Utter Randomness

So what happens in three days together with family? Well, the first day it was raining so we play with new toys...remote control anything is always fun...read a lot of books and hung out together.

Made rice krispy trains...

This is just cute to me...

...fed babies...

Oh, this was funny...J got hurt and so we called the emergency doctor...in this case she made a drawing of his hand and explained how it was going to get better...then all the kids had to have a drawing of their hand.  It was very cute!  Later, K and J tried to hold hands while biking on individual bikes...we called the emergency doctor again, and again when J fell on his own...you get the idea...it's quite helpful to have drs in the family!  :-)

...played tickle monster...

...tried to get pics of the kids...Em telling C which way to look...

Someone had to have gotten this one...they are all looking in the same direction.

K showing C how to smile...but did we ever get a pic of the three girls?  Not so much.

We also played lots of frisbee...without going into all the details, in this game, you try to hit the can. If you miss, your partner, who is standing next to the can, tries to redirect the frisbee so it does hit the can. Check out Sammy running through my photo!

SO this is me 'redirecting' the frisbee...

Yep, some time was spent on ipads, phones and the like...I was amazed how well they shared.  It is so nice they are getting older now.

They even share toys.

...sitting in the steps chatting...

...even the big boys started playing with the toys...

...painting nails...

...remaking friends...

Then  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

We did New Year, my birthday and Uncle J's birthday all in one.

Oh, we even had a tea party.

Well, that about covers 10% of it. Hope your holidays were as great as ours!! God Bless!!

Christmas

Well, let's start with "Christmas Day"...M had the camera all night so I will do my best to tell the story from a non-photographic point of view. Obviously we started with a cousins shot in front of the tree.

A huge meal...

Ok, the real Erickson's dropping gang signs.

Then in was time for presents...check out mom in the background.

Oh, but wait, first we needed to read the story...

...and pray...(my fav pic btw)

...and then it was finally present time!!

What one year old doesn't end up in the paper?

So far, these magnets have spent more time on the fridge than the doll. When I asked her why, she said, "I want to see ALL my outfits mom!" and gave me a look that said, "Duh!" all over it. I am so scared of her growing up I cannot accurately describe it to you.

Auntie Heidi made a memory game from photos of us...very cute!

That is actually a storage container...for a smaller size than I got I think...they got stuck.  :-)

New dress up...oh boy!  Let's just stop right here and I will share with you my memory of the night - it began with super excited kids being stopped from opening presents and being told they had to sit down and wait while we read the story of Jesus.  They did surprisingly well.  I couldn't hear the story so I zoned out.

I was pulled back in suddenly as, in a flash, a mass of presents were spread all over and I, well, I began to panic.  Opening presents in my family is very organized and deliberate.  My deep fears of chaos were cut off and interrupted suddenly by the loud, crazy, joyful screaming of a young boy who just opened a transformer he wanted.  He was crazy!!  (And I mean this in the nicest way!  At least I was laughing and smiling.  :-)).

I remember having the passing thought that my kids have never really responded to a gift like that and maybe it was just because he was a boy that he could be so loud.  We opened a couple more presents and the next thing I knew, the girls were pulling dress-up clothes out of a bag and the pitch and decibel level of K's voice steadily rose until she was in my face, talking so loud and so excited that the world just basically disappeared around me as all I could hear or see was her.  I sat, staring at her - amazed, laughing, and trying to listen to the craziness coming out of her mouth - for I don't know how long and then the only thought that passed through my mind was, "Well, I guess I was wrong!"  The girls went ballistic...I guess Em ran up to Uncle Mark and yelled a bunch of nonsensical stuff to him and well, K told me all about everything she was going to do and where she was going to go and who she was going to share it with.  Honestly, I don't remember anything after that.  I was more than a little overwhelmed and it took a while to calm my nerves again.  :-)

Lots of hugs all around.

I believe that is the transformer...

Belle of the ball...is it sad that I know that phrase so well it came to mind?

Telling Nana...

Oh yeah, there were adults there too...somewhere.

They loved all their toys and have been playing with them ever since.  Thanks Aunties, Uncles and Grandparents!