Waiting For Santa

 We have a few gifts under our Christmas tree as I've slowly been trying to wrap. Every day, Bubba goes to the Christmas tree and tries to unwrap a "Diesel 10" which he is certain he is getting (it's a Thomas Train). Every day, we ALL tell him he has to wait until Santa comes to our house and THEN he can open presents. Well, during our Preschool Christmas Party, we had a SURPRISE visitor...SANTA! As soon as Santa walked through the door, Quinten yells, "Santa's here! I can open my Diesel 10 now!" and heads straight for the tree.

Bubba asked Santa for a Diesel 10 and a teeny tiny Thomas for Christmas this year.

Izzy wanted a REAL guitar. She asked for that last year, but apparently the guitar Santa brought wasn't REAL enough, so she's trying again this year...

Olivia wanted a Razor Scooter and a crochet kit (she is forever "crocheting" with my chopsticks and yarn all over the house). (Sorry about the evil eyes, the red-eye fixer just make her eyes go in the wrong directions.)

Quinten's Stocking

Nana is an amazing seamstress and has made all the kids their super-huge stockings! This year she rushed to get Quinten's here before Christmas, and let me tell you...It. Was. Amazing! Bubba absolultely LOVES it (especially since there is a train on it), and he's very excited to have Santa fill it this year! Thank you so much  Nana! They are always SO AMAZING!!

Sorry the video is so dark Nana, I didn't realize the lighting was so bad, and Bubba didn't do so well when I tried to re-enact it...

That's What Sister's Are For

I don't potty-train until my child can actually poop on the toilet. Both the girls did it when they were about 18 months, but Bubba being over 2 1/2, he's a little on the slow side. I'm not too worried, I'm sure he'll figure it out and I'd rather not deal with poop in undies. However, his sisters have decided that it's definitely time for him to start going potty in the big boy toilet, so they take him to the toilet a few times a day, get him all situated, wait with him, and then after he pees, they get him off and re-dressed. Awesome! That's what sisters are for!!

Bubba's New Bike

Some of our friends outgrew their bike and passed it down to Bubba. He has absolutely NO idea what to do with it, but he can sit there pretending for quite a while! I don't think it'll be too long before he's out zooming with the girls.

The Monster In My Room

Quinten didn't want to go to sleep for a few days in a row; didn't want to go down for a nap, or for bedtime. He kept talking about the monster in his room. I told him there were NO monsters in his room (he's only two, where did he come up with monsters?) but he was persistent, started crying when I would leave him in there. Finally I asked him to show me the monster in his room, and he took me right to the Rancor that is part of his Star Wars decor...the monster left his room that night! Who wouldn't be scared of that? Now the monster sits in my closet, and Bubba won't go near it. My closet is right off of my bathroom, which means that he usually won't go into my bathroom because it's too close to the monster. I get a little more time to myself in the morning thanks to the "monster".

Peppermint Barf

I'm with the kids in Walgreens and I see that there is a bag of  Peppermint Bark, which Shayne really loves, so I decided to call him and see if he wants me to pick it up for him. As soon as I get off the phone...

Izzy: Peppermint Barf? Where's Peppermint Barf?
Mom: No where, it's Peppermint Bark
Olivia: I want to see the Peppermint Barf!
Mom: No, there's no Peppermint Barf, I was talking about Peppermint Bark!
Izzy: Ewww! Who would eat Peppermint Barf at Christmas? Is it good?
Mom: NOT BARF! BARK! Yes it's good, its chocolate and peppermint.
Izzy: I want to see the barf, is it gross?
Olivia: Yeah! Where's the barf?
Mom: NO BARF! In the ENTIRE store there's NO BARF!
Olivia: Then why are you talking about barf?
Izzy: What's barf mom?

O Christmas Tree

We had some fun decorating our own miniature Christmas trees this year. They didn't last very long though...

The kids were quite upset when Shayne and I decided to go with a FAKE tree this year. But to be honest, I was sick of having Christmas tree funerals and freakouts at the end of every Christmas...They'll get over it...someday

 Every year we get a new ornament for our tree.

 Of course, Bubba got a Thomas.

 This was Izzy's first year playing soccer, so she got a great soccerball ornament.

Our little ballerina Olivia got a ballet ornament.

Bubba's Future...Train Enthusiasts

 Their shirts said: "Yep, I'm retired, and I STILL play with trains!"

 A local model train group held a "Thomas" night, so of course we HAD to attend. Quinten couldn't get enough of all the trains going around the tracks. He was quite disappointed that he couldn't go back with the grandpas and put HIS train on the tracks.

 He was the saddest ever when we finally had to pull him away and head home...

He wants one of these for his room!

Vegas Getaway

Shayne and I were lucky enough to have Nana and Papa watch the kids while we got away for a little Anniversary Trip to Las Vegas!

We did a TON of stuff, yet we did NOTHING at the same time! I didn't have to pack snacks, a stroller, extra diapers, water, make sure I had a plan of where we would go, when we would stop, what we would do, where we would eat, and how much it would cost to drag a family of five all over town. We woke up when we wanted to, took naps if we felt like it, never watched a single cartoon, ate when we were hungry, walked until OUR feet hurt...it was FABULOUS!!

 Shayne and I are both fans of the show "Pawn Stars", so of course we wanted to go see the real place. We were amazed at how tiny the place was...it definitely looks much better and bigger on TV.

We enjoyed our time on the strip. See that little purse I'm carrying? Yeah, it can't hold diapers, wipes, trains,  extra food, change of kid clothes, supermom pouch, etc. Even Shayne had to carry his own keys...LOVED IT!

 We really wanted to see a couple shows while we were there. We were able to get some great tickets to see David Copperfield who was a fantastic illusionist. We were both quite impressed.

 We met Jenna and Mike for Tournament of the Kings at Ex Calibur. It was a fun show, great company, and Shayne really got into eating with his hands!

We figured since we were in Vegas, we should renew our wedding vows, but thought it a little more appropriate to do a sealing session at the Las Vegas Temple, than to do the Elvis Drive-Thru. A beautiful temple, and a fantastic way to finish up a perfect trip!

Tolmachoff Farms Field Trip

We had a preschool field trip to Tolmachoff Farms. The kids absolutely LOVED it!

They got to feed some of the animals, and pet others..

Of course, the only thing Bubba cared about was that there was a TRAIN there!

They had a corn maze, classroom in the corn, and lots of areas to play.

We got to pick a bagful of veggies and fruits!

Everyone LOVED going there, what fun to be on a farm!!