{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!

{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!

{Easter Sunday}

Originally the Easter Bunny was going to arrive on Saturday morning, but apparently he was just too tired to get it done early. So Sunday morning the kids woke up bright and early to find what the E.B. had brought.



The girls got a few simple things in their baskets and they were happy as could be.






I don't usually get the girls new dresses for Easter because they have always had plenty of dresses to wear when Easter rolled around {the EB usually brings them new swim suits-which they didn't need this year}. However this year, Lauren has grown out of everything in her closet and Kylee is in an in-between size where I only had a few dresses for. So they both ended up with new dresses! {Lauren's Easter dress was a much appreciated hand-me-down and Kylee's was an Old Navy bargain!- which somehow makes them even cuter!}







Ah...who's kids are these?:


Then we were off to early 9am church {I am used to our 1pm!}! We enjoyed the special Easter Sacrament Meeting. The girls loved going to class with their cousins and we enjoyed the lessons in our classes. It was a great Easter Sunday and the perfect ending to a fun weekend!

{Easter Fun}

On Saturday, we took it easy and just hung around the house while the Dad's helped our oldest nephew with his Eagle Project. Cody was kind enough to make cinnamon rolls {at my request--delicious!} and the kids just played and played. When the dads got back the kids convinced Dean to spray them with the hose on the trampoline. The weather was actually nice, so it turned out to be a little cool for the kids!

Dean sprayed Kylee which instantly killed her fun:






Lauren was totally silly! I think she was pretending she was a rock star!:




Then came the egg hunt! My favorite part of the commercial side of Easter! {And perhaps that shows in my collection of over 280 plastic eggs-and for some reason I have the urge to buy more each year!} All of which were hidden in the backyard, later that evening by all of the older kids. Yes, that is a lot of eggs for just 7 kids! The eggs only had one piece of candy or small toy in them, but each kid filled their baskets and a grocery bag! They looked like they had hit the jackpot! Then there was a "golden" egg for each kid, which allowed them to pick a prize.

Kylee didn't need any help at all! She knew just what to do!:


Lauren and A getting help from K:


Sweet Lauren:


Lauren and A hunting:


"Hey! Daddy took all my eggs!":


We gathered all the kids by age for pictures.




The "big" girls are always ready to have their pictures taken!:




The older kids weren't too sure about it all, but they cooperated!:


Along with a delicious Easter Dinner, games and visiting, we had a great day with the family!

{Be Mine}

Several weeks ago Lauren asked:

Lauren: Is Dad going to decorate the kitchen for Valentines Day again?
Me: I don't know. Do you think he should?
Lauren: Yes! Then it would be the best Valentines Day of my life!

So after a reminder from me of what was expected of him by his 4 year old, Dean decorated the kitchen with hearts like he did last year. I think this will become a new tradition!



We had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, followed by spending too many hours making too many heart shaped sugar cookies!


The girls were excited to give Daddy his Charly Brown Valentine DVD and were even more excited to find that we got Kylee a Strawberry Shortcake and Lauren a Lemon Meringue! The girls have carried them around since they opened them and ask for them first thing every morning! Who'd a thought something so simple could produce so many hours of play!?!


One little stinker, named Kylee, found Daddy's present and decided to open it for him. From the bedroom I could hear her ripping into it! I went running in to find her innocent face "Look Mommy! Baryee Bown!" How could I get mad at that!?! {see pic above-I tried salvaging it}.




I sure am lucky to have an amazing, ever patient husband and sweet, adorable little girls that make my life practically perfect! I'm glad they are mine! I wouldn't have it any other way!