We Didn't See Julia Roberts, But . . . . . .

we sure had a great time in Taos!  (Julia lives there.  I know this only because I spend waaaayyyyyyy too much time on people.com.)

So, a few weeks ago, Noah called me from work and said, "We should go out of town next weekend because we never go anywhere."  And that was all he needed to say.  So, we decided on Taos because we thought it might be fun to see what the ski slopes up there had to offer (read: we would like to tube down the bunny slope because we are too cheap to go skiing and too untalented to ski).  

And we did.  We took the 2 1/2 hour trip up there and had a great time.  Our first stop was a burger place.  And it was good.  And we were all happy.  

Cyrus and I were ready to say cheese.  Calvin was fake dying (I think).

We made our way over to this cool little toy store with great over priced toys and a free play area.  The kids had a great time, and Noah and I enjoyed watching them play.  It was especially cute to see Cy try and climb in the jungle gym because he's got those short legs, you know.  I wore my black rubber boots because it was a ski town, and I was just sure I would be trudging through lots of snow.  Turns out the snow was just on the mountain, and I wore those stiff boots all day for no good reason.  Kelly Orton, you may not be surprised that I chose the wrong piece of clothing for the weather.  I, however, was shocked!  

Cute Cal is either in a weird hand chair or actually sitting in a giant's hand that is reaching through the floor.  You be the judge.  

Cyrus the Guyrus.  

More of Cutie.

Please don't tell Wyatt that he is the girl.  He would be ticked.  We just told them to stick their heads through the holes and failed to mention that they were being typecast.  

Surely you didn't think that we would pass the candy store in the town square without stopping in.  The kids chose giant marshmallows dipped in white chocolate and rolled in sprinkles.  Sounds awesome, no?  Yeah, that's why I was surprised to find a barely eaten marshmallow in the cup holder the following week.  And no, it didn't stop me from eating it.  What?!  My standards are very low when it comes to sugar.  Very, very low.

This is where you would see pics of us tubing at Taos Ski Valley, but you can tell that we were focused more on having a great time and not on taking pics.  But trust me, it was so fun!

As we left, we drove to the Taos Gorge Bridge.  Note: it was in the Academy Award winning film, "Wild Hogs."  The pictures don't do it justice.  I know that it looks like Noah and Cy and Cal are just standing in front of some busted up chain-link fence, but the fence is actually keeping you from falling down . . . . . . 

. . . . . . there. . . . . and . . . . . 

. . . . . (if you live). . . washing down this river.  It was a pretty sight, and we loved stopping.  You should give it a try.  

While we were staying there, Wyatt experienced the "Taos Hum."  Look it up on wikipedia; it is kind of interesting.  As we were lying in the motel room about to go to sleep, Wyatt complained about a humming noise that was keeping him awake/scaring him.  At the same time, Noah was reading about Taos on his phone and read about a humming noise that only some people can hear when they are there.  No one has been able to figure out what it is from and why only some people can hear it.  It was even discussed in an episode of X-Files.  I have to say that it made me feel like we got the full Taos experience.  So, thanks to you, Wyatt, for listening to the annoying humming.  You really took one for the team.

This Is What Happens

When you spend 45 minutes curling your hair and trying out new shades of eye shadow.  The two year old pours an entire bottle of syrup on a few pieces of pancake.  Well played, Cyrus, well played.  

And in other news . . . . 

Noah - He is the busy worker bee.  He goes to work in the morning and comes home in the evening.  He has a new calling at church teaching the 8 year old class.  Word on the street is that he is a pretty good teacher, but I already knew that.  I just asked him what else I should write about him, and he replied, "that I'm a boy genius."  So, there you have it.  Boy genius over and out.

Katie - As aforementioned, she has been curling her hair and applying make-up, and if that wasn't shallow enough for you, she has also been experimenting with lip color only to find out fuchsia is not her shade.  She also stays busy with the kids.  She likes to read and is open to suggestions.  Aside from these jaw-dropping revelations, her feet are cold - always.  

Calvin - This guy is getting ready to start karate.  He is happy to start, but does not want to wear the uniform.  (I guess it's a little too Karate Kid for his tastes).  He also likes to read his Pokedex, which for all you outsiders, is an index of Pokemon.  There are over 700 Pokemon.  He can do a great impression of babysitter, and he is still a solid helper around the house.  There are never any crumbs left when it is his turn to sweep under the table.  

