While we were away...

Joseph was intend on having me include these pictures of what he and the kids did while I was away.  This is a giant balloon in the middle of Orange County, hence the resemblance of an orange.

If David had the choice, I think he'd live in a tree.

Must keep up with older brother...

Joseph got the kids unlimited passes only to find out that anyone under 5 had to have an adult with them.  Lucky for him, he got to ride the Carousel atleast a dozen times.  :)

Colorado Springs

Last weekend, I had the pleasure to visit my dear sister, Holly.  When I gave Joseph the choice of which child to take, he immediately requested that the baby go (understandable).  What a treat to be able to dote on her for 4 days with the help of an adoring aunt and niece.  Holly has such a relaxing and inviting home, definitely a reflection of her personality.  I enjoyed waking up to her wonderful mountain view and watching the the birds at her birdfeeder during breakfast.  I also got to spend an hour practicing the piano in her whimsical music room.  Of course, Holly likes to go places, so we were up every morning and out of the house!

This was my favirite outing: Glen Eyrie, home of the founder of Colorado Springs.  Our tour concluded in the music room for afternoon tea.  We both braved the Calamari... but definitely enjoyed the cookies with whipped butter on top.

This is Garden of the Gods, one of my most favorite places on earth.  The sun turns the rock almost red, so it looks like fire blazing across the valley.

Emmy enjoyed getting to know Eliza.  If this is what 12 year old girls are like, I can't wait!  Eliza is happy, helpful, and so fun to chat with. 

Thankyou, Tripp family, for treating us to such a wondeful weekend!

Look who's got a window in his mouth!

Okay, the blog is really heavy on James these days.  James lost his first two teeth tonight!  They've been dangling for days, so I finally yanked them out while he wasn't paying attention.  He was shocked and almost cried, but finally decided that it was pretty cool!

Beautiful Boy

Photo Shoot at In N Out Hamburger.  Pretty good, huh?

2014 Wrap up

I am actually happy to say goodbye to 2014.  I am not sure why, but it has been a challenging year, not because of any big major event, but because of the small day to day demands.  The rain, green hillsides, and mild temperatures have brightened my spirit the past few weeks.  The Lord is good to us.

where would we be without cookies for Santa? (which we forgot to put out)

busybody Emmy... She'll be jabbering about things and then suddenly get nose to nose with me and say "please Mommy?"  

beautiful Katie.  What a hightlight to have a sister in California with me!

Go Buckeyes!  

Cowboy fairy princess, dancing to her favorite song, "Let it go".  She can sing the words, too.

Oh, we love our cousins.  

Ruth and Eleanor take a break from girl time for some New Year's Eve appetizers

Heather and Crystal, my best friends from BYU, pay me a visit!  

While Joseph was away

Joseph and David left on Friday night for a 48 hour trip to attend a wedding in Gilbert, AZ.  Since Emmy had such a hard time with our last road trip and has been fighting a two week goobery nose and ear infection, I stayed home with the littles.  Needless to say, James was devastated when the time came for Joseph and David to leave.  With some quick thinking, we found a few fun things to do.  

Here it is.. another picture with Santa.  We stumbled upon a storytime with Santa at the Ritz Carlton, while looking at the gingerbread display.

Not sure how this counts as a gingerbread display... but it was pretty amazing.  I liked the dogs on the surfboard.

James has a friend at school with Mexican heritage.  His mom unexpectedly invited us to a Posadas celebration and since we had nothing going on, I accepted.  This was definitely the highlight of the season for me.  Lots of food, traditional poncha (minus the rum), and traditional mexican music.  Ruth and James are pictured here holding candles during a song that asks the inn keeper to let Mary and Joseph inside.  At the end of the song, those waiting outside are invited inside and the celebration begins.  

The kids were then ushered into a line, shortest to tallest and were given a few swings at the pinata.  The adults all gathered around the kids and cheered and sang to them while they gave it a try.  When it finally burst open, it was like Halloween all over again, except with confetti and Mexican candy.  The kids loved it. We were there for three hours and the party was definitely far from over when we left.  I feel really grateful that we were included in the festivities.  What a treat that my kids got to have a cultural experience.

Gearing up for Christmas

We've been off on a zooming ride wth the festivities of the season.  This was our first of three visits with Santa (we just keep running into him everywhere!)  He is my favorite... Bishop Gibby, formerly in our ward and now in his 80s.  Though he doesn't live in the area anymore, he still comes every year for the kids.  

One of my friends had the crazy idea to gather a group of 4 year olds with their mommies to attend the nutcracker.  We found out that though they were on the young side, they still enjoyed themselves and left devoted to becoming future ballerinas.

Ruth and I had fun getting all dolled up for our date.  We got out our most sparkly accessories and even curled our hair!

Ruth's dance class presented a short Christmas presentation.  She is quite the ham at the dance studio; in fact, a completely bubbly persona comes out that you'd never know exists.

James at his Kindergarten music performance.  He looked this nervous the whole time.  I asked him why and he said, "because there were so many people!"