Christmas 2011

Christmas Day 2011 was pretty perfect. Don't you think that Christmas should always be on a Sunday? It just makes sense that we would spend part of the day we celebrate Christ's birth at church. 

Ashlyn and Carter woke up around 6:30am ready to go, but we had them wait for Audrie. So, we ended up heading downstairs at about 7am. Not bad.

Isn't this Christmas morning hair awesome?

It's all about the candy. They are so my kids.

 This was our second year with a real Christmas tree and we loved it once again. The kids enjoyed hanging and rehanging many of the ornaments. Audrie enjoyed eating a good portion of the popcorn and cranberry garland that hung on it too.

We try really hard to give the kids just three gifts (just like Christ received 3 from the wise men). It is always a struggle for me not to buy more and more and more . . .  This year we gave them each a new book as one of the presents.

Isn't this the kind of face every parent hopes to see Christmas morning?

and this one too?

After our family Christmas we all got ready for church and enjoyed hearing Brad talk in sacrament meeting. Following that we headed up to Brad's parents home for some extended family time and Michael even came with us.

Each of the kids opened a present from Grandma and Grandpa.

Audrie loved wearing this helmet although it was so heavy we thought it might make her topple over.

The cousins did a cat and gloves gift exchange and Ashlyn and Berkley received matching ones.

After a Christmas dinner we enjoyed watching the little ones play Just Dance Kids.

Even Audrie got into it.

The kids had so much fun dancing and Brad and I loved watching them, so we came home and bought the game for ourselves. It has already gotten some good use!

The rest of the night consisted of more eating, adults talking, and kids playing.  Also, I think all the kids fell asleep in the car on the ride home, so we couldn't have asked for a better day.

Halloween 2011

I don't know if it is because of my kids or what, but I think that every year I enjoy Halloween a little more!

This year we planned to carve pumpkins for our FHE activity the week before Halloween. Brad let the kids pick out the patterns for their pumpkins and then he made them. Can you tell what they are?

 It took so long to finish these two, that we didn't even carve our own.

I love how Carter is using Brad's head to balance as he puts on his dragon legs.

They started the trick-or-treating at our house. These are the two biggest candy lovers you will ever meet.

Our darling witch loved the glow bracelets

and the sparkly eyelids!

Our precious little strawberry!

The backside of this dragon costume is just too cute!

This is a flying dragon . . . and a fire breathing one too.

She's just checking it out.

The scary crew. Audrie would take the hat off whenever she realized/remembered that she was wearing it (kind of like what she does with headbands).

I took Carter and Ashlyn trick-or-treating with friends while Brad stayed home with Audrie and passed out candy. Here is Ashlyn and Azelynn.

Ryder, Azelynn, Cohen, Carter, and Ashlyn

 They were much better at smiling for the camera than we were. I don't know what my kids were looking at. A little later we met up with Sammy and Maddie, but I don't have any pictures of them, which is a shame because they were darling princesses!

Mason and Lorie joined us that night and posed in their s'more costume. Isn't that the cutest marshmallow ever? I could just eat him . . .

Some of the other fun Halloween activities we enjoyed this season were trick-or-treating at Mason's work, trick-or-treating at Brad's work, seeing the witches at Gardner Village with the Kecks, Ashlyn dressing up for her preschool Halloween party, a kids Halloween party at the Jennes, Karon running the Provo Halloween Half Marathon in a Snow White (sort of) costume and a trip to Pumpkinland to do the corn maze and buy pumpkins. I can hardly wait for next year!

Wheeler Farm

At the beginning of October we went to Wheeler Farm with Tiffany, Kyle and Joel. We had been there together once before and loved this area with a large tree and a small playhouse. During both visits we were the only ones playing at this spot and we rather enjoyed the privacy. 

I think they did a lot of playing in the sand. I found it all over them when we arrived home later that day!

I love that we could wear short sleeves and shorts in October!

It is interesting to me how happy young children are outside. Toys shmoys . . . just give them some dirt and sticks!

I'm not sure exactly what they were playing, but it kept them occupied for quite awhile. I'd say that the drive to Wheeler Farm is worth it even just for this one spot!

We quickly visited each of the animals and played in the treehouse for a little while. We finished off by enjoying a yummy Tiffany-prepared lunch and some time on the playground. Fun!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Carter!

On Sunday, September 18th we celebrated Carter's birthday with the extended family at Brad's parents' house. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed opening presents, eating, and visiting in the backyard. Carter was pretty mellow throughout the entire evening. 

The attendees included Grandma and Grandpa May, the Elsassers, The Baileys, The Cheneys, The Warrs, and Michael and Chelsea. 

Showing off his football shirt from Bryon and Kari:

Opening his Mater Legos from The Baileys:

Getting out the card from Grandma and Grandpa May:

Carter really loved all his presents. After opening them we asked him to go around and give each person a hug and he actually did!

These were sparkler candles and they weren't very easy for him to blow out. I think the sparkling would have looked better if it was dark outside too.

I had to include this picture, because it is the only shot we have of the cupcakes. You can see the edges of them on the far left of the picture. We made cookie dough chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and stuck cupcake toppers in them of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and little green aliens. Carter asked for a Buzz Lightyear cake and this was our version. 

Carter officially turned 3 at 12:01 Thursday, September 22nd. When he woke up in the morning we had him search for his birthday present, which was a blue balance bike. I just realized that we only took a few pictures on that day, so we'll have to post some of him on his bike later. We planned to go to Pirate's Island that night to eat pizza and play some games, but found out when we arrived that it was closed due to a fire. We planned to drive to McDonalds for Happy Meals, but our car refused to start (turns out our battery was done for), so we ended up walking across the street to Costco for dinner and after getting our car jumped, we drove to Target where Carter picked out a toy. He chose a little Lightning McQueen. We don't have a picture of that either. So, we owe Carter some birthday photo shoots and a trip to Pirate's Island!

Carter opening up the crawl space where his present was hidden!

Usually on birthdays I find myself wondering where the time has gone. However, I've felt like Carter has been 3 for many months now. I think I caught myself telling people that he was almost 3 more than once at the beginning of the summer. He talks very well, plays wonderfully with Ashlyn, loves puzzles sooo much, likes to ride his tricycle, color with crayons and chalk, build things with legos, read books, and watch shows. 

Carter comes across as a really quiet kid, but when he gets comfortable he can really talk an ear off. He is pretty determined and independent.When he is well-fed and well-rested he can be an angel and it just melts my heart. 

We're so glad to have Carter as part of our family!!! Happy Birthday Big Boy!