

Best vacation ever! Seriuosly! We had a Christensen family reunion in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and I loved every minute of it! Once we knew it would take 21 hours to drive we did what any normal parent would do...drove to Best Buy and bought a DVD player to go on the back of our headrests for the kids. Great idea right? thats what we thought... until we found that Cooper had a better time seeing how many fruit snacks he could stick to the screen than letting baby einstein teach him his shapes and colors. All in all the road trip was fun. Once we got there we spent our days on the beach. After a few days of basking in the sun nonstop we starting feeling guilty like maybe we should introduce the kids to more than just sand...that was Brandons idea...I was good with just the sand...so we went to the Wright Brothers Museum.





The kids loved it as you can tell from Chases face and we got quite the calve workout climbing up to the memorial...thanks wright brothers for making your starting point so dang high!!!



Cooper learned about kites and sand crabs and Chase learned that the sand tastes just as good as the baby food his parents give him.




We ate delicious crab with Chad and Lisa and scarfed down Duck Doughnuts AKA the best doughnuts money can buy!!! Shout outs...Lisa Christensen you are the best freakin' photographer ever!!! thanks for taking the time!!! Mike and Denise...loved the location loved the company...you guys are the best In-Laws a girl could have!!!

I am a Capricorn and I like rocky road ice cream and long walks on the beach...