Christmas

My mom, dad, sister Sarah and brothers James and William came down to visit us for Christmas. We had a ton of fun with them. We stayed very busy.

My parents watched the girls one night so Greg and I could go and celebrate our 7th anniversary. It was so nice spending time with Greg.

We all went to M&M World, and some went to the Phantom of the Opera (which I already mentioned).
Payton is wearing the tutu that grandma bought her in a little German town in WA called Leavenworth. It has the word "Princess" in rhinestones.
Madi in her tutu. She loves the color purple. She was sick this day with a 101 degree fever. She was actually sick Monday- Friday. She ran a fever Monday and Tuesday, then threw up constantly Wed-Friday. Poor girl missed a lot. She and I stayed home on Christmas Eve, while the rest of the family went to see the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. We also missed seeing the Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. Madi did not eat anything all week. She couldn't even keep down water. I am surprised she did not dehydrate.

We also say many movies last week. We saw "The Tale of Despereaux," "Twilight (It is sad to say that it was my third time!), "BedTime Stories", and "Yes Man." Obviously I like "Twilght." All the movies were good, but "Bedtime Stories" was probably my favorite.

Christmas Day!

Santa Claus filled my stocking too full. (It's the red one on the side) So he thought it would be funny to hang my new bras on the hook instead. Very funny Santa!!
I love this picture of Madi because she was so sick, but she mustard up enough energy to be excited about Walle (we haven't even watched it yet?!)
If you notice my Madi is into video games, board games, and Star Wars. I think it is fun how different the two girls are.
Payton on the other hand got all pink stuff. Princess tent, Princess bed, Sleeping beauty doll and dress up clothes. She is definitely a girly girl.
Here is Christmas dinner. It is a McClellan tradition to eat Prime Rib on Christmas. It was topped off with rolls, mashed potatoes, a relish tray, and sherbert punch. Yummy.
My little Madi finally feels better. She loves this new lion towel.
The best part about parents are their willingness to help their children. Since we moved into our new house, we have had to skip out on a few wants. But my parents came to the rescue and bought us this chandelier for our kitchen, a garage remote, and curtains for my bedroom. Now I don't have to have a blanket over the window in my room. Not to mention the new drinking glasses, silverware, and rice cooker. I can't wait until they come visit again. I need my floor boards painted (just kidding). That is a project I plan on doing really soon.

It was a fun Christmas. I am still trying to recover from all of the busy days. I am trying to slow down this week by staying home. Do I really have to go back to work in 6 days?! How many days until Summer break?

Family Time

Part of my family is in town. We spent a good deal of time yesterday at M &M World and Coca Cola World. I am actually glad we went. They remodeled the Coca Cola World. It was fun. Here are some pictures of our adventures.

My family at M&M World.

Madi has not been feeling well (temperature of 101 degrees). She was a trooper yesterday.

Madi with Uncle William

My sister Sarah eating a coke float. Yum!!

My dad and I sporting the Santa Claus hats that mom bought us.

My beautiful Madi

Uncle William, Uncle James and Payton

Daddy and daughter. Don't they look cute in their hats. (By the way Madi is holding a Sprite, just in case you were wondering)

The girls were told not to wander while everyone was finishing their coke products. They had fun sitting on the opposite side of the escalator.

Madi in front of a big Coke bottle

Payton in front of a big Coke bottle (Same Sprite bottle)


Last night we went to see The Phantom of the Opera. It was so fun and entertaining.

Christmas Song #2

Payton is constantly singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." I have corrected the last word so many times. Oh, well. She is still cute.

We do wish you all a Merry Christmas this holiday season!

Christmas Song

The girls have been singing Christmas songs lately.

Here is Madison singing a verse of "Santa Claus is coming to Town"

Tune in tomorrow for Payton singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas!"

Snow in Vegas!!

Yes, it really snowed in Las Vegas!! We had a record snow fall for the month of December. We got 5 inches that fell into our front yard. It is much better then the man made snow from the winterfest. I just have to say that I am freezing. When can I have the 100 degree weather back?! :) Greg made a snowman for the girls. It is much better then mine.

Though, I have to say it is pretty cute for my first snowman. Madi choose the arms. I thought she was pretty inventive to think of using pine cones.

"Hmmmm, Which pine cone should I use?"

Yes, It really is snowing in Las Vegas, NV. I can't believe it either.

The best part about this is I don't have to go to work today. They closed all of the schools because of the ice on the roads.

As soon as it started to stick on the ground, we went out to play in it.

Payton started eating the snow. She informed us that the snow tasted like chicken. We could only stay outside for about 10 minutes. It was a heavy wet snow. It was only 37 degrees outside. So we came in soaked and sat by our fireplace. We are glad we were able to put some good use to the fireplace.

I had to throw this picture in. Grandma Jody sent the girls these cute skirts. I asked them to pose for a picture. Madi's pose cracks me up. Payton didn't want to take a picture, so she turned her head, that little bugger. Thanks grandma!

