Twin and Boise

We traveled to Boise for Christmas this year and stopped in Twin on the way to see Grandma and Grandpa. It was a short visit, but we enjoyed chatting. The kids got out some energy after the 8 hours in the car and played in the snow with Aunt Kylee. We got back in the car and made it to Boise. Finally! Well worth the trip it's so great to have the family all together. We celebrated Benjamin's birthday where he got a scooter with light up wheels. Yes, he LOVES it! The kids geared up and played in the snow. We were having so much fun as snowballs were thrown, snowman made, snow angels everywhere, and an igloo. It was so cold everyone got soaked as we had a great afternoon.

Christmas

Christmas eve day Grandma and Grandpa Schraft came over and we all had lunch and got to visit. Papa Buzz got to meet our little noah. The kids and papa buzz had fun scaring each other. I made sugar cookies and Grandma played the piano and we sang Christmas carols. So great bringing back that we get to spend Christmas eve with them, which has not happened in 8+ years.

We got our Christmas eve pajamas and dad read us the book I believe in Santa Claus. It is a great book that talks about Christ and Santa, a newer tradition that we love. After that we watched A Christmas Story, another fun tradition. Christmas morning, so many memories! It is so much fun watching the kids excitement. Emma came in and woke us up and was doing the cutest dance telling us how many presents Santa brought under the tree. Benjamin got transformers that he builds, walkie talkies and Dusty from the movie Planes. He puts wings on his arms and then that controls Dusty airplane on the ground. It is the funnest toy. Emma got stuffed animals from her favorite shows, doc mcstuffins and Frozen's Elsa and Anna. She also got a monkey that giggles, makes noises, has a bottle, etc it is a very cute little monkey and she loves being a mommy. My mom got us a hard drive with 600+ movies and tv shows downloaded on it! We don't even know what to watch. Jake got me a camera that I got early :) Dad and Jake got this game called kendama and were addicted to it the rest of the trip. We were all spoiled with lots more fun! The best part was just being with family and having fun hanging out. We watched movies and played games all day. I sure love Christmas and everything about it especially traditions new and old.

 The day after Christmas Grandma and Grandpa Jardine came. We had more food, presents and laughs. They are so fun, the kids all love playing with them. Uncle Tuff and Sandy came and Uncle Larry, Nina and Joel came to dinner and we celebrated Grandma and Grandpa's Birthdays. Friday I got everyone's hair done and we played games that night and each kid ended up with a bag full of dimes from Grandpa :)

Visit from Santa

What a surprise. We had a visit from Santa as he was on his way back to the North Pole. The kids absolutely loved him! Emma got right up and gave him a hug then walked him to the couch. We all sang songs with Santa and he told us a story about believing. Then of course all the kids had their turn on his lap. Kylee and Madi each had a turn too. Kylee said she wanted a boyfriend and he said look no further! So fun and such great memories.

Benjamin's 5 Birthday

We had a big bash for Benjamin's 5 Birthday! I can't believe that he is 5, time sure does fly. We had an avengers party with superhero masks, a superhero fort, sparklers, glow sticks, cake, family, friends, and lots of fun. He got lots of great presents and loved them all. Benjamin had so much fun playing with his little friends and then playing with all the big boys with their nerf guns. We had so much fun with everyone there. We love you Benjamin.

Pre Christmas Activities

Wow have we been busy and this week is even crazier. I sure do love Christmas time though. We had family dinner at Grandma DeeDee's with Fadi, Tara, Drew, Liam, Grandma and us. We all went to Bass pro shops to see Santa, but we missed him by 5 minutes.... really! Then we went to Ethel M's chocolate factory where they have 2 million Christmas lights and you can go through the factory tour. It is so pretty all the different lights they have. After that we got on our way to the Las Vegas Speedway. You drive through and they have all sorts of different light displays. My favorite was the tunnels of lights. The next day we headed back to Bass pro shops to see Santa with Tara and Drew. He was worth it, such a great Santa! Emma kept waving at him, both kids were so excited as we waited in line. When we got to Santa we took a family picture first where Emma didn't sit on Santa's lap and oh boy was she upset about that. We snapped that memory then she jumped on his lap and couldn't get that smile off her face! Emma wants a play monkey with a bottle and Benjamin wants a scooter... we shall see :) Be kind and have a Happy Holidays!

Smiles and Loves

Benjamin and Emma had dentists appts and had no cavities, whoo hoo! We are loving on Noah he is just so fun. He is having some allergy issues, but we are figuring it out slowly. Other then that he is happy happy happy. His smiles sure do just melt our hearts. He is starting to coo and he is so strong holding his head up and looking all over. He loves his big sister and big brother if they are around he just watches them and follows them everywhere. Going out in public and getting the kids in and out of the car is a challenge a mini van might be in our future. We still can't believe we are a family of five, but we are loving every minute of our precious babies!

Thanksgiving and Noah's Blessing

My parents, sisters and Grandma and Grandpa Jardine all came down from Idaho and Utah. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma Deedee's. It was so fun having everyone from both families together and we had so much food.
 Aunt Rachael came on friday and we did hair and played. All the kids rode scooters all day so the parents took turns sitting out while they went round and round the cul-de-sac. We all went to the new Disney movie Frozen and it was so cute! We took up almost two rows with our group of 22. Definitely one of the cutest movies ever! The kids can't stop singing the songs from the movie.
 Jake blessed Noah Sunday. It was so special to have our families there. We love them so much and feel so blessed that they love us and our kids so much. We really do have some special relationships!
We had a full house for the weekend. Benjamin, Emma, Taliah, Charlotte, Kylee, Madison, and Aunt Rachael all stayed in the kids room on the bunk beds and air mattresses! It was so crazy with everyone here and Grandma and Grandpa were staying at Kelsey and Bryan's and they would all come visit during the days. I am very grateful for the effort that was made in family coming down, we miss them now that they live in Idaho and my sisters in Utah. We love our family and sure do appreciate all they do for us!

Halloween

For Halloween this year we had a family of superheros! Benjamin was the Hulk, Emma was Supergirl, and Noah was Batman. It was so fun dressing them up and the kids absolutely loved trick or treating (of course)... we had too much candy. We went to the ward party trunk or treat and trick or treating in our neighborhood. Emma had a Halloween party at school and sang songs for a little program.
 We also went down to Henderson and went to a little farm. There were horses and ponies, birds, and pigs. The pigs smelled awful and one of the horses bit Jake, but not bad. Other then that it was fun we got to pick out a pumpkin. There was a merry-go-round both the kids loved. Benjamin got addicted to the game horse shoes, he had so much fun. We had great family time.