Christmas Morning, 2008

Santa came through with the storm troopers!

The blasters from Aunt Janet (that mommy picked out :)) were a HUGE hit!

Man are they loud!

I love this pic - such a typical 2 year old!

These cheap drums that Santa picked up at Kroger for 20 bucks literally lasted 10 minutes...but they sure were fun... for 10 minutes.  I THINK Daddy might be able to come up with a way to "SIX" (fix) them!

BEFORE...

AND

AFTER

During the Holiday season, I decided the toys were running us out of the main floor - so they ALL went down to the unfinished, yet very play-able basement! And now I have my very first dining room ever :)

Colleen is getting married!!!

Colleen's boyfriend of two years, Doug, asked her to marry him on Christmas Eve.  It was a big surprise for Colleen and we couldn't be happier for the two of them!

Congratulations, Colleen and Doug and here's to many years of happiness and memories! I love you guys - such a cute couple!

This is right when Colleen and Doug showed up at my parents' house.  We were all crying - OF COURSE - this is too much...very hard to believe. And look at that rock - WOW...well done, Doug!!

The ADORABLE newly engaged couple! They both smiled like this the ENTIRE day!

CHEERS to the happy couple! NOW LET'S have an O'Malia wedding!!!!!!!

OFF LIMITS game is Sooo ON LIMITS!

The boys would constantly try to turn their comfy chairs over and jump on them. I must have told (or SHOUTED) them 4 million times that they are not allowed to jump on the chairs...they came from Pottery Barn and ANYTHING that comes from PB does NOT get jumped on - plus it scares me a tad.  This went on for months and months...finally one day, a few weeks ago, I let it go - I gave in...remembering the fun stool at my Great Grandma and Grandpa Ramsey's house...we spent hours flipping over it and jumping off it - back and forth - back and forth.  My boys played this jump on the chairs game for hours...not only did it keep them occupied - it tired their little butts out! We can't go outside- so what is the next best thing?? 

JUMPING ON THE FURNITURE!

Oh yeah - my rule...the first hint of tears/crying...the game is over! and their rule...must take shirts off! 

Christmas at the Zoo

For the third year in a row, David and I took the boys down to the zoo for Christmas at the Zoo.  The boys LOVE it and  we have made it our tradition!  We went on a train ride, rode the MERRY go round (2x), saw the dolphin show, ate junk and saw lots of cool  animals.  It was a very nice evening and everyone behaved...for the most part!

Danny enjoying a ride on the MERRY go round!

Connor having fun on the MERRY go round!

 Danny on the choo choo train - the highlight of the evening! boy was it cold - brrrrr!

We had to snuggle close to stay warm  - no problem for me - snuggling with Danny is one of my favorite things to do!

Daddy and Connor sat right behind us! We loved the train ride.

Connor's Junior Kindergarten Christmas Program

Connor chose to be a king for his program and he did a FABULOUS job! He was very into his performance and he sang louder than all 19 of his classmates...PUT TOGETHER! It really was a adorable and as I was video taping the show - tears were streaming down my face! I am such a wimp - but he's my baby - I CANNOT believe he is old enough to even be in a program!!! I was so proud of him.  Thank you Mom Mom for coming to the show - we hope you enjoyed it.

Such a handsome king

Thank God for the child on the end..makes Connor look like tall - HA!

An action shot!

These are a few of my favorite things

The boys' art projects are my favorite! I LOVE to see the things that they bring home.

I don't want to forget these things and they are so special, I thought I should blog about them.  I don't think I have a famous artist on my hands...but their masterpieces sure are GORGEOUS to me!!!

Danny made this at Michelle's  - isn't it clever?  

I did catch him licking it!

This is Connor's Christmas tree - yes, I know - it really is a tree!  Charlie Brown has always been my favorite - so who cares what the tree looks like! I think it's lovely.

Danny made this candy cane all by himself!

This is Baby Jesus in his bed...and when Connor does a good deed, we add a piece of straw to it.  I took all the straw out so I can remember his beautiful artwork.

Connor is so proud of this chain, that he had his teacher carry it up to me after school so he would NOT crush it!  He told me the last time they made these at school he could not do it - but NOW he can! He was beaming and I think it looks perfect on our tree!

Mom's 60th Surprise Birthday Party!

The night was a huge success and mom was so surprised. 

We all had been looking forward to the party for weeks and it was well worth the wait. Although my mom claims she does NOT like surprises...I can't think of another person who deserved the spotlight, for just one night, as much as she does.  We tricked her!!!

My aunts and sisters and I bought my mom a gorgeous eternity diamond ring and we stole her away from the party for just a bit to watch her open it! It's awesome.

 

This is my favorite picture of the night!  Everyone had so much fun!

The O'Malia clan - it is RARE that we are together without the 5 grandkids... but every now and then we leave them at home!

Mom's name in lights - How appropriate!!!