See ya later '08

Delia LOVES to rock- rocking horses, rocking chairs, just standing there. Tonight Isaac decided that that they need to ride Hiccup the Rocking Horse together. It was super cute. Here they are having fun!And our last family photo of '08.

Snowed In!

Last week we got TONS of snow and basically got snowed in on Christmas day. They closed all the passes around Durango, and we weren't able to drive to Monument to celebrate with Matt family, which was a giant bummer. We still can't believe how much snow we got. Here is Matt snow blowing the driveway on Christmas day so we could drive down the street...

Thank God for the snow blower! We haven't even gotten to our big snow months (Jan & Feb). Here's the kids out in front of our house- I was trying to show how much snow we still have in the front yard. almost up to Delia's shoulders. The sun has come back out and the roads are slowly melting into a slushy, sloppy mess and driving is still sketchy.

Christmas '08

Some pictures of our Christmas this year.

At Fisher Christmas- Isaac opening gifts...
One of his favorites- a construction set from Uncle Jason & Aunt Vanessa. I think he'd sleep in his suspenders and utility belt if we let him...
Delia just having fun. I didn't get any pictures of her opening gifts because she was running around or eating the WHOLE night...
Christmas crackers before dinner...


Reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" complete with sound effects...
Christmas morning just the four of us. The kids opening their stockings...Isaac playing with the kitchen the kids got from Santa...Delia contemplating all the fun we had together...

Bowling + Cookies = Christmas Fun!

This year we did a couple new Christmas activities and found out the Isaac LOVES!! them... bowling and making sugar cookies. Unfortunately Durango doesn't have a bowling alley anymore (this is crazy, right?), but the Sky Ute Lodge and Casino in Ignacio, about 40 minutes away, just opened one. It was so fun and Isaac had pretty much the best time ever. He keeps asking what a casino is, though. I'm not sure how to explain that one.

Here he is watching with Grandpa...

Delia had a good time too- she wanted to touch every bowling ball in the whole place...

With Mommy watching the pins fall down...

And here we are making cookies to leave out for Santa. Isaac loved every part- rolling out the dough, using COOKIE CUTTERS!!!, watching them in the oven, decorating with lots and lots of icing and sprinkles. Seriously, I haven't seen him have this much fun in awhile. Maybe we have a pastry chef in the making here...

Sledding

The park down the street from our house has great hills hills for sledding. Today Matt finally got to take Isaac to try them out. Here they are walking to the park...

Can you tell that Isaac had a good time? He only fell off once and cried briefly. Once again he seems to be taking after Matt. It wasn't long before I got cold and walked back home, but the boys stayed forever- I can only image the giant runs they sent Isaac down after I was gone.
Here's Uncle Jason with Rosie. She is apparently not much of a sled dog. Grandpa even came down for a run or two...

Christmas program

This week was Isaac's Christmas program for preschool. Despite feeling a little sick and not taking a nap, he ended up doing a great job! Because he's the smallest kid at his school he got to be front and center and we could see him singing the whole time. It was a very entertaining and sweet program.

Here he is wearing his halo and ringing the jingle bells (I'm still trying to figure out our new camera, so bear with the photos)...

Delia was soaking up every second. She loved it! She was dancing and clapping in the audience.

Afterwards with his very best buddy, Aiden.

2008 - best year ever

Well, here we are at the end of another year and we can't believe how fast it's gone by. As we reflect on the past 12 months we are humbled by what a great life and family we have. We are so thankful for the blessings and joys that we experience everyday.

Matt & Sarah: We are still enjoying living in the mountains and close to family. Durango feels more and more like home for our whole family. Highlights for us this year included celebrating our 5th anniversary, joining a new Bible study at church and making new friends, our big family vacation to CA and Disneyland, and finally getting sucked into Facebook and catching up with old friends. We managed to pull off a date night about once every six weeks- hopefully next year will be better!

