Christmas!

Christmas Day we went to church with Grandma Tess and Grandpa Pete.  Even though it was just a short one hour meeting, Kylie and Hayden were still restless, probably because of all the snow that fell the night before!  Kylie did go up and sing with the primary though!  And she ACTUALLY sang!!!  It was amazing.

After church we went to their house to open presents! Once again, we were all spoiled rotten and I have no idea how we are going to get all of these awesome gifts home!  Some favorites were the superhero capes Grandma Tess made, Hayden's big train set, and Kylie's cat vet set.

We spent the rest of playing with all our fun things and, of course, out in the snow.  Kylie and Hayden just LOVE the snow and especially eating it.

Monday we also got to spend with the Hansen's!  We went sledding!  Yay for more snow activities!  It was crazy busy because it was a beautiful, clear day, but Kylie and Hayden had so much fun!  Kylie did super great by herself, and Hayden went down once with Grandma Tess and then a few times with Kylie.  I was hesitant to let him go down by himself, since it was so busy.  Grandpa Pete was at the bottom of the hill taking all the fun pictures.  Even Uncle James showed up at the end and went down a few times!

Then, after some hot cocoa we did a little shopping at the mall and then went to Sizzler for dinner.  It was super yummy and I think Kylie and Hayden ate an entire watermelon between the both of them.
Thanks so much to Grandpa Pete for all the pictures and to both him and Grandma Tess for spoiling us and for the fun time!  It was also good to see Uncle James before he leaves the country and Uncle Tommy (who is always so busy we hardly ever see him!)

Tuesday was spent at the Knudsen's playing with our new toys and playing a game of Tetris trying to pack them all away.

Wednesday we managed to to get the car stuffed to the ceiling (though we did leave a few things behind), and made our way back home to the sun!  Thanks again to everyone for this awesome Christmas and making us feel so loved!

Christmas Eve

The drive up north on Wednesday was uneventful, thankfully!  The kids were so excited to see Grandma Shari, but disappointed that there was no snow.  It was definitely cold enough for snow though!

After dinner and running around like the crazies that they are, we did some gingerbread houses!  Kylie and Aunt Kelsey made a super cute house, and Hayden and I made a train.

Thursday evening we went to see Luminaria at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens (which apparently changed its name to The Ashton Gardens).  It was pretty cold, especially when the sun went down.  Kylie ran around with Aunt Kendra and Aunt Kelsey so she stayed pretty warm, but Hayden got really cold and had to be held by Grandpa Gary the last half.  The lights were so beautiful and it was so fun to run around them!  They even had live reindeer that you could pet!  Kylie loved that part.

After the show I went with the girls to see a movie and the kids got some grandparents time!  All that walking must've zonked them out because they were asleep when we got home!

Friday Shari took us to see the movie Trolls.  Hayden was so excited for this because he had been watching snippets of it on Youtube Kids for the last few weeks and even sang along with one of the songs.  It was a cute little film and both of the kids really enjoyed it.  The did such a great job sitting in their seats most of the movie and there was no complaining at all!  It made me so happy!

Friday evening I went to another movie with Gary and Kendra, so the kids got to have Grandma Shari all to themselves!

Saturday was Christmas Eve!  That morning I went to lunch with my family (the Hansen's), and left the kids with the Knudsen's, since the movie we went to afterwards they would not have liked.  Yes, that is four movies in three days and I think I am good with the movie theater experience for the next six months!  Haha

That evening, after my excursion with my immediate family, we went to Shari's side of the family for some Christmas Eve fun.  We had a yummy dinner (Kylie only ate a roll and Hayden only ate chips and dip.  Typical...) and then a fun talent show.  Kylie's talent was being a puppy dog.  The ENTIRE night.  She has loved being either a cat or dog practically all day for the past week.  It can get really annoying after a while.

After the party we went back to the Knudsen's to open presents!  And, man! did we get spoiled!  The kids got so many presents and they wanted to play with them all right then.  We really appreciate everything we got and want to thank the Knudsen's for everything they've done this holiday for us!  We love you!

Seeing the Nativity

More Christmas fun this week!!  We started off by finishing our huge crafty ginger bread mansion.  It seems that we are building our own Christmas Village!  The kids love to play house on them.

On Monday I took the kids to Tuacahn to see the live nativity.  It was cold and crowded but so worth it!  We watched a little choir perform before going into the amphitheater.  Kylie and Hayden sat so well and were completely immersed in the live retelling of Jesus' birth.  They always got super excited when a horse or donkey came on stage, but they were ecstatic to see the camels.

Then Kylie did some rolling down the hill while we waited for the Christmas Train ride.

They loved the "train" ride, but were both thoroughly frozen afterwards and happy to head home.  I really loved taking them to a live nativity!!  I think it helped them realize more what Christmas is all about.

Other highlights of the week:

I did my first ever French Braid in Kylie's hair!  She was awesome and sat so still while I restarted five times...

Hayden was pretty sick all week... lots of throwing up and diarrhea - but only at night.  Go figure.  Basically he got to the point where there are no sheets on his bed - just towels.  Poor kid!  He's thankfully feeling a lot better now!

Kylie also turned herself into a Christmas tree!

