{An Epic Battle}

Any time there are Star Wars characters involved there has to be a battle. That fact is bound by the laws of nature ya know. On this particular day it happened to be raining outside, I know a big surprise here in Western Washington and in an attempt to keep my oldest from rotting in front of the TV or DS I encouraged him to do something creative. What I got in return for that request was the following battle.
Good guys on one side....
Not so good guys on the other side.....
You know there can't be any war between good and evil without Mater Yoda present.

This was before he turned to the Dark Side.
There was some mocking of the droids....they didn't like that very much.

And the first one to be skewered by the fruit loop lost the battle. Good Guys 1.....Bad guys 0. As it should be right. I am glad that the money I spent on all the Star Wars guys has paid off with an afternoon for a boys' imagination to run amuck!!!

{It's outta here}

If you happened to notice the snaggle tooth from the last post you will be relieved to know that it no longer is in Meysa's mouth. Thank goodness. Between her being a ninny and not wanting us to touch it and it merely hanging on by a thread we were getting tired of looking at her. She had numerous people offer to give her money if she would just allow them to pull the thing out. She wasn't budging. She reminded me of Nanny McPhee and not in a good way!! The extraction happened yesterday morning before church. Ryan told her she wasn't going to church like that so she needed to work on it herself or have some motherly help. I had to convince that I was practically a trained professional (my years of being a dental assistant are finally coming in handy) before she would let me work on her tooth. So we sat on the couch and talked while I cranked on that tooth, back and forth, back and forth. I had to repeatedly reassure her that I was just working it and that I would not just yank it out. Finally she held her dad's hand while I did one more twist and it was out. She was relieved and so were the rest of us. I'll take the gap a mile wide over the snaggle tooth any old day!!

{Lovely Locks}

Meysa has been growing her hair out for the last couple of years. She has been wanting to donate her golden locks to Locks of Love. We have been discussing with her what the hair is used for and she really likes the idea of letting someone have a chance to have a beautiful wig after they loose their hair from cancer treatments.

Ryan has been teasing her over the past few months about when she would cut her hair but she had stood firm about growing it more. Out of the blue yeaterday, Meysa stated she was tired of her long hair and 'wouldn't mind short hair.' I had also made the deal with her that I would trim my hair when she finally decided to cut her hair. (Ryan has also been 'pestering' me to cut my hair shorter)
So off to Fantastic Sams we went. Meysa wasn't hesitant at all, which I thought she might become as the reality of what she was doing would set in. Surprisingly she didn't bat an eye. She sat down in the chair and told Sheena, our beautician, what she was there for, to donate her hair to Locks of Love.
Sheena was a little surprised that Meysa wanted to cut that much of her hair off but she thought it was really cool. So she measured the 10 inches (the minimum requirement) and put the bands on.
Again I was expecting Meysa to get a little anxious or change her mind before Sheena cut her hair, but she didn't even flinch.
This was the only reaction I got from her and it was a split second, oh my goodness and then she smiled so big.
Lots of blonde locks to share with someone else.
Meysa loves this part of getting her hair cut, and Sheena did a little massage on her head while they were there. I think Meysa deserved it!!

Here is the brave girl after all the cutting and styling. I am so proud of Meysa for wanting to share her lovely locks with someone going through such a difficult time in their lives. She loves her hair cut and wants to grow it out again to donate. I love this girl to pieces!!!

I also got my hair cut but my before and after pics were hideous!! So you can just imagine a flirty, short haircut and then you will have imagined me!!!

{Love}

While we were over visiting Ryan's Grandparents on Christmas Day, Meysa got to meet up with an old friend. A couple of years ago our realtor Tracy, who happens to be neighbors of Ryan's grandparents, let the kids come and ride her horses and Meysa was in heaven, to say the least. The horses' name is Harley and he was rescued by our friend. Meysa was so excited to see him again and I couldn't help but notice the growth of my little girl in just a short time. The only thing that didn't change was her love of horses, it is as strong as ever.

{Christmas 2010}

We had a wonderfully, quiet Christmas this year. Ryan was on call from home but he was actually with us on Christmas Eve for the first time in two years. It was nice. We watched football, ate some good food, baked and decorated cookies for Santa and enjoyed our yummy Christmas Eve dinner of homemade pizza and chocolate fondue. This year the kids were beyond excited for Santa to come. It took them a little longer to get to sleep and then they were up way before the sun, 4:00am to be exact. Ayden said his body just wouldn't let him sleep. We could hear little feet running up and down the hall over our heads and we couldn't sleep much either. Needless to say we were all tired when 7 am rolled around. Wyatt was the last one up and then the frenzy of unwrapping commenced. The older kids got bikes, Lauryn got a DS and Wyatt got his partners in crime, Buzz and Woody!! Christmas Day we headed over to Ryan's Grandparents home to visit with his side of the family. The kids got to open more gifts from grandma and papa and spend time enjoying good food and good company. It was a wonderful Christmas and one that we will remember. It is our last one in Washington State. As we have been enjoying this season here we keep reminding ourselves that this will be the last one here and we wonder what next year will bring us in a new place. We were glad to be able to spend part of the holiday with family for that reason. We are looking forward to 2011 and all the crazy adventures that await us. We hope the new year is merry and bright for you and yours!!