Christmas Eve

On December 23rd, we traveled to Utah, arriving late late at night.  We went the whole way from California to Utah in one stretch and it wasn't too bad.  The kids did great.  On Christmas Eve, though, we got to spend time with both families!  That morning we woke up, and enjoyed a nice Christmas Eve breakfast with the Serafines and exchanged our gifts.  

After lunch we drove to Idaho Falls and spent Christmas Eve night with my family.  We went to my Grandma's house for her traditional dinner and white elephant exchange.

Then, back at my parent's house, we had a few gifts, slippers and a very cute book from my mom, before heading to bed.

Christmas Prep

It seemed like there were so many things to do and see before Christmas this year.  It was fun to celebrate Christmas for a whole month with the kids.  We tried to have something to do every day, which was fun yet exhausting.  In addition to the regular cookie decorating and gingerbread house making, we saw the San Diego temple lights, Zoo lights, and went to a few Christmas parties, including ones for our ward and Matt's work.

Christmas card picture

Santa at the Zoo

Art-see and Thanksgiving

Matt's mom, Lori, and her sisters, have come up with the cutest business venture.  Their business is Art-see, and it's so fun.  You are sent a different craft each month that corresponds to a holiday or season.  The idea is that your children create this craft and send it on to a loved one.  It's a great way to share some love.  I know that the grandparents in our family love to get things from the kids in the mail.  Once the kids have created the craft, they put the project into an envelope (already addressed and stamped--awesome!) and send it to a grandparent, or anyone really.  In November, the boys made these super cute turkeys.  They had a lot of fun, especially with those eyes.  There's something about googly eyes that are hilarious to small boys.  We sent the turkeys on to my mom, and she loved them.  : )  The best part, in my opinion, about Art-see, is that the craft comes with all the needed supplies and the envelope is already stamped.  This saves a trip to the craft store and also the post office--two places my kids are at their worst.  Ha.  

Check it out:  www.arts-ee.com 

Also in November... we had a nice Thanksgiving by ourselves.  It was a nice relaxing day, and I only took two pictures.  Nice.

Graham turns 4!

{11-18-2014}

Oh, Graham.  What would we do without him.  Graham is our best 4-year-old.  : )  We were so excited to celebrate Graham's birthday with him this year.  He was beyond excited.  Graham is so sweet.  He is so kind and loving and sooooo friendly.  He will talk to anyone, and he is always saying "hello" to anyone he sees.  He's not afraid of talking to people, and we love to see him carry on conversations with people he doesn't really know.  Graham is so smart and curious.  He's always asking about definitions of words and how things work.  He's very interested in the earth and space.  He's just our all-around good-time kid.  He's kind and mello, and is quite fun to be around.  He loves school, and loves playing with other kids.  We sure love you, Graham.

His birthday fell on a Tuesday, so he got to go to school on his birthday, and even take a treat to share with his friends.  After school we met Matt at the park for a picnic, and had his party after dinner.

My parents were in town the weekend before Graham's birthday, so we got to celebrate a bit before they left.

On his birthday, Graham got his traditional breakfast in bed.  (In our bed, mind you.  Silly kid.)

As per his request, Graham got a Ninja Turtle birthday.  (Which he has never seen, by the way.  All he knows about the Ninja Turtles is that they exist.  Ha ha.)

Happy Birthday, Graham!  We love you!

Elsie rolls

I didn't get a picture of her actually rolling, but this is how I found her one day.  Silly girl has mastered rolling from back to front first. She's getting way too big way too fast.