snow trip {shaver lake}

The youth of the San Luis wards were planning a snow trip, so we went a day early to "scout things out" and have our own snow play day. Friday was perfect... warm, blue skies (at times), easy, no chains required, good friends, sledding, tubing, snow angels galore= good times.

Saturday was also fun, but it was snowing buckets. We had to put chains on a 1/4 mile from the entrance to the snow park, which the guys were not happy about, but it turned out to be a good thing because they were VERY MUCH needed on the way down the mountain. Finley was NOT a fan of falling snow- it got in her eyes. Also she was so well dressed that I don't think she could move very easily (and had a hard time getting to her "bb"). She played for a bit- tried to make a snow man and then spent the rest of the day in the car with the heat on full blast. Emerson was loving the whole experience until she took a tumble with Paul- he had her in the backpack, slipped on the way up a snow bank, and her face hit his head. She was done after that and joined Finley in the car. Avery was not deterred- she LOVED every minute of the white stuff. The bigger the hill, the more air she got, the harder the crash, the better! She was going strong until she stopped for lunch. Then, she realized she was cold and that was the end of the fun. I think that was the case for most everyone. We packed up camp and went home... back to our much warmer climate.

The snow is fun to visit, but I have to say I do love my 75 degree February days!

i {still} love my ducks!

My dad took all of the boys in the family to the Rose Bowl 2010: Oregon vs. Ohio St.

I was looking forward to going too, but unfortunately only 5 of the 7 tickets he put in for came through in the lottery. Avery and Finley were also disappointed that they did not get to go. Avery asked, "why do only boys get to go to the duck game?" My sister and her husband Logan came down with my dad, so the girls and I had fun with TT while the boys went off to the game.

They had a great time, except for the fact that we were handed a disappointing loss, of course. Maybe next year?! I STILL love my ducks! (the girls LOVE watching this video).

{new} traditions

Some of my favorite memories growing up involve traditions that we observed year to year. As the girls are getting older, we are starting to establish our own traditions for our little family. We tried out a couple of new ones this year that I am excited to incorporate into our holidays from here on out!

1. CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN/ACTIVITY BASED ADVENT

I tried to plan a fun activity each day to help us experience the joy of Christmas all month long, amidst the craziness of the season. I had big plans to make an advent calendar to help us keep track of it all, but that will be a project for next year. We didn't do everything I set out to do, but we got many of our activities in. Some of the things we DID do...

1. watched christmas movies with hot chocolate and popcorn on hand.

2. drove around to see all the lights- one of the girls favorite activities.

3. jumped on the trampoline that DayDay put together for us.

4. read a Christmas book each night.

5. made toffee bars (had big plans to make a lot of other treats, but it just didn't happen- I had to let myself be ok with that).

6. make gifts. (we sewed...the girls opened their new Christmas pajamas and robes on Christmas eve that my mom and I made- the pants were the first thing I have ever made from pattern to completion on my own... super, super easy, but thrilling just the same :) The girls loved them and they looked so darn cute in them, if I do say so myself! ).

7. went to Red Hot Pottery and painted Christmas gifts for PaPa Lar and Poppi.

8. sang along to Christmas music.

9. visited a Christmas wonderland (aka Disneyland).

10. read the Christmas story in the scriptures.

11. played the Wii together as a family.

12. had a fun Christmas family home evening with friends.

I REALLY love this idea and hope to expand and execute it more effectively next year.

2. WANT/NEED/WEAR/READ:

{image}

In years past, the girls would have so many gifts to open that it was a little overwhelming for them. I have been wanting to find a meaningful way to streamline gifts for a while, so when I came across this idea on several different blogs I decided to try it. Each child received PJs to open on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, they each had 1 gift from Santa, and then 4 gifts from mom and dad that fit into the WANT/NEED/WEAR/READ categories (plus lots of other presents from grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc...). Paul and I followed the the same format for each other also. Santa did manage to sneak in a few extra things into stockings- outside of the plan (such as DVDs and Wii games).

