Rock Stars... Christmas Jam session

La-La (Angela) on the drums, Daimon warming up his  vocals

Cousin Jayla  rocks the guitar

Cousin Isaac is impressed with everyone's music abilities

Daimon's really rockin' now!

Frosty the Snowman...

We don't get this white stuff in Arizona!

A boy and his Daddy..... it's a guy thing

Ellie's determined not to let the boys have all the fun!

Thumpity, thump, thump...... Frosty's on his way

Mission accomplished..... time for a snow break

Christmas Morning - 2008

Patiently waiting to see what Santa brought

First look at all the bounty!

WOW!!!  A new bike, how did Santa get it to Utah?

YEAH!!  Christmas is a kids dream come true!

SPAM??? Don't ask, it's a boyhood nostalgia thing!

Can you guess what Hayden's favorite movie is?

"Bah humbug, go suck a pickle"  A Poppy surprise for Daimon!

"Go fish"  A poppy surprise for Ellie!

La-La found the perfect present for Audrey

Nana is thrilled to have the grandkids for Christmas!

Christmas Eve - 2008

Jayla and Daimon bringin' down the house!

Kelly and baby Carston, can I keep him?

Hayden wanted to wear his stocking

The Browns forgot their stockings at home, thanks Poppy for lending us your snow socks!

Isaac and Daimon are feelin' the love

Present Game, it's tradition

OOOHHH AAAHH!  mouthwash for Ellie

Daimon will keep warm with his cocoa

Jayla's thrilled with the mustard platter

WOW!! Kelly won flushable wipes

Benny won scented lotion, don't worry Ellie took it off his hands ASAP!

The gang!

Celebrate with a Lunch Date!

To celebrate our first official day of Christmas break the kids and I went to lunch and did some shopping. Ellie strikes a pose and Daimon is rockin' it in my camo hat! These kids are so much fun!

This is Neither "Hair" Nor There but....We Love Our Stylists

After our last day of school we headed to the salon for hair cuts. The kids LOVE going to the salon because they love the head massage they get when their hair is washed. Like any woman Ellie loves having her hair styled and being fussed over. Of course there is one more reason Ellie loves the salon..... BRANDI! The kids talk Brandi and Suzanne's ear off and they are so gracious to let them! We LOVE our stylists!

Class Christmas Parties

I got to volunteer for both kids class parties. Both classes did several stations where the kids did a variety of activities. Ellie's class made pudding, fruit pies, an ornament, and decorated cookies. They also had snacks and watched a movie. Daimon's class made cinnamon scented ornaments, book marks, decorated cookies, pinned the nose on rudolph, made snow flakes and had a book exchange. Both kids thoroughly enjoyed their festivities and we are all glad it's now winter break!

Ellie's BFF, Or So She Wishes!

Meet Brandi, Ellie's current idol! Brandi is ALMOST related to us. She is the niece of my brother in law Tim Raynond (did you follow that?). We have known her since she was little. She used to babysit Daimon and Ellie when they were little. Her mom is our hair stylist. Now you know Brandi too! She is kind enough to let Ellie believe she's her "playmate". For FHE the Brown and Raymond clan met up at a local hospital to donate toys and books to the children's unit. We then went to Mama (Nancy) Raymonds house for hot chocoate and cinnamon rolls. Ellie did not leave Brandi's side the whole night..... until Brandi's boyfriend showed up, darn those boyfriends!

Tempe Town Lake Light Parade

We got together with our Spratley family for a night of festivities and to enjoy the light parade at Tempe Town Lake. It was chilly for Arizona but a good time was had by all. The kids rode in the back of the truck on the way to the lake and sang Christmas caroll's, very festive! We went back to G & G's after and had hot cocoa and doughnuts! Thanks uncle Jon for making a doughnut run!

All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go, Ben's Work Christmas Dinner!

The stigma of work Christmas parties does not hold true for Ben's annual Christmas dinner. We look forward to it every year. It's hosted at our favorite restaurant Maestro's Ocean Club. It's fun to dress up and enjoy a night out at a fancy restaurant with my favorite guy.... isn't he handsome!

Kayaking with the ladies!

Kayaking on the Salt River with the ladies. Cara, Liz, Lisa and Jen all joined in the fun. "The Nuggett" aka Zane was the token male for the outing. Lisa was getting ahead and he kept telling her "mom, wait for all my ladies". The scenery was something to behold. We saw an eagles nest but unfortunately no eagle. However fate shined on us and the wild mustangs ran across the river right in front of us.... breathtaking! Thanks to Jen for brining along your camera and snapping some shots!