Farm Show 2010!

Well we did the farm show again this year. It's almost like a second Christmas for Brandon. He absolutely LOVES it!!! He just can't get enough of all the big farm equipment. The kids all love all of the free popcorn too! Now I must admit I don't exactly look forward to the farm show every year. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my husband mysteriously disappears to talk to people he knows and even though he says he will be "right back" we don't see him at all. That wouldn't bother me too much normally but it's hard keeping track of all three of my kiddos around all of the big equipment and who needs help getting in what and down from something else...it's kind of frustrating! But I suck it up and do it every year anyway because they love it and that's what moms are supposed to do. One day we had fun blowing bubbles outside. Emmy did it in preschool and when the other kids saw her little bubble blower they both HAD to make one too. They had a lot of fun with it. They also made snow castles in the back yard together. I think they are missing their sand box. PS: I hope you enjoy the "farm show" music!

A Tribue to those "Shopping Moms"

So I went to King Soopers with my three kids the other day, which is always an adventure. We only needed to get a few things so theoretically it shouldn't very long, right? WRONG!! It feels like every time I go to the store with my kids we get sucked into some kind of time warp and no matter how hard I try we can't get out until what seems like days later. Why does it take so long? I was contemplating this the other day while I was driving home from the store, with my legs aching from walking around the store for so long. Then I figured out why. We have to stop and look at anything that is teeny tiny, cute, sparkly, cool, awesome, or gross. Of course that slows us down quite a bit more at Wal-Mart than King Soopers, but it still adds quite a bit of time to the shopping trip. Then we always have to stop and use the potty and maybe more than once if the store we are in has one of the "cute teeny tiny potties" that my girls think are the coolest thing in the world. So that always adds some time onto the shopping trip. Then no matter how hard I try it seems like there is always something I need near the toy aisles, which apparently have some sort of magnetic draw to my children. And I'm sure King Soopers is just trying to be nice with their free cookies and penny horse rides for the kids, but that just adds on even more time! Then, we have to do all of this at the speed of a 3-year-old because my children all insist on walking all the time. I guess that leaves me with one final word...TANTRUMS. Luckily I don't have to deal with big tantrums too often at the store but there certainly have been those times I consider leaving a child on the clearance rack for 50% off. I think there should be some sort of sympathy discount for every child you have to take shopping with you. What do you think?

Santa Claus Came To Town!!!!!

WOW did we have a big Christmas!!! I think Santa went a little crazy this year, although Santa goes crazy every year if it's a Walpole Christmas. The kids had an absolutely amazing time opening all their presents. The big Barbie house turned out great considering it was painted an ugly barney-purple on the outside and nothing on the inside when I got it. Now it's adorable and the girls can't stop playing with it. It's definitely big enough that they can share. Brandon's shed turned out great too, especially since I had to help Douglas build it. He separated his shoulder in a snowboarding accident on December 19th so he couldn't really do much with his right arm. That was quite the experience! Brandon is really excited to have somewhere to park his big tractors and it's sturdy enough for them to climb all over it too. Brandon got TONS of Legos, which is keeping him very busy. For the first time in his life he will disappear into his room for hours and I don't hear a peep out of him. They all love the new train table too. Brandon got an electric Lego train to go on it but we also got a Thomas train set to go on it too. The girls think their new playhouse is super cool, especially because there are two parts to it so there's room for both of them to play. Douglas spoiled me, but I think I kind of spoiled him too so it all worked out okay. Brandon made us an adorable wreath at school that he couldn't wait for us to open so we had to open it early. He was very proud of his hard work! We were very grateful to be able to spend time with family. We know some loved ones who have been having an incredibly difficult time lately and we hope that everyone will have a better year in 2010. You are in our prayers and we love you! There were so many Christmas pictures it was easier to do a slide show than try to post them all individually. Enjoy!