The system worked well for us. Shopping was simplified, our budget remained intact - mostly because I didn't allow myself to just keep buying things because it was "just too cute" or "oh, that would be fun." If it didn't fit into one of the categories, or if a item for a category was already purchased, it didn't go in the cart. As an added bonus, we didn't spend all night Christmas Eve wrapping and in the morning we were done opening presents before the girls got burnt out. Avery was a little miffed- she is at the age where she thinks more is better, but she got over it. I am going to use this format again next year for sure. Anything to make life a little simpler!

christmas report {2009}

Christmas has come and gone. It was so much fun to watch it all unfold through the eyes of a 4 and 2 year old. To them it was all magical and oh, so REAL. The best moment came when we were trying to get the girls in bed on Christmas Eve. They were distracted by the excitement, by family, and all the fun we were having. On a whim, Paul saw a silver baby rattle on the counter, picked it up and rang it behind his back. It had just the right ringing quality to it that it made the girls stop in their tracks. It was Santa's sleigh! He must be close! He won't come if we aren't in bed! Avery's eyes were as big as saucers and full of anxiety. She ran to her bed as quickly as her little feet would carry her. Finley was on her heels, exclaiming, "wait for me guys!" It was HYSTERICAL. I wish we would have had the whole thing on video. Priceless.

Christmas morning, wishes were granted.... santa came and brought Finley a blue skateboard as per her request. She was THRILLED! It is has since found a home in the closet (which is where I hope it will stay until she is a little bigger- visions of accidents run through my head) and she has yet to ask for it. Santa took all that into account, but wanted to make sure that Finley knew her wish had been heard.

Santa also brought Avery a baby Cinderella with a singing bottle that the "elves" picked up from the store and took to Santa's workshop after she made that her final request. Emerson has gotten 3 of the 4 teeth on her wish list... it has been a LONG few weeks of cranky baby days and sleepless nights, but at least they are finally coming through!

YaYa and PaPa Lar MADE these gorgeous doll houses- one for Avery and one for Finley- I thought that was overkill for them each to have their own, but it was good thinking. The girls are having so much fun playing with them side by side.

They are also having fun with all of their other gifts too! They were spoiled as usual :) Even more than the presents they received, they were spoiled by the near constant attention from grandparents, aunts and uncles! There is really nothing better in their eyes!

{merry}

Christmas card 2009. Printed at WHCC on 5x7 pearlized card stock. I was so very pleased with how they turned out. It is a fun, happy card... makes me smile.

*family photo by kelly mccaleb

holiday fun {disney style}

Disneyland at Christmas time is pure, over-the-top, amazingness. Decorations everywhere (my favorites were the decorations in toon town- big, colorful, lots of fun), lights galore, and snow (ok, soap, but it looked like real snow floating from the sky- the girls learned the hard way that it didn't taste like real snow, but they didn't care)! It lived up to all the hype. We went before schools got out for winter break (one of the few joys of not having any children in school yet:), so we didn't have to battle crazy crowds. Plus, it was forecasted to rain the entire time we were there, which probably deterred a lot of people as well. It worked to our advantage. We basically walked on every ride in both parks, all day long. The weather held out- sprinkled a little bit, but for the most part we stayed dry.... cold, but dry.

We rode lots of rides including several we had never been on before because the lines are usually ridiculously long (LOVED Toy Story Mania so much we bought the Wii game to play at home), talked to Tinkerbell through the hedges, the girls batted their eyelashes at Poppi until he took them to get their faces painted, sang along to the parade music, visited with minnie every chance we got, plugged our ears during the fireworks, marveled at the "snow" falling from the sky, woke up way too early, stayed up too late, missed our bus back to the hotel and walked a distance in the dark with 3 kids and no strollers, added to our baby princess collection, sat on santa's lap, got some good laughs from the green army men, froze our faces going on Screamin' several times in a row in the rain, scared the tar out of Finley having her go on the matterhorn with us (she is not a big fan apparently, but we tried)... we maximized every minute and

had a wonderful time at the happiest place on earth!