Santa & Sleigh Bells

Here is Katlyn anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival in our coach. Isn't she adorable?!
HERE'S SANTA!!! All of the kids were so excited to see Santa Clause.
Here is Santa giving a silver bell to Ashton and Hunter. The kids loved the sleigh bells. Hunter kept jingling his. He thought it was a great gift.
Here's Katlyn showing off her gift from Santa.
Ashton fell asleep before Santa came, but he woke up to receive his present and say hi to Santa. Then he was out cold. The kids were such troopers. We were glad we went on the earlier train ride. Here's Hunter wide awake. He's quite the party animal.

Hot Cocoa & Carols

On our way up to the North Pole we received hot Cocoa and Cookies. Here is Lisa & Katlyn enjoying the perfect hot chocolate.
Here we are toasting to a good trip.
Hunter loved his first cup of hot cocoa at 4 months old. Actually he didn't have any hot cocoa, but it sure looks like he would like some.
Here's Nonny and her boys. Ashton helped take care of Hunter with Nonny & Sarah's help.
They read the Polar Express to us on the train and we all sang Christmas carols. Lisa was voted to lead the caroling, but a little girl was faster to get up. We had a great time singing Christmas songs.

Polar Express

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go on the Polar Express in Williams, AZ with our niece (Katlyn) and our two nephews (Ashton & Hunter). We had so much fun. Here is some of the group before we boarded the train.
Here's Aaron & Katlyn. The kids were so excited to go on the train and see Santa.
Here are the Trujillo grand kids (exception of Lisa who is assisting Hunter).
Aaron and I had a great time on the train with the kids. It was so much fun seeing how excited they were to be on the Polar Express.
Here we are with Katlyn. She was nice and cozy in her pj's.

Kitchen Helpers

We had some special guests come visit us on Sunday. Our niece and nephew (Katlyn & Ashton) came to visit us from Alabama. They used to live closer to us and we saw them more, so we were very excited that they came over. Ashton (he's 3) is such a cutie. He asked me if we could make some cookies and if he could help.
Katlyn saw us making cookies and wanted to join in the fun. We made some healthy chocolate chip cookies. They were such good helpers with the cookies. We had a great time baking the cookies and eating them too.
Katlyn wanted to hang out by Aaron during the Incredibles. She was fixated on the movie and hardly ate her dinner. You can see that I am in her way as I am taking the picture of them. She is so funny.

Thanksgiving

Here are my two handsome boys! We like to do Thanksgiving at our home. You can see how excited Armstrong was for his Thanksgiving dinner.
Here are our two babies anxiously awaiting their Thanksgiving feast. You can see that Precious is very excited.
Here is our Thanksgiving Feast. Thanksgiving is one of the few meals I really enjoy cooking. I made everything from scratch. Aaron said it was the best Thanksgiving yet. He loved the turkey.
Here is my gorgeous family taking their Thanksgiving picture. I think they all look great!
Here is Precious & Armstrong receiving their Thanksgiving feast. They knew Thanksgiving was a special day and they would get something special to eat. They get so excited when I cook in the kitchen. After Armstrong was done eating he went and cleaned Precious's plate to make sure she didn't miss anything. It was a great day of cooking, watching the parade and watching football. We are very thankful for our family and it is great to have a special day to remember all of our many blessings.

Tree Skirt Update

So Linda and I went to our last tree skirt class on Monday. Nobody was able to finish their tree skirt by the end of class. This has become quite the project, much more than I thought it would be. By the end of class I finished the top part of the skirt. It took FOREVER to square all of the pieces but sewing them together went quickly. Then I added the border. Now I get to do the fun part. I have to put the top, batting and back together. I pin the 3 layers together and then machine quilt it. Then I cut a hole in the center and a line from the side to the opening. After this is done I go into the shop to learn how to make my own binding that you then hand stitch. Once this is done the tree skirt is finally complete. I have a long road ahead of me to finish this. I hope I can finish it by Christmas

Coley Family Photos

Sorry we haven't updated in a little while, we've been busy. This past weekend was the annual Coley Thanksgiving Dinner. All of my Aunts and Uncles were there and it was great to see all of my cousins and their kids. On Saturday I took the family photos with all of the siblings. They hadn't had a family photo done in a long time. I brought Precious & Armstrong with me to the photo shoot at the park. Here we are hanging out on the hillside waiting for everyone to arrive.
Here is the Coley clan with their spouses. It was so neat to have everyone together. My grandma really enjoys having everyone around.
Here's Janae and I with our grandma. It was a bitter-sweat Thanksgiving dinner. It's the last one we will have at my grandma's house. She is almost 90 and is selling her home. We have always had Thanksgiving dinner there the Sunday before Thanksgiving and it was hard thinking this would be the last one. It was great to visit with my cousins and talk about past Thanksgivings there and memories of our grandparents. It's hard to go there without my grandpa around, but it was great to see all of the family.

