Christmas 2012

We had a great Christmas this year with my side of the family. The party started Christmas Eve at my parent's house for the famous breakfast dinner, it was super tasty. Later we tried something new with the kiddos, we reenacted the The Christmas story. I was in charge of organizing it. I assigned each kiddo their own special part, Kyra was an angel and Miles was a Shepard. Everyone looked so cute dressed up. It went great and we got some pretty cute pictures too.

After the kids opened their Christmas Eve present, pajamas. We then exchanged gifts between the sibling families. We draw names each year, and this year we had Bethany and Bethany had us. We got Bethany a gift certificate to Pier One Imports to go toward a cushion seat for her papasan chair. Bethany had our family and she got us two gift cards, one to Tucano's for a date night, and another to Red Robin for a family outing. The family gift exchange is always fun. All the kids gave their gifts to mom and dad. We got my dad a book about the history of the Book of Mormon, and we got my mom her favorite dried mangoes and a gift certificate to Yen Ching. I LOVE being with family for the holidays, and this year was no different.

Later that night we put the kids to bed, and Bryce and I had lots of fun bringing Christmas alive in our very own living room for the first time since being married. I stayed up a little later preparing a yummy breakfast, overnight baked french toast [recipe: Our Best Bites] for Christmas morning.

Christmas morning the kids were so surprised by Santa's visit. Kyra was sick, therefore she hardly showed any excitement, but Miles on the other hand was ecstatic. First everyone looked for surprises in their stockings, then opened gifts. Kyra's favorites were her princess dolls, and the movie Brave. Miles' favorites were his airplanes, and a carpet boat. We then had breakfast together, the new recipe was success. Soon after eating Pennie and Grandpa Dec came over to visit. Shortly after they left my mom and dad came over to visit. We cleaned up and relaxed for awhile while the kids played with their new toys. Normally we go to the movies Christmas Day with my family, but having kids now makes it hard for everyone to go together at the same time. This year while the kids were napping Bryce went to The Hobbit with my dad, Brent, and Brady. When he returned home it was dinnertime, but before digging in we watched The Nativity to set the right Christmas mood. We decided to eat dinner with candles as our only light. We had ham, potatoes, salad, applesauce, and bread. Everything was yummy.

A few weeks prior to Christmas Kyra had all sorts of questions about the holiday and what it consisted of. We explained to her Christmas is celebrating Jesus' birthday. She asked if we could make Jesus a birthday cake, and we all agreed it was a great idea. I know family traditions are a big part of the holiday season, so we decided this would be a perfect tradition to start doing each year. So later after dinner we decorated a cake with lots of sprinkles, sang happy birthday to Jesus, and ate some yummy birthday cake.

Overall Christmas was great. I love my family and am so thankful for the quality time we were able to spend with one another. Merry Christmas!

2nd Annual Cousin Christmas Party!

This year was our 2nd Annual Arnold Cousin Christmas Party, we had a BLAST! My sister Lexie started the tradition last year, and we all agreed to continue it every year. Each family is to come with a savory/sweet treat for everyone, AND a game/craft for the little ones. We all enjoyed chit chatting, and eating yummy treats. This year we played Pin the NOSE on the Reindeer , made snowmen, decorated gingerbread houses/Christmas trees, wrote thank you cards to Santa, and frosted sugar cookies. The kids had so much fun, and the adults did too. There was even a photo booth for everyone to take silly pictures, so fun. I LOVE this time of year bringing family together and creating memories.

Christmas Outfits...

I LOVE dressing the kids up for church on the Sunday before a big holiday, Christmas is ALWAYS a favorite.

Bruneau Sand Dunes

Bryce lined up with his brother Ryan to meet at Bruneau Sand Dunes the Saturday before Christmas. The drive was only a little over an hour. It was a workout climbing up the hill, but so worth it coming down on a sled. After playing in the sand for awhile we started a fire to roast hot-dogs. We also warmed up by having some yummy hot cocoa. It was super windy, but still so much fun. We hope to go back soon and play some more.

Ward Christmas Party!

Our ward Christmas party was great this year. We invited my mom and dad to join us. For dinner we had smoked turkey, dutch oven cheesy potatoes, salad, and rolls. Everything was so tasty. While we were eating Santa walked in the door and surprised everyone, woohoo. Kyra was super excited to chat with Santa about Christmas, Miles on the other hand was terrified. Santa gave each kid a sack of candy, and a prize of their choice. We enjoyed a short program with the Primary kids singing Christmas songs. It was a great night! 

Happy Birthday Bryce!

Wednesday Bryce turned 32. The kids LOVE celebrating birthdays, so they were excited all day for "daddy" to return home from work. Bryce growing up always picked to have peppered steak with a few sides for his birthday meal, so we of course stuck with the tradition and made his favorite [peppered steak, potatoes, rolls, salad, and fruit]. After dinner the kids had a present for Bryce, but in order to get it he played the hot and cold game. Bryce quickly found his favorite Aloe Vera drink, and the movie The Dark Night Rises. After I gave him my present, a day trip zip lining in Horseshoe Bend this summer. We are both very excited to go on this adventure together. We then sang happy birthday to Bryce, and had brownies and ice cream. Super tasty!

Friday night Bryce and I celebrated his birthday by going on a date together. We went to PF Changs, the food was absolutely delicious. We then saw the movie, The Hobbit in 3D, it was fabulous. We had a fun night together.

