My hat!

Toy Story 3 was the trendy basis for Christmas presents this year.  Everything from the DVD to legos litered our living room floor on Christmas morning.  By far the most popular of all the toys is the 18-inch Woody that Jonah recieved from his Great Grammie Carole.  He became even more intriguing after we discoverd a new trick--when his hat comes off, he knows it! 

"Hey howdie hey, my name's Woody."



"Woah, ha-ha-ha, I think the wind took my hat!"



"Well, thankya kindly.  A cowboy ain't a cowboy
without his cowboy hat."

And that's just the beginning.  He talks every time his string is pulled, he expresses yet another Cowboy Woody saying.  A big thanks to Disney/Pixar for your creativity! 

My Punky Monkey

I cought Jonah dancing around the livingroom in his undies with Luke's sock-monkey slippers shouting "ho, ho, ho!" in the microphone. 

"Mommy, ta pi-uh my Woody."

I love my Punky Monkey!

A New Love

Many of you know that when we moved in to our new house in July, we discovered the hard way that our oven didn't work. We had purchased 4 take-n-bake pizzas as a thank you for our friends and family after a miserably hot day of moving.  I spiced up the first pizza with additional toppings and some secret ingredients, tossed it in the oven and set the timer.  The countdown began; we all waited, impatiently as the seconds ticked away.  Twelve minutes later, I opened the oven door as the beeping commenced.  It wasn't done.  Not only was it not done, it was barely cooked.  I checked the temperature setting...right on.  "Hmmm, that's strange" I thought, cranking the temperature up.  Anyway, to make a long story short...we ended up broiling the pizzas in the span of about 2 hours. 

Steve and his brother-in-law, Mark, tried to fix the problem the next day; it didn't work. We tried several things to fix the stove, but nothing worked.  While we were disappointed that we would have to spend our "house money" on a new stove, I could see the sparkle in Steve's eye as he pondered it.  You see, he's always dreamed of having a gas stove.  He has said for many years that he would have some day have one. 

Well, after several months of planning and hardwork, his "some day" has arrived just in time for the holidays!

In the Lord's Army

We went round and round about Halloween costumes this year.  Luke really wanted to be Iron Man, but we're not real keen on cartoon costumes.  We finally decided on Army Soldiers--complete with flag patches, specially made dog tags and face paint.  Not to mention they each got new pants and a shirt that they can use as play clothes. The boys loved it, and we were happy too! 

Gettin' in the Zone:
Luke Simmons
Lord's Army Soldier
Atlanta, GA 1-10-05



All smiles:
Jonah Simmons
Lord's Army Soldier
Chelan, WA 4-23-08

  

Trick-r-treatin' downtown Chelan.

Too many to choose from!

Knockin' on Great Grammy's door.

Look at all that CANDY!

  

Which one should I eat first???



"Mommy, I can eat this? Really? All of them? Really?"



And the winner is...

Proud recipient of the WILD HAIR award.

Luke was awarded the WILD HAIR award at Frenzy tonight! He was so proud, and so am I.  Putting teeny tiny rubberbands in a boy's hair is very challenging.  We both did a great job and it paid off!

Punkin Carvin'

Our first pumpkin carving in our new kitchen! The kitchen island was the perfect place to 'gut our gourds.' 

Jonah had no reservations about sticking his hand in the mess!

Look at all those seeds! Too bad we don't have an oven yet.

I have overcome my aversion to slimy things...well, when it comes to pumpkin carving anyway. ;)

"Not all pulp is gross, right Dad?" Luke says as he's cautiously poking through the pumpkins pulp looking for seeds.

  

Two proud little boys.

Final product: two cute-as-a-button pumpkins for our porch.



Our First Graduation

Luke graduated from Pre-School tonight. 

So proud of his diploma!

Best buds: Caelan and Luke.

Viva Las Vegas!

My favorite type of picture and it turned out really good!

On the Cathlemet from Whidbey Island to the main land.

The view from our hotel room. Beautiful sand bottom pool surrounded by palm trees and a vineyard.  Peaceful and fun all at the same time!

Our gorgeous bathroom!

Robes included, nice!

Yummy dinner at Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ!

Twins!

Triplets!

M&M World



Sight seeing from the double decker DUECE bus...can you see us?





There's no crying in tee-ball...well, maybe just the first day...

Luke has waited in anticipation for this day for over a month: Tee ball started today!  Luke had fun practicing throwing, catching and hitting! He only cried 4, maybe 5 times.  He's sensitive when he's not perfect; boy do I know that feeling!

Listening intently to Coach.  He was telling the team to practice throwing at home with a partner, or throw at a tree in the back yard.  Luke speaks up so innocently, "I don't have a tree in my backyard...but I do have one in my front yard."

Ready to catch!

Pretending to have a mit.

Fielding stance.

Crying.

Luke catching a ball personally tossed by Dad! I love this picture.

Thumbs up = All is good in the end!
Fun was had by all!!!