Wordless Wednesday ~ Holiday Baking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How We Do

Watching Bambi *with* Bambi is a must in this house . . .

 

 

 

 {And the same goes for Aristocats ~ with our Marie stuffy,
Lady & the Tramp ~ with our Lady stuffy,
and Frozen ~ with our Anna stuffy ;) }

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the Living

Oh.my.goodness.
We have been sicker than sick around here.
A week or so before Christmas all of us started feeling a little under the weather.

But we made it through a crazy, busy Christmas Day.
I love Christmas, and I love Family.
But our Christmas Day is crazy.
It starts bright and early at home where we open our presents to each other.
Then we quickly pack up gifts to head to Jeremy's parent's house.
We spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon there, enjoying our time with them,
and eating a delicious brunch! :)
After that we head home to drop off gifts received, and pick up more gifts that are destined for my parent's house.
We then get to spend time with my parents and siblings and their families.
By evening it's time to stop by the house again to drop off and pick up more gifts.
Then on to Jeremy's grandparents house for our final stop.
And finally we return home, often not before 9 or 10pm.

It makes for an awfully long day.
Especially for little ones.
Especially when  no one is feeling their best.

So it was no wonder that after trying to fight off a virus,
it finally took hold right after Christmas Day.
And goodness, did it take hold!
Tay and I were the firsts, followed by Kam, then Sierra, and Kenners.
And it has been MISERABLE.
But we have been a fever-free house for two days! 
Woohooo!

So, finally . . .
Christmas re-cap:

Christmas morning at our house.
Sierra got a new Remington hat she's been wanting for awhile :) 

 

 

Kenners got a new hat too!
 

Then up to Grandma and Grandpa's!

 

Tay was getting the hang of it by this time ;)
 

Kam loves her nightgowns :)
 

And then . . . we had a surprise visitor!!
Santa stopped by because he forgot to deliver a gift.
Ten gifts, actually.
Each box with a letter that the girls were to unscramble.
 

Hmmm . . . what are we trying to spell?
 

Looks like Disneyland!
 

Grandma and Grandpa are taking the six of us
{and Uncle Josh too!}
to Disneyland in May!

Do the girls look excited?
Just a little ;)
 

Special presents for our trip:
Minnie tees, autograph books, luggage tags, and coin purses.
 

And then it was on to my mom and dad's where Taylor and Monique
had a very intense conversation ;)
 

 

We play BINGO with my parents every New Year's Eve,
but we were so sick this year, we had to postpone.
Finally, a couple nights ago we were well enough to venture out of the house for a mini version.

We even made some super yummy drinks to take with us:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 And here we are.
On the mend.
Getting back in the swing of things.
We started back to school today, with a new and improved attitude!

What have y'all been up to??

Stay healthy ♥

 

 

 

 

Girls Trip 2013

 Life just isn't going to slow down, is it?
I often wonder how I had time to blog so regularly before,
when it's all I can do to whip up a bi-monthly report these days.

Such is the season of life.
I'd better choose to embrace it.

So. Our annual Girls Trip with Grandma has come and gone.
With so many happenings in early September, we couldn't get away until this last weekend.
We headed to Central Oregon on Sunday, and what a fabulous time we had.

Geri had chosen the most beautiful town house at Eagle Crest Resort.
And if you know Kam, that's her favorite part.
She LOVES a nice hotel room or beautiful vacation home.
She could care less about any of the activities.
Just give her a well-appointed place to kick back, and she's one happy girl!
Goodness, I love that child.

We shopped until we dropped on Monday, ordered take out, and headed back to the house for some R&R.

 

 

 {Do you notice little Miss Taylor-Diva?!  She's such a kick these days!!}

 

 

On Tuesday morning we headed home.
A quick stop in Sisters for a bit more shopping . . .
 

 

and a quick photo shoot outside the town house.
 

The property was gorgeous.
This was, literally, right outside our back deck:

 

 

Oh how I love our Girls Trip.
It's an outing we look forward to each year.
 

 

 

 A big thank you to Grandma Geri for planning such a fun getaway!
{And I'm bummed to say I don't have a group shot of us. 
Geri does, though, so hopefully I'll get ahold of one soon!!}

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Annual Trip to Oaks Amusement Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Countdown to Christmas 2012 ~ Week 2

 

 

 

Goodness, gracious.  Days are just passing me right by!  I can't believe we are already on Week 2 of Countdown to Christmas!!

This last week has been a busy one . . . but nowhere near what the coming week will be.  Sometimes I wish there was a pause button . . . just so that I had a minute to take it all in.

