Monday, November 29, 2010

bring it on.....we're ready

I told you I couldn't wait. Jason and the boys got our tree set up this weekend. Every year I am surprised at just how pretty it is. Even before it's decorated. I still say it's the best $5 we have spent yet.
And I still love our star.
Ethan hung the first ornament. It's one he made when we still lived in Amarillo, so he was 2 at the most. 
Elliott didn't waste anytime getting involved. He didn't really understand how to hook them on, but this one fell into the branches for him and he was so proud. I did realize that he doesn't have "his own" ornament and Ethan has at least 4. Oooops. Looks like we will have to get him at least one. 
Erica is so awesome. She called and invited us over last week to make ornaments. She bought modeling clay and cookie cutters to make them, and the kids painted them. She said they were for gifts, but I am being selfish and keeping ours for our tree.  :)  
And............Ta-Da!  
Notice that I have even been good about wrapping gifts? That's right, and I only have a few more to get.  
It's so perfect. The countdown is ON!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

thanksgiving day and black fri(whole)day

Our Thanksgiving started with a visit from our friends. Erica and Carson stopped by. Andrew was convinced to come by later and I snapped a few pictures of them. Jason was awesome and shoveled a path through the snow for Erica. I have to say, Jaymee is incredible to get good family pictures. I don't think there was a single one that would be "wall worthy", Carson was not impressed with this idea and that didn't help.
A little while later, Joe and Tyler showed up. I am so happy they came! Joe brought the turkey fryer with him, and we made the rest. It was a relaxing, and fun day. Oh, and the food was good too. 
There was A. LOT. OF. THIS. Ethan and Jason got a Cabela's hunting game a week ago, and they love it. Hours and hours and hours of this game. 
After Elliott was in bed, Jason and I headed out. That's right. Black Friday! Toys R Us opened at 10, and even though we were there 2 hours early, we were still almost 100th in line. Two hours went by fast, and we forgot how cold we had been once we were inside. It was insane, but we didn't have any waiting or fighting since we were some of the first people in. 
It's serious business! This lady even had a shirt. I am already prepared to get one for next year.  
Happy Shopper! Checking out at Toys R Us, then onto Wal-Mart, Old Navy and back to Toys R Us at 5:00am.  
We got home at 5:30am, went straight to bed, and at 7:30 sharp, "Mom! Mom!". Elliott was up. Ethan and Tyler got up with him, so we got a little more time to sleep, then we were up for the day.

The Holiday Parade was last night, and our ice rink had a float. Ethan, Jason, Elliott and I all walked along carrying signs and handing out candy.
It was cold, but we all made it to the end. 
I couldn't resist changing the blog to Christmas. I can't wait!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

blast from the past

Sometimes it's fun to go back in time. Verizon was going to delete my online saved pictures if I didn't sign into them, so I did and look what I found. It's amazing how much Ethan has changed in 2-4yrs. These are in no particular order, but I had to share.

This is when he and I first moved to Billings. He had just turned 2 not long before this. He was SO little.
He was such a funny kid. 
Papa, Dom and Ethan all had their hair sprayed black and orange for the Amarillo Dusters' Arena Football game. They loved it! 
I don't remember when or why, but Ethan went with my parents and Dominik and Ellett and they stayed in a hotel. They were being so goofy. 
My little ROCKER man in his Pantera shirt. 
Bestest buddies.  :)  It's so funny, they hardly see each other or talk anymore, but when they do it's like they were never apart. 
This is when Jason graduated basic training.  
"Call a vet, cause these puppies are sick" I loved that shirt, but look at that messy face and crazy long hair. Eeek. Who is this kids mom? 
Bestest Uncle Crash Ever! 
Pretty sure this was the first time Ethan had his hair colored. Thanks to Uncle Crash for the green spray. 
I cannot believe he was this little when I decided it was OK for him to start hockey. What was I thinking? I swear he seemed so much bigger to me then. 
I still cannot believe my "Bug" is 7. Where did the time go?

Sunday, November 21, 2010

birthday weekend

Friday night, I took Ethan to watch the Bulls game and let him bring Cael. They had so much fun cheering, and luckily, the score was 19-1, Bulls, so there was a LOT of cheering.

Saturday, Ethan had 7 friends plus Raigan and Carson (they are more like family) over for his party (fyi: too many kids for our house), but he had a GREAT time! I won't go into details, there are a lot of pics (thanks Jaymee!). I had to post his reaction shots, they are the BEST!

