Santa and his reindeer

This month, Thanksgiving Point has live reindeer you can go see. Santa was even there too. (And we only had to stand in line for over an hour to see him!)

visiting the reindeer








Corinne and Matthew entertained themselves with our phones (including taking silly pictures of each other) while we stood in line to meet Santa.





Allison refused to look at Santa. She was only cooperating for the candy cane she knew she would get after it was over. (You'll notice how she kept one arm extended away from Santa. She wasn't reaching for anyone, I guess she just needed part of her body to not be near him!)



Santa asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas. Matthew said "Super Mario Bros." for the Wii, and Corinne said "clothes for her American Girl Doll".

fall photo shoot

I took Allison to Thanksgiving Point to take some fall pictures a few weeks ago. This is what I ended up with:

Gratitude

For his hard work, constant support, and dedication to being an outstanding father:




For her kind heart, her helpfulness, and her desire to be good:




For his humor, his talents, and his cuddle time:




For her hugs, her hair, and her ability to constantly teach me patience:




And last but not least, for health, hope, and our little boy due in the spring:



For all of these things, I am truly grateful!

halloween 2010 (in pictures)

This year Matthew was Mario, Corinne was a black cat, and Allison was Fancy Nancy. The kids got to dress up for school and have a costume parade. Allison was not to be left out that morning, so Tyson painted her face like a cat too.

two belated birthday posts (below), and a halloween post coming soon!

double digits

Corinne turned 10 last Sunday. (Yes, I said ten!) How am I old enough to have a ten year old?

She had quite the birthday weekend with a "tea party" on Friday with some friends, getting her ears pierced, and going to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and their performance of the Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday morning with my parents.

Here are some pictures of her tea party. I wish I had gotten some pictures of the dainty foods my mom and I prepared (chicken salad finger sandwiches, cheese cubes, fruit skewers), but these girls must have been hungry. They wolfed their food down so fast, I didn't get a single picture!









Newly pierced ears:



The one and only thing Corinne has been wanting is an American Girl doll. She has been doing extra chores and saving her money so she could buy Felicity. When anyone asked what she wanted for her birthday, she would just say "money for my Felicity fund". Well, with some nice monetary gifts from family, she had enough money to get her doll. What she didn't know is that I had already bought it and was saving it for when she had enough. I brought it out on her birthday right before bedtime, and her jaw dropped to the floor! She was thrilled and is in love with her Felicity.

Do you think she's excited?:





Happy Birthday, Corinne! We all love you dearly and are so proud of you!

lucky 7

Matthew turned 7 at the end of September! We had a last minute, throw-together Pirate Party. Matthew had a blast. I think he loves his birthday as much as he loves Christmas!

Here is the pirate crew:



The crew following clues to find the treasure:





Matthew opening his presents (he was particularly excited about his legos and playmobil):





happy kid:





It is so fun to watch Matthew grow up and learn new things, excel in school, and make new friends. We are so proud of him!

the bigger the hair, the better the nap

Today must have been a good one.

Summer Vacation

We recently got back from a two week vacation that included visiting family in Idaho and Washington, and spending a week at the Oregon Coast. Our kids had the most fun just playing with their cousins, playing on the beach, going crabbing, playing with their cousins, exploring tide pools, finding a pirate treasure buried right by our beach house, and playing with their cousins!

Here it is, summed up in pictures: