WE ARE FAM-I-LY!

Everyone was so worked up over trying to make Lizzy smile... but I think her face is priceless!

Grandma and Grandpa Washburn with all ten of their grandchildren!
(left to right, back to front)
Joshua, Connor, Grandpa
Grandma, Lydia, Elijah, Benjamin, Caleb, Elizabeth, and Dallin
Eve and Barak

Isaac, Katrina, Ephraim
Tiffany, Seth, Eliza, Esther, Kimm
Mom, Miriam, Bekah, Dad

Crazy Washburns!

Miriam cracks me up in this picture. What is she doing... a dead puppet!?! ;)

New Years Eve

A tired grandma lovingly played Life with the boys as they waited for midnight!
Ben, Grandma, Connor, and Josh

(Go Blue Hens!.. Grandma is wearing her U. of DE sweatshirt!)

Caleb crashed about 11pm. I was not going to let Connor stay up until midnight for New Years. But I had to let him since Kimm and Ephraim felt Caleb was old enough (10) to stay up. Needless to say... he didn't even make it. Thanks for nothin! ;)

The Washburn family by nature seems to not be night owls. I think this is the first year that I have been there for New Years... where I am not the only one up to see the ball drop! :) I had to record it! Esther and Eliza made a fabulous dinner complete with hor 'doeuvres and sparkling cider. Yummm!

Besides Caleb... my husband was the only other exception of falling asleep early. However, Seth only made it until 9:30pm! He awoke when he heard us all counting down and came down stairs just in time to see the ball drop and get his New Years kiss! No sooner he was back in his bed. :)

Happy New Year 2010!!!

Swimming in Winter?

Connor was so amazed that when we showed up at the pool.... that there was WARM water! Who knew there was such things as heated pools and indoor waterparks? Not in Texas! :)

This is how we roll in CO. Swim trunks and snow boots!

Connor and Tiff wipe out on the inner tube. Yes, I'm the nerdy one plugging my nose!

Dallin loved this slide!

Connor, Lizzy and Isaac on the lazy river.

Eli wiping out on the water slide!

Lazy Days

The thing I enjoyed most this trip to Colorado was that for the most part we could stay up late reading, sleep in, lounge in our Pj's til noon, no schedule, no appointments, if it weren't for Dallin I would have hardly even known I had kids! Connor and Eli ran free with their cousins and aunts and occasionally checked in for a snack or meal-- it was great! :)

Enjoy some of the random shots taken on our trip!

Lizzy (2.5yrs), Eli (3.5 yrs), and Lydia (4.5 yrs) watching Snow White.

I don't think Eli minds being the only boy in between girl cousins even a bit. He seems to fit right in with his love of pink and princesses! :)

Dallin was obsessed with Jesse (the cat). Jesse was eating her food when I took this picture. I wanted her to look at me so I barked like a dog. She turned and hissed at me. Cats are so FREAKY!

Uncle Isaac has an ingenious game if you ask me. He rolls up the kids in blankets as tight as he can... and lets them squirm and struggle to try and get out. For some reason they seemed to think it was great fun and it kept them occupied and out of trouble!
(Lizzy and Eli)

The "older" cousins (minus Ben). Caleb, Josh, and Connor

Eli giving Bear a good love.

Eli LOVES his aunts.
(Caleb, Bekah, Esther, and Eli)

Seriously, don't grow up. You are perfect the way you are!

Connor was pretty psyched about his GI Joe and 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days' book from Grandma and Grandpa Washburn.

The sibling rivalry between Seth and Esther seems to continue from the old days. With 22 people in the house we had to label cups. Seth had the biggest cup... that is until Esther got out the pitcher. HA! :)

When I see these two together it just makes me happy inside. They are almost the exact same size (only a couple weeks apart) both have their blond hair and bright blue eyes... if they weren't cousins I think I just might demand an arranged marriage! :)

Colorado Snow!

Christmas night we flew out to spend a week with all of Seth's family in Colorado. (Minus Ammon who is serving a mission). There were 22 of us all under one roof! It was so fun to see everyone, play in the snow, eat yummy food, relax, and enjoy good company!

Nothing stops these kids, especially not snow! Eve riding her bike with Kimm.

Cousins + Snow = Heaven!

Katrina and Barak. How she got Bear (who is already a big boy) to fit in that Bijorn with that huge snow suit is beyond me! ;)

The snow cave the boys built (with maybe a little help from the Uncle Isaac :).

Dallin all geared up to go sledding. However, we took his screaming and crying to mean that he did not want to go. Instead he spent the day with me inside tasting treats, sipping hot chocolate and reading. If you ask me, he chose right! :) I gave the camera to Seth to take pictures when they went sledding. He came bath three hours later... and with not a single shot. Typical! :)

Christmas Morning

Eli and Connor awoke at 5:22am and were ready to open presents!

I had to wake poor sleeping Dallin just so he didn't miss out on all the madness.

I love this sleepy face! What a trooper to go along with it all!

But wait! Before presents... you have to eat your Christmas breakfast! (Seth grew up with this tradition) So Seth made a big yummy Christmas breakfast of french toast, bacon, and strawberry milk...

while I sat and waited still mostly asleep. :)

Connor gave out these coupons as Christmas presents to everyone. They made me chuckle. They read:

To Dad, I will not mess around. From Connor

To Eli, I will not hit you. From Connor

To Dallin, I will protect your from Eli. From Connor

To Mom, I will give you a bear hug. From Connor

Connor got Rock Band 2 from Santa! He was pretty excited about it!

Eli loved his Elefun game from Santa!

And Dallin still has yet to play with his Mega Blocks from Santa... you win some, you lose some?

The aftermath of Christmas morning.

After presents we proceeded with several family jam sessions. It was the perfect ending to a great morning!

Saving the Earth... one Christmas card at a time!

I received a darling Christmas card from my Aunt with a great quote from Emerson on it. I really liked it and flipped it over to see where it was from and happened to read this printed on the back. I am not sure why it affected me the way it did... but I could not stop laughing. It read:

"100% post consumer recycled paper

carbon neutral, acid-free and chlorine-free.

Printed in the USA with certified wind power using vegetable based inks."

All for a great cause... but maybe just a little overkill? Call me old school, but plain old recycled paper would have been sufficient for me! ;)