Got Sand?!

Welcome to the world of Duning. Todd got this addiction eight years ago. And, so most of our winter vacations are held in the sand dunes just by Yuma, AZ. And, it was eight years ago because I remember the first time we went. I was big and pregnant with Zane. We camped in tents. And every time I needed to pee (which was a lot since I was pregnant), I had to go find a bush. Check out those bushes....not much to hide a full moon behind. But, we had fun and so the addiction began. Luckily, we have moved out of a tent and into our motorhome which makes it much more enjoyable. Here are some pics from a couple of trips we had in December. It is "tradition" for us to spend the week between Christmas and New Years at the dunes. Can't get enough of the sand!

If you plan on going to the dunes, be prepared to eat sand. Sand in your eyes, sand in your ears, sand on your teeth, and even sand up your nose....especially when Todd is roosting you (as in the pic above). Gotta love it!

Todd and Lance are getting ready for a guys' ride...aka a very fast ride. No beginners allowed.

All the men lining up to go have some fun!

Here's Lance gearing up!

Ready to go!

You know it's a serious ride when Todd puts on all his gear.

Yea, he's sexy and he's all mine:)

Ready to ride!

Here is Patton Hill. A favorite place to go and climb. The photos just don't do it justice. It's tall and steep. But, if one has a good quad, all you do is get it in 2nd or 3rd, lean forward, and give it gas. It's a blast. I believe that is Lance jumping at the top just as he finished climbing the hill.

Here's a photo that hopefully shows the heighth and steepness a little bit more. The young kids had fun walking/climbing up the hill. It was quite a feat to accomplish. It made me tired and sore just watching them do it.

Then, Sierra just loved to RUN down the hill.

Here's a pic of Todd giving Wes a ride up and down Patton Hill. Yes, I trust Todd that much. He's a good rider. I know he'll take care of my/our baby:).

On of our rides, we found a very good jump. And, so the fun began. Lance taking off.... going...

going, and....

and flying!

Look at the boy soar! Makes his daddy proud:)

So, then I have to get Todd to go....for pics sake, of course. One can see where Lance learned it from. Todd's a natural at it.

Todd got a little confused and thought that with all this sand that we were at the beach....hence, his attire ....actually he was just riding in someone else's rhino this time:). Kicking back with Wes for a family ride.

Weston watching the action.

Sierra takes her turn trying out Patton Hill. The small kids/ small quads can't make it very high up the hill, but they still have fun trying to see how high they can get. It was funny how Sierra and Zane would go WAY back to get a running start. And, I mean....waaayyyyy back. I don't think it increased their speed any, but they sure thought it did.

Here's Zane climbing the hill.

Zane hanging out in the motorhome.

And when one is not riding, what does one do? Play in the biggest sandbox around, of course.

Sierra coming back from a rhino ride with Katie and Stephanie.

Zane taking a break at Patton.

Getting ready to ride.

I think Zane was trying to get as much sand as possible IN his clothes. You should see the sand on the floor of my laundry room after a trip to the dunes.

Sierra dug a hole and put Cash in it...and then started to bury him. Poor dog.

One of our friends found this beautiful necklace at the dollar store...and they thought of Wes. But, Zane liked being a rapper better.

Here's a short video clip of Lance jumping. Todd says that Lance jumps father than his old man. It makes a big difference that the the kid weighs under 100 lbs though!

Lance, Trevor, and Connor race up the hill....oops, I think that's the wrong video.

Here's a little competitive race up to the top of the hill between Todd and I. I was on the Todd's red quad and he is on my white one. At the end of my win, I say "It's not the quad. It's all me".......but in reality, I had switched quads with Todd, just so I COULD beat him:). His bike is "tricked" out "just a little". A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do... to win....even if it's riding her husband's quad.

Sierra and Zane riding the mini dunes. I remember when I first went to the dunes and thought there was no way my quad would stick to the side of that dune. Gravity was going to pull me down! But, if you have the speed going, you can ride that side of the dune as far as you want. It's a lot of fun for everyone in our family.

Wes goes round and round and round and round. He puts more hours on his quad than anyone.

And, last but not least, my sexy husband jumping his quad. What a stud! This is what I really go to the dunes for....to watch my man! :):)

Merry Christmas!

