Noah's 4th birthday and Christmas Eve.

The birthday boy still a little sleepy eyed but ready to open his presents!

Noah in his new John Deere shirt and matching hat.

looking SO big!

Noah playing with cousin Eva.

so sweet.

Doris and Grandma Hote.

Happy Birthday to Noah!

blowing out his candles.

a boy and his cake!

let the fun begin!

hugs all around!

Noah got to enjoy his birthday with us and even got some special morning time with just Dad. They have a ritual of going to Jamba Juice in the mornings since him and Orlin are early risers and they like to get the oatmeal and split a smoothie. Before they left though, Noah came downstairs for some special birthday presents. Orlin had gotten him a really cool race track the night before his bday and they played it for a good hour or so. Apparently it's been around for years and Orlin even had one when he was little. He got a few other fun gifts from us and even one from Drew and he loved all of them. We had a pretty mellow day and were getting things ready for our big gathering that night to celebrate Noah's birthday and Christmas Eve. Orlin smoked a prime rib, which was delicious and also made his signature white whiskey punch and then everyone else brought a little something to add to the dinner. We had also gotten Noah a Reeses ice cream cake and everyone loved it, especially Noah! We had a great dinner and enjoyed spending time with the family. We did our gift exchange on Orlin's side of the family and I got a TJ Maxx gift card and some slippers, so I made out great. Orlin got a Cabellas gift card, so he was very happy! Noah got lots of wonderful birthday gifts from the family and even some money to put away for college. Thanks to our wonderful family for your love and generosity! Noah had a wonderful birthday.

Noah's special day.

Ready to have some fun!

Dad joined in on the fun too!

fun slides.

Mommy loves the slides too!

a little rough housing on the bean bags!

at dinner with our birthday boy.

Can't believe he's 4 already!

Noah got a special dessert and got sang to by the Red Robin clan! He was pretty shy about it, but was happy to dig into the icecream as soon as they left!

Fun night with our sweet birthday boy!

For the last couple of years we have taken Noah out the day before his birthday to have some special time with just Mom and Dad. Being that his bday is Christmas Eve and we host a big family dinner/bday party here with both sides of the family, the day gets a little crazy to say the least. We didn't want his birthday to go by without having some serious fun, so this year we went to Jump Rattle and Roll in Monroe which is a fun bouncy house place for kids and adults. We jumped around and played for awhile and then headed to Red Robin for a yummy dinner with the birthday boy. We all had a great time and most importantly Noah had a blast!

Clay family Christmas party.

Cindy, her daughter Sarah and Vivian and Sierra.

Sissy, Dad, cousin Rachelle, and Grandma Winnie.

Aunt Nancy and Mom.

Uncle Jim, cousin Clay, Orlin and I.

Nicole and Ava. Ava loves her!

most of the great grandkids having dinner together.

14 of the 19 great grandkids all gathered for a picture. Not an easy task!

Grandma Winnie with most of her great grandkids.

This last Sunday we had our annual Clay family Christmas party here at our house. My Mom's side of the family is pretty big with having three sisters, 10 grandkids, and about 19 great grandkids. Not everyone was here, but I believe in total we had about 32 and half of them were kids. We rotate every year between our house and my cousin Clay and Maria's since we have a place big enough to hold that many comfortably. We did a ham and Orlin made a yummy spiced ice tea punch with the white whiskey and it was a huge hit. We will be having it again on Christmas eve since everyone loved it. Everyone else brought stuff for the dinner or dessert so it worked out great. The kids had a blast playing together and we adults enjoyed catching up and spending time together. We did a gift exchange with the kids and also one for the adults. I ended up with movie tickets and Orlin got a furry blanket that he has fallen in love with! He has actually been taking it to bed with him a night he loves it so much! I'm a just a little jealous actually! ;) We had fun looking a pics from the same gathering in years past and it was so fun to see all the kids as babies and even myself and my sister and teenagers. Man how time flies! It's a great reminder to really live in the moment and not to take any day or time with family for granted!

fun winter days with the kiddos.

half way dressed and having a ball!

Noah would be in his underwear all day if I'd let him! Either that or his jammies!

sweet Drewby boy!

fun pics in front of the tree.

Christmas jammies!



love our tree this year! Notice the bottom half doesn't have too many decorations. We lost a few glass balls early on because Drew thought they were balls and tried to bounce them on the hard wood floors! Lesson learned!

With the bitter cold weather we have been having, we have been spending a lot more time inside and trying to make the best of it. We have been building forts, playing cars, and having fun getting ready for Chrismtas. Although it's been alright, I know that once the new year hits, we will be getting a little bit of cabin fever and will need to venture out and find some fun indoor activities.



Christmas tree hunt.

on our way to the tree farm and Noah brough all his buddies with him for the ride. He is also telling me off for taking a picture of him! Geez Mom, how rude!



Drewby's looking super excited too!




Orlin's overjoyed!



And we're off! Good thing Noah brought his saw's for us to cut the tree down!

ready for the hunt!

I think Drew found his pick!

so many to choose from.

there she is! I was actually the one to pick it out and Orlin was quite happy with my selection. Slightly Noble on top and the rest is quite full, just like Orlin likes it!

Drew's ready to do some damage!

lovely family photo with smoke from the fire pit included.

ready to load up! Noah enjoyed some hot cocoa and wore most of it on his face! Yes, Orlin is wearing shorts and yes it was a warm 30 some degrees that day! I was freezing in my down coat, scarf and hat!

This year we decided to head to a different tree farm since the last three years we had a spider invasion from the tree's that we got from a farm in Snohomish. We had heard great things about Farmer Brown's in Arlington, so we decided to give it a shot. Another change this year was getting "Orlin's tree", or a shrub as I like to call it! He has always liked the Douglas Fir kind, since it's what he grew up with so we went with it this year. When we got together, we agreed that we would switch off every year to make it fair, but somehow, every year since then I have gotten away with my Noble. It was clearly his turn this year! I'll be honest, I was a little worried after we cut it and put it in the truck, but when we got it home and put it up, it was beautiful. We went quite a bit smaller this year too, which was really nice for a change. It made it so much easier to decorate and it doesn't take up so much room. I might even say it's one of my favorite tree's that we've had!

Thanksgiving 2011.

Baby Eva and Drew looking sharp in their fancy digs!

trying to get a picture of all three was a little more challenging since Noah was not very cooperative.

now were talking!

sweet baby E!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year and got to enjoy time with both sides of the family. We started our morning by heading to church with Orlin's parents, his brother Tyler, and his girlfriend Jaclyn. It was a really nice service and a great way to start our day be remembering to be thankful for what we have and more importantly remembering to give back. Most everyone brought food or money to donate and Noah and Tyler got to bring it up to the front. By the time everyone was done there was a massive amount of food for the needy, which was great to see. We went back to the Orlin's parents for some yummy sticky buns and then relaxed for awhile and got ready for our yummy feast which was around 2:00. We had a wonderful dinner with the whole family and even a couple of family friends joined us. We came home for a couple of hours so Drew could have a nap and we could have a little down time before our next stop at my parents for dessert. It was nice to have time to visit with everyone and enjoy some yummy dessert, which was a variety of different pies. It was a long day, but we were glad to be able to share time with both sides of the family and have time to reflect on just how fortunate we all are. I really could not ask for anything more then what God has given me, which is a wonderful husband, two healthy sweet boys and a family that loves and supports all of us. Feeling so very blessed!