Ruby and Owen turn 3!...and Christmas!

I already documented a handful of the things they are saying at three.  They also can now go potty independently...sometimes, they can mostly get themselves dressed and undressed, and participate in a lot of joint play with each other and others.  They hate to be told "no", and love to get their way.  They are very three, I guess. :)  

We had a party for them at Black Diamond Gym, where we have been taking classes for the past few months.  They LOVE it, so we thought it appropriate to capitalize on that for now.  We played with  a small group of our friends in the foam pit, on the tramps, and all the other fun equipment and options they have for romping and then did cupcakes and a recycled book exchange/white elephant game.  It was perfect and fun was had by all....until I got struck with the stomach flu later that night, only to precede many family members to later be taken down as well...not the best way to spend this crazy and fun time, but we were mostly better by Christmas Eve so, all is well that ends well!  

Mindy showed up just in time for the party and joined us through to Christmas Day.  Yahoo!

She got them a bunch of science experiments for their birthday.  SO fun!  They learned how to make observations, write them in their journals, take measurements, and look for changes over time.  Learning is a blast when Aunt Mindy is in charge.

Those rascally elves continued to find fun places to show up in the morning.  Dad was usually responsible for their clever shenanigans. 

Mindy and I took the kids to ski at Deer Valley one morning.  Crowded but fun to ski with Mindy finally!

The Tree on Christmas Eve. 

The elves bid their goodbye.  They will be back next year!  And, you can see "Santa's gifts" wrapped in brown under the tree.  I guess Ruby and Owen did alright this year.

Christmas morning started with stockings.  They almost could not wait for dad to get home from working a 24-hour shift on Christmas Eve...but they did. :)

Santa's gifts....

Lala Loopsy and a sound machine. 

Seriously...you have to see this special gift from Aunt Mindy to believe it.  He has been named "Fire, Water DuRoss".  Needless to say, he is a hit!

Merry Christmas!

Few more observations being taken before Mindy hits the road to get home.

The day after Christmas we made our way to Victor, ID to see Nana and Papa and the SLC DuRoss' for a few days.  Of course, I hardly have any pictures of this time, but we had a GREAT time relaxing, doing Christmas part Du (get it!)  Here is Ruby with her "triplets" .  Lots of babies in ID. :)

Sledding!  A highlight again this year.  Here, a rare picture of Kess riding along with us as we made laps up and down the 2 mile streatch on Sorensen Creek Drive.

Three anxiously happy riders shuttling up the hill.

Get ready, get set...

I think we clocked somewhere between 15-20 miles per hour. 

The motley crew. :)

Ruby and Owen's first dotty dotty/ white elephant game.  I was worried that they weren't going to get it and throw fits about not getting to keep what they wanted, but they totally got it, played well, and were good sports in the end.  A relief and a blast, as usual.  Thanks to DuRoss' for an excellent get away and second Christmas celebration.  

We are so blessed with abundant love, relationships, resources, opportunity, and peace.  We do not take these things for granted.  Thanks to everyone who was part of our holidays- in person, over face time and phone calls, through Christmas cards, and randomly throughout our comings and goings.  It was a beautiful accumulation of moments and experiences this season, despite the stomach flu. ;) We love you all.