Hunter's FIRST haircut.

Julia and I had a girls day at the beginning of January.  I love our girls days so much. We went to Arizona Mills (I haven't been there FOR-EV-ER).  It was fun checking out all of the deals and what-not.  We shopped and caught up on life.  While we were there, we passed The Rainforest Cafe and decided to grab a bite.  The last time we ate at the Rainforest Cafe was with my cousin Janina and my Aunt Lana.  I just remember thinking it was the coolest concept.  I think I was seriously in 6th or 7th grade.  Anyway, Hunter LOVED it. He was calling all of gorillas "doggies".  It was so funny.  When the 'rainstorm' happened, the lights would flicker on and off so Hunter would point up to them and babble a whole stream of words.  It was as if he was chewing out the lights for acting up. Hilarious. After lunch, we went to get Hunter's haircut.  I was VERY hesitant because he had a whole head of beautiful blonde curls.  I knew I had to cut it because he was starting to look like Billy Ray Cyrus circa 1993. 

I was so nervous!  Hunter did really well, it only took about 8 suckers to keep him still!  

Sticky face + Falling hair = Nothing good.

Hunter had a full beard by the time we were done. I was laughing so hard!

After the cut we stopped by the pet shop. He was LOVING the doggies! He would run up and down the aisle screaming 'doggie! doggie! doggie!'  This boy loves dogs!

Before:(I miss those curls!!)

After:

He looks like such a big kid now!!

Bring it on 2010. Bring it on.

I have never been really into new year resolutions.  Although I do have plenty to resolve, I hate getting all gung ho just to burn out mid-february.  This year, I want to change things on my own terms...because that's not like me at all. :) I have put a lot of thought in what I learned from 2009 and what I want to change in my life.

2009 taught me:

..that it is ok to fail. But it is only ok if you learn from it.

...that being a mom is freaking hard.  It is crazy rewarding and amazing, but it is difficult.

....that deciding to be happy is a lot easier than being miserable and waiting for someone to cheer you up.

...that everyone's problems are the worst thing in the world, to them. Just like my problems were the worst thing to me. Sound like 'duh but remember that when listening to a friend.

...that the more you have on your plate, the more time you have. This amazed me.  I heard it before, but as soon as I started stuffing my schedule I realized that the house stayed cleaner and the laundry got done.  I never had a minute to become unmotivated.

***There is so so so much more that I learned, but those are just a few of the lessons that stuck out.***

As for 2010, Some friends and I decided to make a Bucket List.  We had a long talk about how we want to start working towards improving our lives.  I feel like some of these items are achievable in a year and I am curious to see how far I get. 

My Bucket List:

(in no particular order)

1. Get out of Debt (Sounds silly to be on a bucket list, but I don't think many achieve this before they die)

2. Learn Spanish. I have always wanted to learn a language and I figured Spanish would make the most sense seeing as we live in AZ.  

3. Learn to play the violin/cello.  There won't be any west side story songs this time.

4. Read 12 non-fiction books a year. 

5. Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity, a retirement home and just more in general.

6. Grow a Veggie Garden.

7. Search, Ponder and pray.  Find a church/religion that fits.

8. Keep a journal and write at least once a week.

9. Take dance lessons with Mike.

10. Tell those close to me how much they mean to me and how much I respect them in a written letter. Wouldn't it be nice to get something other than bills in the mail?

11. Get a college degree.

12. Run a marathon.

13. Fly an airplane. I deleted this one like five times because I am scared, but it's something I've always wanted to do, so here it is.  

14. Write a children's book.

15. Sew a dress.

16. Travel the world.  I was going to specify, but I really just want to see it all. 

17. Brighten someones day. Every.single.day. 

18. Go on a cruise.

19. Fly on a trapeze. You know you want to too.  

20. Surf.

21. Witness or be a part of something hugely abnormal.  Like those people frozen in Grand Central Station or the No Pants Subway ride.  
22.Go to NYC and watch the ball drop on New Years Eve
23. Party at Marti Gras.
24. Go to a superbowl.

Well, that is all I have so far.  I know I will be adding so much more.  What is your bucket list?  

New Years 2010!

New Years Eve Mike's sister Melissa got married!  After the ceremony we all went to Pappadeaux (i <3 Pappadeaux) for dinner.

Hunter was having a grand-ol-time dancing to the band outside.

Dancing with Daddy!

Hunter loves to eat lemons, rind and all.  He totally cringes but LOVES to eat them anyway.

Bitter beer face.

Here is Paul (Melissa's husband) and Emery (Melissa's daughter) dancing.  It was super cute!

I love this picture!  We always joke about the Thomas family's love for mayonnaise.  When we ordered oysters Tim asked the waiter for extra Mayo and this is what he brought.  Yes people, that is a dessert cup filled with MAYO! Julia, eat your heart out.  :)

Mikey loves feeling like a big kid.  When we asked him what he wanted to eat, he insisted on getting crab.  I was blown away, but he loves it!  I think he may just love the melted butter that they give you to dip it in.  He wanted to try an oyster too, but that was a different story.  He got about one bite in and started gagging and spit it out.  Ya, thats exactly how I feel about oysters.  Salty snot. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2009

I was so glad we got to talk to Jordan this year for pretty much as long as we wanted.  I can remember in the past, talking to Nick and Clayton with a time constraint.  It was so nice to hear his voice and listen to what life is like in the D.R. It was hard to hear that he spend the three days prior to Christmas in the hospital with a parasite.  He downplayed it quite a bit, but I know how miserable that can be in the comfort of your own home, let alone somewhere foreign.  We love you Jordan and we missed you terribly.

