Catching up

I have slacked majorly this Christmas season and have let my blog suffer, while I filled my time with other things. Well, I am now catching up with all the fun of the past week. I have added 5 posts under this one, so scroll down and enjoy them. Hope your Christmas was as great as ours. Love, The Langfords

Camping out in the Starwars Tent

For Christmas, Grandma Curtis got the boys this really awesome starwars tent. Case was dying to sleep in it last night, so we let the boys. They had a great time.
Here are a few pics of their adventure. Daisy had to be in the middle of it all.

Christmas at home

Can you believe that I did not take one picture of Christmas morning at our house. Daddy video taped the entire thing though. None the less, here is the tale of our Christmas day adventures.

Late Christmas Eve night, the kids put out 9 baby carrots on the planter border for the reindeer when the came, in hopes they would eat them. Then we tucked the kids in bed and we all geared up for a cold winter's night. Christmas morning, Case was the first to wake up. It was 7:15am. Not too bad, but considering mom and dad were up pretty late (2am), this wake up call was not great news. But he was so excited, we decided to put our desires for sleep aside and get up. He was shocked when he entered the living room. He looked around at the floor full of toys and exclaimed, "Santa really does love us." Then we went outside to check on the carrots. To our amusement, the reindeer had indeed come that night and they left reindeer dust all over the sidewalk. It was really cool. Case tried to sprinkle in on himself to fly, but I am pretty sure that dust only works on reindeer.

The boys were so excited to begin opening the presents under the tree that we let them tear into their stockings while mommy and daddy got dressed and geared up for the big event. Their stockings were filled with lego packs, puddy, matchbox cars, starwars playing cards and a little candy. Once mommy and daddy were ready, we began opened everything under the tree. Boy, all I have to say is Santa rocked this year. He and his elves hit the nail on the head. They left the boys wanting for nothing. They got a trampoline, a new Tractor to ride outside (to replace their jeep that finally died), Jesse got a mini quad. They also got more lego packs, guns, art supplies, games, books, motorcycles, moon sand and lots more. It was a great year. I don't think Jesse opened even one of his own presents. But that is okay because the other boys were happy to help.

After Christmas at home, we went over to Grandma/pa Langford's house for our annual Christmas brunch. Uncle Brad and Aunt Mary came in from Utah this year, so the kids had alot of fun playing with their cousins. Later that day, we went up to Grandma /pa Curtis's house for dinner and Christmas up there. The boys made out like bandits again. We had our Christmas party with Grandpa Whipple the Monday before Christmas. That was the only time we could get everyone together before Christmas because of people's work schedules.

Christmas was a success this year and I have my wonderful husband to thank who works so hard to provide for our family and makes things happen. I also want to thank my mother. She has been a major blessing in our lives, especially this year with the downturn of the economy. She has been our life preserver and for that we are deeply appreciative to her.

Christmas Eve with Santa and the Langfords

The coolest thing happened tonight. We went over to Grandma Langford's house for our annual Christmas Eve party, and would you believe it, Santa showed up. The kids were so excited. Here are the boys pic with the big guy. Blake wasn't there, so we didn't get his pic with Santa. Maybe next year.

Official Happy Birthday Case

Although you had your party already, we still tried to make your birthday special, by making this last minute cake. Luckily mommy had candles in the cupboard . By the way, whip cream tastes really good on cake. Case, you are finally 5 years old.

The gingerbread express

Kids are incapable of ignoring big bags of candy sitting on the counter. It taunts and teases them and seems to call out their name every time they are in it's presence. "Hey Case, come here," it says. "Look at me. Don't I look good. I guarantee you , I taste even better than I look. Go ask your mom if you can open me. If she says no, then give her your biggest and best whine ever. Be persistent. Don't stop until she gives in. If you have to, throw in some of those tears. That always works."

It is amazing how they obey the candy. They beg and whine and plead and beg some more and whine some more and plead some more. Finally, I agreed to let them do their gingerbread train for Case's birthday. It was Dec. 20th. So here are the boys having the time of their lives, decorating their gingerbread express. Even Jesse got in on the fun.I thought they were done at this point, so we did a quick outfit change. Then they decided it needed a little more. So we covered them in aprons and they went to town once more.
Here is the finished product. And there is only a few pounds of frosting on my chairs and newly mopped floors. Good job boys.