Matt continues to manage "the stores" as we call them, which keeps him very, very busy. This year was full of rec sports again- basketball and softball. They give Matt the opportunity to get some exercise and extremely sore at the same time. He has also become proficient at losing money to all of his friends at poker night. Highlights include getting a totally cool new bike, teaching at our church's High School Bible Camp, and weekly pints with the guys at the Irish pub downtown.

I (Sarah) am still working from home with full-time Mom duties and part-time book-keeping for the stores when possible. I love raising my awesome kids and helping them grow up. Along with Matt, they are my very favorite people. I don't like all the laundry and dirty dishes that come with job, but what can you do? In my spare time I have been enjoying blogging, my weekly ballet class, and crafty projects here and there to feed my creative side.

Isaac & Delia: How did we end up with such great kids? As Delia's personality develops we are surprised at how similar the two seem to be (we are in trouble.) They are brilliant, funny, friendly, silly, sweet, and kind. They love to dance and sing, give the best hugs, and keep us smiling. We have a hard time keeping up with them and their boundless energy- maybe someday they will learn how to sleep, and we will get a little rest. For now, we are enjoying the ride.

Isaac turned 3 this year and started preschool, which he loves. He can't wait to see his "very best buddy" Aiden every Tuesday and Thursday and says his favorite things to do at school are "play with Aiden inside and then play outside with Aiden." He has great teachers that we are thankful for. He is learning to be an awesome big brother- always looking out for his little sister. We can't believe how smart he is, he is learning things so fast. He has also become a master at making his room look like the aftermath of a natural disaster.

Delia turned 1 this year and is growing and learning more and more everyday. We've decided that she is a girlie-girl AND a tomboy/daredevil. She will ask to put on her tutu and tiara and then run Isaac's cars and trucks around the room complete with vroom-vroom noises. She's usually up for just about anything and lights up the room with her sweet smiles. She learned to walk awhile ago and has been sprinting ever since. Matt has already said that he is in trouble with her, he'll let her get away with most anything.

Mojo & Frankie: In case you were wondering, our pets are doing well and round out the chaos that is the Bong household. Mojo the dog is ever vigilant at keeping us safe and sound. He has done a great job of tearing up our floors and getting dog hair on every single surface in our house. Frankie that cat is now 11 and has definitely become an old lady cat. She puts up with all of us surprisingly well, considering.

So that is our year- we are looking forward to all that 2009 has to offer us here in Bongland. We hope that you all, our friends and family, have a very wonderful Christmas and happy New Year. Thanks for checking in with us!

Love, The Bongs

Snow Ice Cream

Today was a snow day for us... 9 inches of snow and school cancelled. So I decided it was time to introduce the kids to snow ice cream. Delia didn't seem to like it very much- I think it was too cold. She loved playing with her own spoon, though. Isaac was a big fan and ate several bowls. I've decided this it is the ultimate recession food- practically free!

Special Music

This weekend Isaac sang in the children's program at church. It was amusing and so sweet. We are surprised at how restrained he is up in front of people- so different than the rest of the time. He really seemed to enjoy himself, though, especially using the jingle bells. We were so proud!

We forgot our camera, of course. Photo credits to our friend Kathryn Shaffer. Thanks Kathryn!

Do you hear what I hear?

We've been listening to lots of Christmas music, of course, and Isaac is picking up on some lyrics.

Last week he asked Matt, "Pop, are you a gentlemen?" after hearing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen for the 100th time (The Barenaked Ladies/Sarah McLaughlin version- it is awesome.)

Listening to Jingle-Bell Rock's "...Jingle-Bell time is a swell time to rock the night away..." he asks me, "Mommy, is it a swell time right now?"

And tonight I introduced him to The 12 Days of Christmas. "Mommy. what are two durdle doves? What are French hens?..." This songs makes no sense to a 3 year old.

Gingerbread House

This might become an annual tradition- decorating a gingerbread house. Isaac really seems to enjoy it, and if we can get through hearing "Can I eat a candy NOW?" about a million times, so do Matt and I.