Christmas Toys and Fun

Merry Christmas to all! We have had a great day at home with the kids, playing with new toys and just relaxing. Santa worked extra hours making the kids cool new toys. Carson got a work bench and Natalie got a kitchen. They really love them and have been playing with them all day.

The kids got some costumes from Grandma L ( I helped a little), so above is Carson in an Indian outfit, and below is Natalie in her Indian dress.

Here's Carson as a pirate. He's even got the mean look down.

Here's Natalie as a fairy, with various costume pieces on. She loves her new dress up shoes, and she's been wearing them all day.

Here's Carson while we were opening presents, in his new pj's.

Here's Natalie opening presents:

The kids in their new pj's that they got to open Christmas Eve.

Here they are dressed up for our Back to Bethlehem dinner and skit.

Grandma G gave them costumes as well, which they love and have been wearing around everywhere. Natalie is a ballerina, though according to her she is actually a princess. Carson is a puppy.

Lastly, here's Mike and the kids doing a gingerbread foam project from Grandma and Grandpa G. The kids had a great time.

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and wish you all a Happy New Year. Safe travels to all this holiday season.

Oh What Fun

It's been a busy few weeks here, as I'm sure it has been for everyone. We had our week of preschool at our house a while ago, and here are the kids decorating cookies.
Above: The girls in his class.
Below: Carson is on the right.

And here's Natalie on the right. She thinks she's big enough for preschool too.

Mike's birthday was fun. The kids loved having him open presents.

And of course we had to sing to him and help blow out the candles (the kids, not me).

Mike put lights on our house, and we tried to get a picture, but our camera doesn't take good night pictures. Here's the best one we got.

Carson was part of the skit for our ward Christmas party. He was a wise man. The entire cast was made up of little kids, who stood in place while the story was read from the bible. He was so cute, and had a great time!

Of course Santa came to visit the party. Carson was amazed that Santa knew we were at the church. Both kids were excited to sit on his lap this year, so that was fun.

Here's Mike and the kids playing in the snow outside once it warmed up enough to go out. They had a great time throwing snowballs at the photographer!

Carson staged this picture and requested that I put it on the blog today. It is him sharing his carseat with Natalie's baby Shelly.

So far we've had a great season and look forward to the coming weeks as well. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Thanks Giving

We went to Colorado for Thanksgiving this year and had a great time! I didn't get a lot of pictures (I never seem to) but here are a few. This first one is of Becky and Natalie holding one of the twins, Kim.
Natalie and Carson shopping for the Food Bank. This was Grandpa and Grandma G's idea. They had the kids each pick out a few of their favorite food items that Grandpa bought and then we took them to the local food bank. It was a great experience for everyone. I know my kids had the best time. What a great idea! They loved it! A great way to give to others and teach the kids the importance of giving.

We had a great time! Thanks to Dan and Loyce for a great and relaxing weekend together.

Christmas Tree Hunt

We cut down our own Christmas tree again this year, on Natalie's birthday (it was her birthday request). It didn't take us too long to find one, maybe an hour to search, cut it down, and drag it back to the truck. I think the kids started to get cold and tired by the end, but we had hot chocolate in the car afterwards, and that got their energy level right back up.

Here's Mike cutting our tree down.
Here's Carson:

And Natalie:

The kids climbing the ladder to decorate the tree once we got it home:

I'll have to take a picture of the finished tree sometime to post. It was a fun day, and now our home is almost ready for Christmas!

Birthday Weekend

Natalie just turned two, and the day after was my birthday! It was a birthday weekend for us, and we had a great time. Here's Natalie in her new princess outfit from Grandma G.
Natalie's present from Carson. He helped her open all her gifts.

Dresses from Grandma L. She loved them, and gave them a big hug!

Kitchen stuff from Mom and Dad.

Natalie's breakfast request: pink waffles with pink ice cream!

All Natalie wanted for her birthday was hot dogs and a Christmas tree. So we let her have hot dogs for dinner, and we made her a Christmas tree cake. So easy, and the kids loved putting on the "decorations."

Happy Birthday Natalie!

And here are a couple of pictures from my birthday. I got to pick breakfast and dinner (of course, I always do that), and Mike fixed them for me. No birthday cake, because we still had a ton from the day before, and we were leaving for Colorado in three days. Still, it was a good day.

What a fun weekend! This week, it's Mike's turn!