December 2008

I hung up Brandon's hockey trophies on his bedroom wall.

and Martin Brodeur's jersey.  He is Brandon's favorite hockey player.

I also bought Brandon hockey sheets and blanket.

Todd ripped up the carpet in our hallway and replaced it with Pergo.

 My cousin, Tara and her husband Andy live in CA with their two children, Breck and Piper.

They came home to visit for the Christmas holidays.

Mommom and Piper

 Aunt Shirley and Piper

 Mommom playing skeetball.

 Aunt Shirley, Uncle Kent and Piper

 Andy and Breck

 Breck and Uncle Kent celebrating Uncle Kent's birthday.

 Breck's first time with snow.

 Breck and Tara.

 Zachary's pet hamsters.

Poppop Ritschards Train

These are pictures of my grandfathers train that he got when he was a little boy. This train is about 70 years old. My uncle set it up at their house for Breck and Piper's visit.

Poppop told me that this train set should go to Ahren someday. It is a wonderful gift from Poppop Ritschard, whom we miss so much!!

I posted a lot of entries today. Mainly pictures of Christmas. We had a nice, relaxing holiday. Christmas day I made breakfast my sister, Tiffani and her two boys, Billy & Kyle and my mom and dad. We opened presents and enjoyed the day. Later for dinner we went to Todd's parents. We were there with Todds brother, Chad his fiance, Heather and Heathers parents. Usually Christmas is overwhelming for me, but this year was really nice. The next day we went to my parents house to visit with my aunt, uncle, grandmom, and cousins. It was good to see my cousin and her family because they live in California and we only see them once a year. Friday night we had a poker party with some friends. I played poker for the first time and hung in there for awhile. Two guys went out before I did! ha! Todd ended up coming in third place. Sunday night we had a Christmas party with other family members of Todd's and friends. So now I can sit back and wait for the new years to arrive!! Enjoy our christmas photos!

Christmas Day Photos

ENGAGED!

Chad (Todd's brother) and Heather got engaged over the Christmas Holiday! Congratulations!!
They are thinking of an outdoor August wedding at St. Peters Village. To see pictures of St. Peters you can click on Brandon's View (his blog), scroll down to the bottom and see the nature scenes. It is gorgeous!!!!

Favorite Present

Ahren's favorite present was a new computer desk chair. He was using a metal folding chair.

Zachary's favorite present was a new custom made lacrosse stick.
Brandon's favorite present was actually an electric guitar. I didn't have a picture of him opening it because things can be very hectic with three boys opening presents at one time. So, here is a picture of Brandon with his new hockey bag with the team logo.

Gingerbread House

The weekend before christmas the kids spent a day at Mommom and Poppop Millers while the mommy and daddys went christmas shopping. Brandon and Zachary helped their cousins, Max and Morgan make a gingerbread house. This has been a tradition for the boys for many years, it is the girls first year to make a house.

Katie, Kari & Kara

These are my nieces who live in Alabama. We don't see them often and I miss them terribly. Merry Christmas girls! Love Aunt Tami!

Monday Memories

We used to get our Christmas trees from a farm. Santa would be there to take pictures with the kids and Mrs. Claus was there to hand out hot coca. I find myself wondering what happened to this farm. We don't go there anymore. Perhaps because the boys are older and Santa isn't as impressive as he once was. There are times I miss when my boys were younger. I miss the hugs and the way they would say "mommy, mommy look what Santa brought me!".

(These pictures were taken in 2001.)

Let there be LIGHTS!

After untangling the christmas lights left over from last year, Todd and Zachary began hanging up the lights. (talk about procrastination.... how many days until christmas?)

How many days?

I found this sign hanging on Zach's door in his room. Normally he puts his homework, projects due or sports events on the white board. This time he is counting down until NO MORE SCHOOL and until CHRISTMAS!

Couch Potato

When we first moved into our house in 2005 Todd had bought two couches that he said he got a great deal on. Well, within a few months or so, the padding on the couch seemed to just disappear and it felt as if you were sitting on two by fours.

They were HORRIBLE!

We finally decided to get new furniture for our family room. We bought an Ashley sofa and love seat that looks like real leather (but it's not). We got it from a local store called "Magic Sleeper". The store is owned by my girlfriends sister-in-law's family. (Phew! say that three times fast! ha!) Any way - not only do I have nice new sofas, I also have couch potatos growing on them! :)

Hockey Injury

Brandons friend and teammate, Zak was driving to the net and was tripped up by an opponent's stick and literally "crashed the net." His right wrist smacked the goal post. The ER doctor didn't see a break on the x-ray, but the injury is where there are some growth plates, so she splinted it. Fortunately there are only 2 days of school left before the holiday break. The worst part - no video games or hockey...AAHHH!

Got Defense?

Brandon played a very physical game today. He checked, bumped, poked and hit! He earned an assist in a beautiful play! Since the team was losing the last minute of the game, the coach pulled the goalie and Brandon got his first taste of being a goalie. He defended the net well, no pucks went in. (Although his team lost, they played their hearts out!)

Zachary's 1st Goal!

Wahooooo!
Zachary scored his first goal in lacrosse!
It was so exciting! Of course, I am a very proud mama!

Ahren and Ashley

Here are some really cute pictures of Ahren and his girlfriend, Ashley.

The Hoar House

Saturday night we went to a christmas party at the "Hoar House". Yes it is pronounced the way you think it is. Richard and Marie Hoar fondly refer to their home as the "Hoar House". We celebrated the holidays with friends and even met some new ones.

It was a nice and relaxing evening.