Wii Fit to be tied

I made the kids do some Yoga on Wii Fit before bed time the other night. This is hilarious to see them do this.....

I think this is the "where the sun don't shine" pose.

And here is the "tree" pose.

And some Video just to complete the action.

Post Christmas Post

We had a wonderful Christmas in Texas. Santa visited us in many forms this year and we are truly blessed with such a wonderful and caring ward family and friends. It has been a struggle this year to keep up with the electric bills, the new air conditioner, the new car, the fixing of the cars, the student loans, and the like.

We had planned on a small, quiet Christmas this year, but it turned out to be one of the better Christmas's we've had just because of the generosity of others.

Here are some pics from Christmas morning:

All the kids got new Razor scooters. The ones they got last year were all rusted up.
Uncle Freddy even got in the action.

We got lots of games this year. We enjoy spending time together playing games. We, Santa, saved up and got us a Wii too!

And my thoughtful wife got me my long lost E.T. t-shirt. (for the story you'll have to look at my prior E.T. post) Thanks babe!

Santa also gave us some cash and a Wii Fit, which the kids are really enjoying. That post to come later on. Thank you to all who made our Christmas so special and meaningful. We love you and hope to be able to repay what you have given us.

Christmas Party w/ Friends

So we went to our friend's house last night, who also is my boss. Long story made short.....Samantha dated their son, has remained close to the family and that is how I got my job here in Houston.

So we had dinner, played Wii and exchanged gifts. They are very generous and we appreciate what they do for us. They're almost like a 3rd set of Grandparents.

Thanks Barbara and Jerry and Deanna too.

Emma got some Banana Republic....not from us I might add, but very cute.

Here is Alex with a game he got and dresssed in clothes that are too small. (I dressed him.)

Dylan with his new sweatshirt. Can't tell if he knows what Hockey is.

The kids had a great time. Especially with the Wii. Santa needs to be notified of this.

Finally, this is my latest hat. I made 2 of them for a couple of people at work. They've been a hit! (what a cute model)

Cancer or Prancer?

We were sitting around the dinner table tonight when we started talking about our guests on Christmas Eve. We told the kids that Samantha's brother, Freddy, and her Aunt Sissy were coming to dinner, but that Sissy's husband Bob would not be coming because he recently died. Alex asked why he died and I said that he was very sick and had cancer. Then out of nowhere Alex finished my thought by saying, "Like Prancer and Dancer and Donner and Blitzen?" It was very funny, but sad at the same time.

Christmas Lights

Here is our sorry attempt at Christmas lights this year. Th lights on our oak tree were supposed to go up the branches because that's what people do here. I overloaded the circuit though and dont have another extention cord so it is what it is.

Even then, I still keep burning fuses on the "candy cane" part. It is still pretty though and still nothing compared to the other houses that are decorated. I guess since we don't have snow, Texans make up for it in lights and electric bills.

The kids "helped", which makes them feel appreciated or involved, but lost interest after going around the tree a few times and getting dizzy.

If I can find another cord, I may put up more lights on the tree, but we'll see. Anyway, thought we'd share.

Emma's Choir Concert

Emma had her 5th grade Christmas choir concert the other night. Here are a couple of quick clips to share.

Its Been a Christmas-like Week

It's been a Christmas-like week..............it started with snow earlier in the week, which lasted less than 24 hours and then promptly warmed back up to 70. As you can tell the boys are in shorts. I'm questioning why my mouth is always open and why my head is so fat.
We went to Lowe's this year to get our Christmas tree. Last year it was Home Depot. We got a great deal on this noble fir.......$32 for the tree AND stand! We had a miserable tree experience last year. I actually returned the tree because it was too pokey.

I miss my childhood days of caravanning with 3 or 4 families into the rugged mountains of Wyoming, sledding and building snow caves while the adults hiked through the snow to cut Christmas trees. Maybe people still do that, but this is what you get when you live in a big city.

Samantha made these super cute ornaments for us this year. She actually just made the lettering. She got the glass pieces from Hobby Lobby. But they are super cute and I told her that she needs to sell them at her craft shows next year.


Here is the near-complete decorated tree. I have spent up to 6 or 7 hours wrapping each branch with lights and this year it only took 3. My wife let me cheat. Don't ask why I have to do this, but I suspect it's because my lovely, beautiful wife doesn't want to. We're talking 12 to 15 strands of lights on this bad boy!

In all, it has been a pleasant week and it ended last night with our church Christmas Concert. We combine with the Epiphany Catholic Church, which is just across the street from ours, to sing songs. This is the 15th year of doing this between the 2 churches. We don't have any pictures, but one of our church friends actually has video......Marci Freeman. You can find her link on our blog list under "Day by Day". A big shout out to you Marci and Mike! Thanks!

As we approach the last week before Christmas break and Christmas.....we wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas! Since we didn't do Christmas cards again this year I really want to send out a mass email with a picture and update on our lives for 2008.

If you'd like to be included, please send quick reply to thehayes05@yahoo.com and I'll get you on our list. Love you all, no matter where you are!

