Are we a Duck family or what?

I am going to start off by saying this is a long post! I didn't blog over the weekend and so I am taking the afternoon while the kids are playing nicely to get this all done! So here it is!


From my mom and Donn Zachary got an Oregon Football jersey for Christmas!! It also happens to match the one I got Travis for an early birthday/Christmas gift! Zachary wore it all day, then wore it all day Saturday and Sunday morning until we went to Church then I threw it in the wash!!
Here are just a few more Christmas morning pictures! This is what Santa brought the kids this year!

Travis's mom made these plates of for the kids! Travis has one from when he was a kid too!


This year we let the kids pick something for eachother! Madison got Zachary a fire engine (imagine that!) And Zachary got Madison "Fable" the beanie baby unicorn! Another surprise!! After Madison opened her gift she hugged Zach and said I love you! It was pretty cool!


Zachary now had all the pieces to the "Rescue Squad Cars" set. These are new Pixar shorts on the Disney Channel. And one of them is Rescue Squad Mater, along with a helicopter, police trooper, and an ambulance. And Mater is a fire engine!

Christmas Morning!!

Zachary got up at 7:30am and I made him lay down with us until Madison woke up which was around 8am. We were so blessed this with great friends and a wonderful family. I think we all got what we asked for, the kids were pretty excited this year. Santa was 'real' for both of them which made it all the more fun! After the Cornucopia of Presents were opened we ate a tasty pancake breakfast!

Here they are with most of their loot. They each got a lot of books, and the standard stocking stuffers! I don't even know how many horse related things Madison got but there were quite a few!

They each received a handmade guitar from their Great Grandpa Dick. He loves to make things out of wood and we were really surprised when the kids opened guitars! They don't make too much noise but just enough! Madison thinks she is Taylor Swift with her new guitar and boots!!!

Our Little Chef!

My Grandma Vickie/Madison's Great Grandma and Grandpa got Madison a Betty Crocker Kids Cook cookbook. Since Madison is such a picky eater, I thought that maybe if she picked out the recipe and helped me make it she would eat it. So we sat down and looked thorough the book and she landed on "Mouthwatering Cinnamon Muffins!" Now if you are a member of Travis's family Dad used to make them but they were called "French Puffs."
Here she is before we got started. This is a great reading opportunity for Madison. Since she can read anything you put in front of her! She read each step, she had a little trouble reading the measurements, but she made it through!


Here she is in the process, as well as the finished product! They were a big hit! We each had one for desert and then for breakfast Sunday morning!

What?

Madison got another shirt with a horse on it!! And before we left today I asked her to pose for a picture and this is what I got! She of course had to wear her new boots! To complete the look with a flower and a headband! What a character. Zachary wanted to get in on the posing action too, so there is one of him!

We love the mailman!!

Since we live so far away from our families, the mail man makes regular visits before and after Christmas. Today was one of those days. My brother and his wife Cleo live down in San Diego and their package came today in the mail.



Zachary got one of his favorite things this year! A new fire truck! He needs one of these like he needs a hole in the head! Thanks Uncle and Tuecha (Romanian for Aunt)



Madison got a My first sewing kit. It came with things to make a room sign for her door, a purse, bracelet, and a birdie zipper- pull. Here she is trying it out. She said that she wants to make a project everyday. Today she made the door sign. Tomorrow she said she wanted to make the zipper- pull.

Christmas Eve Events!

Every year for the last 3 years we go to McDonalds for Christmas Eve dinner. This year we were joined by our wonderful friends! The Raynayake's, The Boyer's and the Shurtleff's. It started out as a Ratnayake family tradition and they invited us the first year and we had fun so now it's a tradition, a way to make memories with the kids!

We came home and Madison dressed up like Mary, Zachary is a bit under the weather and didn't want to be Joseph. Travis read from the Scriptures (both accounts of Christs birth) then we read "The Night Before Christmas," and the kids got to open their Christmas pj's!! Now they are sleeping in Madison's room and watching a movie!! Enjoy the pictures. And yes Madison has baby Jesus in a cowboy hat and yes she is wearing a Princess Aurora dress! Merry Christmas! We miss and love you all!

FHE, Samuel the Lamanite and Gingerbread House Activity!

For our activity we decorated a gingerbread house, and everyone was involved. Madison and Zachary each did a side of the roof, I did the front and Travis helped spread the "glue" frosting!! All in all it was a fun evening!!



Tonight for FHE we learned about Samuel the Lamanite and how he fortold the sign's of Christ's birth. After the lesson we aks Madison a hondfull (about 10) questions about the lesson and she answers everyone of them. She is a little sponge and will remember anything you tell her!

The big 30!!

This past Thrusday Travis turned the BIG 30!!! We did a big dinner suprise party for him last year because he would never suspect anything for his 29th! So this year we were pretty low key. Shannon,Ryleigh and Travis's best bud Gary came over for dinner and cake.




His favorite cake is Fun Fetti!! No joke! So every year I make it! But this year I added 30 candles!!! Since his b-day is 8 days before Christmas he get's something small, like a book or hat. This year we got him a new green sweater from Old Navy. We lost his other one in the move and he has been missing it. Happy Birthday dear! We love you!

"Baby Jesus please, and a star too."

Well I told Madison that if she went to bed right away I would get up early and make her pancakes! So she went to bed and got up before I had to go in there! "Where are my pancakes?" She kindly asked when she got up. So I asked what kind she would like and she asked, "Baby Jesus and the star please!" I think it turned out pretty good!

Poems by Madison

Madison came home today with a brain full of poems that she learned at school. She said that she had just learned them, memorized them and then comes home to tell us about them. One is called snow and the other is about a monkey! This kid can memorize just about anything!!

Finger painting, friends and FHE

This week for FHE we had our friends/neighbors the Shurtleff's over to share a lesson, activity and snack. Madison is 3 and Dallen is 18 months. Our Madison thinks it's pretty neat to have a friend named Madison!


We were going to make out neighbor/friend gifts that night but they weren'y ready. So we (Kathleen and I) decided that we would let the kids finger paint Christmas Trees. They got pretty mess but had fun non the less.

I smell roses!!!

GO DUCKS!!!! What an awesome game!! Good luck in the 2010 Rose Bowl!!! Travis came home from watching the game with Gary so I had to take a picture of his excitment! He was like a kid on Christmas morning!!!

Camera Testing.

My parents gave us an early Christmas present over Thanksgiving weekend! A new camera!!! It's awesome and I have been trying out some of the settings! We have been without a camera for so long so I apologize if I get a little blog crazy!!!

Dec 1st= excitment in the McDowell house!!!

Well today marks the countdown until Christmas. We have two countdown calenders both made by two wonderful friends! It's a good thing we have two of them or there would have been tears this morning!

I got Madison out of bed this morning, by reminding her that it was Dec 1st and that she could start her calendar! I hope this makes Christmas come sooner for them, they already want to open presents!

Sorry for the bed head and pj's they had just gotten up and claim that the flash on the new camera is too bright so they close their eyes!

The unattended fruit-loop bowl!!

Madison left her fruit- loop bowl on the floor this morning, and Ryleigh had her eye on it. Ryleigh has started moving and she is quick!

She tried pretty hard to get to them, and tried to eat them but sucked her thumb instead! SHe eventually gave up and moved on to something else! (by the way Ryleigh is my niece in case you didn't know!)