Thomas side Christmas:

Christmas Eve we go to Mike's parents house where the festivities kick off.  Traditionally, we have done the whole she-bang Christmas Eve and save the extended family hoopla for Christmas Day. That works really well when my family does Christmas morning.  This year my family did Christmas afternoon so we missed the extended family dinner.  It worked out though and was a great year!

Grammy and Papa with Hunter.

The three grandkids on Mike's side.  Hunter was not a huge fan of taking this picture which seemed to be the trend for him this year.

There is always great food for the holidays.  I love Pauline's spinach dip!

This year we all pitched in to buy Tim and Pauline a big screen TV.  I'm so glad that it came together because it was so fun to see them open it! That is my favorite kind of present to give.  It was totally unexpected but needed!  We always made fun of their old TV.  I think it may have had a high price tag on the antique road-show.  :)  Love you Pauline.

Presents, Presents, Presents...

Hunter got a Radio Flyer from Santa this year.  Mikey got a remote control car and Board games.  Hunter loves his "car-cruck" and jumps on it any chance he gets.  It has removable handlebars for us to push and steer with, which has come in very handy.

Mikey's favorite thing EVER is to go to Grammy and Papa's house for a bonfire.  They have a huge fire-pit in the backyard so we usually end up sitting around it and talking by the end of the night.

Hunter's Side:

Santa brought me a beach cruiser this year and I was ecstatic! Hunter also got a chair to attach to the bike and Mike got dough to fix his bike.  Needless to say we have been tearing up the streets of Surprise.

Julia and Jeff seeing their loot for the first time.

Here is a taste, a little snack shall we say, of the chaos  the grandkids bring.

Trying to get Hunter excited about opening his presents.  He didn't really have that much interest in opening the gifts, just playing with the toys!  I know that is usually the case, but most kids like to rip the paper!!

Darth Vader opening his clothes that were not the legos he was hoping for.  Wah-Wah.  I love all of Caden's costumes though!

Momsy opening her stroller! **Julia got her some footy pajamas and for her sake, I won't post a picture. They were bright red, cheesy graphic, adult sized footed PJ's.  You see, my mom has a complex against anything constricting, especially on her feet.  There is a story from her childhood where she actually cut off the feet of her pajamas in the middle of the night.  I assure you, it was as hilarious as it sounds.

The grandsons admiring their new nerf gun set.

This year we didn't have enough time to take the traditional pajama picture.  I know it broke many hearts, especially my mom's.  She takes so much time and puts so much effort in finding coordinating PJ's for everyone.  This years theme was black, white and yellow.  The boys all had motorcycles and Maia had the most adorable bee pajama set I have ever seen.  I love my silk polka dot set too!  Thanks mommy.

...annd finally, me and Mr. Thomas.

Merry Christmas a month late. :)

Pre-Christmas 2009

December is always a busy month filled with birthdays and holiday events.  I love Christmas and getting into the spirit of the season is important to me.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun making our gingerbread house and drinking hot chocolate with candy canes.

Mikey loves things like this and was just having a blast.

Our Christmas tree this year.  I can't wait until we have the funds to go all out with the decor!  My mom has always decorated her house beautifully (all year long) but at Christmas her house always amazes me.  It always makes me feel like a kid again.

Here is one of her three trees.  In growing older and having a home and kids of my own, I have realized how amazing my mom really is.  It is A LOT of work to decorate a 3600 sq ft house head to toe and she did it every year, for every season.  It is one of the many things I admire my mom for.

A new tradition this year was a party with all of the in-laws including a reenactment of the Nativity story.  It was hilarious!

Not the best pic of yours truly but I had to show Hunter in his Donkey costume.  It kind of freaked him out a little bit.  I don't know if it was the donkey's hair that freaked him out or if it was a claustrophobic moment but I can see both being bothersome.

Here is 'Joseph' and 'Mary' riding the 'Donkey' to the Inn.

Two of the three wise-men. It was nice getting all of the in-laws/in-siblings together, especially for the holidays.  We, of course, missed Jordan terribly.

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving was quite a blur this year.  Mike's parents were going to make a trip to CO to see Timmy and my parents were just doing a brunch.  That meant that Thanksgiving was going to be very low-key and uneventful.  Oh, how the plans changed.  Mike's grandma passed away November 18.  I wish I would have had the opportunity to know her better.  From the stories I have heard, she was a quite a pistol.  We will miss you Grandma Beal.

So we made two trips up to Prescott Thanksgiving week. One for the funeral and one for Thanksgiving.  We did brunch at my parents then rushed out to make it to Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Tina's house. I am sick about not having pictures from my parents house.  (Clayton? Mom?)

Tina's house is gorgeous and I absolutely love going up there! It feels so cozy!

Hunter walking under the deck.  That was his favorite thing to do because he was just tall enough to graze his head on the floorboards.