attitude, never too much.

Some days I wonder if Willaert girls have too much attitude!  These are random pictures from our Christmas vacation.  Gabrielle tried to implement a Pajama Day.  Unfortunately, they all woke up early to start the day off right.

Lucia pouting at me about something, too bad she and I don't remember what it was about.

should have hired a professional!

Lucia had her Christmas program last week.  I was there with the kids and our two favorite grandparents from Rochester, Bill and Dona.  Luke was the designated photographer.  Why you might ask...no idea, cause he wanted too.

So enjoy the story Luke's pictures tell!  Not the story we meant to capture but the one that we still laugh about! 

Yup- Lucia was there.  Her Head is the little brown blob on the far left!  She was so cute!  Luckily, her friend Anthony is picking his nose and blocking the view of his face!  Nice close up of Lukas' finger though!

Please note- the captions are just my opinion and not the actual thoughts of the person in the photos.....

Mom- "Hi Lukas!  You are doing Awesome!  Try to get some pictures of Lucia!"
Sadie- "This Christmas program is interesting.  Don't bother me."

Sadie- "Wait, what is this?"

Sadie- "Oh a call!  How Pleasant."

Sadie- "Oh goodie, what great news!  Now if only my fingers weren't so pudgy...Texting on these silly prepaids is such a hassle."

Sadie- "I wish I had a bigger screen to text, text to speech would be nice."

Sadie- "oh yay!  Finally the climax of the show."

Sadie- "Please no paparazzi"

We are still out to lunch on the desicion if we will re-hire Lukas again!

Santa and the People-

This is from just after Thanksgiving.  We visited Santa at River Hills Mall in Kato.  Santa was amazing.  He reminded the kids to have their rooms clean so he wouldn't trip on anything.  He also told them to help mom keep things tidy and nice.  Santa also reminded them to leave a BIG plate of cookies and milk for him.  Looks like lots of kids have been listening to this Santa- there was barely room for Sam to cling to Santa's side.  Sadie was screaming but her head is down so you can't really tell that well.  I just noticed gabs has her hand on Santa's boot- weird?!

Sam's Pure Bliss

Yup, More pictures of Sam- he is the only one that holds still long enough for me to snap a picture of.  Sam got his 3 RSV vaccine for the season!  Next time he will be so big the dose will be in 2 shots!  Poor guy!  As you can see in the first picture he is enjoying his FIRST EVER Tuesday night Vikes game!  He really enjoys his recliner.  Sam is also sporting his FIRST EVER blue jeans.  He had to get get them out since his girl friend EmmaLyn was modeling some super fashionable jeans today.  Sam was slightly jealous!

Sam's other guilty pleasure is Nerf guns.  As you can see Nate is sharing his favorite gun with Sam.  I am not sure how Sam is going to carry that gun around since he has a hard enough time lifting his head.

So this week with all the kids home I am going to ATTEMPT to get pictures of the other people that live around this place! 

Sam Laughs

Sam was laughing it up when we put him in his car seat this afternoon.

Guess he laughed a little too hard....  Tomorrow he starts physical therapy for his neck and head.

Baby Jesus-

Sam as Baby Jesus!  He did great at the night performance.  He even made a little noise but not too much.  I heard a few people talking about how "baby Jesus" was talking.  Before the performance Sam really enjoyed smiling at the cow.  Might try to get her as a baby sitter sometime.

Gabrielle singing with her first grade class. You know they are the BEST singers, or so reminds me.  Personally, I think she has one of the best smiles.  Stitches are gone and she is looking better than ever.  Tomorrow is the last day of school for the year.  Can't wait for Christmas vacation. 

One more for today!

We are off to the Christmas program for Lucia's preschool class. It is one of my most favorite programs ever.  The kids walk in sing 3 songs and then we all eat oreos and lemonade!  Mrs. Schollmiere and Mrs. Griffin run a tight show and I LOVE IT!  we are in and out of there 25 mins TOPS!    These pictures are mostly for Jackie in New York!  I know she could use a good smile and the pictures of Lucia should remind her of a crazy Natalie!

Here is the outfit Lucia wanted to wear:  I like to call this the "Natalie look"

Here is the outfit she ended up wearing!  Black Velvet and shinny high heels is always the way to go!




Just so you don't think I am smothering her creative unique personality.  Lucia did wear the "Natalie" look to sing carols at a nursing home on Tuesday night, with a wind chill of -30.  She was the best looking one in the whole bunch.  Although I must note the show was stolen by Lukas and Sadie when they started wrestling in the front of the room during the song "We Wish you a Merry Christmas".  No kidding it was a down and out brawl....Sadie held her own.

And a picture of Sam for shits and giggles!

BEFORE and AFTER

Nate celebrated his birthday on the road.  Brian stopped and got the cake at Dairy Queen.  Unfortunately a rock hard frozen ice cream cake doesn't cut well with a plastic knife!  So after letting it warm up for a bit here is the before and after pictures"

WE just let them go at it with plastic forks.  We still managed to break several plastic forks on that cake!  Best cake EVER though!

Thank you Barcley!

