Happy 2009!!!

BIG party at our house tonight!! ... and you're looking at it :)

We had a last minute pizza and brownie party before our huge fire work display

(see video below).

This morning we had a delicious breakfast at the Bea's house-
and the entertainment was a magic show by Ryan (Paris' long time friend) and his Dad.

The captivated audience- Mason, Paris, Laura and Alex.

Paris and Laura set up a fancy tea party in the bathroom- the only place they could have privacy from the boys.

Paris has been baking away with her new Easy Bake Oven that Santa brought.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve-

Roman, Paris, Alex and Mason

The men in their Christmas sweaters and khakis :)We slipped dinner in before church this year and it worked out great-

Opening the first presents-

Paris heading to bed in her new nightie with her new "American Girl" doll.

Mason is totally obsessed with peppermint candy now- he was in heaven to receive this huge sucker-

Christmas morning... racing down the stairs to see what Santa brought-

Roman soldiers off to battle.

Paris and Daddy exchanging presents.

Paris modeling new outfits and her new doll house.

Alex as "The Hulk"... his lifelong goals are now complete.

... and playing with his new bat cave.

We visited the Jelly Belly Factory yesterday...

We took a fun field trip to jelly bean land, which is only 30 minutes away. The factory is huge and they give free tours all day long. The tour includes a lot of free jelly beans and samples of all flavors.

Guess who had the most fun?

Returning from one of many trips to the sample bar :)

Christmas preparations have been underway...

The kids made and frosted sugar cookies this week.

Mason's masterpiece was a cookie with raw dough spread on top then a little frosting to boot. The next photo is a close-up... I know it looks very appetizing!

Paris made some delicious peppermint (crushed candy canes) chocolate chip scones!

Alex, Paris and Mason relaxing on the couch.

Building a masterpiece-

This was Alex's first professional haircut since he was 11 months old. I've done all of the shearing since... he was well overdue for a decent cut.

A Night Out on the Town!!

Paul and Paris had a special date tonight to see 'A Christmas Carol'. She was very excited to dress up and go out to a musical with Dad!!

Kindergarten Singing Program

Paris had her first singing performance at school yesterday. She had so much fun and was thrilled to be standing on "bleachers". She talked about them all week. She is on the left side in a pink coat.This song about did me in. Between the little voices, the signing (sign language) of the song and the "May peace...joy... love be always with you", I cried through the whole song. Hopefully it's just the excitement of the holidays getting to me, otherwise I might be losing it :)

Visit to Santa

A house in a nearby neighborhood decorates with a million (no joke) lights and it is an amazing sight. Santa visits every night to see the kids who stop by. Paris, Alex and Mason even got to sit in Santa's sleigh.Here Alex is sharing his wish list... an Incredible Hulk mask and smash fists- Santa said he would do his best :)

The lights, scenery and Christmas music at this place are amazing... we have already gone by three times this year and plan to go many more.

The Christmas Tree is Up!

We picked the first tree we saw!Loaded up and ready to go-

Paris and Alex decorating-

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nonna and Robert joined us for dinner.