Greg's Graduation

On Tuesday, December 16, 2008 Greg graduated from UNLV with a bachelors in Economic Business. We are so proud of him for his accomplishment.

I bought Greg this ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. The teenage guy did not know how to write with icing. He was the only person in the store. Oh well, we all got a good laugh out of it.

Here is my graduate!

We love you and are so proud of you!

My family, with my wonderful father-in-law. We are so glad he could come down to witness Greg's big moment.

Greg and I.
I have really been trying to get pictures of Greg and I . We don't ever take pictures of the two of us because one of us always has the camera.

Go Running Rebels!

Ok, Greg is really in there. Trust me. He is to the right of the business sign and the fourth from the man in the blue robe.

Greg walking. Now I know it is a little small so you can't tell which he is, but if you listen carefully you will hear his name being called.

We love Greg and I am so thankful for all of the hard work Greg put into his education. He watched the girls full time while I worked, Worked full time himself, and went to school full time. He is my Superman.

Winterfest 2008

Every year I bring the girls to the Winterfest in Henderson. This year Greg was able to join us!! They always start the activities with a parade on Saturday morning. The sun was shinning, but don't let that fool you. It was cold and very windy. It was so windy that it blew Payton over (literally). The tree in our front yard was also down when we got home.

My handsome husband and I (I'm sorry, not a good picture of me. I will blame it on the wind messing with my hair).

Payton feeding the animals in the petting zoo.

I just thought this was a cute picture of Payton.

Payton kissing the goat. Just kidding, not really sure what she was doing. Maybe just talking to it.

Madison is combing a goat.

Madison is riding a horse.

Payton is riding a horse.

The girls in front of a big Christmas Tree.

Greg is helping Madison put on her mittens. They had so much fun throwing snowballs.

Notice the big water holes in the man made snow. We are having a warm winter. I didn't even pull my coats out until last week.

There was also a craft fair, but with the wind, the people could not sell their items. Their items kept getting blown over. I did happen to buy a few things though. Each girl got a new bow/ flower for their hair and Payton picked out a red bracelet. It was a fun start to our weekend. Can't wait until next week when we have family in town!!

Kids Are Fun and Funny!

This morning Payton came to me with three pairs of my shoes. She said, "mom I love your shoes! Which of these do you want to wear?" Of course I didn't want any of those (today's jean Friday I wanted to wear flats). So she threw them down in search of another pair. When we discovered the ones I would be wearing today, she put on my gold pair and Madi put on my red pair. They are my kind of girls, they do love shoes.
Madi with her theories:

We were driving home from Target and we were looking at all of the pretty Christmas lights on the homes. All of the sudden Madi said "chaser lights are called chaser lights because they go after each other."

Payton's Theories?!

At about the same time Madi was talking about lights, Payton said, "mom, my eye." Worried I turned around and asked what was wrong with it. She was holding her eye closed. I was worried that it was itchy or hurting. Then she said, "mom, my eye is an eyeball." Yes, it is Payton, yes it is.

I have decided that I love driving with the girls. I really get to hear what my kids are saying. They make me laugh so hard sometimes.

A Payton Update

Well, Payton has gone 5 nights without a binky. Of course every night she has had a melt down and yelled "I just want to return the dress and get my binky back." Then I remind her that the Binky Fairy has the binky and it is no longer in the house. She then says, "Then let's go to the store and buy more!" I give up and just put her in my bed (that is the only way she will sleep, of course I don't sleep well). Now she will probably sleep with me until she is 18. If it's not one thing it's another. Oh my, aren't kids fun! :)

Are the binkies gone for good?

Even though Payton has given up four Binkies, she has still had one Binky left. Yesterday we were at Toys R Us and she saw a Mickey Mouse toy. She asked if she could have it. I told her only if she handed me her last Binky. She said no. So we went about our shopping. She then saw this Princess dress. She told me that she would give up her last Binky for this princess dress. She had a rough night, but she did it. All the Binkies are gone and she has a new princess dress. Wish us luck. I have a feeling that we might have many melt downs coming in the next few days.

Thanksgiving

This year we were able to spend Thanksgiving with two of Greg's sisters, and their families. We all met in Arizona. The weather was beautiful. It was crazy with 11 kids in one house, but it was very fun. The girls loved getting together with their cousins. The Thanksgiving dinner was very yummy. I gained at least five pounds this past week.

Madi kept calling the backyard "the muddy park." This was because she felt like the backyard was big enough to be a park, since our backyard is a small patio. She called it muddy because is rained a little bit off and on all week, so the grass was always muddy.
Since there were 11 kids in the house, the kids did not get naps. Madi's cousin fell asleep waiting for Thanksgiving turkey. Poor guy missed it by minutes.
We always build the best memories with family. I am extremely grateful for Greg's and my families. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, like I did!