Wyatt - He has become the class clown, or I guess we should call it the family clown.  He's always ready with a sweet joke.  And his jokes are always the epitome of sophistication, centering on any bodily function.  He and Calvin are both enjoying the new trampoline.  I often hear him say, "Hey, let's go jump on the tramp."  Cold or warm, you can find them out there playing and laughing.  He despises his chores and often takes upwards of two hours emptying the dishwashers, pausing after every cup or piece of silverware to either complain about the heaviness of his load or take a very long bathroom break.  

Cyrus - All.  And I mean All this child wants to do is put on clothes and take them off.  All day long, he follows me around with some piece of clothing and will ask me to put it on him.  It sounds similar to this:  "lellow pans, peas" (translation: yellow pants, please) or "wed shurt" (red shirt).  He usually has 4-5 layers on.  This morning when I made him put on his church clothes, he nearly had a heart attack.  He did not want to wear them.  He also says, WHY? after you tell him no though I am pretty sure that he doesn't know what WHY means.  He and Noah do this cute thing when I am putting Cy to bed.  I will scoop him up and say, "It's time for night-night."  Noah will reach one arm towards him and say, "No, my Cyrus!" and Cyrus will in turn reach out his arm and say, "My Noah, My Noah!"  They both have pretend sad faces on and then they will smile at each other.  It's pretty cute.  

There you have it.  A little update with a promise for better pictures next week.  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas came with a lot of anticipation at our house.  Noah has had a countdown on his phone for months, and it was checked quite regularly.  We have been trying to figure out our Christmas Eve traditions for as long as we have been married.  We tried my families, we tried his families, we tried just making up stuff, and we are no further than we were last year.  For Christmas Eve this year we decided to go out for dinner and then come home for games and junk food.  It was a hit!  I don't know if it will stick next year, but I think there's a good chance we will at least consider revisiting it.  The kids were generous and let us sleep until about 7:30 on Christmas morning.  Here are our attempts at getting a picture of them in front of the tree.

Nope.  Not this one.

Sweet hugs, but not "The One."

Wyatt singing, Cyrus and Calvin unimpressed with his singing.

Shafer Kids 1

Shafer Parents 0

Cyrus on a throne of presents.

Nothing short of glamorous on Christmas Morn.

The boys were extra great this year, so Santa left them a letter in our Christmas tree saying to look outside.  Low and behold, it was a trampoline!!! I quickly snapped this picture of one of Santa's elves setting it up on Christmas Eve. 

Cyrus and The Year of The Stuffed Animal.  

Calvin busted enjoying Cyrus' toys.

 Santa's Elf was so sleepy.  He fell asleep on our couch.

 Sandwiched in between Christmas and New Years we had plenty of play dates with friends.  The boys had so much fun, and I actually got some stuff done around the house.  We also stopped by the Children's Museum called Explora and had the best time.  It was a really fun time.  We were sad to have Calvin head back to school.  

As for New Year's Resolutions:  Noah and I had a quick conversation about this over dinner clean-up the other night.  We didn't make a single one and neither one of us cares.  We feel like we are good about setting and achieving goals along the way.  So, there you have it.  Maybe we will have some next year, but for now we will keep on keeping on.  

Prepare For Picture Overkill

But I don't care if it's overkill because I love this little family, and I love these pictures that we had done.  And since this blog is about us for us, I think pictures of us are a great idea.  You'll just have to scroll past the glurge if you don't like it.  Seriously, Allison, you are a great photographer.  Thanks for capturing such sweet/fun times in our home.

Snow Day!

Facts about the weather here:

Albuquerque is in the northern upper region of the  Chihuahuan Desert.  Its elevation is between 4900 and 6700 feet above sea level, making it one of the highest in the United States.  The climate is hot and dry though tempered by the high elevation. There are an average of 3,420 hours of sunshine per year.  Winters are brief but definite.  Spring is windy, warm, and dry.  Summer temperatures are between 90 and 100 degrees and are very tolerable because of the low humidity.  Fall has mild days and cool nights.  

In short, the weather is pretty awesome with each season being mild and enjoyable.  We happened to get a little bit of snow this past week and with it came a three day vacation from school!

The boys had such a great time sledding at our friends' house.  Cyrus decided to skip the sled and just scoot down the dirt bank.  It was cute.  When I finally got Cy to go down with me, we got the bottom of the hill and he said, "gin."  (again).  So we went again and again and again and again and again.

Fun With Cy

Cyrus is always up for a good time whether that means putting on 20 shirts and 12 pair of underwear at one time

 or letting Dad give him a drawing of underwear on his back.  Let's hope we aren't responsible for thousands of dollars worth of therapy in his adult life.