Joys of boys

As a follow up to my previous post, I observed an interesting phenomenon today, which led me to believe that maybe my boys are perfectly normal. I had gone to Case's school to bring in cupcakes for his birthday. While I was there, the kids had center time, where they get to play with toys. As I was walking around and watching the kids, I realized something very funny. Almost all of the boys were on the floor playing with legos. They were creating airplanes and fighting them and making sound effects and rolling around and... you get the picture. Then , I looked across the room and noticed that almost every single girl was seated around this one table coloring with stencils. Seriously. Now their talking was high pitched and continuous. It was a hillarious observation. No wonder my house is always demolished, no matter how many hours a day I spend picking it up. I am not going to feel so bad when my other friends, who have mostly girls, are able to keep perfectly spotless homes. I have boys. The picture of mud on my floor is an almost every day occurrence. Then you factor in that it has been raining for the past week and our entire yard is mud. Holy crap, I have no chance. Mud city for me. Joys of boys!

Repeat after me!

Repeat after me. I love my boys. I love my boys. I love my boys. I love my boys.......


Today, I decided to embark on the ever dreaded task of paying my bills. I had been working in the office and the boys were outside playing. They had been outside a while, when I heard them run inside and back out again. I looked out to see what was going on, and caught a glimpse of Case fleeing out the front door with a drinking cup filled with mud. That got me up fast. As I left the office and walked in to the front room, this is what I was greeted to, followed by a quick accusation from Case that Rail did it (even though the bottom of Case's pants were covered in mud). Don't let this picture fool you, the mud went into the kitchen, all down the hall and into the bathroom as well.I decided to go outside and investigate the situation. As I stepped out and called for the boys, I heard their echos from the side of the front porch. I rounded the planter to find the boys gorging themselves in a rain filled, soiled pot. Needless to say, there was mud (Well actually, wet soil. It is different) everywhere. On the porch, on the bench, on the boys, everywhere.


Right after I snapped this second picture, Case proceeded to pour his cup filled with mud all down his shirt. Why he did that, I have no idea. It was really random. At that point, the fun was over and they were all whisked into a hot shower. If you look closely, Jesse is hiding behind Rail. You can see a bit of his red shirt. So, to wrap up my investigation, I concluded that my trashed floors were a collaborative effort from all three boys. But remember... I love my boys. I love my boys. I love my boys!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Sweet Toys-R-Us Dollars

At Case's party last week, he got a Toys-R-Us gift card and some cash that he was dying to spend. We took him , and after about what seemed like an hour going through every isle in the store, he decided on a n Air Hog Remote Control Helicopter. This thing is awesome. The boys had a blast. In fact, it was so much fun that we ended up getting Rail and Daddy their own.The boys had their little routine down. Rail would sacrifice his hand, holding the helicopter, while Case learned how to keep it in the air. What would Case do without Rail? It was hillarious to watch them. They laughed and laughed and laughed. It is kind of hard to see, but Rail is again holding it in his hands.If you look closely in the middle left of the picture, you can see an orange little triangle thing. That is the helicopter. We tried to get better shots, but the thing was just too small. Once daddy got home, he was able to give them some pointers about how to fly it and keep it in the air. Apparently, it is easier to fly indoors. Lets just say, we all got clipped a few times from spinning blades. Not fun.

Weekend at the Langford Grandparents

Grandma Langford invited everyone over this weekend for dinner and to decorate sugar cookies. When we arrived, we were surprised with a newly build half pipe, courtesy of Grandpa Langford and the neighbors (The Larsons). Kolton and Kade were all over it. This is right up their alley. The cousins had a blast trying out their skills.

Rail was content to ride his scooter. Give him a year or so and he will have the half pipe mastered.
Case and Rhyane tried their hand at decorating the cookies. They did a really good job and had alot of fun doing it.

Then there is Jesse. He just runs around and smiles all the time. He is a hoot.

