christmas bells are ringing

Kevin and I set alarms to wake up before the kids, and Brooke woke up shortly after that.  She remembered not to come out of her room, but instead called for us on her monitor.  Kevin and I went to get her, then all went in to wake Colby.  These two were so excited to see if Santa came to our house...

Colby's big present was this Furreal Tiger that moves and growls. As you can see, he loved it!  Brooke also really loved it, and made sure that Colby shared with her all morning.  Brooke's big gift was a Leap Pad with some learning games. She was super excited as well, but I really should have unboxed it and charged it before Christmas morning because she couldn't actually play with it for a while. 

I really tried to scale back this year because we already have so many toys at our house, and I don't want my kids being overly spoiled.  I bought them each two things, Santa brought them that Vet Kit, and the rest of the gifts were from family.  They still had tons of new stuff, so I'm not sure if my plan worked, haha.  They did show gratitude for each new thing, and were really sweet when they opened the gifts to each other, so that's good :) (Colby gave Brooke a Jasmine Barbie, and Brooke picked out walkie talkies for Colby, which he called "hockey talkies".)

After we opened all our gifts, we ate waffles for breakfast, then reminded the kids that we hadn't looked for our elf, Claudia.  Claudia was hiding in the oven, and was holding a note that told the kids that Santa had something really big for our family that wouldn't even fit in the house.  Brooke guessed right away that it must be in the backyard, and her reaction is priceless.  Like, jumping up and down excited :)  Colby was also excited, but it took longer for him to get used to being on there when someone else was jumping.

Around three, our dinner guests arrived (Grandma, Papa, Tom, and Robbie), and spent the rest of the day with us.  We cooked a beef tenderloin with bernaise sauce, mashed potatoes, an apple/bacon salad, honey-glazed carrots, garlic bread, and Martinelli sparking cider (our kids' new favorite drink). 

Random story of the day:  I was preheating the oven for the tenderloin, then went outside to check on the kids.  When I came back inside, the house smelled super weird. Kevin was at the stove searing the meat, and I asked what the smell was.  He had no idea what I was talking about, and then it dawned on me!  We never took Claudia out of the oven!!! I immediately opened the oven to see her head as black as coal and about three sizes bigger than normal.  Thankfully the kids were outside, so I quickly grabbed sone tongs and removed her from the oven.  When the kids later asked where she was, I told them that she went back to the North Pole since Christmas was over.  

We enjoyed the company, and had fun playing with new toys together.  Before they left, we had a crock pot apple crisp, a la mode.

And that was our Christmas Day in a nutshell :)  Kevin and I both felt like the day went really well, and we enjoyed just being in our home with family.

bowling and christmas eve

Last year, we started the tradition of bowling on Christmas Eve.  I probably wrote about this last year, but it was a tradition our family always had growing up, and which I really loved.  We didn't have family in California, and neither did most of our close family friends, so we always spent the afternoon bowling together (with the missionaries), and would then act our the Nativity at someone's house.

This year Christmas Eve fell on Sunday, which meant that we just moved it up a day early and bowled on Christmas Eve EVE, haha.  The kids were all eager to get started, and to help pick out and carry their own bowling balls. Brooke, however, only maintained interest for the first 7 frames, then relinquished her turns to Papa.

Colby was really into it this year, which was so different from last year when he wasn't even walking yet.  He sure is growing up quickly!

After bowling, we headed to In-N-Out, which is just the right amount of casual for us to all get some food, but not have to worry about noisy kids.  We even opted to eat outside which allowed us adults to talk while the kids ran around playing imaginary games.

By the time we got home, it was time to make our sugar cookie day (prep for the next day), and do the bedtime routine. Brooke and Colby both love to help in the kitchen, especially when it involves messy stuff like flour and rolling pins :)

Since Christmas Eve was on Sunday,  we had a special Sacrament meeting instead of our normal 3 hour block.  The whole thing was filled with beautiful musical numbers which really brought the Christmas spirit.  We had everything loaded into our car, so we headed straight from church up to Flower Mound where we were celebrating Christmas as a family.  Jerry and Bev had prepared a beautiful meal, and we had more time with Tom, Robbie, and the Peacocks.

