Holiday Fun

Auntie Carrie and Ethan were able to come over for a quick visit right before Christmas.  We had a great time together ~ Ethan loved all of Carter and Kennedy's toys and we loved spending time with him.

He's just the cutest little guy and has a big, engaging personality.  Almost made me consider having another one :)

Opening a couple of presents

Ethan loves diggers, trucks and trains and we found a fun book with all of those things.

Carrie said they'd read it a dozen times by the end of the day!

Carter got an awesome magic set ~ he loved it!

He was so curious as to how all the tricks worked and tried most of them right then and there.

He'll need a bit more practice before he's ready to put on his own magic show but I have no doubt he'll master them soon.

It's so fun having a little one around...it's so easy to forget how 2 year olds interact and behave.  Ethan has amazing language skills, and he was talking up a storm.  His personality is so sweet and fun...we love him!!!

A little holiday baking with my silly assistant!

She's always ready to help me in the kitchen...she usually won't last the whole time that I'm preparing something, but we have a lot of fun at the start!

And she conveniently reappears when it's time to do a little taste testing.

A fun, busy weekend leading up to Christmas!

Allllll Aboard...The Polar Express

I have wanted to treat the kids to the Polar Express ride for several years but it had never worked out before.  This year, I really wanted to make it happen, as I was worried that Carter would be a little too old to fully enjoy it next year.  He still believes in the magic of Christmas, still loves searching for our elf each morning and knows that Santa has a naughty and nice list.  As time flies by, I know that these special times are fleeting and I really wanted them to experience a little more magic.  Kyle was game and ended up enjoying himself, too.  We both agreed that seeing the joyful smiles and eyes of wonder was worth more than we ever could have paid!

They have their golden tickets and are ready to board the train...

Waiting for our trip to start

not sure if that's a smile or a grimace!

The train car attendants were very good ~ they helped make the trip a lot of fun.

They were preparing hot chocolate and cookies as we started off.

We enjoyed a reading of the story and a fun sing-a-long of Christmas carols.

We were in a parlor car, so we were seated around a little table. 

I can't get enough of this face...that smile is true happiness.

Carter is getting to an age where he's not easily impressed and I find myself missing the stages of wonder and excitement that I used to see so frequently.  This part of the ride brought real joy back to his sweet face and I'm so thankful that I was able to capture it.

Getting his ticket punched...and punched...and punched.

so fun!

Yummy hot cocoa in a souvenir mug

My sweet boy looking for Santa

It was so awesome that it had snowed in Hood River the day before - it made the whole experience so much more authentic.  It was dark outside our windows, the ground was covered in snow and it lent itself to being very magical.

Kennedy getting her bell

Carter getting his bell from Santa's sleigh

Another visit with Santa

Thankfully both were consistent with their wishes

Daddy and Kennedy

Love my boy

Overall a great adventure for our family and a fun Christmas activity!

Zoo Lights ~ 2012

After a day of lazily enjoying our first day of Christmas break, we headed out to the zoo to explore the fun and festive Zoo Lights.  We have gone every year since Carter was just one, so it's a special tradition that the kids really look forward to each year.  It happened to be dry and Daddy got home from work before 5:00, so we ate a quick dinner, changed out of our pajamas (yep, it was one of those days and it was wonderful!), bundled up as best we could and were off.

I don't remember there being so many animals available for photos, but the kids seemed really excited about it, so we stopped at each one and snapped a quick picture.

Not sure how dinosaurs fit into a holiday celebration at the zoo, but who am I to question?

Carter and Kennedy loved it!

Starting off ~ once we made our way through the entrance and all of the stuffed characters, we were able to begin exploring.

We decided not to take a train ride this year, because we had tickets to ride the Polar Express two days later.  But, we had to get a picture, because I love how it's all decorated with lights.

Kennedy found another one

I love this area on the lawn ~ the lights are everywhere and it feels so magical.

What would a trip to the zoo be without playing on the animal statues and posing for pictures?  Even when it's freezing outside, both kids still climbed up on all of the different statues.

butterfly wings

It was a super fun evening and a great way to spend some time together as a family.

It was cold but we all had a great time admiring the beautiful Christmas lights.

Nutcracker

I decided to take Kennedy to the Nutcracker this year, hoping that she was old enough to enjoy the beautiful music and magical story.  My mom and I often attended the Nutcracker during the holidays and I was looking forward to starting this tradition with Kennedy, as well.  My friend Kathy and I thought it would be best to start out with a local production while the girls were still little and that perhaps they would be ready for the Portland OBT show in a couple of years.  

I think we made the right choice.  I really do believe that Kennedy had a good time ~ she loved the idea of the show but I think it got a little hard to sit still, especially during the second half.  The girls did great, though, and I was so happy to start this tradition with sweet friends.

a few pictures before the show...

my beautiful girl is looking so grown up!

love this!

Such a great smile

This was the day after our Christmas party and I was literally running on no sleep for days but I couldn't pass up the chance to get a quick picture with Kennedy before the show.

Kennedy and Kaitlin

Such a fun experience to share with sweet friends

Excited for the show to begin

Exploring the stage during intermission

Such a special evening, capped off by a yummy ice cream cone on our way home.

I look forward to many more trips to see the Nutcracker with my girl.

~Small Group Christmas Party~

The weekend before Christmas, Kyle and I hosted our small group for a Christmas soiree' (I got a lot of teasing that I put that on the invitation ~ although in my defense, we so rarely get a chance to be fancy that I thought it would be a fun way to make the night special)

Everyone dressed up and looked beautiful and we all enjoyed the time to relax and just have fun.  And we had a lot of fun!  I was exhausted by the end of the night, but it was so worth it!  It was fun to get dressed up, fun to let loose with dear friends and fun to enjoy an evening without our kids (we have 18 between us!).

We all agreed that this will need to become an annual event.

the girls

Rachel, me, Sheri, Linda, Amy and Kathy

having too much fun

the guys

Adam, Jeff, Rich, Zack, Kyle and Dan

I felt like it was the perfect number of people for our home - everyone was able to move and mingle and there were still spots for everyone to sit.

I had lots of appetizers in the dining room, drinks in the kitchen and desserts on the kitchen table.

It was fun and festive!

Amy and Linda

Sheri and me

There's a story there...

Kathy insisted we take couples pictures and I'm so glad that she did...

Jeff and Sheri

The Caroli

Adam and Amy

Rachel and Zack

Kyle and I

Rich and Linda

Dan and Kathy

Somehow we ended up huddled in the kitchen watching a Brazilian elevator hoax video (google it, it's so wrong but so hilarious!)

The whole scene just made me laugh

By the end of the night, I was permanently attached to the couch.  I love these friends and am so very thankful that they are in our lives.  We have a lot of fun together but we also explore and faith and are challenged by one another. 

I look at these pictures and feel so very blessed.