Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we had dinner at my mom's house with the whole Cox side of the family. It was alot of fun!

They also shared their talents with us!

Uncle Dave & Emma playing their guitars & my grandpa singing to the children (Such a good childhood memory.)

My parents and sisters learned and memorized "The Living Christ" this year so they shared it with us.

After that we headed to Bob and Janies to open pajamas! {we missed ya Bob & Janie}

Alexei loves her uncle Mark :)

Ethan Adams

My heart hurts.

This is Ethan. He is my little Nephew.

He was born with down syndrome. Such a special little boy.

On Christmas Eve little Ethan was life flighted to Primary Childrens Hospital with pneumonia. Things have just gotten worse. He is very sick. They have found a hole in his heart and as i write this the right side of his heart is failing.

I cant fight back the tears as i write this post.

I love little Ethan so much. and My heart just hurts for his family.

PLEASE pray for him.

Ethan and his big sister McKayla.

Such a special little guy.

David's Special Announcement

So proud of his decision! Thats awesome of him!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Happy Birthday Nick!!

we had such a fun day Monday!

Nick's boss only made him work 41/2 hours on his birthday! so he got to sleep in!

while he was at work i wrapped all of his presents!

One of the main things he wanted to do was watch the Toronto Maple Leafs game!

so when he got home he skyped with his parents and opened his presents!

He got a new shirt, a Toronto DVD, a new beanie and a few others.

After he opened presents we watched the Toronto game... It was an intense game but sadly they lost in a shoot out... :(

Afterwards we went to Red Robin

Mark, Cyle, Brock, Choi, Alexei, Nick and I went and got some food! it was lots of fun!

After dinner we came home and got in the hot tub!

Shelby wanted to come tell Nick Happy birthday so he came and hung out for a while.

Sadly, when shelby went to get out of the hot tub... he slipped...

let me tell you... i havent laughed sooo hard in a long time!

he jumped right up and said "i'm okay!" but he did slice his chin open and cut his arm and side.

He was okay though.

Everyone laughing at Shelbys bumps and bruises.

We had such a fun day together! I'm so grateful for the friends we have!

Happy Birthday Sweetie! i hope you had a great day!

Party with the Van Komens!

Tonight Mark and Julie had a sleepover with Liz's kids and Matt's kids!

Nick has work in the morning at 5 so we werent able to stay too late!

I had my little sisters Madison and Malisa with me because my parents were on a date.

They loved playing with all of my Van Komen neices and nephews!

[Malisa and little Matt are in the same grade so they already knew eachother from school!]

This year Nick didnt make an ice rink out back because he's so busy with work, So Mark decided to make one! Tonight we ice skated, ate pizza and made Christmas sugar cookies!

This was Lex's first time on the ice. It was so cute watching Nick skate around with Lex and holding her close so she wasnt scared. I always get a lump in my throat when things like this happen. He's such a great daddy. I'm so grateful for him.

Malisa and Nick skating! Everyone had such a good time learning how to skate! Thank goodness those Van Komen boys have been skating all those years so they have enough hockey skates for everyone [thanks Bob & Janie! :)]

Oh by the way, i know its 12:51 now so i guess yesterday was my father-in-law's birthday!

Happy Birthday Bob!

i hope you had a wonderful day in the Netherlands! Sorry we missed ya on skype! You're the best father-in-law in the world!!! Love you!!

Dance Performance.

Friday was obviously a long day for Lex and I.

i made dinner and then Lex and i tagged along with my family to Malisa's dance recital.

She competes with Rythem Works dance studio and she has such a passion for dancing.

She has so much emotion in her dancing and i have to admit, i didnt know she was as good as she is. It really makes me miss dance and tumbling.

Before you see these pics i'm sorry for the quality of these pics. it was dark in the auditorium.

Grandma and Alexei enjoying the performance.

Malisa is the one in the back. i love this picture because you can see the emotion she dances with.

Malisa is on the right. just before a stunt.

Alexei LOVED the performances and glittery costumes :)

She must want to be a dancer...

[now i've come to the conclusion i want her to be a Dancer, Figure skater, and a hockey player.... haha i guess she'll have to try them all out :)]

Lis in her beautiful costume after her performance.

After we went to iceberg to get some delish shakes, onion rings and pebbled ice!!

I love my little sister. i love that when she has tryouts for dance she calls me and asks me to come help her so she can make it. As much as i hate to say it she is just like i was at that age and its so exciting to see her growing up :)

LOVE YOU MALISA! GREAT DANCE PERFORMANCE!

Lemon chive pasta

On Friday night i made Lemon chive pasta.