I stole this picture from Barcley so I have to say thanks up front!  He referred to it as a "where's waldo" photo......sadly, I totally agree.  Sometimes I feel like my life is a constant Where's Waldo page.  I just pray it never turns into the page where there are only waldos and you have to find the right one, which is missing a shoe.  However if it does come to that I really really hope my brother Joe is nearby.  He was a whiz at those books when he was tiny!  Below the photo is a list of things you can find.

Please find:
Luke rearranging his food he has yet to eat.
Lucia trying to kiss Sam....AGAIN.
The number 6
Empty bread basket now home to a fruit dish.
3 purple grapes and other cut fruit that used to be in the fruit dish.
Silver ranch boat.
4 purple ball ornaments
one shinning wedding band.
14 glasses
Numerous Christmas Nut Crackers.  Perfect decoration for a Christmas wedding!
Cheerful Nate.
Some lady looking at the group in the photo thinking Nat and Barcley are insane for touching that dirty little girl.
One guy praying his wife isn't as fertile as his new sister in law. 
One killer good looking bride and Barcley too.
One momma thinking about the 34 hour drive home.
One daddy wondering how he got himself into this mess.
Lastly can you find the real waldo- missing a shoe?

what is a dull moment?

We got home last night LATE!  And then today the plan WAS to clean out the RV, re gather ourselves for school tomorrow and do laundry.......the hand we were dealt went something more like this....

Brian spent most of the morning clearing snow.  Thanks to our neighbors when we got home we were able to make it into the house.  THANKS!  Then everyone got nice baths and smelled wonderful.  While preparing to go out and play in the mounds of snow, Gabrielle fell on the steps.  She managed to knock out a loose tooth- which she had been saving to loose at school.  She wanted to get her name on the "lost tooth" board at school.  Thanks again to Terry- our neighbor, who is excited to move to a less exciting neighborhood- drove her, Sam and Me to the hospital.  We were at the ER from 11am-5pm.  Gabrielle managed to bite through her lip in two places.  She ended up with 3 stitches in her lip. Now back to more laundry.

So here are pictures I meant to post but didn't get too-


Here is me walking up for the wedding!  I think Luke had the best view in the whole church.

My sister Natalie-

Nate Celebrating birthday #6...on the road! Sadly- I don't even remember which state this was in.  Yes, he has PJs on in the picture- it was like 3pm.....I think?!

Wedding hangover for a 20month old.

The rest of the pictures have to wait till tomorrow- Sam is hungry!

TA DAhh.......

So here are the big girl shoes I got....we are off to the wedding and more pictures are soon to follow.  Now to go take the dress back off to feed Sam.  I wish he would have read the memo about when he was supposed to eating.

60, beach and almost Christmas?

Today we were about to head out the door to LegoLand but found out it is closed on Wednesdays....hmm go figure?!  So we hit up another beach and balboa park.  The beach was a huge hit with the kids.  Sadly we looked like tourists since our kids were in swimsuits and have a grand time in the water.  All the normal California people I guess thought it was too chilly to go in the water!  It is in the 60's here. 

Balboa Park was nice too.  Next time I see a person counting the kids I am going to wave or make some funny gestures at them....maybe I will count their kids as I point at each one. 

 This is Sam doing his favorite thing in the whole world...eating.  This is me nursing a kid outside in DECEMBER?!  Crazy!

Kiddos playing at the beach.

This is all of us at Balboa Park.  Some lady offered to take our picture and this is what we got....beggars can't be picky

The kiddos are having a grand time with the soon to be "uncle barbley".  Sadie can't say Barkley but loves teasing him....poor poor barbley.

Wedding rehearsal is tomorrow and wedding is Friday.  :)  I am still trying to figure out the logistics of nursing Sam in the dress for the wedding.  HA!  poor kid might starve or Brian might start finally nursing him....  :P

WE MADE IT!

We made it and all in one happy mess! We are so glad and thankful to be at Aunt Natalie's house and not moving for a change! California is so warm it is crazy! The kids SWAM in the Ocean today! Natalie kept asking if they were chilly but they weren't! So here are some pictures from the past day or so.....

Here is Brian and the kids at Sunset Crater Volcano.  This was well worth the hike passed the sign that said- "No Trail Maintenance- travel at own risk".  Some people were more excited about it than others.
 

Sam is still wondering what is happening....He is recovering well from his circumcision and is getting back to a happy baby.  He has been laughing at us now..silly guy.

Gabrielle at the Grand Canyon.  Or as Lucia calls it "the big whole we came to see".  Lucia was a little bummed this isn't where Natalie's wedding was.

Lukas Just getting a better look. 

Sadie just testing the limits, as usual.

 Lucia at the Ocean with her name written in the sand!  She really is a writing nut!

 The kids and Brian at the Crater/Volcano...as you can see Lucia wasn't to warm to the idea at first.

Sadie at the beach in DECEMBER!

Lukas throwing Rocks at the beach and chasing birds.

Tomorrow holds much more! 

Pics from yesterday....

This is us at the painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park.  SUPER COOL!  If you get a chance to check it out do!  It is worth the $10 to go. 

