Laugh often, eat well, love much: The Re-cap

I'm sure you've all been long awaiting this run down of the crazy week....strap yourselves in, hold on to your hats, it's gonna be a bumpy (and expensive) ride.

I've been very absent from here lately as we've been busy trying to finish the basement. Save the funds by doing the work ourselves. Mr. C knows what he's doing...I just do what I'm told. We hoped to have the carpet in before the kids arrived, no can do. But the walls have a first coat of paint. So we put some blankets on the floor and headed to Costco to buy 5 matresses. That's right sports fans....5! In case it isn't already quite a job and dollar to put on Christmas for 7 children, adding beds for them....whoa. But we were escatic that all of them chose to come for Christmas. Both our oldest boys have been dealing with some hurt an confusion and have not spent time with us. Big K not in the last couple months, and T-dog...not at all. But thanks to iPods with email, support from their other parents and possibly the promise of Snowboarding (not as a bribe, but just as a plan for an activity that aparantly tipped the scales in our favor) we had all of our family under one roof for an entire week. This was very fun and very loud. We live in a semi-detached home...meaning that one side is attached to someone else (duh). Unfortunately for them, they decided to move in two weeks before Christmas. Boys of any age, but especially two 13 yr old boys, and one nearly 16 yr old...they're loud in everything they do. Going down the stairs is a stomping ordeal, combined with smashing someone up against the wall while you do it. Never named the music from their rooms, the constant kitchen use and the whooping and hollering surrounding anything X-Box related. Then add in little boys that have sound effects for every part of their life, and one lone girl that can get anything she wants by shrieking a little.

Anyway, you get the drift....LOUD.

We picked them up on Sunday afternoon and headed to the house of horrors to begin our fun filled week of Christmas and Festivities. Movie night at home on Sunday.

Introducing... (poor neglected children who have to find their own food)...

Monday my kids had dentist appointments (always a fun way to kick off Christmas) and then home for a warm day hanging out.

Tuesday is started to warm up, so we headed to our ever favorite toboggan hill. If you have too many children, here's how you get rid of some...

Followed by Games night, and there you have it....not all facing the camera, not even all that clear...but that's all of them.

Wednesday was movies, big Kids....Tron. Little Kids...Tangled. Big Kids rating - meh, not that great. Little Kids Rating - Awesome!

Wednesday we added another child, cause what's one more at this point. Big boys = girfriends...so we brought home Miss K who is loved by all in our home...

Thursday, the highlight of the week. Snowboarding. I took the four oldest and Miss K to COP for a lesson in the finer points of falling on your bottom end muliple times. T-Dog and B-Boy have been once before, so of course they were pro's. But the rest of use learned step by step. Even the Mom pulled of a few impressive moves. They loved it, L-O-V-E-D. There's talk about foregoing a car (not that he's getting one) and buying a snowboard.

None of me....ha ha....I had the camera. And no action shots, I was too busy rippin down the hill...mostly upright.

Originally Big K was going to be leaving on Christmas Eve. So we decided to ask Santa if he could stop by our house before heading to China, thus (yes I said thus) putting Christmas a Day early. Big K decided to stay, but Santa was already on his way....so Christmas came early.

I decided to not have stockings. Reason 1 - couldn't find any I liked, Reason 2 - I like be different. So, Christmas Buckets is what you'll find at our house. I asked Miss S if it was okay to have Buckets instead of Stockings, "Are they big?". Seems tradition is not that important. The Bucket decorating.