I got this recipe via Pinterest.

i didnt think their pasta had enough seasoning. so i kinda twisted it into my own recipe... it calls for what 2 tablespoons of lemon... i put a whole lemon and then squooze [is that a word haha] a lemon wedge over my pasta. it made it taste a bit more citrusy [again haha i have my own language i guess...]

i also put more chives on top than what the recipe called for.

it turned out so YUMMY!

Tonights dinner didnt go as well as planned haha.

lets just say good thing my husband got home right as i was getting frustrated cause the recipe was TERRIBLE and took it and turned it into a great pasta!

What would i do without such a great teacher. He took an avocado pasta that looked terrible... added a bit of cream and butter and seasoning and made a GREAT dish.

I love him. he's always there right at the perfect time!

Beaver Hockey

Beavers vs Mud Dogs...

VERY intense game.

my sweetie played AMAZING.

there were bad calls. what is it with the beavers and bad calls haha.

for example: the ref blew the play dead when the puck was sitting on the other goalies shoulder... and mark hit it in.. but it didnt count...

and 2: Nick's net was off and the ref is supposed to blow the wistle right when the net goes off. Ref didnt blow the wistle and they scored.

i was TICKED.

but what can ya do. its mens league hockey. the boys are just out there to have fun :)

this little sweetie Bailley Carter comes and takes Alexei at the games.

She's such a sweet girl and she absolutely loves Lex and Lex loves her.

24/7

Look what has started back up!!!

[and nick and i ordered HBO for 1 month just to watch it!] :)

Last year my caps were in it and i loved it!

i thought i wasnt going to be as into it this year cause its not any of my FAVORITE teams...

but after last night i CAN.NOT.WAIT till next wednesday.

chewy sleeping with choi during the show

Little Lex was even watching... and putting her socks in her mouth...

she has this obsession. haha but what baby doesnt?

Syracuse Family Fun Center

Yesterday Nick and my sister in law Mary had the day off, so we decided to hang out all day!

we decided to go to the Syracuse Family Fun Center!!!

SO.MUCH.FUN

we went mini golfing [even me :)],

bowling, jumping and arcading haha

It was all a little much for Lex. she was zonked by the end of the night :)

Date with Maddy and Braxton.

On Tuesday night we went on a date with this cute couple.

We decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner!

so yummy.

[notice Nick in the background... i didnt even notice till just barely]

after dinner we went to blockbuster to rent a movie to watch.

we also went to smiths to get some "free falling candy" for treats.

This is the movie we decided on:

i have not seen this movie since like 8th grade... so i only remembered bits and pieces of it....

i laughed SO hard.

[and Nick about died laughing at a few parts]

it was such a fun night and im so glad we were able to have a date night with these cute people...

Bath time :)

My baby loves bath time....

especially with these:

i love my baby... i love her little squeezes and smooches...

i'm so blessed to be HER mother...

She's such a good baby.

Daddies and Daughters.

If you have a baby girl..... you should probably visit this link...

Warning.... this will make you cry.

kinda like i am now :)

I'm so glad Alexei has a daddy to share these sweet and precious moments with.

Pepsi Christmas Party

Tonight was Nick's work party! it was held here:

Snowbird Cliff Lodge

they had a cocktail party at 6:00 p.m. [we skipped out on this because we dont drink... and nick got home from work at 5:30 :)]

Dinner started at 7:00 and we got there right in time for it!

*first they had a salad with mushrooms, olives, tomatos and a delish dressing

*then we got our main course. Steak with red mashed potatos and veggies

*and for desert a triple chocolate cake with strawberries on the side...

i seriously wish i took pictures. Very VERY fancy.

I LOVED IT.

Afterward they had a "casino night"

SO MUCH FUN. Everyone got $250 worth of chips. we played all night long and then at 10:15 we cashed in our chips for raffle tickets!

\

Nick playing some craps

[let me tell you... i did pretty good! but i stole Benny's method.... consistancy. :)]

Nick and I enjoying the party!

and we actually won something at the Raffle!!

A bose Soundlink wireless Mobile Speaker... this is going in my kitchen :)

Seriously Pepsi knows how to throw a party!! it was so much fun!

I cant wait till next year!!

a great night of Beaver Hockey!

Beavers vs. BMA

Friday 12/9/11

THE beavers.

The cutest Nephew ever... Cyle :)

Beavs between periods

cute little Cody

Julie and Lex enjoying the game

My sweet husband

the best B-I-L ever... Mark

a goal happened right after this pic

Maddi and I supporting our beavers :)

Little Lex playing with her Uncle Nate.

[how can you NOT smile when you see this pic? i have the cutest baby in the world!]