MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

A few pictures of the kids in their Christmas-y clothes, actually looking like they like each other!!

We are so thankful for this season and the meaning it brings to our lives. We know that this holiday is really about our Savior and his love for us. We feel particularly blessed this weekend to be safe and healthy. On Saturday we were all in a car accident with 7 other cars! It was an icy day and the hill was just too much for the van. Thankfully no one was hurt and thankfully we have good insurance. Oddly enough, there was a news guy a the bottom of the hill filming the whole thing! Watch this crazy video and pay close attention to 1:02 minutes in (that's the car coming down the hill that will hit us) and at 1:14 minutes in, you can see Kelly (in the red coat) jumping out of the way!!
This is the video of our car crash...

Laynie is 5!!!

I always hear my mom's voice in my head when I found out Laynie's due date (my mom's b-day is the 18th of Dec...) She made me promise to make Laynie's birthdays special and not just lump them in with Christmas (childhood experience on her part perhaps?) Anyway, we have tried to make Laynie's birthdays just as fun and special and everyone's of course! So here is her requested Hello Kitty cake, frosted at 6:30am! Maybe I should always wake up early!!

We made necklaces at her party, so here's the girls (and Quinn the little brother) showing off their new jewelry. The idea of making necklaces sounded so fun when I thought of it...after the 500th bead fell to the floor, I was wondering what I was thinking!

Laynie also requested a pinata, and lucky me...I found a butterfly pinata at Goodwill like 2 months ago!- for $.99!! So, here's the party, moved down to the scary basement, pounding the butterfly hoping for treats...

Especially my little Hailey LOVES treats. She also loves the Halloween socks she is wearing in this picture. But I'm not complaining- at least she has clothes on! Lately I will dress her, and she will undress herself to put on one of three "outfits": Laynie's strawberry shortcake swimsuit, the dress-up lady-bug costume, or her "Zoey" leotard...she even slept in the swimsuit last week.

WOO HOO! A whole set of nail polish!!! (it's okay actually, our carpets are already beyond repair.)

You wouldn't know it by her face, but she loved her cake-

Cake and ice cream = life is good!! We love you Laynie!! We can't believe you're already 5!! Happy Birthday!!

Where did November go?

My own mother has called me to repentance for not updating my blog sooner, and it's true, it's been too long...To think that December is here already is Crazy! but exciting! We are LOVING the Christmas Spirit everywhere!!!

To back-track a little, Thanksgiving was wonderful! We gathered the WHOLE Ditto clan into Grannie's house for fun, games, incredible food, and Memories!!! This family shot is pretty amazing considering the fact that the photographer is also IN the picture (thanks Birch!!) There are 22 grandkids now! (the OTHER reason for the amazing-ness of this picture...no one is sobbing, fighting, or running away! YEAH!)

Thanksgiving day it snowed all day! It was a wonderful holiday feeling to watch the snow fall... from inside :) and it just kept right on snowing! We broke the record in Spokane for the snowiest November!! and the kids are LOVING it!! We made this snowman together, and then Addison built one of his own- he was very proud.

Snow Angels...actually they were being angels that day, playing so well together- it's when we stay cooped up in the house a little too long that the angelic behaviors seem to dwindle a little...

Does this girl look happy or what?!!?

And on Friday we picked out our lucky tree! We had grand plans this year of driving into the mountains with our cheap permit and cutting a tree ourselves! but...the snow put a damper on those plans, so this tree came from a nice little parking-lot sale, and it looks perfect in our living room!

Merry Christmas!! We are loving this season!!

The Festivities...

Warning...for whatever reason we were SUPER lame about taking pictures this year, so I'm sure this post will leave you very unsatisfied in the picture department- SORRY! Above is Laynie at school doing her Halloween program with her school buddies.

Hailey threw on this puppy get-up right before we went to see Laynie so she could have a costume too...but it wasn't her REAL costume...

This was her real costume (I know, you can barely see it!) ADORABLE jammies from Chinatown and a little make-up= China Doll! In her mind though somehow "China Doll" turned into "Baby China" and that's what she called herself all night.

See what I mean about LAME pictures? The girls loved the Halloween party we went to at church- Addison did too, WISH I HAD A PICTURE OF HIM!!

Here is our traditional Black & Orange dinner- on the menu: Black bean soup, Orange rolls, Carrots with black olives stuck on tops, and Orange jello with Blackberries....pumpkin bars for dessert! YUMMY!

And Kelly thinking he is super funny when I was trying to take a picture of the table...

