The Cactus

We had a very unfortunate accident a few weeks ago. Jack had just gotten off the school bus in the afternoon and was talking to me. He took a step backward and lost his balance on a rock. Right behind the rock, is this cactus:

Jack sat right on top of it and I instantly knew we were in big trouble. He screamed and screamed the whole way home. When I took a look at his behind, I counted over 20 holes where a cactus spine had poked him. In one spot, a spine broke off and was still in his skin.

This was easily one of my hardest moments as a mother. I pulled and pulled on the spine but it wouldn't budge. Meanwhile, Jack was still screaming because of the pain. Miraculously, Ty was already on his way home from work because I had a doctor appointment. When he got home, we traded places, and after another 5 minutes of pulling, he finally got the sucker out.

You better believe I gave Jack the biggest dessert that night!

Cousins from Texas

We don't get to see my nephew and nieces from Texas very often, but we were lucky enough to have them spend a night at our house after Christmas. These kiddos are close to my heart because I played with therm all the time when they were babies. I wish they still lived in AZ!

The Audreys

Little Audrey and Andrew

Jack, Ashley, Audrey, and Abbey

Chrismtas Card

Merry Christmas!

In March, we sold our house in Ahwatukee. We wanted to move closer to Ty’s work, even though we were sad to leave family and friends. We moved into Rebecca’s parents’ home in Gilbert while we began house hunting. Over the summer, we moved into our new home in Peoria. We love our neighborhood and being minutes away from the new Phoenix Temple.

Audrey and Elliot turned three in August. Audrey is our ray of sunshine. She has a bubbly personality and loves to talk to everyone, including strangers. If you call her "Audrey," she will most likely correct you and tell you to call her "Baby Moose" instead. Elliot has mastered riding his bike with training wheels this year. He loves to cruise down the street. Elliot also loves food and can tell you what's cooking just by smelling it down the hallway.

Jack turned six in September. He's in first grade at a new school. His favorite subject is spelling and he loves to test us when he gets home. Jack just finished his first season of Tee Ball and loved having his Dad as the coach.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas season,
Ty, Rebecca, Jack, Audrey, and Elliot Woods

Christmas in Page

We had a wonderful {cold} Christmas this year in Page. The kids loved playing nonstop with cousins and getting spoiled by Granna and Aunt Les. On Christmas eve, the kids wanted to swim in the hot tub, but we didn't pack swimsuits. McKenna got creative:

They look even more alike dressed like this!

I woke up first on Christmas morning around 5:30 and had to wait patiently for the kids to wake up. By 7:00 they were finally all awake.

Ty got creative and used the panoramic setting on my phone to include himself in the traditional "on the stairs" picture.

Snow Day

On our way up to Page, we decided to stop in Flagstaff and spend a couple hours playing in the snow.

The kids couldn't wait to go!

The weather was perfect for sledding.

We played until we couldn't feel our fingers and toes. Everyone was worn out and slept the rest of the drive up.

Parties

On Jack's last day of school, his class had a breakfast party for the parents to come to. His teacher served a bunch of food and all the kids gave their presents the Christmas projects they'd been working on for the last couple of weeks.

 Jack and Mrs. Conner

School was only a half day. In the afternoon, we all got to drive down to Dad's office and see Santa. We do this every year, and it's a tradition we all look forward to now. Elliot was not scared this year and ran up to Santa when his name was called.

These kids are ready for Christmas!

Welcome December

Well, it's finally freezing here in Phoenix (and by freezing, I mean a high in the 50's). We've been craving some winter weather, though, so it's actually been fun. We've used the fireplace at night a couple of times and even put the heating blanket on our bed!

I'm not sure why we decided December was a good time to start this project, but we are ripping down the wallpaper in the master bathroom.

Audrey loves picking on it.

I even talked the neighbor kid into helping one day. (I love how Elliot looks grossed out.)

Green mustaches.

Bundling up for our morning walk

Jack's class sang a song in his school assembly last week. We had great seats!

 

Kenna's soccer team from Page High School came down a played in a tournament against some Phoenix schools. They were only about 10 minutes away from our house, so we got to watch her play a couple times. Hopefully she wasn't embarrassed, but our kids kept screaming "Go Kenna Bug!" throughout the game. They were so excited to tackle her at the end.

See - it is cold. We had to wear beanies!