Ryan's pictures from the first nativity

December 24, 2009...again! Yay! I got the pictures I wanted from Ryan, and I had to post them: Ryan as the donkey - Tristan is pulling him along with a "rope"

See how cute she is as a sheep - too bad she got mad before the show and refused to participate!

Here she is hiding under the air hockey table!

Hitting the lanes for Tristan's birthday

January 9, 2010 - We went to Harmony bowl for Tristan's birthday this year, and all had a lot of fun. We need to do that more often as a family - the kids had a blast! (Tristan seemed to have a good time too!)

The fun is not over yet!

January 1, 2010 - So I guess we outdid ourselves on the first day of the new year, but we had one more fun event to share. We took the boys and Reese to the zoo to see their christmas lights display. (Becca was at her first sleppover of the new year.) Bet you didn't know Santa's reindeer hang out here in Colorado during the off-season!

Tris, Tris, and Reesy posing by some lights

Reese decided to be brave and feed the giraffe.

Cameron freaked out and dropped his when he saw the giraffe's tongue!

New Year, good old sledding hill

January 1, 2010 - This feels like a tradition in the making! This is the second time we've gone to this particular hill in Woodland Park with all the Gearhart cousins, and so far it's been really awesome! The only downside is the trees along the side of the slippery hill. A couple times, my heart just about stopped watching Cameron barely miss the same tree! He got really brave on this trip. Once he figured out how much fun sledding is, we couldn't get him to stop!

Reese would not be coerced into going any where near a sled!

Becca and I about to race

Tris and Cam still a little nervous watching everyone else go down.

Tatum, Gavin, Teague, and Jakelle

Cameron starting to warm up to sledding

Ainsley, Graham, and Becca

New Year's Eve 2009!

Decmber 31, 2009- January 1, 2010 - Tamzen hosted a hoppin' party for New Year's Eve. We had yummy food, watched the ball drop, made a LOT of noise, and played games until we were too tired to play anymore! It was alot of fun!

Tris and Ainsley before it got too late.

and after it got late!

Becca and Claire celebrating

Reese sadly wouldn't agree to wearing a tiara.

Alli, Claire, Becca, and Payton counting down.

Graham and Cameron

This is what we look like when we stay up late - notice we are both struggling to keep our eyes open!

Happy 2010!

Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun!

December 29, 2009 - We always have to take advantage of having the Gearhart Girl cousins in town, with an extra GIRLY sleepover! As you can see, there was dressing up, painting nails, and even a foot soak! Claire is trying to figure out the battery- operated nail file/ buffer, as Ainsley tries to move around without messing up her pink and purple nails.

Reese having a relaxing foot soak.

Time for a quick soda break!

We love our cousins and were so glad they could come and be girly with us!

Becca's Baptism Day!

December 26, 2009 - The day after Christmas is a day Becca will always remember because that is the day she was baptized! And it turned out to be a great day to do it, because so many family members were already here visiting for Christmas! I will probably forever be frustrated at myself for getting there a couple minutes late. All the other parents got there early to make sure to take pictures of their kids, and I just sent Becca and Tristan ahead, and we came right as it started, thinking it would be a really long time for the kids to sit still. Anyway, luckily Becca's teacher and my Mom thought to take pictures!

(Here is Becca and her dad. Teresa made this beautiful dress for her to be baptized in.) Nancy Gallegos (their teacher), Kyra, Claire, and Becca. The whole class! They all happen to have December birthdays, so they all got to be baptized on the same day!

Anyway, I guess even if we didn't have a camera there, the important thing was not her smiling in her beautiful white dress, but her commiting to follow the Savior. We are very proud of Becca and her goodness, and her desire to please her Father in Heaven. This was a big step in her life and I know as she keeps her baptismal covenants and continues to follow the Savior in her life, she will be happy and have peace. We love you Becca!

Here is most of the people who came to support Becca - this was my desperate attempt to get some sort of pictures to represent the day. But we weren't able to find everyone after, so this is only a partial picture.

Then, we went to Fargos Pizza afterwards for lunch and enjoyed some yummy pizza!

Jason, Ashley, Kendell, and Kaya

Ryan and Cheron

Hannah, Becca, Claire, and Ainsley

(I'm not sure what that is in the front of the picture)

Tris, Graham, Cam, and Harris

December 25, 2009 - After breakfast and gift-opening, we went to Tamzen's for some more gift opening and a delicious Christmas dinner.

Too much excitement for Reese!

Tristan enjoying some Christmas cheer!

Tatum and Owen had too much excitement too!

2 cute cousins!

I didn't get any pictures of the most exciting part, so you'll have to use your imaginations! Thom and Teresa had a very fun and creative gift for all their kids and spouses this year. They played a game show of sorts - "Mystery Vacation", I think is what they called it. They had a stack of large envelopes that each contained certificates for vacations to different places! The idea was that each couple gets to go on their "mystery vacation" with Thom and Teresa, so we can each spend some time with them throughout the year. I think it's a wonderful idea! So anyway, our game played out a little like a White Elephant gift exchange. The first couple got to choose and envelope and open it. Then the people after them could choose one, or steal someone else's! By the end we had unwrapped certificates to Maine, Florida, California, Mexico, Chicago, and one more that I'm forgetting. Tristan and I got Orlando, Florida the weekend before Halloween for "Fright Night" at Universal Studios! Yay! We are very excited!

It was a very nice Christmas - and wonderful to spend time with family and friends!

Christmas morning 2010

December 25, 2010 - The kids were all snuggled up in their beds... until the sun showed signs of rising, and they jumped right back out again! Here are some pictures of the morning gift-wrapping frenzy:

Here is Becca with the telescope she requested from Santa,

Reesey with her new play kitchen,

Cameron with a Hot Wheels race track,

and Tristan with a new scooter.

Christmas Eve '09

December 24, 2009 - We ended up visiting both our families in town this Christmas Eve, instead of following the original plan. We were going to be spending the night of the 23rd in a cabin with my family, then skiing Christmas Eve Day, but we had some bad weather and decided to postpone the ski trip. So we went to my Mom's first for food and fun and a little Nativity put on by the kids, then on to Tamzen's house to attend the Gearhart family Christmas Eve talent show.

Becca and Hannah

We've all heard of Charlie's angels right? Well, this is Charlie, THE angel. (poor thing, he's too old to fight us off!)

Reese and I ready to "dig in"

Mom and Ryan

Here is our 2nd Nativity - I'm really hoping to be able to get smoe pictures of the first one from Ryan and Cheron. Reese was dressed as a sheep for that one, and was hilarious! Something made her mad and she crawled off to hide under the air-hockey table yelling "don't look at me!" We jocked that she was a lost sheep! This particular Nativity went a lot smoother, although Reese refused to be a part of it. Tristan is Joseph and Sally is Mary. Hannah and Kaya are angels. It was really cute.

Here is Becca portraying a shepherd being afraid at first as the angel appeared. (We had to put sheep ears on the tiger because, again, we lost our only sheep!)
My handsome husband and 2 cute boys

Anxiously awaiting the talent show!

Teresa's talent was a special family cheer. Watch out cheerleaders! This lady has talent!

Grandma and Grandpa Gearhart reading the kids "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

Me and my swwetheart - don't ask about the bow, I was feeling festive, okay?!

G.P. and Alli - Thom somehow incorporated fire, a knife, and a dollar into his talent with at least 10 little kids within a foot of it all!(and amazingly, no one was stabbed or burned, but I'm not sure the dollar made it out alive!)

Becca, reaching into the money bowl.