Brian and Sadie at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest Park.  As you can see Brian is still smiling....mostly because he isn't in the RV.  Sadie isn't smiling.  I thought it was because she had to be in the picture with Brian but......

 Smiling Nate......on the way out of Texas.

Sadie wasn't smiling because she puked a few turns later.  She managed to puke right on Gabrielle's coloring book Map of the National Park.  :(  We got it clean up though.  However Sadie's shirt was done.  For as you can see the weather was super nice and she was running around for a bit with no shirt.  Crazy to remember what the weather is like at home!

So today is on to the Grand Canyon.  :)  Hopefully the kids will stay on the paths and we don't leave anyone behind!  We also thought we might see Lightin' McQueen yesterday along some of the roads.  I will try and post those cool pictures tonight.  We also saw the HUGE holding corrals for McDonald's burgers.  Just kidding....we don't know those cattle will become McDonald's but they will become burgers!  :)

AND WE ARE OFF.....time to feed Sam! 
-Mo

Today we learned....

no pictures tonight....no time.  We just rolled into Flagstaff AZ.

Today we did learn th following:

If Driving in New Mexico you should invest in Satellite radio. 
Cline's Corner isn't worth the stop...nor all the billboards.
Listening to Spanish music makes you hungry for chips and salsa.
Alberto's Mexican Food in Holbart is pretty darn good.
Sadie is a puker.
Petrified Forest and Painted Desert is pretty AWESOME, they could use some rails on their paths.
Texas has HUGE cattle corrals....burger anyone?
Battery life on gadgets for the kids just aren't long enough.
Mountain Time is WEIRD!
You know what else is weird....all the really really old cars with NO rust, no trees and all the tires.  We saw several place that had "fences" made out of tires piled on top of each other.  Plus all the nativity sets sitting out on dirt...no snow.  We also saw a blow up snowman on top of a gas station, strange with no snow around him.

That is enough for one day.  Bed....tomorrow Grand Canyon and what ever other trouble we can find.

Teaser.....wait till you see the shoes I got for the wedding.  So not "Molly" shoes!
I will try and get pictures from today up tomorrow.

Donut poppy and Grams.....

Our "donut Poppy and Grams" winter in Texas.  So right now we are in the same state as they are!  WOOO HOOO!  Wish we were close though!  In honor of them everyone ate Chocolate Donuts in Texas....even Sam!  Just kidding....I ate his.  Aren't those faces Chipper at 4am?!  Here's to Lunch at 9am!

Last night he kids played on a "tator tot".  This is what they told me about it.... Mom dad said they don't make these anymore because too many kids got hurt.  We kept bonking Nate really hard when he went down.  Dad told us sometimes they would put tires under each end so you wouldn't hit the ground too hard.  My hands got so cold holding on to the metal hand...  poor kids never played on a teeter totter....errr tator tot!

Unwritten rule of the Willaert RV......

Why is it that our RV came with the unwritten rule that there is no sleeping past 6am?  Sigh....I know I told someone "I am going to get more sleep on this trip than I do at home"  How dumb was I?  You would think I would know better by now?  I was thinking lots and lots of naps!  Nope, and nope to sleeping in too!    I wish I spoke Spanish....All the signs around here are in Spanish.  I personally like "El Presidente Auto Exchange.....1/2 English and 1/2 Spanish.....and 2/3 wait what?

Well off to New Mexico!  Today I am bound to talk Brian into making a pit stop at a goodwill...Texas people or New Mexico people have got to have good stuff they don't want.  Brian is still in the hunt for the blue velvet Mary bank he put back on the shelf at Good Will Rochester.   That was such a treasure.

And the future holds......

BRIAN SAYS, "Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, All of Kansas, Oklahoma, and now Texas... Tomorrow it's on to New Mexico and Arizona".  I told him we have to hit up at least 1 GoodWill on this trip! :)

Back on the road again......

Look at those happy little faces. WE picked up the kids from school and headed out.  Note all the snow out the window!  Leaving chilly MN for a over night low of 27 in TX!  WAIT WHAT?

Yet, another happy face.  Let's see how happy this face looks in about hmmmmm I give him 3 days....TOPS!

So the sleeping arrangements which I am sure you are all curious about.....this is the couch that magically turns into a bed for FOUR!  Just kidding Sam didn't sleep there!  It was warm and cozy though!

This is the kids outside the RV- at least the ones that ventured the chilly morning air!  Lawrence KS, nice winter boots Gabrielle!  Very handy in an RV with people boating on it.  Side note- see the kid looking out the window on the door- Very weird.  That is just a picture...it has freaked me out more than once.

Yup - I got my turn to drive too.  I hate the wind!  The RV is a 30 foot.  The cab is the same as our van, just an older model.  Like my white knuckles?

Nate trying to make himself car sick.  Coconut and Tambourine liked the view too.  Sadie puked in OK...no wait it was KS.

Luke and Sadie doing what they always do....can't live without each other and can't help but beat each other up.   This is the overhead bunk.

Just so you know we are actually not hanging out in our back yard with a 30 foot RV here is the view as we crossed into TX.  Nice day in TX, tad chilly though.

Look a field where they grow T-Shirts!  Crazy.  Never seen one in person before!  :)