Christmas Morning, Take 2

Christmas morning was everything I dreamed it would be and more (pictures to come). And lucky, lucky me, the magic lasted for two days. This morning, the day after Christmas, we were still opening gifts. Not that my kids had tons of gifts to open, but rather they would open one, play with it for hours, and then finally decide to open another one. Joshua opened his little train set first, and when Audrey would bring him another gift, he would shake his head and push it away. It is 10:45 pm on December 26 and there are still a few presents under our tree. I love making Christmas last three whole days. I can't wait for tomorrow morning...

Ice

Merry Christmas, Grinch style.
A couple of weeks ago, we were able to go to the Gaylord Texan hotel and see the Grinch Ice exhibit. It was amazing. The room was 9 degrees (9 degrees!) and everything was carved out of ice. I am a California girl living in Texas, and I have never been in 9 degree weather before. Lucky for me they handed out big parkas to wear (which I almost didn't wear because of my germ-a-phob-ness but decided to and I am sooooooo glad I did). The exhibit was so cool, literally.

Thank you Mandy for letting freezing Joshua borrow your beanie.

Audrey going down the ice slide. We had to bribe her to go (a treat at Walmart) and she ended up loving it. Her treat? She wanted cosmetics, but settled for a gum ball.

Joshua wasn't so thrilled.

The moms. The one of the far left (Amy) has a baby in a bjorn. I thought I should clarify because it looks like she could be pregnant with an alien, or a vampire (Bella and Renesme!).

And my favorite room of all, the reason for the season. I seriously love that this room was apart of it.

Merry Christmas

Someday when the budget allows, everyone will get one in the mail. Until then, Merry Christmas via blog.

It Really Happened

Long, long ago, a young woman named Mary gave birth to our Savior, Jesus Christ. How grateful I am for the knowledge that this really, truly happened, and for what it did for the world.

Merry Christmas

Itinerary

Hands down, without a doubt, no question about it, the best perk of having a husband that is still a student is Christmas break. For the next two weeks we will be doing a whole lot of
wrestling,

taking naps in the sunshine,

I will attempt to cook lots of yummy food (picture by Audrey),

and there will be LOTS of snuggle time. Can't. Wait. Merry Christmas to me.

Happy Boy

Sunday Bike Ride

Fun day. Beautiful bike trail. Sweet kids. Great company.

Sweetness

Audrey came in from the backyard and handed me these flowers she had just picked. Then she asked if I could put them in water for her. She told me she needed them back and went and put them on my nightstand. "That way, when you wake up in the morning, you will know I love you."

9.30.09

The reason for the box of crayons is so when our kids get up really early, I can lay in bed for a few more minutes and they can color. Dave leaves for school very early, so sometimes they color on his pillow.

I Love...

...warm rain storms
...these three people

General Conference Weekend

I am trying to catch up on all the blog posts before the new year. Hence all the posts!
October General Conference weekend was so much fun. Friday night we went to a football game with friends. Texans take their football very seriously and it was fun to see it first hand. I could not believe the stadium, and the kids loved the policemen riding the horses!

Saturday night we went to Chris & Megan's house for dinner before the men headed off to Priesthood. On Sunday morning we all went over to Mandy & Colby's for an amazing breakfast before the first session. Megan & Chris had just moved here and didn't have their TV hooked up yet so they came over to watch the Sunday sessions. It was a great weekend of eating, spiritual upliftment, and of course, dancing.

Dad's Day

I was gone all day at a Super Saturday in October, and Dave took the kids to a little local fair. These kids loved their day with their Dad.

Good From Far, But Far From Good

Joshua used to see a bug, grab it, and squish the little life right out of it. That was until he grabbed a wasp and got stung. Now, he admires from afar. I much prefer it this way.

Father Daughter Campout

Dave took Audrey on their first father daughter campout in October. Audrey had so much fun, she loved that special time with her Dad. I sent the camera with Dave, giving him instructions to take picture of everything. These are the best he came home with. I guess she didn't like smores, slept like a baby, loved going on a nature walk, and decided she loves camping.

Tea Time

There are LOTS of little girls Audrey's age, which makes for lots of fun excuses for the moms to get together. Megan was nice enough to host a "fancy tea party" at her home a few weeks ago, and everyone loved it. There were fancy snacks, raspberry lemonade, crafts, a makeup station, and of course, dressing up and taking pictures. Thank you Megan and Abby, you made our day.

These boys were surrounded by tons of estrogen, thank goodness they have each other (and Jason).

White Elephants and Ugly Sweaters

Last weekend we went to Chris and Megan's for a white elephant gift exchange/ugly Christmas sweater party. It was really fun, and pretty ugly.

The white elephant gifts were hilarious. When you get a bunch of medical people, especially certain medical people together, anything is possible.

The food was delicious. We did Cafe Rio and Colby's homemade eggnog, which was a hit.

A big hit. Then this little man went upstairs to bed, and slept soundly while the adults played till the wee hours. Fun night.
Got eggnog?

Making Magic

This is our first year of doing Christmas on our own. I feel the pressure. Christmas is such a magical time, and I feel the sole responsibility of making sure my sweet kids feel, and more importantly understand the meaning behind the magic.

Last Sunday we decorated our tree. Audrey decided it was a girl tree, and she was so feminine in the way she went about putting up the decorations. This was the victory dance that was done after every ornament was put on the tree. Not quite sure what Joshua is doing. P.S. He is wearing a sleep sack...it is like a permanent blanket while he sleeps, and it makes it so he can't climb out of his crib. Genius, I know.

Almost finished. I love how most of the ornaments ended up at the same height, her height.

Then in true tradition, we sang Silent Night as Audrey put the star on the top of the tree.

Joshua's turn. Anything Audrey does, this little boy wants to do too.