We were lucky to have Bob and Kay (Todd's stepdad and mom) in town for Christmas this year. The kids slept in till 7:30. We let them open one present and then we all got ready and made yummy breakfast burritos to eat with Papa and Grandma Cake. Then, about 9, we ripped and shredded. It was a fun morning.

What makes a teenager smile? Cologne to attract the girls. And, a new ipod to listen to some cool tunes....after his last one mysteriously disappeared after all the little cousins were over here playing one day.

And, we all know what makes Sierra smile. All about horses. First, a statue.

Then, a way cool sweatshirt about barrel racing....TURN & BURN, baby!!!

And, last but not least, a rack to hang up all those ribbons from her POA show.

Zane was all excited about his Night Vision googles. He had to go into the pantry to check them out!

And, since Avatar is a cool cartoon, one always likes toys about it.....especially toys that fly off into the air.

Wes was all CARS....the movie, "CARS", that is. Clothes with Lighting McQueen on it. A pillow, toy cars, a remote control car, etc etc. He was in CARS heaven.

Love Lightning McQueen.

Todd's brother and his family came by about noon. It was great to spend time with them and exchange gifts also. Sorry, at this point, I had put away my camera. :( Life gets so busy that we don't get to see them often enough. Our kids love their cousins, Kalea and Lauren.

About 2:00 we headed over to Todd's dad and stepmom's home.....Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Nonie's....where we ate way toooo much food again (including the traditional honey-baked ham), spent time with family, and opened up more presents. Lance was excited about new jeans, Sierra got more horse stuff (surprise, surprise), and Zane and Weston were given legos. The younger boys have had a lot of fun with their new legos. Zane wasn't too sure about moving up to the "little" legos at first, but he is loving it now. His birthday is at the end of the month and he is already talking about more legos:). And, I feel so much better as a mother when my boy is spending hours building legos instead of on that silly ds...although he still does that too. We had a wonderful Christmas with our wonderful family.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has always been an important tradition with my mother's side of the family. We always got together for a night of family, fun, food, and a Christmas program. Now that my grandmother has passed on, my mother carries on that tradition at her house. We start off with wonderful food and visiting with each other. After everyone has eaten way too much (at least me:), we go into the front room for our program.
The most important part is of course, the nativity story. Lance, being the only "older" boy always gets the blessing of playing Joseph.


This year, it was Sierra's turn to play Mary. Doesn't she looks so sweet as she holds her baby cousin Grant, who played the part of Jesus so beautifully?

I need to frame this one. Why? Because these two are actually sitting by each other and not fighting. Miracles happen during the Christmas season:).

We were blessed to hear some beautiful musical numbers from my cousins and uncle....by James and Lybi (above) and the Tenney men (below). Beautiful voices!

The older children played musical numbers. So, Sierra and Lance played the piano.

Here are the cutest shepherds around! l to r: Justin, Weston, Charlotte, Joey, and Adam.

Of course, you have to have angels in a nativity story. Hannah, the oldest, played the angel Gabriel. Kathleen, Rachel, and Paige were darling little angels.

Samuel and Zane were wisemen who brought gifts to the Christ child. I think Tim was the third, but I am not sure where he is:).

too cute!

We sang more songs and played the bells while we sang.

Zane was intent on playing his note at the right time!

Then, who comes to our party? Santa!!!

The kids got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Weston was a little nervous about it.

Zane played along. But, everyone was skeptical cause those eyes and that voice sounded too familiar. oh well. It was fun. Sierra was onery and wouldn't play the game. She's lucky Santa still brought her things the next morning.

Lance was a great sport and jumped right on Santa's lap asking for a "kiss". A what?! Yes, a kiss. hmmm. no comment. Lance thought he was tooooo funny. Santa didn't give him what he asked for....just incase you were wondering.

The kids then all got to open their present from Grandpa and Grandma. The older two were given a book and money. Yea, those big kids love money....probably a little too much. Look at Lance's grin. Zane was given a airhog to fly around. Wes was given a CARS blanket made by grandma along with a Cars toy.

"Thanks" Grandpa and Grandma for a wonderful evening of yummy food and family togetherness. It truly is a beautiful time of year as we celebrate our Savior's birth here on earth....the lights, the music, the family time, and even the gifts are fun:).

Merry Christmas!

Here's a very short clip of Sierra playing the piano that evening.