Yeah For Christmas!!

It finally came! But, here is my issue with blogging things like Christmas. I have so many pictures from all the events that it is hard to choose which ones to post, so I picked a few of the best to show what a great time we had!!

Christmas Eve day was a blast! We went out on the four wheeler and pulled the kids around on sleds for a couple of hours. Our friends the Tholl's were out as well and the kids had so much fun!! We played till we the kids were frozen, and Holly and I had to go in to make food. What a way to start the day!

Ellie and London were so cute on the sleds. They laughed and laughed. Conli also came out which added to the fun.

We spent Christmas Eve with my family and one of the fun things we did was to go on a trailer ride and sing carols. It was lots of fun!

The kids were troopers, even though it was FREEZING!!!

My brother in law Brian had this idea to drive up and see this house that played music to go with the lights. We all thought it was a great idea until we realized it was like 2 miles up the road. He jumped in the truck with Ricky and us women folk toughed it out. We sang all the way there and home and had a grand time freezing our tails off; thanks Brian for the fun memory!!

This one is for you Nana!

After our ride, we came back and opened gifts. My parents gave all of the grandkids p.j.s. and a Disney Character. Needless to say it went over very well. Ashton got Heimlich from Bugs Life and we were all cracking up at how well that matches Ash's personality. They both "love tveets and sveets!'

Girls Only!!!!

Ellie and I went on a girl trip to Disneyland last week. She is our only girl and Ricky and I thought it would be good for the two of us to go somewhere alone; of course Disneyland is the perfect place!! We had a great time being girls.

I have only been to Disneyland at Christmas time one other time and it was so pretty! Everything was so Christmasy and festive!

These are the garlands hanging over Main Street.

They had all the tiny houses decorated on the Storybook Land ride. It was so cute. Even the lamp post's had tiny wreaths on them.

Ellie's favorite thing was getting her hair makeup done. They have 6 or 7 chairs shaped like crowns and they just pamper the little princesses. She loved it!!

This is the almost finished product.

This is the finished product. She really wanted the black eyelashes and glitter. It was very cute. It is hard to see in this picture but she has a little tiara in her hair that was so cute! People commented the whole rest of the day on her hair and makeup. What little girl wouldn't love that?

Despite her princess look, Ellie is somewhat of a tomboy at heart. The rockets were one of her favorite rides this trip and we had to ride them twice. What can you expect from a girl with 4 brothers?

One of my favorite things to do at Disneyland is go to the breakfast with Minnie and her friends. The food is great, but the best part is that all of the characters come to your table while you eat. Minnie was so, so cute in her Christmas outfit.

Tigger was so funny. He was bouncing around teasing everyone making us all laugh.

This is a character you rarely see. Ellie kept playing with his big pink nose.

Max was so funny! I asked if we could take a picture with just Minnie and he acted so offended, but gave us both a big hug in the end.

We walked up through the castle and this is the book at the end. Very cool!

This tree was beautiful!! I don't know how they decorate it, but I heard a worker tell someone that they put it up overnight. Crazy!!
I have to put in a big thank you to Ricky for making this trip possible. He stayed home with the four boys and the dog for two days and he did great!! He took great care of the kids and was so excited for Ellie and I to spend some time together. What an awesome hubby!

DAISY'S FIRST HUNT
Today was Daisy's big day! As many of you know my dad is a big pheasant hunter. Ricky likes to go and take the boys, and now the dog. My whole life I have kind of made fun of my dad for being obssesive about his bird dogs, but now I have one and I can understand his point of view. I was so excited for her to go hunting and learn from my dad and Cassie; my dad's prize german short hair.Braxton clearly had a good time with his pup.

Is this a classic picture! Both of the boys think that guns are neat. I have to admit that this makes me nervous as a mom. Last time they went hunting they got to shoot the 22; what could be better to a 5 and 7 year old boy.

Ricky did a great job getting the dogs in the background.

Braxton, Colby, Burke and Brigham. Colbs and Brig are my nephews.

I love this picture! You can see everyone but Ricky and Colby.

Ricky said that Daisy kept up with Cassie a lot of the time. I think that is great because Cassie is a great hunter and Daisy can learn all her moves!

This trip all the menfolk in the family went. Brian, Tyler, Brig, Brax and Burke, my dad and Colby, and Ricky. I love that they can all go together and make memories. This is a day that the kids will never forget!

This is typical of my dad. I love it! And there is my little puppy learning the ropes.

Teething Woes


So Bradley has been teething for two months now and last week his two bottom teeth finally came in. But look at his top gums. They look like they are going to explode and poor little Brad just has to wait for them to break through. On top of that he got shots on Monday and he has a cold. Life is rough at 6 months. He has been such a trooper though and thankfully is still smiley most of the time.

Kids Pics
Well, last week I finally went out and took some pictures of the kids. I have to say that I was really happy with how they turned out. It is always a gamble with kids, especially your own. The picture of Ellie at the end is now my all time favorite picture of her. Everything came together at just the right time and it turned out perfect!!

FIRST SNOW!!!!!!!!
This is one of the best days of the year; the first real snow! I love winter and snow so I am loving snow on November 5th!
The kids were overjoyed to say the least! I couldn't resist letting them go out to play before school. They had wet pants before they even left for the day. Oh well!

Ashton was a little timid about the snow at first, but it didn't take him long to warm up to it. He was so cute tromping around in his boots and coat.

Daisy LOVED the snow. She was jumping around and digging in it. She really liked it. She is 9 weeks old now and growing like a weed. She is going to be 60 pounds before I know it!

TRICKS & TREATS

As much as I LOVE halloween it always seems like the craziest day in the month.
Our Halloween Day:
-9:10 drop off Brax & Burke at school
-9:15 drop off Ellie at preschool
-9:30 be back at the school for the halloeen parade
-11:15 pick up Ellie
-12:00 pick up Burke
-1:00 go to the school for Braxton's party
-have a couple of hours of craziness at home
-4:30 Aunt Amy and family arrive
-5:00 root beer and pizza
-get everyone in their costumes
-6:00 trunk or treat
-7:00 trick or treating
-8:00 donuts and hot chocolate at home
-8:30 movie time
-10:30 bed
Needless to say I was exhausted on Saturday, but it was worth it. Halloween really is one of our favorite holiday's!!

Ashton's costume was so cute and he would not wear it. We got it on him long enough for a few pics.

Bradley was just plain unhappy. Everytime I Put this on him he cried so this is the best picture I got of him.

ANNUAL PARTY AT GRANDMA'S

My parents have a halloween party for the kids every year. The kids look forward to it as much as Christmas! As usual we had a great time and the kids had no complaints.

Fort he first time in my adult life I decided to dress up for Halloween. It was a lot of fun and I plan on doing it from here on out.

This is Josie and Mandi. Josie was darling!!

Ellie didn't put on her costume until after the big family picture. What can you do?

None of us could really take my dad seriously in this costume. What a crack up! It was a little difficult to focus on the FHE lesson when it is coming from a cow.

Of course we missed our beloved Molly and her family. We were one girl shy.

This is my favorite shot of the kids. These glasses were so funny!

Me and Mandi be wicked!