Happy Birthday Bryce, we LOVE you so much!

Meeting Santa...

Grandpa Dec invited the kids and I to attend a Christmas program held at his retirement facility. My mom cam too. The program mainly consisted of singing Christmas songs and meeting Santa. Kyra was thrilled to meet Santa, but Miles on the other hand was terrified. All in all we had a great time and got some cute priceless pictures.

2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange/Craft Party!

Last year my good friend Chandra and her sister Cheryl had a fun Christmas Cookie Exchange Party, this year they decided to continue on with the tradition and have another one. These two sisters sure know how to throw a party. I made Andes mint chip cookies, yummy yummy. There was a huge variety of tasty cookies divvied out for each party guest to take home. The night was spent chit chatting, eating cookies [go figure], and crafting. Everyone received their own craft box with different supplies to create Christmas tags, so cute. We all had a great time together.

Christmas with "The Girls"...

The girls and I decided a few years back to draw names for Christmas. Before dinner we met at Ann's to exchange presents. Each year we go to our favorite restaurant, Yen Ching. As always we had a great time doing what we do best... taking silly pictures, laughing, chit chatting, eating, enjoying each others company, and so much more. I LOVE my girls! Merry Christmas!

We're having a BABY???

Thanksgiving 2012...

Thanksgiving this year was with Bryce's family, and it was a blast. We decided to travel back and forth from Boise to Middleton each day since it was a short 30 minute drive. Thanksgiving Day Pennie reserved the church building since our family group was so large. While prepping for the feast the cousins had fun playing games together. Each family was in charge of bringing something, we were in charge of a veggie platter. I found a cute idea on Pinterest to create a veggie platter that looked like a Turkey, gobble gobble. It turned out pretty cute. Everything was super tasty, there was a lot of food. Before leaving the church Pennie bought each family a giant ginger bread house to decorate. Everyone, especially the kids had fun decorating their houses. We all cleaned up and left the church. The rest of the night was spent relaxing and looking at ads to go shopping early the next morning. The remainder of the weekend was a lot of fun. Friday night was date night with all the adults. For dinner we went to Applebee's, and then went to Big Al's to play some games in the arcade. It was nice to be together with no kids. That night we stayed at Trevor and Marcy's house because the next morning Pennie treated everyone to Jump Time, all 38 of us. Jump Time is an indoor trampoline park with specific areas for adults and kids. Everyone had a BLAST. Later that night everyone gathered in Middleton to play games, chit chat, and eat snacks. Overall Thanksgiving weekend was fantastic. It's always fun getting together with Bryce's family and making new memories. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bounce

Our family has enjoyed going to Bounce many many times for Family Home Evening, birthday parties, or just for kicks. Bounce is a warehouse full of different blow-up houses the whole family can enjoy. One night our family invited the Wall's and Oakey's to join us for family night. The adults had just as much FUN as the kids. At one point the wives challenged the husbands to race in one of the obstacles. Guess who won? The girls, yeah! We had a blast.

Halloween 2012...

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. They looked super cute in their costumes, Miles was a dinosaur and Kyra was a monkey. We were busy busy busy. Starting at 3 we went trick-or-treating at Bryce's work, attended trunk-or-treating with our ward and two others, and then ended the night trick-or-treating door to door in my sister's neighborhood with my family. Needless to say the kids were definitely not hurting for ANY candy by the time they were all done. All in all we had a lot of fun together.

Miles in his glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas...

Adorable Dinosaur...

Spunky Monkey...

Tried and failed at getting a decent picture of them together, haha...

Trunk-or-treating, my GREAT friends Alli and LoraAnn [yes I'm the lame one who NEVER dresses up for Halloween]...

Brent and Kim as Super Heroes...

Boise Temple Re-Dedication

The Boise Temple closed down over a year ago for remodeling. The remodeling is all done and now open to the public for tours before the temple is rededicated on November 18th. Lots of volunteers were needed to make this open house run smoothly. Bryce and I were asked to be tour guides for two different shifts, it was a great experience. We also went on a tour with the kids another day. It was a neat to walk through the Temple with my kids and show them where mommy and daddy got married. I also took a few of my best friends on a tour as well. They enjoyed seeing the inside of such a beautiful Temple they know is super special to me. The Temple really is heaven on earth.

Color Run...

The Color Run is known as the HAPPIEST 5k on the planet, and it was indeed. The race is less about speed and more about enjoying a color crazy day with your friends and family. Our team name was Color Me Awesome. I ran the race with my good peeps Ann, LoraAnn, and Alli. We had a blast getting splashed with fun bright colors while running. I hope this race returns to Boise each year, super fun.

Farmstead Pumpkin Patch!

Every year during the month of October we go to Linder Farms, but this year we decided to try Farmstead Pumpkin Patch. We went for Family Home Evening, and invited my my dad, mom, Lexie [and kids], Brent, and Kim. We had a blast. We jumped on the gigantic pillow top trampoline, played on the play equipment, went through the corn maze, and gave the scary dinosaur maze a try too. The corn maze was definitely an adventure. It took us FOREVER to finish, BUT we did it. Yeah! The dinosaur maze scared my kids, therefore once was enough. We did not realize upon arrival what time the place closed, so we had no time for other activities. Oh well, maybe next year. All in all everyone had fun together. I LOVE this time of year, so many things to do.