Even Kel and I dressed up for Halloween, he was a Janitor in his sexy coveralls :) and I was Pippy Longstocking- sorry you didn't get to see it! Hopefully we learned our lesson and will be better next year!!

Family Night Jack-O-Lanterns!

Hailey in the pondering stage: "hmmm, how shall I do it??"

Laynie loving the "yuckiness" of pumpkin guts.

" Dad, why are you making me pose, I just want to use a knife and start slashing away at this pumpkin!"

In the end, it's really mom that scrapes all the guts out...fits perfectly with all my other dirty jobs!

YAY! All carved...and only five minutes past bedtime!

Yeah, this is what most of the pictures we took looked like...

Candles in pumpkins, cookies in hand, Happy Halloween!!!

YAY for Italy!!

Kelly and I were thrilled to watch this video about the temple that will be built in Rome...Kelly obviously has a special place in his heart for Italy after serving his mission there almost 10 years ago! We're making plans to be there in 2013...anyone want to come with us? :)

Fall Happenings...

Who would believe it's already the middle of October? Visiting the pumpkin patch yesterday with the girls and a bunch of their friends sure made it feel like Fall! Not to mention it's a great place for cute pictures!

See what I mean?

I got to push this wheelbarrow with 3 girls and 3 pumpkins!! I definitely got my workout for the day!

Here's Hailey with her "teeeeny tiny baby pumpkin"- She speaks in a high voice to it, just like it were a real baby...so cute.

The aftermath of Halloween cookie decorating= sprinkles everywhere!

Also this fall we have attended Addison's cross country meets...both of them! Did I mention I love the way his school does cross country? 3 practices a week, 2 meets, and we're done. It's a great experience for the kids, but not overwhelming at all!

Addison at his 'take off'- notice the kid next to him checking him out, oh yeah, he's knows Addison is competition!

Okay, maybe not serious competition...he seemed to be more interested in posing for the camera than running hard, but he finished both races in great time (1 mile in just over 8 minutes) We are proud of you Addison!

Hailey continues to make everyone's day. She is constantly smiley and happy. She is obsessed with "h's" She yells whenever she sees one on a billboard or in a book, and she writes them everywhere- really- the first time she wrote an H was on the kitchen floor...(Do I praise her for being so smart that she already writes her letters? or lecture her about not writing on the floor?)

Miss Laynie is loving school this year and has become a little fashionista putting her outfits together every morning...I have to remind her sometimes that she is not going to the prom, but rather to preschool where you paint, play, get dirty, etc...she rarely accepts my advice though.

Last week at preschool was grandparents day. Laynie was so happy to have her Grannie there with her. Grannie won the "who has the most grandkids" contest...I mean really, who else could beat 22? Laynie spent the whole day with her Grannie and felt very special!!

Our pretty Laynie...thanks aunt Emmy for the awesome hair-do!

Will the PARTY ever end?

Kelly FINALLY turned 30 last week!! WHOO HOO! we are now in the same decade again! He decided that instead of a birthDAY, he would celebrate a birthWEEK...and celebrate we did.

Monday: we went geocaching with the fam and out to ice cream

Tuesday: Temple night with his favorite wife, and basketball with his brothers

Wednesday: Out to the movies with his brothers

Thursday: Wii night with his brothers (I'm sensing a theme here...'with his brothers')

Friday: (His actual birthday): Play all day, watch football, party all night

Saturday: Water ski....with his brothers.

Here is the Friday night festivities with lots of food and friends and football...Although BYU could've helped a little more in Kelly's Happy Birthday and won their game...oh well!

We're still fans!!!

Getting ready for the Saturday morning ski...it's October 1st in the northwest, not exactly warm (notice everyone but the skier in winter jackets and wool hats!)

Kelly tearin' it up regardless of the temp!

Saturday morning walk to the park...

Some football of their own...(Daddys had a game and kids had a game)

And finally some relaxation after a full week of PARTY! Thanks to everyone who came and partied with us...and a special thanks to 'his brothers.' :)

Yakima throws a party!

Is there anything more fun than a weekend in Yakima with TONS of cousins and a PARADE? The kids all quickly learned that their screaming and waving= candy! Suddenly they were Super loud and friendly with every float that went by!
Mesmorized by the dancing horses...

Addison had a real problem: all the candy that he shoved into his pockets made his pants fall down! Here he is trying to hold up his pocket weight so the pants would stay on!

Hailey showing off her loot...

Hmmm...I wonder who we are supporting in the US Senate race...

The real reason for making the trek to Yakima was to be there for Alysee's baptism! Way to go Alysee, we love you!