{Easter}

This year, we had a fun egg hunt at D4's house.  Pretty much everyone was out of town, so there was fewer kids.  However, that did not mean fewer eggs!  I tend to get a little carried away with my plastic egg collection.  I forget how many I counted this year {but it requires a large tote to store them all in}, but I have banned myself from buying MORE eggs these past 2 years.  That's saying a lot!  I don't know what my problem is, I just feel an egg hunt is not complete without a gazillion eggs, with overflowing baskets!!

 

 

 

 We finished with dying eggs, which is always fun for the kiddos! Just another fantastic egg hunt!

{Christmas Day}

The girls were so excited to wake up Christmas morning and see what Santa had brought them during the night. Mom and Dad just wanted to sleep!  However we got out of bed and headed to the living room!  The girls got lots of fun toys from Santa, Mom & Dad and other family members. 

After opening presents at home, we got ready for the day and headed back over to the Chadwicks.  We opened more presents and had a yummy breakfast and lunch.

We then headed over to Farar's when all the family started arriving.  Unfortunately I managed to take only 1 picture the whole time everyone was there and it didn't even turn out!  Apparently we were just having too much fun eating, playing games, having our gift exchange and just loving having everyone together!  It was a good, simple Christmas.  We enjoyed spending time with family and celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

{Christmas Eve}

We spent Christmas Eve with the Chadwicks, since the Farar families would not be arriving to Yuma until Christmas Day Afternoon.  Aunt Ashley wanted to do something special for the kids, so she setup a treasure hunt {talk about major Cool Aunt Points!}!  Each of the kids got a head lamp to help them on their hunt.  The final treasure was a fun present for each of them.  Definitely a favorite part of Christmas for the kids!

Instead of making gingerbread houses this year, we went simple and had the kids decorate sugar cookies.  It was a whole lot cheaper and quicker.  A few people weren't too happy about the change of "tradition" but it worked out.  The kids decorated their cookies then inhaled them {Especially Jason!}

Finally, we gathered around and talked about the true meaning of Christmas and shared the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Ryan and Lauren even took to the stage and sang their songs from their school Christmas programs.  It was totally impromptu, but I think it was the perfect ending to our Christmas Eve festivities.  Afterward, we headed home to bed so Santa Claus could stop by!

{The Perfect Fall Picture}

As the PTO secretary, I was highly wrapped up in this year's fall festival at Lauren's school.  Then because I had volunteered Dean to help sell sodas, it left my Mom the job of taking the girls around to all of the booths during the event.  One of the booths this year was a photo booth. My mom took them to get their picture taken, so I didn't see it until it was sent home a week later.  In my mind I originally envisioned this adorable fall photo with my girls in matching outfits and this awesome fall background. Instead we got this:

 

I about died laughing when I saw this.  Yeah.  This is more like our family! The day was too crazy to even think about cute outfits, they got their hair sprayed BEFORE the picture booth and Bailey was not happy about any of this!  Oh, how I love this picture.  It is far from what I imagined but it is perfect! I sure love my baby girls, crazy hair and all!

{Thanksgiving}

This year we had Thanksgiving at my brothers house.  Although we missed all the family we usually spend it with, it was nice to not have to travel as far and get to have a low key {read:less work} holiday!  The kids played and played and played!  They have a fun park that we walked to, Bailey LOVED the trampoline, the boys worked on a project, we ate too much, watched movies, played games, went shooting, and all around had a good time.

 

We tried to do a family picture before we started dinner.  Apparently there are two individuals in this family that have a hard time just smiling for the camera.  Can you tell which two it is?  Not a single shot had a decent picture of those two crazies! Gotta love 'em!

 

{Veteran's Day Parade}

 

 

 

 

The kids love going to the Veteran's Day parade and the parents don't mind since it is one of the few parades in town that the weather is actually bearable.  I think it's a great way to show our support to our local Veterans as well as teach our kids about patriotism.  We like to meet up with the Brown cousins and bring breakfast {donuts for the kids-burritos for the adults!} with hot chocolate {even though it wasn't cold this year!}.  The kids enjoy watching the floats, dancers, cars and of course catch the candy.  Me, I love the marching bands-I could listen to them all day! This year was fun to have D7's family join us, as well as Ryan and Lacie!

