Christmas!!!

What happens when you pick up your son with muddy boots?  Obviously you have him stick them out the window so he doesn't get the car dirty.  Don't worry, it was a short drive...

 New Christmas jammies from Grandma Morrill!  She did great as always!

 This year we did Christmas for a family in a domestic violence shelter.  There was a mom and three kids so Parker and I shopped for the mom and the boys each shopped for a kid.  They used their own money and spent quite a bit, I was so proud of them!  They went with me to drop it off and just from the limited view we had of the facility it made them appreciate their life...

 Linds and the kiddos came over to frost sugar cookies...

 Audrey LOVES Theo...

 He, tolerates her...

 We all went to Christmas in Color lights show, which was fun but I don't know if it was worth the time and money...

 Christmas Eve dinner with my whole fam!

Then home to exchange family gifts!  Tyce got Jack some awesome Cowboys socks...

 And he got Josh a BYU wallet...

 Jackson got Josh these super cool BYU basketball shorts...

 Jack got Tyce this BYU cinch bag...

 Josh got Tyce this Minecraft shirt...

 And Josh got Jack the cinch bag too!

 Then we did the cousin gift exchange!  Luke got Abbi some cute shirts...

 Mason got Jack an Amazon gift card...

 Katie got Luke BYU socks...

 Emma got Livi a new cell phone case...

 Abbi got Josh a new book...

 Tyce got Emma a unicorn stuffed animal...

Audrey got Mason a science set...

 Livi got Tyce a new nerf gun...

 Josh got Katie socks and candy...

 Jackson got Audrey this cute doggy that flips...

 The "line up in age order and show your present" pic!

Then we got the kiddos to bed so Santa could set up! 

Santa brought Jack a much needed new bike for his long legs...

Josh a new Oregon duck duffel bag...

And Tyce got the fish tank he's been asking for for a very long time!  Unfortunately, the fish died before Christmas morning so he got an empty tank and gift card to go buy more fish...

 All ready!

Christmas morning!  This is the first year none of them believed in Santa, it was kinda sad but also makes things much easier!  

 

 We bought my parent's old computer for the boys which they were thrilled about...

 Trying out Jack's new dartboard...

 As if we weren't busy enough we decided to rearrange Jack's room.  I didn't take a "before" pic but I like it this way much better...

Kitties!!!

 Playing their new fart game from Troy...

 Day after Christmas I took Tyce to go get new fish that hopefully would live longer! 

He named the blue one Bubbles, green one Flipper, orange one Otto, and pink one Star.  It's been two months and they're all still alive!  

 Haha, Tyce decided he wanted to learn how to make Mac and Cheese and so I say get out a pot.  He gets out the BIGGEST pot I have...

 Jackson got the Steven R Covey book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers, which he wasn't necessarily thrilled about.  We really want him to read it so we told him if he reads it and takes notes then he will earn a special night with his dad which sure motivated him! 

 Theo snuggles!

 Laser tag...

 Jackson said he wants to start working out so Parker got him some equipment and workouts...

 Theo loves to snuggle Parker AND I at the same time so this is a frequent position we find ourselves in...

 Trying out their new bike lights!  Pretty cool!

January...coming up!

THEO!!!

Warning if you don't like cats skip this post!  And I am not even going to apologize for the million cat pictures because he's so stinkin cute!

A few months ago Parker and I decided we wanted to get the boys a kitten for Christmas.  We were all missing Brody and thought a friend for Chester would be nice, him and Brody were especially close.  As it got closer we were getting worried because there really weren't many kittens up for adoption anywhere!  It's not kitten season and lots of people adopt kitties for Christmas.  One day Parker and I both got off work early and we headed up to Salt Lake to check out the Humane Society and animal shelter.  On our way he saw some kittens for sale by owner so we stopped there first.  There was a cute calico kitten that I really wanted but Parker didn't feel she was the right one.  He convinced me to go look at the Humane Society and animal shelter before making a decision.  I am SO glad he did because we went to the Humane Society and met this guy...

As soon as we walked into the kitten room Parker and I both saw him in the back of one of the cages and were like, he's the one.  We got him out and I took him over to a corner so no one else would try to adopt him haha.  Aside from his adorableness, we loved his personality.  He was cuddly, playful, not skiddish...perfect.  So, we took him adopted him!!!
Our original plan was to bring him to my friend's house until Christmas so we could surprise the boys Christmas morning with him.  BUT...when we got in the car to leave, Parker and I both looked at each other and said, there's no way we can leave him there we want him home now!

So we brought him home for an EARLY Christmas present!!!

 Needless to say...they fell in love too...

 As expected, Chester and Luna were not fans of the new little guy...

I LOVE  his face!!!

 He quickly learned how to drink out of the sink...

 He loves cuddling up by our faces...

He sleeps with us every night...

 He loved playing under the Christmas tree and was such a good boy!  No broken ornaments!

 This is my fav picture of him, hahahaha...

We have had him for not even two months and are just in love!  He is super cuddly, loves to be held, loves to play either with us or by himself, he's super patient and calm with kids, not skiddish at all (this was really important to us), greets us as soon as we walk in the door, plays FETCH, oh and did I mention he's ADORABLE?!  Luna really doesn't like him, which we expected.  Chester no longer hisses or growls at him but they still aren't cuddling like we had hoped.  Fingers crossed they will be best friends in no time!  We love you Theo!  Welcome to our family!