My little KING OF COMFORT. I couldn't find Armstrong today and I was calling him. I checked our bed and found him nicely cuddled in the middle of all of our pillows. He can always find the most comfortable place to lay down.
I've been reorganizing my house lately. Our dogs are spoiled and I admit that. As I was cleaning out the closet I found I had bags of dog bandanas, coats and other clothing. It was hard to find stuff so I created this dog organizer from scratch. Here is Armstrong modeling the finished product. Here is the organizer full. I just hang it next to the jackets in the closet and their stuff is put away nicely. I designed this myself and am very pleased with how it turned out. It works great to hold all of their clothes. The lady at the material counter suggested I sell them at a craft fair they have here. I don't know if I'm ready for that, but it definitely does the job I needed.

Aaron Away

Aaron is away at a Realtor seminar in Scottsdale. We miss him so much and can't wait for him to come home. Here is a picture of Precious & Armstrong biding their time as they wait for their dad to return. They really miss him.
I have been busy trying to work and finish projects around the house. I started my Thanksgiving dolls this weekend and finally finished them tonight. I am in the process of reorganizing the whole house and right now I am working on my craft room. I am clearing a space to have my sewing machine out all of the time now. I can't wait until Aaron returns tomorrow night. It's just not the same without him here.

Dog Beds

Last night Janae made dog beds for her two dogs. They are very large mastiffs. We had my dogs test them out to see if they liked them. Here is Precious testing out the bed.
Armstrong is the ultimate test in whether something is comfortable. He always looks for the most comfortable spot before he lays down. He is the king of comfort. You can see how much he likes the bed. He is yawning and ready for bed.
He is such a cutie! He wouldn't move from the bed he liked it so much. I guess I'm going to have to make him one so he can be like his cousins.

1st Overnight Backpack Trip

Armstrong and Kevin went on their first overnight backpack trip this weekend. Armstrong had to carry his own food, water and clothing in his backpack (so did Kevin). Aaron said Armstrong did a great job.
Here's Armstrong checking out the camp's surroundings. They had to hike at night and really couldn't see where they were until the morning.
Here's Kevin in his camo clothing. Look closely for him. All you can see is the blue shirt :)
Here are my two favorite boys after their triumphant return. Precious and I really missed our two men and protectors. We were very lonely without them. We were so happy to have them home! Precious was sniffing Armstrong all over when he came through the door. Here is the backpacking troop: Merrill, Kevin, Armstrong & Aaron. Doesn't Aaron have such a great smile?! Aaron said it got very cold at night and Armstrong was shivering all night long even with this jacket on. Aaron had him lay in his sleeping bag with him and they were still cold. Now it is up to me to make Armstrong a down sleeping bag to take on his backpacking trips so both of my men will be nice and warm.

Family Pics

Little Ricky and Leonard with Great Grandma Trujillo Grandpa Tito

My Grandpa and Grandma...


Little Ricky on a ride, did this guy ever wear a shirt??

Today

OK so nothing interesting has happened lately...so I put some pics of Armstrong the Wonder Dogs birthday. These pics are of the cake andrea made and Armstrongs other best friend Kindling.

Log Cabin Christmas Tree Skirt

Linda and I went to a quilting class yesterday at the Quilting Store in Pinetop. We are learning how to make a Log Cabin Christmas Tree Skirt. I had my 4 red and white squares down after 6 hours of class yesterday. Here is one of them.
We have to have all of our blocks done by our next class that is in 2 weeks. We will then piece them together and quilt it. This is what I have done so far. I still have to do my 4 corner blocks.
This is what the tree skirt should look like when I am all done. It looked a lot smaller in the window of the quilting store. When I saw it hanging on the wall I was very intimidated at the start of class. It looked so difficult hanging there on the wall. The toughest part was cutting all the strips of material. Once the teacher explained how to do the pattern and I did a couple of logs, it made a lot more sense and I realized it looked harder than it actually was. I can't wait to have it finished. Aaron says I am making a family heirloom and it is really a piece of art. I really enjoyed the class and excited to learn more about quilting. Aaron actually bought me a quilting magazine tonight at the store so I could learn other patterns. He is the best!