We received a few Secret Santa gifts to the family this week. It's so humbling to be on the receiving end of these acts of service.  The kids absolutely loved it and since we were going to be out of town for Christmas I let them open their gifts.  Whichever individuals got us gifts really know us because the kids gifts were perfect!  One of the most favorite was a little cash register.  Kylie and Hayden played store for quite a while before bedtime!

Now we are getting all packed up to head up north to be with family for Christmas!!  So excited!!

Getting Ready for Christmas

This week was nice and normal compared to last week.  In that, we got to get back to our schedule (which I love so much) and Kylie got to go back to school (which she loves so much) and Hayden got to relearn his boundaries (which he will come to love so much, haha!)

We finished decorating the house for Christmas, did several Christmas crafts together, as well as make sugar cookies with our friends.  It was kinda cold this week so we didn't go out much.

Hayden did get a haircut (shorter than I planned but oh well.  It should grow back.)  And he can say his name better this week - "Hay-nyan" versus "nyan-nyan"!  Getting that H sound down!

On Saturday they spent the day with Brandon in Cedar City.  They went swimming and then to see Santa!  Kylie apparently was terrified of him, but Hayden was brave enough to talk to him.  He said he asked Santa for a Polar Bear Cake.  Kylie wants a White Fluffy Kitten.  That is real.  Because our cat needs a friend.  Hmmm...

We have also listened to a lot of Christmas music this week - which turned into spontaneous dance parties.  Which involve booty shaking.  And for some reason the only video I got has the kids pants-less so I apologize.  But it is still pretty funny to watch.

We have one more normal week before the holidays are fully upon us!

Vacation to Lake Havasu

On Sunday after church we packed up our car and then followed Uncle James, Grandpa Pete, and Grandma Tess down to Arizona and Lake Havasu!  It was a long drive and the kids were cranky when we got to our room and we were all happy to settle down and go to sleep!

Monday we started off the day by exploring!  We drove up to Parker Dam and got out and explored and went shell hunting!

Afterwards we spent the afternoon at the pool playing.  Luckily it was heated, since it was cooler weather all week!

Later that evening we went to London Bridge and walked around and saw all the pretty Christmas lights!  The kids definitely enjoyed that!

Tuesday we found a kid-friendly hike to go on that was long enough for the adults to enjoy and easy enough for the kids to walk most of the way.  Kylie enjoyed climbing all over everything and had to be rescued by Uncle James at one point!

Our destination was a little beach on Lake Havasu.  The kids got to wade in the water (it was still cold), and collect more shells while we all enjoyed the view and relaxed.

The walk back was more tedious, since both kids wanted to be carried.  Grandma Tess was great with Hayden and carried him most of the way back.  They even hiked to the top of the surrounding hills and explored.  Uncle James caved in to Kylie and carried her back some of the way.  Near the end we found a cave way up high and all went to explore it!

We took it easy the rest of the afternoon and relaxed and swam some more and watched some tv.

Wednesday was officially Hayden's birthday!  He was 3!!!  To celebrate we went to a park that morning so the kids could freely run around instead of playing with the rocks and bushes right outside our room.  They both loved it!  Especially since it was a HUGE park, with three playgrounds close to each other plus it was right on the beach.

After lunch we made the drive to Oatman (or, as the kids call it, Cowboy Town) on Route 66.  The bushes entering town were all decked out for Christmas which was pretty fun.  Once in town it was mostly shops, but the atmosphere was really what made it fun.  It was old and dusty, and burros were everywhere!  Of course the kids were nervous but Grandpa Pete and Grandma Tess showed them how to be gentle with them.

We walked around and saw the sights and visited the shops.  Hayden picked for his birthday present a cowboy hat and a stick horse to ride.  The horse even made noises and it was really hard to get him to stop making the noise!  We investigated the little mine exhibit and then headed home... but not before getting mauled by some more burros!  If you have a bag in your hand they don't leave you alone.  Plus they really liked Hayden's stick horse and Kylie's jacket.

Over all I think Hayden had a great birthday!

Thursday we spent a few hours at that park again.  It really is a fun park!  Kylie even made a friend and they fed the ducks/seagulls/pigeons/mud hens together.  Kylie really liked how fearless the birds were, but Hayden got really nervous when they started nibbling his fingers looking for something more to eat!

Then we walked down the lakeside path back to the London Bridge.  All along Lake Havasu are mini replicas of light houses, and there was one on the path!

Afterwards Hayden and I took a nap while Kylie had some quiet time.  Then after dinner she went swimming with Grandma Tess while Hayden and I played some games.  We played games every night and their new favorite ones to play are Lego Creator and Mickey Mouse Yahtzee.

Friday was our day to go home.  We didn't get out until 11 that morning, and we decided to take a pit stop at the Hoover Dam.  We walked the length of it, and the poor kids were too short to see over the top of it so they got distracted and tired easily.  I think their favorite part was the escalators!

Then came an hour drive through Vegas (which Kylie got all excited and thought it was New York City!) before the last stretch through Arizona until we were finally home again!  It's so nice to be back in our familiar surroundings where the kids know what is expected and there are no surprises.

I'd like to thank my family for the super fun trip they invited us on!  I know the kids were hard to handle at times and very energetic but I really appreciate all they did for us.  Also thanks to Grandpa Pete for the pictures!