Saturday the girls and I went to a local Christmas Bazaar.  We had so much fun just browsing and admiring all of the decorations.  {I didn't snap one picture.  Taylor thought it might be fun to run around like a crazy lady the entire time.  Not real conducive to picture taking}.

Sunday was our second annual cookie baking party. My mom, sister, two nieces, and a friend all came out.  And we baked up a storm.  So much fun!!
 

 

On Monday I got to spend an afternoon shopping with my mom. My mom and I spend a lot of time together.  We even go shopping together quite often.  But.  Would you believe that we have never {not once} gone shopping together without kiddos?  In fact, it was only my third time ever going shopping {yes, even grocery shopping} without any of my littles.  We missed each other something fierce, but it was wonderful to be able to pick out a few gifts without worrying that little eyes were going to take notice.  The girls got to spend that time with Daddy . . . picking out a few things for a new kitty we hope to be getting soon!

{No pictures on Monday either :( }

Tuesday morning Kam had her final dance class before Christmas break.  Our outing afterward was a trip to the library to pick out Christmas books!

 


Wednesday's activity was making gifts for our American Girl dolls ;)  Sierra and Makenna bring their dolls with them EVERYWHERE.  They are very special members of our family.  So, it only made sense for them to make a special Christmas present for them.  They made scrapbooks for their dolls.  Kam decorated a stocking for hers.  And Tay pretty much just searched for markers, glue, and anything else that might get her into some trouble.
 

 

Thursday found us shopping.  We picked up Nana and Grandma, and headed out for a girls day of shopping and lunch.  I nearly finished the rest of my shopping {YAY!}.  Just one or two more things to pick up.  And the girls love to shop, so it was a perfect outing.



 

Alrighty.  What have y'all been up to?  I want to hear all about it!

And don't forget to link up!


 

 

 

Oaks Park 2012

I love tradition.

 

Whether it be something big like our family reunion camp-out each year, or something as simple as having girls night each night that Jeremy is at work.  I just love looking forward to something.

 

We have quite a few summer traditions.  One of the most special is our day trip to Oaks Amusement Park with Grandma.  The last few years we've taken the girls' cousin, Kolby, which has been wonderful.  He can ride on some of the rides that don't look so . . . inviting to Grandma or me ;)

This year we did a little "divide and conquer".  Geri took Sierra, Kolby, and Kenners to ride the bigger kid rides, and I took Kam and Tay to ride on the little rides {and also to eat snow cones}.

 

 

 

 Tay was pretty content to make her smoochie face at the birds

 

 

We met up for some ice cream




and a few photos




Then it was a few more rides before we headed home . . .







Roller coaster pictures make me smile :)

And so do summer traditions.

What are yours?

 

 

 

Crane Prairie Camp Out, Part 2

Day 2 at Crane Prairie started with another trip to the store.  We probably stopped by the store about 180 million times during our three day stay.

  Need ice?  Walk down to the store.  Craving an ice cream treat?  Let's head on down to the store ;)

Of course, if we left the site for any amount of time, the chipmunks took over.  Someone forgot to put away the peanuts before heading out for a walk, and . . . well, little critters took advantage.  You would not have believed the mess they made!

There were millions {literally, though we didn't actually count} of these little tiny frogs down by the water.  The ground looked like it was moving, there were so many hopping around.  And they're the tiniest little things.  This picture is of Sierra's little hand holding one.

And we found the little swingset.  {Yes, Kenners wore her bike helmet the entire time.  Regardless of whether or not she was on her bike.  You can never be too safe, ya know}.

Kam LOVED the slide.  As you can see.

And again with the swing.  I don't know why my girls love this little swing so.  But I think it's just tradition.  Here is Sierra on it this summer, 2011 . . .

And the same swing {with my same little Sierra, just a little tinier}, Summer 2003.  My oh my.

Don't worry, only one more camping installment left ;)  Then we're on to beach installments ;)

Hope y'all are enjoying these last few weeks of summer as much as we are!

Behind, As Usual

So much for blogging more ;)

Summer is such a busy time for us.  Busy, but full of fun.

We just got back from camping! 

I can't wait to share all of those {fun} photos, but first I've got to catch up a little. 

Story.of.my.life.

So.

Rewind to the 4th . . .

We had a nice, quiet, 4th of July at home.

We bought a few fireworks, invited the grandparents, and enjoyed the show.

{Poor Kam couldn't make it past 7, so she missed out on the fun}

Someday I'd love to take the girls to a large display, but for now we enjoy just being at home.