Gingerbread Houses

On Monday we all got together to make gingerbread houses. It was a lot of fun for the kids! I do have to say that I think that I need to take a class because I was so frustrated. Everytime I would fix one wall the other would fall down. Any tips let me know? Brody, Logan, and Carter's looked great and withheld the test of time. Regardless, we had agreat time and it was great to spend time together.

I couldn't resist!

This is what I found when I came home from the grocery store this morning.

Connor We love you!

Annual Tree Trimming

Every year my parents have a tree trimming party. Now my mom's tree is amazing. She straightens out each branch so it is always so full. There are always tons of lights and of course ornaments. You can't forget the ornaments! That is what we are all for. My mom and dad have boxes of ornaments. They have saved every ornament that we have ever made or they have ever been given. We all helped put the ornaments on and then the fighting began. Yes.. that's right who is going to get to put the Angel on the tree? It is the fight that happens every year. We have so many children now in our family, but it really boiled down to Abby, Maggie, Sean, and Kate. Connor was out because I am pretty sure that my parents wanted their tree standing when we were done. You would have thought that World War 1 broke out in my mom and dad's living room. They were all fighting. My mom ended up having Maggie put the angel on the tree, Sean turned off the lights, and Abby got to turn on the lights! In the pictures below you can see that Kate was not happy about this. She was trying to escape out the front door. She survived! The tree was lit and it was beautiful as always! Merry Christmas!

The Light Parade

Every year we go see the APS Light Parade. This year was no different. We headed down to Kelly's for the pre party. All the kids were so excited. Kelly and Jay are always so great in letting us come over. They even go down to the parade earlier in the day to put chairs out. We always have such great seats. The parade started and Kate loved it. Connor did too. I had put him in the stroller so he was contained. He sat the whole time and did not move. He waved and laughed. Kate sat on the blankets and yelled, "Merry Christmas!" We all had hot chocolate, watched the parade, and rang in the holiday season. Thanks again Kelly and Jay for another great year!

The Polar Express

A few weeks ago we took a trip up north to Williams. In Williams they turn the Grand Canyon Railway into "The Polar Express". Kate, my mom, Kelly, Jay, Abby, Maggie, and Sean all went. We truly had a great time. It was so much fun to see the magic on the kid's faces. They were so excited to get dressed in their new Christmas jammies!(Thanks Grandma!) We got on the train and the kids were so excited. When we finally got to see Santa they were SOOOOOOOO happy. THey each got a bell and let me tell you by the end of the trip we all had a huge headache:)! The kids were so happy and you could truly see the magic of Christmas in their eyes! We all had such a great time and made so many great memories. Thanks Grandma!

The Nutcracker

The day after Thanksgiving we had the chance to go see the Nutcracker. My mom got us all tickets to the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre to see it. It was part of their children's theatre series. It was fabulous! Kelly brought Abby and Maggie and I had Kate and of course my mom was there. The girls all got dressed in their Christmas outfits and they had so much fun. They got to eat off the buffet and got to hear the story of the nutcracker. Kate loves this story so she was super excited. Thanks so much Grandma for taking us to the play and for loving us so much!

Disneyland!

Okay so I know that I am way behind in this post, but things have been crazy! We went to Disneyland for Kate's birthday. We left on a Friday morning and came back on Monday. It was the most amazing trip. My parents came with us and I would not have had it any other way. I am so glad that they were able to experience the magic in Kate's eyes. That is something that I will never forget. We had a blast. As you all know Kate gets so excited about everything and it was no different here. She was so excited to see Mickey and all of his friends. It was not crowded at all. We walked on to almost every ride and we could not have asked for anything more. On Saturday Aunt Kerry and Uncle Todd came over to Disneyland. We had such a great day with them. They were able to celebrate Kate's birthday with us at Ariel's Grotto. This was such a great experience. We were able to have a great lunch and Kate got to see all the princesses up close. They walked around to all the tables and met with each child. We took pictures and the memories are priceless. We sand happy birthday to her and just like every year I started to cry. It is always just so bittersweet for me on birthdays! I have a 4 year old and I can't believe it. We really had a great time! We missed Connor dearly but he was in excellent hands! Between Lindsey, Aunt Kari and Unlce Kevin, and Aunt Kelly and Uncle Jay they managed. I know it is a lot but that is why you have family right? We are so grateful to my parents for coming with us and everything they did to make this trip possible. Thanks Aunt Kerry and Uncle Todd for coming as well and for getting Kat eher first pair of ears! The whole trip was great except for the fact that the diamond to my wedding ring fell out- more on that later!. Enjoy the pictures. They always tell a much better story!