A great day

Cy has been counting down to the 20th of January since November 5th. So today Cy and I sat on the couch and watched the inauguration of Barack Obama. I wanted him to watch as as history was made. He took it all in, asking some questions that I was not prepared to answer. I hope I did some of them justice. I know that he probably won't remember this, and does not realize the weight of it, not even I can, but when he looks back on this time I hope he will be proud to have had it happen in his lifetime. It is wonderful to see the world through the innocent and accepting eyes of children. I loved the commentary about all children actually seeing what they have always been told, that they can do or be anything they want if they work hard. It was a great day for all Americans.

Pre-school Drama

Cole was upset the other day when my parents picked him up from pre-school. Upset that Kaitlyn will not "crush him," she will only "crush Brayden." This means that she does not have a crush on him. Cy asked him later if he was using his "good manners" with her. Cole reenacted how kindly he always asks her. Then reenacted her abrupt "no!" Poor Coley boy!!

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We started with Christmas Eve at my parents house. Nolan's parents joined us along with my Grandma. My mom prepared our traditional meal of ham, yummy potatoes and such. Delicious! We ate, visited, played games and opened Christmas Eve gifts. All of us were pretty tired, pretty early. Too much anticipation.

The O'Brien Crew

Mike, Ashlee & Boys

Grandma & Grandpa Skiby with Boys

The Boys and their Great Grandma Mary, we were very blessed to have her with us this Christmas after a heart attack in October, she's 91 years young.

We made sure that Santa had a snack to tempt him to come.

Don't forget the reindeer. Cy had made some reindeer food in school. It was made up of oats (for them to smell) and glitter (they are drawn to sparkle). Worked like a charm!


Christmas morning started pretty early. Cole is suddenly an early riser (boo!) and was up at 6:30, it was still dark so the coast was not clear. We waited until Cy got up around 7:15 to get started. Santa left a letter saying that the reindeer were so enticed by the food we left out for them that he had stopped at our house first out of all the homed in the neighborhood. Santa gobbled up his Cookies and took our elf, Ralphie, back to the North Pole. Ralphie had kept watch over the boys each day and reported back to the North Pole each night. We look forward to seeing him again next year.



Showing off some of their gifts.
Night vision goggles from Granny & Papa Skiby.


Cuddly Storm Troopers

Santa brought Cole his own Indiana Jones hat and whip.


We had a great day. This is the first year that we stayed home all day. The boys are at the age that they want to stay and play with their toys and avoid running around. We asked our families to come over to our house. It was such a relaxing day. Norm brought over and made all of us breakfast. We chose a great year to do this as the weather was terrible!! We appreciate everyone braving the storm to come spend some of the the day with us.

The theme of our Christmas was Recession Shmession...what recession. It was crazy. As the owners of the only grandchildren on both sides, we were swimming - no drowning in gifts. I still do not have them all put away and it will take 6 more garbage days for us to get rid of all the packaging. Everyone was more than generous, we are very spoiled.

This is the end of the day, still in jammies. We were happily worn out.

Here is Cole re-enacting how he had slept waiting for Santa.

Thanks for a wonderful Christmas. Each one seems just better than the last. Already counting the days until the next one.

R.I.P. Billy Ocean

Cy's fish, Billy Ocean, saw his last day on December 21st. Billy had had a previous health scare a few months ago. I had called Nolan to tell him that Billy had died and to stop and grab another one on the way home. When Nolan got home, he came out of Cy's room shaking his head at me. Billy wasn't dead-apparently just playing possum. So Cole got a new fish that he named, Naughty.
Again, it was me who found Billy. This time I knew he was dead because he was white (normally blue & red). Nolan and the boys were out doing some Christmas shopping, I called to ask what I should do. Nolan chose to tell Cy. When they got home Cy was crying and very upset. He's so sensitive. He made me say a few words and then he flushed him. This is the letter he wrote about Billie.



Being the sensitive little brother he is, Cole, told everyone that Cy's fish died but his didn't, he told everyone Naughty is "awesome."