Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, but without the photo proof.  I was too busy enjoying myself to take many pictures, and the ones I did take were horrible low light messes.  I guess I just ought to stick to automatic until I learn more.

Anyway, Tyler first woke up at 2.  I then spent the rest of the night in his room on the top bunk.  We were up for good at 6:30.  Tyler was thrilled to discover that he was indeed on the good list and Santa did in fact leave him some gifts.  Legos, a pogo stick (which turned out to be a big hit), books, video games, candy.  I can't believe I didn't even take the picture of all the presents like I do every year!

The babies were up by 7.  They didn't get it all, but still had fun.  Brady's favorite present was a set of balls from Tyler, and Carter loved the Magna Doodle in his stocking.

We had a delicious breakfast of casserole, caramel rolls, and fruit (except Tyler ate his Lucky Charms that Santa left).  We spent the rest of the day relaxing. I loved it.  I even got a nap!

Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year.  I love our spiritual Christmas Eve.  We focus on the Savior, remembering that he indeed was "born that man no more may die."   Then there is the magic of Christmas Day.  As a parent, watching Christmas through the eyes of your children is even more amazing.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Santa Pics

Maybe next year.

Our gym has a Breakfast with Santa each year.  The Santa there is awesome.  Unfortunately, Brady and Carter didn't agree.

Houston Zoo

This post is dedicated to anyone who has had to shovel snow within the last week.  :)

Yesterday for another Christmas Break activity, we headed out to the Houston Zoo.

Please note what we are wearing.  It was a record-breaking warm day in Houston, and we loved it!

 This is how the babies were all day.  Point and grunt.  I'm sure it's not the best way to see the zoo, from a stroller, but they didn't seem to mind.

Thanks for inviting us Krissy!  We had such a fun time.

My Birthday Boy

Each year we have to decide how to celebrate Tyler's birthday.  Being born the day after Christmas kind of stinks.  This year, we opted to have a bowling party the Saturday before Christmas.  We didn't have the greatest turn out, but we sure did still have fun. 

I have a million pictures of the boys in their stroller.  They really loved watching all the kids bowl.

And impatient Dan just couldn't wait until his actual birthday to  give him his present.

Yes.  A 4-wheeler.  He has loved it--been on it everyday since he got it.  What a lucky kid. 

But really, I am the lucky one.  I love this boy and am glad for all 7 years he has been a part of our lives.

Our cookie party

I love the fact that we get a whole week off from school before Christmas.  It has been fun to play with Tyler.  We have done our best to stay busy.

Yesterday we invited some friends over for a cookie decorating party.  I spent Monday baking, and we were ready to go yesterday with 100 sugar cookies.  I didn't think to take a picture of that stack, or even everyone's cookies.  But let me assure we, we had fun.  And boy were they yummy.  I love sugar cookies, and it just isn't Christmas without them.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I have loved seeing everyone's blog posts of Holiday decor.  This is not one of those posts.

I have been accused of being a Scrooge this year, but I disagree.  With this

Um, yeah we have graduated to climbing onto the kitchen counter!

going on at my house, I have decided to pick and choose what to spend my time and effort on.  That means I cut out the tree this year.  Do I miss it?  A little, but we are still festive in other ways.  We actually got the outside lights up this year, the mantle and stairs are decorated, and we put out our nativities (high and in rooms the babies don't go in).  We have our Holiday playlist going, not to mention the discovery of Pandora Radio.  It most certainly feels like Christmas at our house.

I have actually really enjoyed the time we have spent together this season too.  We are reading our Christmas books again this year.  We have looked at Christmas lights.  We've been playing games.  We've been doing our countdowns, including the Lego Advent which we love.  Next week is baking--I'm waiting for Tyler to be out of school so we can do it together.

One other thing we were able to do is go to breakfast with Santa.  This is how much the babies loved it:

But we had some good food, and Tyler sure found a lot of fun stuff to do.

So we are in Christmas mode here at our house.  Loving it, and counting down to the big day.

Holiday Prep

As usual, December is proving to be busy.  We have been trying to get ready for the holidays, all while chasing after two crazy toddlers who love to make messes and an almost 7 year old who does not like to be neglected.

Since I have yet to post anything for the holidays, I thought it would be appropriate to share this video. I love it.  And it reminds me that while December is always busy, there is a reason for this wonderful time of year.

Vacation Recap

Finally, now that we have been home for a week, I have found a minute to talk about our vacation last week.

Several months ago, Dan decided he needed a little break from work, and in order to not have to take quite as many vacation days, proposed we head out of town for Thanksgiving.  I thought this was a fabulous idea.  He searched the internet and found a wonderful house for us to rent in Destin, Florida.  We invited 2 other families along, and had a blast.

I never did take pictures of the house, but here is a picture of the pool:

We loved the pool and spent some time in it everyday.  Just ask my friend Kelsey.  She even jumped in to get Tyler when he was struggling one time.  :)

And to get even better, if we headed out our front door, and walked about a football field, we were at the beach.

Typical Dan--he only thought he was getting a vacation.  He was on his Blackberry every stinkin' day, even Thanksgiving!

We also went to The Track one day and had tons of fun riding bumper boats, go-carts, and amusement park rides.

Do you see how much Carter loved this ride?

But Bryson sure enjoyed it!

We also managed to fit in shopping, golf, the movies (loved Tangled), and a mostly home-cooked Thanksgiving Dinner.

It was a great vacation.  Having a house and no set schedule was the only way to do a trip with 10 kids, including three 1-year-olds.  So where should we go next year for Thanksgiving?