"Saturday! Mommy, Daddy no work!"

The whole family looks forward to Saturdays. James and Kate know that mom and dad don't work on Saturdays (at least we all hope not) and we all look forward to doing something fun together. This Saturday, Ben and his mom took the kids to a UofU men's basketball game (I, unfortunately, had to work for a few hours). James and Kate talked about going to Saturday's basketball game all week long and put on their "Go Utah" shirts first thing in the morning (as if James wouldn't have done that anyway). In the evening, Ben and I took the kids to Jungle Jim's -- a cheap, indoor, germy playland for kids. What else is there to do on a cold, dark-too-early, wintry Saturday night? Below are a few pictures of the fun. What do you do for fun with little kids on the weekends? We're looking for some new ideas.

Potty Training Twins

What a joy. We've been at this for far too long. Kate and James love to take off their diapers -- regardless of the contents, so we really have no choice but to get them using the toilet. We've tried M&Ms, but James gets so excited to get his 2 little pieces of chocolate that he forgets to finish the job. We've tried reading books. We've tried playing with toys. Our latest idea (really our fantastic nanny's latest idea) is to take turns blowing bubbles while we wait for nature to take its course. Kate and James like this so much that they sit for so long they have a red ring around their tush before calling it quits. Both kids know what to do and they've done it a number of times, but are seriously lacking in consistency. Any of you out there with success at this have some suggestions for us?

Happy New Year!

While Ben and I went to an adult New Year's party, Kate and James celebrated with Grandma and cousins Alex and Abby. Looks like they had a lot of fun -- and both stayed up past midnight!

Chocolate fondue was on the menu and a huge hit, of course.

This is a party group in front of the TV, ready to bang their measuring cups and pot lids as the ball dropped in Times' Square. When it was over, James asked to see it again.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Kate and James were weary of Santa coming to their house for most of December. They liked the idea of someone bringing candy and toys, but weren't so sure they wanted the strange guy in their house. James declared rather early in his understanding of the event that "Santa come Grandma's house." I guess he thought if Santa brought the goods to her house, he'd still be able to get them, but not have the guy come to his house. Kate thought James' logic made sense and soon had the same response whenever somebody asked her if Santa was going to come to her house. However, by Christmas Eve they seemed to understand that Santa would come and leave while they were sleeping and they would not have to see or interact with him. At that point, it was okay for the man in red to bring the candy and toys to our house.

We spent Christmas Eve with the McAdams. Santa made a surprise appearance and, for the first time, James and Kate seemed willing to have a seat on his lap.

Thanks to Grandma Judd, Kate and James wore new holiday PJs to bed.

We all woke up to a living room full of fun. Packed full of stickers, crayons, paper, small toys, and one bag of candy, we could have stopped at the stockings, but Mom and Dad were anxious to see what they thought of the rest of the loot. Grandma and Grandpa Judd joined for Christmas morning.

As you can see, it was a fun morning, followed by more fun when we went to Aunt Jackie's for more family time. The Pack girls shared their karaoke band set and Grandma McAdams surprised James and Kate with adorable tricycles. What a day! I think the kids will let Santa come to our house again next year.

Making Gingerbread Houses with the Parkers

We were were lucky this year! We were invited to the annual Parker family (my sister-in-law's family) gingerbread house making party. Thanks Jim and MarJean! As you can see, this is a tradition of SWEET proportions! James and Kate loved every minute. I would think that they wondered why the candy table was a free-for-all invitation and why Mommy and Daddy didn't stop them, but they never questioned their good fortune. Kate's shirt became unwearable before we started, so she's looking rather lovely in her lack of clothing. The event was lots of fun for everyone!