Christmas with the Grandparents!

We were not very good with taking photos, but we sure had a great time over Christmas break. All the family (except Jared who has almost completed his LDS mission) was home, plus enough visitors to make the trip a real party. The only problem was a few illnesses showed up as well.

Christmas morning was very exciting. This was the first year that Jena understood about Santa and eagerly awaited his arrival. She was a little timid Christmas morning, but once she saw the candy canes and toys that uncertainty disappeared. She enjoyed the gifts and was very willing to share all of Taylor's gifts as well. Taylor on the other hand only wanted a few of the most exciting toys out to play with and ended up taking a nap before all her presents were opened.

Jena loved hanging out with her uncles and watching movies all night. She would have her blanket & pillow right there in the middle of all the boys enjoying the excitement of being up way later than she should have been. She also loved playing ping pong with Taylor, Jeffrey and Jonny. It was quite a show watching the boys help these little girls hit the ball back and forth, especially since the girls laughed the whole time.

Taylor loved running around finding anything exciting. One of her favorite toys was bouncing ping pong balls all over the house. She also loved aunt Jeanette's room because there were always treats and a happy aunt to give them out.

We enjoyed making gingerbread houses, playing cards, rocking out to Rock Band, watching/seeing movies, eating all sorts of treats, playing at the park... way to much fun to list everything.

We love Christmas!

An Early Christmas Present for Mom!

In all the Christmas frenzy, I received a little gift that was truly amazing. At the same time, my two little girls took a nap (a very rare occasion for Jena) the day before we were heading off for our Christmas vacation. Oh, what a blessing!

A close up, since Jena wasn't very visible in the fist photo.

How to Guide: to Successfully Escape Your Crib

Thanksgiving in San Diego

Thanksgiving had its typical amazing meal and fabulous company. We went to visit Grandma Sue and Grandpa Rod in San Diego. We fed the ducks, rode the train in Old Town Poway, ate at Chin's, saw multiple movies (the first ever in the theater for Jena), played at the park, rode the ferris wheel, paid a visit to Great Grandma Wilma, saw animals at the zoo and touched the fish at Sea World... not to mention all the treats we ate and the games & activities we had at their home. Jena had the greatest time playing with many of her cousins. That sure is the life, when all that you need to worry about is how much play time you get with your friends :) Taylor proved again how clever she is as she figured out how to move the barrier to the stairs, climb through it, and then close it behind her (just like how she saw all the other kids do it). She always had the biggest smile on her face each time she made it through successfully. And of course the weekend flew by as quickly as it ever does. What a great time.

The ducks were waiting for their feast as well!

Tay at the zoo

Jena loves the ferris wheel

With an otter at Sea World

Catching Up on the Blog... Football and Family

I know we are quite behind updating our blog, but hopefully we can catch up in the next week or so.

This cute little picture is from a fun Saturday in November when we went to watch the BYU game at Rochelle and Shawn's house.  The boys were hooked to the football game... but I don't think they ended up doing as well as they had hoped.  Jena and Carson played Superhero in the backyard.  We had a great time eating pizza and hanging out with the family.  It definitely got us excited for the Holiday Season ahead.

Little Helping Hands

Most of the time we seem to follow after our kids cleaning up one disaster after the next. It almost seems as if they don't even notice the difference between a room that is a mess and one that is cleaned up.  But with the many chores around the house, these two little girls have a few things they love to help doing.  Jena loves to help clean the fish tank.  She will hold the siphon tube as the gunk is being removed, hold the hose as new water is being filled into the bucket and use her little cup to refill the tank.  She enjoys it so much that she even gets upset when we clean it without her.  Taylor's favorite chore to help with is to push the wet clothes into the dryer.  She will stand right next to me awaiting each wet item.  She also loves when I say "push, push push" and she will try to repeat it back as she laughs.  During those days when it seems like our biggest parental job is as a cleanup crew we just think of those cute little moments when our two little girls are just as excited to help as they are to make a mess. 

Beauty Bribes

After some candy bribery Jena finally let me put a barrette in her hair.  We thought she looked so adorable.  She pranced around for awhile and even agreed that it was cute in the mirror.  But after a little more time had passed, she was done letting mom dress her up.