"MOM! I GOT A Wii GAME!"
"DUDE!" 
"YEEEEESSSSSS!" 
He loves this hat (good find Erica). He wore it all weekend. 
"New TechDecks!" 
"Ramps!" 
This thing, I cannot wait for Jason to come back this week and figure it out. It is a bug that has a remote, and it crawls and flies. It looks awesome! 
And here is Elliott's reaction. "What the..... HEY! Where are the gifts?" 
I feel really bad about my lack of planning for the cake. It's totally generic because I procrastinated, assuming I could find a soccer topper that had goals and players and such. Yeah........nope. So he got this.  
Jaymee got a kick out of his face, he told me later that he closed his eyes so his wish would come true. I wish I knew what his wish was so I could try to make it happen. 
The kids gift bags were a huge hit! Yay Me! They got "poppers" in them, and everyone had a blast. 
Some of the poppers took longer to pop. Carson's seemed to take forever, but he was patient. 
And we got this reaction every. single. time. Priceless. 
After the party, Jason and I went out, and the boys went to Shannon's (thank you!). Ethan ended up staying the night. So this morning Jason and I took the opportunity to get some shopping for gifts done. Then Jason took Ethan ice skating. It was such a busy weekend, it's kind of all a blur.

Thanks to everyone for making Ethan's birthday so special.

Friday, November 19, 2010

the big 7

Happy Birthday Ethan!

It's so hard to believe that our precious blue-eyed baby boy was born 7 years ago. I don't know why, but 7 seems so much bigger than 6. He is so grown-up lately too. Every time he tells me something, and to him it is the newest and coolest thing ever, I remember how I felt when I learned that same thing. I remember feeling so big at 7. I remember that in first grade you were a "big kid" even if it was just to the kindergartners.

Ethan is the best kid I know (I'm probably biased).  He tells Elliott that he loves him all the time, and always wants to show him new things and teach him how to be "cool". When I got their hats for their photo shoot, they both had to wear them all day and Ethan would say things like "Elliott, just walk. Cool people don't run." Haha. Yesterday when I picked him up from school, one of the kindergartners yelled out his name, and asked Ethan for a hug. I love that he wasn't too cool to be a good friend, and walked over and gave that kid a big hug and high five. He does have his moments, and is a normal kid. He whines, throws fits, and runs his mouth, but I wouldn't trade him for the world.
He makes us so proud with the effort he puts into school and sports. He always wants to do his best, but never says he is better than anyone else. I swear, this cannot be taught. He is just a good-to-the-soul kid.

He kills me with his big toothless smile. Sadly, I know that huge "McHenry Teeth" are in his future, and his smile will only look more goofy (go ahead, ask me how I know). But someday, all too soon, someone will think he is the most handsome boy, and I will have to fight them off by telling them embarrassing "when he was little" stories.
The last 7 years has been so much fun with him, and I cannot wait to see what the world has in store for him, or rather what he has in store for the world. It's said a lot, but time does fly. FAST!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

place your bets

Cats? Griz? Who will win? Place your bets here, and you could win a fun watch!
Go Griz!

Friday, November 12, 2010

how do you pick?

When our schedules just didn't work out to do our original (and amazing) family picture idea, I decided to settle for pics of the boys together for our Christmas cards. Well, as you can see, Jaymee worked her magic, and I don't feel like I am settling at all! This is just one of five poses she sent me to choose from. When your kids are this dang cute, and your photographer is this amazing, how in the world do you pick just one? The answer is..........I haven't yet. But I did have to share just one. The Christmas cards will be a surprise. :)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Yeah, he's cute

I was lucky enough to take advantage of a gorgeous October evening that Jaymee had a cancellation. The place she picked is totally ghetto. We kept telling Elliott and Raigan to be careful of the sharp metal pieces on the building. Seriously, a tetanus shot waiting to happen down there, but you cannot beat the outcome.

Here is our big 2 year old. I used a sucker to bribe him to be good. It worked, and it made the pics even cuter.
Ta-Da!  
Love this hat!!!! I had is custom made by a friend and fellow Etsy shop owner, Denelle. She is busy trying to have a baby, but you should check out her shop when it's back up. 
We sang songs and played games with him to keep him entertained. Peek-a-boo. 
I love how he looks like he is king of the world in this picture.  
And this one. 
I am so "ok" with Elliott loving this girl. She's awesome, and totally cute. 
Jaymee does some amazing work huh? Check out more HERE.