Merry Christmas,everyone!

"Santa is a hero!"
-James

Going to Joe T. Garcia’s on Christmas Eve has been a family tradition for decades and I’m glad that we continue to go with the kids.  They had a lot of fun running around the fountains outside while the adults enjoyed good company and tasty margaritas.  This is a tradition I hope continues for years to come.

Christmas started for James around 4:50am which is when he decided it was time to wake up.  He woke Ashlyn up, but we were able to convince them both it was still too early.  We’re not sure if James actually went back to sleep since we heard him moving around again a short time later.  Either way they must have had enough sleep because they all got up and excitedly woke us up before running downstairs to open presents.  As usual, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Christmas number two was at Nina and Papa’s house.  The kids had a lot fun playing with Nina, Papa, PePa, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Jeff, Ben, and Sydney.  Another round of presents may have helped a bit as well.  After presents we cooked a good breakfast and then played some more while we got ready for Christmas number three.

Our final Christmas was with Grandma and Grandpa.  More presents, more food, and more fun were had by all.  And thanks to nerf guns provided by Aunt Bridget, there were plenty of near injuries to keep things interesting.  The kids crashed pretty quickly at the end of the day, which was expected after all the excitement.

Well, another year has passed.  It was a year of ups and downs, family lost and gained.  There were more ups than downs, and our house was filled with laughter more often than tears.  And for that, we’re grateful.  Here’s hoping your home has just as much joy as ours.

Gymnastics and gingerbread…

"I thought maybe we could make gingerbread houses, and eat
cookie dough and go ice skating and maybe even hold hands."
-Buddy, Elf

Another holiday tradition is the gingerbread house.  Instead of making store bought houses, Grandma baked the house materials and gave the kids things to decorate with.  Ashlyn whipped up some icing and off the kids went.  The end results were good, although it was a challenge to keep them from eating their creations.

Ashlyn’s gym held a pretend meet for the girls in place of the last practice of the year.  They had one of the coaches judging, although there was no medals ceremony like a real meet.  Ashlyn had fun, and was the highest score in beam.

The kids also went to go visit Santa this week and I can easily say this was the best picture with Santa the kids have ever taken.  Nobody was pouting, Isla is old enough not to get scared, and everyone smiled.  We might actually print this one!

Belts, cookies, and Six Flags…

"Again!  Again!"
-Isla

James was given his new belt this week at a trampoline park, which is where they held the awards ceremony this time.  James’ favorite part wasn’t the trampolines themselves, instead he liked building towers out of the foam blocks so he could kick them down.

Christmas is approaching and baking is a time honored tradition around the holidays.  Our resident baker Ashlyn was at it again this week, this time making snowman cookies.  The younger siblings were willing taste testers.

We took the kids to Six Flags to check out the Holiday in the Park activities.  The weather was cool, but not cold, so we were able to ride all the rides including the sledding hill.  Ashlyn and James were both able to drive the cars, although I’ll sleep better at night knowing they have eight to ten more years before they get their drivers licenses.  Isla wasn’t too sure about the mini mine train at first, but after riding it once she insisted on going on it over and over again.

At the end of a fun day, why not settle in for some s’mores on the porch?  We had three happy kiddos that day.