We opened presents, and Colby was over-the-top excited about his "own pooter (computer)'.  He kept saying it over and over, which was cracking us up.  We were all spoiled as usual, and I was excited to see Kinley and Aubrey open their unicorn sleeping bags from us because I was pretty positive they would be in love!

All the grandkids with their special stockings that Grandma (Bev) made...

Colby didn't get a nap that day, so he crashed hard within about 6 minutes of being in the car.  He slept like this the rest of the 40 minute drive, stayed asleep all the way up to his room and even while I changed him into his jammies.  I was sad that he was going to miss all the final "Christmas Eve" traditions, but I also knew that my little guy was tuckered out.

Brooke set out the cookies and milk for Santa, and the carrots for the reindeer.  Kevin had made some comment to her about getting a puppy, and then she insisted on writing Santa a note that she wanted a puppy for Christmas.  I assured her that Santa already had her gift, and that he wouldn't bring her a puppy unless he checked with her parents first.  (She knows that I do NOT want a dog.)  Way to go, Kevin, haha :/

After the kids were all nestled snug in their beds, Santa arrived and left them lots of goodies...

And Santa's helper made the finishing touches on the trampoline which had been set up the night before in sub-freezing temps!

We were excited for the joy that Christmas morning would bring!!

arboretum fun

The week before Christmas, Uncle Tom (Bev's brother) and his son Robert made a trip out to Texas.  Prior to their visit, Bev had emailed the family to let us know what they had planned, and that we had open invitations to any and all activities.  We were able to meet up with them at the Dallas Arboretum and had a really nice day together.  The displays for the 12 Days of Christmas were pretty amazing, each day featured in its own gazebo. The kids had fun dancing to the music, and Colby kept wandering behind Tom as he was trying to take pictures of each one.  

The weather was perfect, and the gardens were looking beautiful. I tried to get one picture with the kids with White Rock Lake in the background, but Colby was being a nut, so this is what we got.

Brooke loved the red trees, so we took a picture "so Daddy wouldn't feel left out."  She really is so sweet to always think of him since he misses lots of the fun!

We parted ways for a bit so that I could take my kids to the Children's Adventure Garden, and it was WAY better than the last time we went.  I don't know if it was due to all the rain the few days prior, but we were literally the only people in most of the gardens.  Last time, it felt like a zoo with all the field trip kids, which is probably why I wasn't overly impressed with the place.  But when you have it to yourself, and can actually spend time learning about wind/water/solar power, tessellations, how plants grow, and animal tracks, it's pretty great.

Brooke's favorite thing was what they call "The Texas Skywalk".  You take stairs up what looks like a giant tree, until you are above the whole Children's Garden.  You can then climb the nets like a little monkey, and really feel like you are so high above the ground and everything below.  They have netting that goes overhead as well (for safety, of course), but it makes for a pretty cool adventure.  Brooke asked me for help as she got started, but I encouraged her to first try it by herself.  She totally moneyed her way to the very top, and the look on her face as she realized that she did it completely on her own, was priceless!

Then naturally, Colby wanted to try it as well.  I kept a hand on him, but after a few steps up he said, "I nervous."  I love that he has a lot of courage and wants to try everything that Brooke does!

Colby's favorite part was probably the Nutcracker exhibit.  After the Children's Garden, we met back up with everyone and had a quick bit to eat.  They had already wandered through the exhibit, but were willing to go back with us.  Tom (somewhat jokingly) said, "My entertainment is going to be watching you keep Colby from touching all the displays."  Nothing was behind glass, all 4,000 nutcrackers were placed throughout this old estate.  Colby actually did better than I expected, and we made it through without breaking anything, haha.

We definitely enjoyed our time together, and I learned more about Tom as we chatted over lunch.

little hearts program

The Little Hearts Christmas program was on a Sunday evening (December 10th) and Brooke was really excited about her role as Ma in "The Night Before Christmas" play.  Grandma and Papa came to our house for dinner beforehand, and although we arrived early at her school, the place was packed!  We barely managed to find seats together, but we couldn't see well.  Then you had parents with their phones up trying to record their child.  I told Kevin that I was totally going to be the ridiculous Mom that went and crouched in the front so I could get a picture.  I was a little embarrassed, but mostly not because I wanted good pictures of her first little preschool program.  Plus I knew the person I crouched in front of, so that made it a little less awkward.