Case's 5th Birthday Party

Case is finally turning five. His official birthday is December 20th, but b/c it is so close to Christmas, I try to host it earlier to avoid the busy holiday season. This year, we had his party at Jump and Shout! Play Center at the Mesa Riverview Shopping Center. What a blast. The kids ran and ran and ran. I have never been to Bounce U, but I really liked this one because there are tons of tunnels for the kids to run through. They spent most of their playtime running around the different levels and only a little time on the bouncers. Here is Case, running around way up high. As the kids were playing, I noticed one of the workers had dressed up in an elf suit. She was walking around for a while and then all of a sudden, the big man shows up. The kids were so surprised (and so was I). Apparently, on Thursdays, Santa flies down for a special appearance at Jump and Shout! They all got their pics taken with Santa and surprisingly, most of the kids were mum when they sat on his lap. I expected, being this close to Christmas, that they would already have a huge mental list ready to rattle off. Not the case.When the kids were finally tuckered out, they called us back in to the party room. You never heard a group of 5 years olds so quiet. The hostess was trying to get the kids to yell an answer to a question she asked them. She had to repeat her question like 3-4 times to get the enthusiasm out of them. They played their hearts out.In the party room, the kids ate popcorn and drank sodas. When planning his party originally, I had grand plans to bring in pizza and cupcakes, but upon making the reservation, I discovered that you can not bring your own food in. You have to use their services. So, being the cheapskate that I am, I opted to move the party a little earlier in the day, have the popcorn and sodas and then, as the kids were leaving, we'd go out to the burb and have the cupcakes that I was going to make.

Now that is a funny story in itself. Earlier that day I had made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles, just as Case had asked. I almost filled them with vanilla pudding, but at the last minute decided not to. Luckily, I didn't because as I was loading up the suburban to leave for the party, somehow, the cupcake pan did a triple flip out of my hands and all the cupcakes went flying to the ground, upside down of course. Luckily, Jeanette was at my house and was able to run to the grocery store and buy some replacement cupcakes.
I would say, all in all, that the party was a success. Case was happy and that is all that matters.
Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Mmmmm.....Chocolate

Everybody knows kids love chocolate. The way it melts in your mouth, oozes out and down your chin to find its final destination on your clean white shirt. That is one of the joys of childhood. Now, don't worry all you chocolate stain phobic moms out there. It's not chocolate Jesse was eating. It was actually dirt. So much of it in fact, that when he opened up his mouth, it was completely black (as you can see). For some odd reason, he loves eating dirt. Never in a million years would I have let my first child and maybe not even my second child eat dirt, but by #3, as long as I did not directly see a cat peeing in the spot he is eating, then it is fair game(much to my mom's dismay).

Mezmorizing

So, we were at Grandpa and Grandma Langford's last night for our usual Sunday night dinner. The adults were chatting away in the kitchen and the children had congregated in the front room. When we went to see what was going on, we walked in on this. All the children had gathered around the Christmas Tree and were watching the train go around and around. It captivated all of them; from toddler to teenager.

A masterpiece complete

The true Allen in Case is coming out. Trevor, you would be proud. Case spent quite some time meticulously arranging his lincoln logs. The tall ones are adults and the small ones are kids (so he tells us) Despite a few setbacks from the two younger brothers, Case was finally able to call his masterpiece complete.As Case was putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece, Rail came over to inspect what Case had done. You could see that Rail was fighting an overwhelming urge to destroy the whole stinking thing. It would bring him so much satisfaction. But in a moment of restraint, Rail decided to only wreck one little corner of Case's creation, luckily only causing minor damage. Ya for Rail for showing some restraint, and ya for Case for not pulverizing him. This picture captures what Case might have looked like had he done it. He gets the need to squeeze from his mom.

Quality time

Here is daddy and the boys spending some quality time together. You would think by the looks of the picture that we planned the black shirt thing. We didn't. We must have all been in the same mood that day.

Since daddy has been working so much lately, he tries to spend as much time with his boys as he can. Here they are playing one of their favorite games, race cars.

Oh happy day

Once again, Life is good. Not only did we find Case and Rail's lightsabers, but we finally got Jesse his own. Now they can have Star Wars fights to their heart's content. It was good timing because I think they were running out of things to use for lightsabers.

When the cat is away...the mice will play!

Last week, the kids and I were gathering all our ingredients to make cookies. Then I made a fatal mistake. I needed more flour so I went to the outside fridge to get another bag. When I returned to the kitchen, this is what I found. Now by the looks of the pictures, you would be inclined to blame the child covered in flour for making the mess, however, pictures can be deceiving. The clean one actually did it. (No big surprise there...ha ha) The dirty one was just reaping the benefits.