Ringing out the old.....

This years party we had Kevin, Tiffany & kids here as well as Mandy and her kids. Joe, Amy & Lucy joined us as well as Lyla & her girls. We ate Mexican food including Mandys yummy 7 Layer Bean dip which has become an annual tradition. We started off with a little dancing and then watched the ball drop on the East Coast at 9p.m.
A hilarious round of BATTLE OF THE SEXES and then some APPLES to APPLES......who said you need coconut rum to have a good time *wink*

Speaking of rum.....I put our non-alcoholic beverage (SPARKLING CIDER) into the freezer to chill and forgot about it so right before midnight when I opened it, it exploded and sprayed all over my kitchen cabinets............HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Stephens Day - Alamo

Its so funny that after years of not being Catholic we still refer to the day after Christmas as St. Stephens Day.
We decided last minute to surprise Mam & Malcolm and all the rest of the family that had visited Alamo. We got up there and everyone was gone to church so we hung out and then hid in a bedroom until we heard the cars coming back from church. Mandy came in first and tried to get into the room to change. Sam just held the door tight and didn't' really know what to do. Finally he let go of the lock and we all yelled "SURPRISE".....Mandy just about had a heart attack. Her face was flushed and she told us later that it didn't register right away who we were and she thought we were strangers or burglars or something. Then Nana came in and we did the same with her. It was so fun to spend the day together.

Each year Mandy and Lucas make a DVD of pictures and memories so we sat down and watched that. They always do a great job but this year there was another little surprise waiting at the end of the slideshow - another Abbott on the way - WHAT??? Mandy is expecting baby #4. Isla Maeve is due June 4th 2011. That was an awesome surprise.....

Christmas Day

Who wants see what Santa brought???
We had so much fun this Christmas. Santa ate his cookies & milk and the Reindeer got the food Ryan had left outside for them. Santa was good to the boys & girls of the Bainbridge house.....he brought bikes, dolls, mp3 players, books, orbeez, paper jamz and much more.
It was weird to Sam and I to get two naps on Christmas day.....it's different as the kids grow up a little...they were happy to play on their bikes and a new video game so it was a lot more relaxed than in other years.
We had a little treasure hunt for the last present from Grandma & Grandpa.....a Trampoline!!! Woooohoo.....check out Baili's face in the last picture. She was seriously so excited - all the kids were screaming. Merry Christmas to all!!

So sweet.....

My boys are so sweet. Ryan came home from school the day of my birthday and handed me his surprise. A cherry pie. He had spent his own money on it for a birthday present.
On the morning of my birthday when the kids and Sam woke me up (in true devine tradition) each of them gave me a gift and hugs and kisses. Then Jacob said that he had a presentation for me. He pulled out all these things that I recognized from his bedroom. He arranged them on top of a tin box, in a specific way. It took a minute. He held up his Tae Kwon Do Medal and he said...."this represents all the things you helped me LEARN and EARN"

The items on the tin box are all Book of Mormon characters and a CTR (choose the right) guy. It was such a special gift from him. Jacob is so caring and kind. I appreciated that he put such thought into his gift and it meant a lot to me. It brought me to tears.....

Jacobs Birthday

Jacob requested Buffalo Wild Wings for his birthday dinner and the next day had his birthday party at the Halloween Carnival at the YMCA with a BUNCH of his friends. I can't believe Jacob is 9 years old now!

Ryans Birthday

Oh my goodness.....in all my backblogging, I forgot my boys birthdays....eeek!
Here's some pictures from their special day this year. We always love the "just woken up" picture......especially with these rad glasses. For his 7th birthday Ryan had a party at our home with his friends.

He's comin to town!

Look what we've been up to....

Swimming at hotel in Utah - Eli's Baptism
Making our 1st Gingerbread House