Oh Christmas Tree

Once Owen's birthday party was over last weekend, we were finally able to start celebrating Christmas, and the first thing on our list was to get a Christmas tree! Here's how it went down:

• One $5 permit from BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
• Langdon family running late Sunday afternoon to find the perfect tree.
• Driving around the desolate hills in east Carson City, knowing it would be dark in less than 30 minutes.
• Walking all over the hills looking for that perfect tree as it got darker and darker.
• By the time we decided on a tree, it was completely dark and the tree was, of course, on the side of a steep hill.
• Mark and Micah cut the tree down to the lights of cell phones.
• I balanced on the side of the hill with a screaming, cold Owen in one arm, and the camera in another.
• Once the tree was cut, we had to find our way back to the jeep somehow, in total darkness and with a very unhappy toddler.
• But we made it home and the tree turned out really nice!

Owen loves all the "balls" on the tree.

Scary Santa!

I guess this is going to be a tradition....will Owen ever like Santa????? We've tried twice this month to get a good picture of Owen with Santa. Honestly, you just have to laugh. This is funny.

First try:

Second Try:

Last year, Christmas 2007:

Let's Party!

Today we celebrated Owen's birthday at the Northern Nevada Children's Museum. He had about 12 of his friends come and play with him and they had a blast! Many thanks to everyone who came to celebrate and for all the awesome gifts Owen received. Owen was too busy at the party to open the gifts there, but he was thrilled when he saw all the presents at home this afternoon. He was SOOOO EXCITED to open them all and has been playing with new toys all day. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends in Nevada! We also have good friends and family in Texas and Arizona, as Owen has received many gifts in the mail as well. THANK YOU! Owen is so loved!

Here's Owen's cake that we made. I wish I could take the credit, but Micah was the artist.

Owen & Ethan

Owen & Ryder

For party favors, all Owen's friends received a hot wheel and a tie-dyed shirt. Check out all the shirts we made:

Happy 2nd Birthday, Owen!

Wow, I can hardly believe my little boy is TWO YEARS OLD!!!! It truly is amazing how quickly the past 2 years have flown by. First thing this morning I sang "Happy Birthday" to him while we were lying in bed and he "SSHHhhhhhhed" me to stop. He did that several times today. Only once did he allow us to finish the song. And he used to enjoy my singing.........

Micah's brother Mark flew in yesterday from Texas with his girlfriend Nicole for the birthday weekend. This is the second year in a row Mark has come for Owen's birthday.....what a great Uncle!! We went to Tahoe today and showed Nicole around and also prepared for Owen's big party tomorrow morning. They have been a HUGE help!

Mark & Nicole

Kissy, kissy

Jump Man Jump!

Owen went to Jacob's 3rd birthday party last weekend at Jump Man Jump. He was very brave going down long, steep slides. By the end of the party he was sliding all by himself!

I love my Santa hat!

Santa hat, anyone???

Micah's Office Christmas Party

Normally Micah's office throws a really nice, fancy Christmas party. But given this year's economic crisis, Design Workshop decided to have a smaller, cheaper party at the office. And instead of dressing up, everyone wore ugly holiday sweaters. Unfortunately, Micah broke our camera at the beginning of the party so we didn't get many photos.

Twins: Stephanie & Kelly

The conference room transformed into a dining room. Nice job, Chris!

Owen being pushed around the office by Eric.

Owen & Ryder

Ryder stayed with us one night last week so his parents could go out on a date......these 2 boys are best buddies! They copy each other constantly and are absolutely adorable together!

Mimi & Olfa

Owen is still asking where his Mimi and Olfa went??? He definitely misses them and all the attention they gave him!

Langdon Boys

Mimi and Owen baking cookies.

CHOO-CHOO

Last Saturday we took Owen to the train museum here in town. With Owen's new train obsession, I have a feeling we'll be riding this train quite a bit in the future. We also took a trip to Reno to do some shopping for Owen while his grandparents were in town. He threw a HUGE fit when we left Toys-R-Us because he didn't want to leave the train set at the store. He actually screamed the entire way home, "I WANT CHOO-CHOO!" over and over again. This got annoying after 20 minutes, but on the bright side............he made a sentence!!! YAY!

Micah, Owen, Ann & Jay