Brooke was excited to see me so close, and then was waving at Daddy when she finally spotted him.

The funniest part was that Brooke totally started picking her nose during the play.  I kept trying to get her attention and motioning for her to get her fingers out of her nose, but she acted like she had no idea what I was doing, haha.  She would not give up on that booger, and I was just dying laughing the whole time.

The play was really cute, and was then followed by "The Night Before Jesus", performed by the rest of the Pre-K students. It meant a lot to Brooke to have Grandma and Papa there as well, and when Jerry offered to take a picture of our family, Colby learned in for a Sissy snuggle.  My heart just melted because they really do love each other, despite the daily quarrels.

The next Tuesday, the students performed their plays again at Watercrest, which is the Assisted Living/Memory Care home right next to her school.  The residents love seeing the children, and the directors have expressed how good it is for their spirits to have visitors.

I tagged along to watch the kids again, which was great, especially since I had the greatest seat in the house.

Good job, Little Bug!

bass pro santa

For Brooke's first Christmas, we came to the Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine to get her picture taken with Santa.  Everything went smoothly, but we waited for almost 2 hours in line!  The next year, we did the same, but thankfully didn't have to wait quite as long.  Her third Christmas, and Colby's first, we headed up for more Santa pictures.  We arrived right after 10 (when they opened), but our ticket said to come back in like 4 hours to then stand in line.  Kevin was less than thrilled, and since Brooke's hatred of pictures was pretty strong, we weren't excited about the whole ordeal.  We ran a few errands, then went to Steak 'N Shake for lunch.  While we were sitting there, we noticed a man dressed as Santa. I really wanted to ask him for a picture so we could avoid the Bass Pro Shop, but we didn't want to bother the poor guy.  But then he came to our table and offered, so I was thrilled!  Of course Brooke didn't want a picture, so we don't have her Santa picture that year.  And I don't think we even tried the year after that either because I can't find a picture.

Brooke had expressed an interest in going to see Santa this year, and I kept asking her if she was SURE that she wanted to go.  She kept assuring me that she did, and when it was our turn, they walked right over to Santa, hand in hand.  Santa made a comment to Colby that he liked the way he walked right over with such confidence :)

Brooke was so sweet with Colby and I love that she is rubbing his ear because that is totally her comfort thing for herself.

The pictures were HILARIOUS!!  Colby was making the funniest faces, and the one they took with his mischievous eyes to the side is forever going to be my favorite.  I thought Brooke looked beautiful in her red dress, bow, shoes, and matching lipstick.  I love that she is so girly, but also loves to run and play and get dirty.

Only at the Bass Pro Shop would they have the crossbow as an activity next to the Santa pictures, haha! We all gave it a whirl, then moved on to the rifle section, haha.

Then it was time to write a letter to Santa and place it in the mailbox. The whole experience was adorable, and pretty magical for the kids.

When we were finished, we headed to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, then it was time to take Papa to the airport.  Since the airport was close to the Dallas Galleria, I made the executive decision that we would make a quick stop and I'm so glad that we did.  Nordstrom looked beautiful, and Brooke was twirling around like a princess on that red carpet.  The whole mall was decorated so beautifully!

This was the perfect way to kick off the Christmas season!

disney on ice

We have loved Grandma and Papa's tradition of sponsoring a family outing for Christmas, and this year they repeated the Disney on Ice tickets.  We loved it last year, and were even more excited to see it again this year!  My Dad was lucky enough to be in town as well, so he was able to join in on the fun. 

First stop was In-N-Out for some burgers, fries, and shakes. 

Jerry thought it would be funny to get a picture of the two of them with their canes :)

We arrived at the show a little early, so the kids had a chance to touch the ice before someone told them to stop :/

Such a special treat for these little ones, and I know that it meant the world to Grandma and Papa to have this date with their grandkids.

Cute moments before and during the show...

The show was just as fantastic this year as it was the last!