December Mash-Up!

Holy Cow, we have been having soooo much fun!  We haven't had a second of down time all month long.  Here are some highlights....

1:  Bronwyn turned 6!

It's hard to believe that she is 1/3 done with her childhood!  Bronwyn was so excited for her birthday!  She was beaming all week in anticipation.

2:  Time with Friends
Bronwyn isn't the only one who got to party.  Todd and I have been having a blast with our friends!

3.  The kids have had fun with their friends.

4:  We had a music party with Todd's Parents

(Going for the record of most instruments played at one time!)

5:  We had an awesome ward party!

All the primary kids dressed up as something from the Nativity.  Our girls loved being angels!

6.  Last, but not least... Magsy had a school Christmas Program.

PHEW!  And we're only half way through the month! 

Aren't We Lovely?

Thanksgiving, my favorite pre-season activity..

It's no secret that Thanksgiving to me is really just the official start of the real holidays.  I always cheat a bit and put up most of the Christmas decorations prior to the big meal because I love to spend the majority of the long weekend basking in the beauty which is my holiday decor.  Also, Thanksgiving should really be a few weeks earlier.  By the time it rolls around I no longer feel "harvesty", and am ready to move on to winter.  Despite all that, we had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

It started out with small Thanksgiving programs put on by each of my girls' classrooms.

 

 

We also spent alot of time outside, enjoying the snow.  Ty could barely walk with his big boots on in the snow, but he really loved when we went sledding.

Thanksgiving day was so much fun.  We had dinner at my in-laws.  There were crafts for the kids, great conversation, and delicious food.  It really was perfect until Ty THREW UP all over my mother in law!  And I mean projectile, it was awful.  Don't worry though.  Their dog was quick to clean up the mess.  UG!

 Another highlight of the weekend was the girls performing at the Festival of Trees with their ballet class.  They both did soooo well.  I was a very proud mama!  

 

 

I couldn't be more thankful.  Life is great right now.

Starting a new decade...

Well, as you know, I wasn't excited about turning 30.  But I did get one really great consolation prize.  A family vacation in Texas to celebrate the big day with my twin!  We had sooooo much fun.  And the cherry on top was how well behaved the kids were.  Seriously, they were great.  All 3 zonked out on the flight home even.

Hilary was such the cute hostess, and printed up a bunch of cute pics of us through the years.  The top picture is us the morning of our birthday.  The bottom pic is us our last day of being in our 20's.  Can you even tell that we are trying to make our age with our fingers?

My first twin-less birthday was when I turned 22, and Hil was on her mission.  I quickly learned that opening presents by myself was something I had no idea how to do.  ALL the attention was on me, and it just felt weird.  I have gotten a little more used to it over the years, but this was one of the most fun present opening times of my life.  So much loot (thanks, mom!) and sooo much fun!

But the big day was just one of the many awesome things we did.  We spent a day at the aquarena, riding in a glass bottomed boat.  The kids LOVED it!  And let's be honest, so did the adults.  The water is so clear, flowers bloom underneath it.  You can also see fish and turtles, and springs bubbling at the bottom.  A geological prize for sure!

 

Ty was totally adorable on the boat.  He just kept screaming "FISH!".

We were going for a cute mother-daughter picture here, when Ty decided to take center stage with a little strip tease.  Seriously laughed my butt off!

I don't know why, but so many family members of mine are moving to Texas... so weird.  But I did get to see one of my closest cousins, Michelle.  It was so wonderful!  We have been tight for years, and did alot of embarrassing stuff together as kids. 

Our final big outing of the trip was to a place called Wonder World.  We were able to climb through the cave systems, and it was awesome.  I just love stuff like this!  My kids were really excited and did such a great job, too.  We got to be cave scientists for the day, and it ROCKED.  Pun absolutely intended.

My rock-star hubby carried Ty through the entire cave!

Magsy loved feeding the animals on the train ride through the zoo.  Me, I couldn't even bring myself to touch the food...

Back in the day of prohibition, these caves were a popular spot for getting tipsy!

Ty also got his first cowboy hat.  Can you say adorable?!

Thanks for a great visit, Auntie Hil!  But now that we have all seen Texas, feel free to move back home!