Merry Christmas 2008

Winter Storm 12/2008

8-10 inches? Ha! Try 24+ of the beautiful white stuff! No school for 2 days and LOTS of shoveling. Sure wish we had bought a snow blower after last year's record snowfall!

More Winter Storm 12/2008

Carson and Robbie
Avery and Tommy

Not the most realistic Santa

Every year I take the kiddos to see Santa at the mall. They know he isn't the real one but this year they didn't even believe he was a helper of the real Santa! This guy was skinny, even with the padding, and Carson proclaimed he didn't talk like Santa at all. Glad I saved the $20 for a real pic and took one with my own camera!

1st Big Snow and Carson's preschool sing-a-long

We are supposed to get between 8-10 inches of snow today. Tim is soooo mad that his ACL is torn. He says he is going to figure out a way to ski this season, even if it means strapping his knees to his skis.

Very pretty to look at, just wish we didn't have to drive in it!

Carson at his preschool shindig...

Singing Up on the Housetop, Jingle Bells, We Wish you a Merry Christmas and many more Holiday songs.

Holidays 2008

Every year instead of the kid's preschool doing a big Christmas program, their teachers rent out our local 1909 Carousel for a party. This is year number 4 of attending, and our last with a preschooler.

Holidays 2008 continued

Avery, Carson, Memaw and I decorated our tree this year. It brings back many memories of helping my Mom decorate for the Holidays each year. Dad was always conveniently absent, much as Tim is now when we put up the tree. Whenever you would discuss Christmas with Dad he would always say "Bah Humbug". So, Bah Humbug Dad!! And Merry Christmas too.

The yearly shot after decorating the tree

Now I just need to wrap some presents!

In memory

Nelson Wayne Jalufka "Pop-Daddy"

12/02/1942 - 12/09/2008

WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU

Carson's 5th Birthday

Carson came into this world on Friday, December 5th, 2003 at 1:22 am weighing 8 lbs 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. He was very yellow and it took several weeks to get his jaundice under control. He was quite a cryer those first few months, now he is such a happy boy plus he's no longer yellow which is always good...

Carson wanted this transformer on his cake and wanted the icing silver, so I did my best. It must have tasted okay, there wasn't a bite left after the party!

Blowing out his candles and playing basketball with Dad, Uncle Paul, and his friend Ryan.

This year Carson had his party at Jump and Bounce, an inflatable indoor play park. The boys (plus 3 sisters) had great fun and were all red-faced by the end. I managed to get them all to pose for this pic on the boxing ring, no easy feat with 4-6 year old boys with lots of energy!

Avery, William, Robbie, Sumner, Tommy, Tyler, Ryan, Lily (Seth's sis), Carson, Michael, Jack, Cameron, Seth, and Darcy (Ryan's sis)

Carson's 5th Birthday cont'd.

Carson with Michael

Carson with William

Carson with Jack

With his new Leapster

With his new shirt and hat...Go Packers!

Avery's 7th birthday

Avery made her grand entrance into the world on Saturday, December 1st 2001 at 1:37 pm after a long, long labor for Mommy. She weighed 7 lbs 11oz and was 21 inches long. Did I mention it was a long labor? Painful too! Who knew that this little girl....would look like this 7 years later! She started out with a lot of hair, and still has a lot. She also started out fairly quiet, which certainly is not the case now!

Reading her card and opening her presents. We then went to dinner at Avery's choice restaurant, which just so happened to be HuHot Mongolian Grill. She sure is an adventurous eater! No mac and cheese or chicken fingers for her tonight, she ate salad, noodles, meat, and even put zucchini in her bowl! Carson had chicken fingers....he is much less adventurous!

Avery is ready to cheer on Tim's beloved Green Bay Packers....

With her new doll Jenny

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving was fairly quiet this year. We had planned on traveling to Boise to see Tim's family but with my Dad near the end of his life, we decided to stay close to home. We visited my Dad during the day and then my Mom was able to join us for dinner.

This is the first year without my Grandmother and with Dad absent, it didn't really feel like Thanksgiving. We didn't even eat turkey, Tim wanted ham instead (he had already eaten turkey once this year so felt like that was plenty! Sounds an awful lot like his Dad, Papa Bob!)

Yesterday we had a few flakes of snow, but today it is really coming down. Winter must be here! I just hope we don't have 94 inches in town this year, that was a bit much for the roads and those of us who grew up driving during Virginia winters! Tim says let it fall, he is ready to ski!