{Halloween}

Halloween really did sneak up on us again this year.  Kylee decided she wanted to be a purple princess and Lauren wanted to be a blue fairy.  I didn't feel like hunting down the perfect costume, so we opted for tutus!  I bought the fabric before we headed out of town and made them at my grandmas.  In my mind they were huge and fluffy.  Instead they were medium and see through {they need matching leggings!}!  Oh well. We added some dollar store accessories and the girls thought they were great and they did look cute!

I had costume options for Bailey, but it was so warm, I didn't feel like torturing her.  I threw on a pink tutu with her pink onesie and she completed the tutu trio! Then I gave her a sucker and she was lovin' this Halloween business!

 

Our ward had a Trunk or Treat {pictures above} as the last event before all the boundaries changed.   It was one fun party!  Then Lauren's school had a costume parade on the track.  They all thought it was pretty awesome!

Finally, we finished off our Halloween celebrations with the Nelsons!  The dad's QUICKLY took the kids trick or treating down the street and back.  That was it.  I think the probably stopped at 10 houses if they were lucky!  It almost wasn't even worth putting on costumes for!

However, nearly a month later, we still have a big bag of candy sitting on the counter {luckily it isn't anything I like!}.  Glad we survived another year of my least favorite holiday!

{Independence Day '12}

Our Independence Day celebration this year was extremely low key. On the 3rd we went to see fireworks that the casino displayed.  Then on the 4th, we went to Bradley and Jo's for a barbecue and fireworks in the street.  That was about it! Nothing fancy! Here's the blurry pictures to prove it.

I missed the cooler weather, tons of family and small town celebration we usually enjoy each summer.  I think we need to make that happen next year.

{Easter Weekend}

Easter weekend was calm and laid back.  We had dinner, an egg hunt, and visiting with local family and my grandparents.  On Saturday the kids dyed eggs at Grandma Beth's and had an egg hunt at Uncle D4's.  Sunday we finished off the weekend with 2 baby blessing of Dean's cousin's babies, church and dinner at the Chadwick's.  Nothing beats spending time with family we love!

{Christmas Day}

This Christmas Dean and I decided we really wanted to simplify the whole gift giving aspect of the holiday. We really don't want to get out of hand when it comes to giving the kids presents, spending more money than necessary and we certainly don't want them to grow up expecting a ton of presents for Christmas. In a talk that was given at church the Sunday before Christmas, the lady explained an approach to gift giving that we really liked. Like the gifts given to the Savior and their meanings, this family received a few things from Santa and the parents gave their children 3 gifts: Something Joyful {gold}, something Needful {frankincense} and something Meaningful {myrrh}. We loved how this concept not only limited the number of gifts, but gave them purpose. {Unfortunately I don't remember the actual source for this idea} When we were out shopping with this idea in mind, we found that we didn't just buy a gift because it was what we could find, but really put some thought into them. While our girls may not have completely understood or appreciated it this year, we hope it will help us keep the true focus in the future!

Girls with their gifts from Santa:


Kylee and Lauren with their Meaningful Gifts, quilts made by their Mommy!:


Dean and Baby Bailey:

{Christmas Eve}

Christmas Eve we made out traditional gingerbread houses at the Chadwick's house. It always ends up making a chaotic mess, but the kids {and some adults} have a great time!

Construction Teams included:

Lacie and Aunt Ashley:


Grandma Beth and Lauren:


Then Grandma traded places with Daddy:


Kylee Sue and Mommy:


Baby Bailey:










Kylee being crabby about something!:


It is amazing how quickly the Holidays pass each year! This year, the few weeks before Christmas were very chaotic and busy. By the time Christmas Eve came, I was ready to just enjoy our time together. Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days of the year. I love having all the family together, doing fun Christmas activities and enjoying the excitement of the kids awaiting Santa's visit and this year did not disappoint!