Look what Raph did to our family photo. That crazy lil Elf! He so onery :)

Elf is Here

 Meet our lil elf buddy Raphael (Raph for short). Santa assigned him to our house to watch the boys and report to him every night if they've been bad or good. He always makes sure to come back before they wake up in a new place and the kids have to find him. (this is where it gets fun and creative and have the boys find him doing something silly) He is quite the mischievous little guy. Be sure to keep our blog saved on your favorites so you can be up to date seeing what he's up to in our home.

Luke is taking him very seriously. He asked me if he was real. I had to explain that yes.. It's just like Toy Story. They pretend to be fake when we are around but at night when we're in bed, he's real and has to fly to Santa to give him the report. Santas Law is that you cannot touch him very often or he will lose his magic of flying to Santa. And he cannot talk to kids. He has to keep silent, but he does listen very well and will tell Santa what you want for Christmas. But its up to Santa to bring those gifts.

Reading Elf on the Shelf with Raph :)

Matthew is being a good sport and playing along :) We came up with the name Raphael because the boys LOVE Ninja Turtles. We had to agree on a name so it was between Raphael and Donatello :) So that's how his name was chosen! Can't wait to find Elf in the morning!!

( I first heard and saw Elf on the Shelf on Pinterest a couple months ago and thought it was a fun, creative tradition to start with our family. I've seen many friends start this with their family as well. So excited to start something new and fun with my boys)

Happy Birthday Luke

 Luke is 7 years old today!! Happy Birthday bugs! I can't believe how fast he is growing up! Turning into a young little man. Brought him a Happy Meal for lunch at school :)

This evening we did a lil family bday

New bike and helmet :)

cheesehead

all done putting together his legos. He loves legos :)

Celebrating with Friends

 Celebrated with friends on the 26th. 

Luke wanted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for his birthday but there are no TMNT birthday decorations :( such a bummer. Thankfully he's easy to convince otherwise, so Angry Birds it was!

PRESENTS!!!!

Friends :) Can you find Luke? Didn't realize he was behind his friends LoL!

Yummy Cake and Ice cream. Crazy kids! Sent them home all sugared up!

Thank you for coming and celebrating our Lukerduker!

Thanksgiving dinner

Justin worked Thanksgiving so we did ours today on Lukey's birthday! Got all the fixins. Justin bbq'd the turkey and boy was it good!! Good job baby cakes!

Teddy Bear Toss

 The Sheriff Department was very generous.. they bought 40 Condors Tickets and handed them out to employees who wanted to go :) And so we went! Hockey game nights are a fun way we love to spend time as a family. Tonight happened to be a very special night ... Teddy Bear Toss night. You bring a teddy bear or other stuffed animal and throw it out on the ice rink after the first goal made by the Condors :) The stuffed animals are then given to local children who are homeless or sick in the hospital! The boys chose one of their build a bears to give away :)

Look at all those stuffed animals! Local News said over 7,600 bears were tossed on the ice! What a great contribution for a wonderful cause :)

Luke dancing haha

doing the "Let's go Condors" chant :)

Had a great time! unfortunately they lost, but they put on a great show! Lots of fights! One was a great fight ... they threw off their helmets and gloves and fist fought eachother! haha! Craziness!!!

Fall

 Enjoying the Fall weather playing with friends

throwing leaves at each other

Weather has been so beautiful!

Thanksgiving Feast

 Helped out in the Boys Classrooms with Thanksgiving Festivities... Justin bbq'd drumsticks for Matts class :) They were a big hit!

drumsticks and cheetos... what a great combo haha

Lukes class had a pumpkin pie party!! yum yum

We are so thankful for these next few days to reflect on all the wonderful People in our lives and how merciful and forgiving our Lord and Savior is!!! I love that we take a special day to say Thank you! Thank you Lord for my wonderful family and friends! I appreciate each and every one of them! We are so blessed! 

Blessings to you as you celebrate this wonderful time with family and friends! Love to you all!

Bragging About My Hubby ♥

Meet Kern County's newest and finest Tactical Flight Officer (TFO) in the Air Support Unit !! So proud of him! Isn't he super handsome in his outfit ??!! I love it! Now we are waiting for the transfer. They can't let him go to the Air Support Unit (ASU) until he has someone coming to take his place on his squad. So the wait begins. Till then... just so proud him for trying so hard and getting this position. He will be given the opportunity to get his pilots license through out the next few years as well as many certifications he has to obtain being a TFO! He is stoked! As the boys are too :) He will be flying in Air1 and sometimes the Huey for rescue missions.

Here he is flying over our house spotlighting the neighborhood. Part of his two week testing for this position. Well the pilot is flying but he is in control of the spotlight, fleer, radio, etc. So much to do!

 

spot light on me :) haha! 

It feels good knowing we will probably hear him buzzing over our house on a daily basis keeping watch over our neighborhood :) Kids are so excited that daddy will be flying in Air1!! He will be doing many things... learning how to repel out of the helicopter for rescue missions and all kinds of fun things!!! Im sure he will be excited to tell you all about it when you see him :)