Justin and Samantha

Names

I just thought this was funny and thought I would pass it on...Alex has a kid in his class named...Jack Lantern. I wonder what is middle name is?

What Time Is It???

On school days my kids wake up at 7am and half the time I have to wake them up. So why is it when there is nowhere to be that they wake up at 6am...and turn on the TV loud and dump all the toys out and go to town. Sundays are the only days I can or do try to sleep in. I do have to say though that they usually leave us alone and let us sleep but this morning I had to ask them several times to keep it down. Then I resorted to the bathroom fan for a little more peace and quiet. Thanks kids for letting me get a few more hours! I also can't wait for the new year and a new church schedule...we move to 9am, yeah!!! I am a morning person and am looking forward to getting up and getting going and coming home and napping!

Snow In Houston?!

It is snowing right now. It is 4:43pm and it is snowing in Houston Texas. In my prior post, I mentioned that we just celebrated our 12th anniversary. We were married in Seattle and we took a trip down here to visit her family and friends. I went water skiing on December 17, 1996 here. What a trip.

People are freaking out around here...how are we going to get home? I thought Texans were tough. What a bunch of pansies! The only thing I can say though is that as soon as a car goes into the ditch, there will be at least 6 or 7 tow trucks there within 1 minute. What a bunch of rats they are!

Grrrrr....its cold!

Happy Anniversary!

This is a little late as far as posting goes, but Samantha and I celebrated our 12th year anniversary on Saturday. She spent it at the craft show making some $$$ and I spent it with the Christmas Choir and kids.

We left Emma, 10, at home with the boys and a movie while we went to a Mexican dinner. I wanted to make out in the car, but she wouldn't go for it.

Here is our engagement picture. We look nothing like that anymore. She is much more beautiful and I much thicker in the neck. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife. She is such a good mother and wife. It amazes me how much we have become in tune with one another and how we really are one.

I love you honey.

30 Degrees and MISC Thoughts

Well it finally broke into the 30's this last weekend. We actually lit the gas fireplace and threw in some logs. Its disconcerting though to go back and forth between heat and a/c. It was back up in the 70s today.

I'm missing our family and friends and the snow...BAD! It has been such a joy to find friends blogs and kind of catch up on whats happening in their lives.

Samantha had a great craft show this weekend and sold lots of signs while I kept the kids from fighting and struggled to get Christmas lights up......I'll have to get some pics up.

Alex has been so cute this weekend....Samantha asked him to unload the dishwasher and he threw a fit. She said that he was 6 and 1/2 and was old enough to do it himself. He was quick to point out that he doesn't go by 1/2s any more and that he is just 6 therefore not making him old enough to unload the dishwasher.

Then today he asked us what cumbersome meant.....we gave him a puzzled look and he again quickly responded with "big? heavy? hard to handle?" Go Word Girl....we dont have cable so PBS after school is the kids TV time.

Oh and I filled up my car today for $14.....1.22/gal

99 Cent Store

I have mentioned before about deals and couponing but did you know that you can get an early morning Sunday edition paper on Saturday at the dollar stores? I didn't know this until I went to the couponing class at church. Anyway we have a great 99 Cent Store I have discovered. I have never been a dollar store shopper but this store has everything. OK some of it is junk but today I bought Emma 3 pairs of good socks for a buck. They also have produce...I got a large bunch of petite asparagus that I cooked tonight and I was great! So you know how much that stuff is at the grocery store? Last week I got baby carrots for a buck and the bag was a pound and a half. They had bags of oranges and limes, lettuce, potatoes and more! They have cheese and milk (the only thing that is more than a dollar) I decided since we are trying to have a light Christmas this year that the dollars stores are the way to go. They have great stocking stuffers! Anyway, just trying to pass on good information.

First "Official" Hat Sale

I finished a hat for my first paying customer. I even did the embroidering...yuck! I still think it is fun to give my hats away. I get greater pleasure seeing the little kids in my hats. This particular one is for the wife of a guy I work with. Her name is Tiffany. I thought the pom poms were a little over the top, but it works. I have more orders for another lady and a guy at work.

Thanksgiving and Stuff

We had a great Thanksgiving. Even though I complained about being so far away from family and friends it turned out pretty good.

The kids and I got up and went to the ward Turkey Bowl. We had enough people there to have 2 adult games and 1 kids game, so I didnt have to worry about my kids breaking something. It was a ton of fun had by all eventhough it was 70 degrees and stupid humid! At this very moment, nearly a week later I'm still feeling the pain of playing my heart out. My knee is killing me the most....someday we'll get it fixed. I'm sure if I was 100 pounds lighter and buff that it wouldnt be so bad, but sitting at a desk all day doesnt allow for too much exercise.

We had Samantha's brother over for dinner and we had a good time playing Snorta. We highly recommend this game! It is fun for kids and adults. It was a very laid back, chilled day. Sorry this is late, but I have so much to say and this was the first thing on my mind because everytime I move, I discover a new muscle I didn't think I was capable of having.