Christmas 2014 Part 2

Christmas Eve Edition

We did our annual food from around the world and this year we did Mexican food and invited a house full of people.  In the end, we had 37 people in all come, a few left before a few came so it was never quite that many all at once. 

 The kid table

 The adult tables that were not quite full yet because there were so many yummy things to choose from- see below.

 We had: tacos, cafe rio burritos, honey lime enchiladas, pazole soup, mexican corn, salsa, guacamole, taquitos, rice, beans, mexican dip, and tamales.

For dessert: tres leches cake, flan, fried ice cream, and cookies.

 See those tables filled up.

 What kind of a mexican fiesta would it have been without a pinata?!

Peter made it and the girls and I decorated it- a Christmas tree!

 It was freezing but the kids loved it and almost all of them got a few swings before it totally broke open. I believe only one child was hit and only a few other tears were shed over who got what prizes.

 After the party ended, we had the kids open their jammies.

 Jon was showing Samantha the amazingness of wrapping paper.

 Arabella daintily opened hers whereas, Joseph went for the claw approach which made it hard to capture a clear picture. 

We were so thankful that we could fill our home with some of our Texas family. This tradition has helped me make the holidays feel more like what I remember my childhood being. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Christmas 2014 Part 1

My parents came down for a few days before Christmas and it was so much fun!

They drove our new Suburban down to us since we purchased it in Utah.

We loved having them here we did not love that we sent them home with a nasty viral cold that kept them both sick and away from the rest of my family for Christmas and the better part of a week. 

 We did a mini traditional turkey dinner since they were traveling over Thanksgiving and so were we.

Arabella was happy to have a turkey at home with our traditional fixings.

 The kids opened their gifts from them before they headed back to Utah. They were all so excited!

 It made the next few days really nice because they had new toys to play with and did not mind that Christmas was still 2 days away.

 Grandpa and Joseph putting a toy together. 

And the girls working on one of the crafts Grandma gave Arabella. They were so happy!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bird for coming and playing with us!

Washington DC Day 5

Wednesday we hit the Museum of American History.  

Where are all of the pictures- who knows? We had a great time; except for the 5 minutes that we could not find Lily anywhere. We were just in the process of telling a Security Guard when a family came around the corner with her. They said they could not believe that she was not more concerned her family was missing. She told them she really just wanted to see the strawberries (part of one of the displays). Oh that girl. We crossed paths with that family several more times and I always said thank you again while secretly cringing inside that I had: 1. lost my child and 2. she did not care that she was lost.

Peter is pictured above with the mail memorabilia from World War II. 

His Grandpa Rabner served in World War II and was the postman. 

Christmas Time Fun

I am way behind so this is a whirlwind post of the first part of December to help me catch up.

 Samantha thought decorating the tree was great- especially the little bell ornaments that fit perfectly in her little hand. 

 All of the lights did strange things to my camera and so there are a fair number of blurry pictures. 

We bought artificial tree this year and it has been really nice. The kids love that the lights have a remote control that can change the colors and pattern of flickering. 

 When both girls want to put the star on top you get creative!

 Ghost pictures-jumping off of the couch.

 Joseph had the flu- BOO!

 It is always fun to paint but Jon does not think it is as fun to do homework.

 Peek-a-boo we see you!

 I love my kids!

 And when you live in Texas you just might get to go to the zoo in December in shorts and short sleeves. It was beautiful!

 And let's not forget Class Christmas parties!

Jon has serious sugar cube stacking skills.

The month went by in such a blur but we certainly had a wonderful month! 

More to come- especially when I have a chance to get some pictures off of my phone. 

9 years of Jonathon

My Jonny bug turns 9 today!

I thought I would never want to have a Christmas time baby but the amazing spirit having a newborn brought into our home that year is something so dear to my heart. 

 Our boys the night we came home from the hospital- one of my favorite pictures. 

 Jon chewed through a bunch of binkis but not this one. He had it for 2 years. Actually it is in a box in our attic with a few other baby things. I couldn't stand to part with it. 

 He was always pretty good at making messes. 

 He helped himself to the cool whip. 

 He knows how to relax in style. 

 He has always played really well with his sisters. He actually loves babies. 

 He has tried his hand at several sports and is still looking for the one that speaks to his heart. We are going to give a swim team a try this summer and see how that goes. He is quite the fish!

 He loved playing with his sisters at field day and happily introduce them to everyone. 

Jon, you are a ham and one that likes to test your boundaries. You are gaining knowledge and wisdom about life and I see you with a growing desire to do good and be good. You always want to play and have fun. You are really good at procrastinating certain things and manage to get away with it due to our sometimes crazy life. You enjoy scouts and I hope you turn into an Eagle scout one day. You are smart and gentle and kind. You love yummy food. You are good at playing video games or really most games. I am so thankful each and every day that I am your mom! Happy Birthday!

Washington DC Day 4

Samantha discovered bagels on our trip! They are a perfect treat since they are dense enough that she can not bite to much off and she can hold them well. 

Arlington Cemetery was our first stop and we made it just in time to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The kids were so good. 

The boys were intrigued by the eternal flame at JFK's grave. 

We then spent the rest of the day at the Natural History Museum except for the time we left for lunch up by the Capital building. 

The museum closed down their huge dinosaur display for the next 5 (yes FIVE) years while they do renovations in October. They had a smaller new display that opened that day we were there. It was fun to see. 

We saw the tarantula feeding and Arabella was brave enough to hold the madagascar hissing cockroach. She is move brave than me. 

This was Joseph's favorite stone in the Gem section. 

We also went in the butterfly house- so cool! I want to plant a butterfly garden now. 

The capital building dome is being repaired or updated or something and had an impressive amount of scaffolding on it. 

I love you Jon!

Oh no kids, swim away!

We enjoyed some great evening meals at the hotel for a few nights we were there. The kids played on this shuffleboard game and loved it. Jon was quite good at it. 

Oh my smiley baby Bubbles!