Christmas 2019

We definitely felt the countdown to Christmas this year! Last Friday after the kids got out for the break we made and decorated Christmas cookies for friends.

That evening Jaxon had his first Christmas recital and did fabulous!

The next day we saw the beautiful lights at Temple Square with the Andersons and enjoyed Krispy Kreme doughnuts and hot cocoa.

On Monday Mamie and Papa were so nice to invite grandkids over to watch "The Polar Express" while us parents got some last Christmas errands accomplished!

Then it was Christmas Eve. We did our traditional Christmas Eve trip to the bowling alley with Grammy. This was Ginger's first time really participating and she loved it!

That evening we went to Mamie and Papa's for dinner, opening presents, and singing Christmas songs.

Then it was home to get as much sleep as possible before Santa's arrival. Which, of course, is not much. But we were not disappointed, especially when we woke up to a real white Christmas!

It took a few seconds for Ginger to register it was Christmas.

 

The only thing Jaxon asked for was a Tesla ball.

After stockings and other Santa gifts, we went upstairs and had cinnamon rolls and finished with family presents under the tree.

This is how she gives thumbs up

After cleaning up we continued our tradition of opening experience gifts. Travis writes a little poem with a clue of where each child can find their experience coupon. Ginger got tumbling class, Jaxon got Chinese summer camp, and Violet was probably the most excited of all.

She got ice skating lessons.

That afternoon we went to Grammy and Pappy's for more gift sharing and then to Brady and JaNae's for a yummy Christmas dinner and fun games. It was such a wonderful Christmas and we are all so grateful for each other and for the birth of our loving Savior Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

Ginger Turns 3!

We love this three year old so much. Full of spunk and mood swings, I think she's appropriately named as she brings a bit of spice into our lives.

She wanted pizza for dinner

In our family we let the birthday kid pick whatever they want for dessert. So it could be cake and ice cream if that's what they wanted. Or it could be something totally different. Ginger shocked us by requesting doughnuts and ice cream. Strange, but so be it!

Though she can be at times stubborn and independent, she also loves to hold hands, give hugs, and say "Yo te amo muchisimo!" several times a day.

 Her day was definitely a special one. We love you, Ginge!

December Fun

After Thanksgiving we had fun spending time together and getting ready for Christmas.

It snowed once and the kids took advantage of it and went sledding in our backyard.

Then the warmer temperatures came back and we enjoyed a spontaneous trip to the Creamery after school with friends.

We've all been enjoying Disney+ since it came out last month, and on our very first television (yes, finally after 11 years of marriage) :). In the past we mostly rented movies from the library, which also proved difficult as not all of the discs had a Spanish audio track. As a result, our kids only recently seen many Disney movies for the first time, thanks to Disney+ offering most titles in Spanish. Like here they're watching Beauty and the Beast for the first time.

Violet was scared of the Beast, hence her dog.

Violet and Ginger kept reenacting the scene where Belle walks down the stairs in her gown to the dance floor. They wrapped themselves in blankets and did the same. Violet insisted this was her princess smile.

And of course there's the usual romping in the leaves.

Violet likes to read outside the car while waiting for Jaxon to come out of school.

And we loved decorating for Christmas!

Violet's Hair

I'm afraid it's getting close to that time. I must keep the tears back. This girl's hair has been utterly amazing from the beginning. We've never had the heart to cut it. Ever. (Except when she gave herself that bangs trim last year, ugh...)

We don't want to cut it, but honestly it's becoming too much to handle. My fingers hurt after braiding such thick, long hair (thanks, Mexican genes). And she can never wear it down because it gets so tangled and can never keep a curl for very long- it's just too heavy. So all that beautiful hair is just hidden away in braids most of the time anyway.

Even having it down in pigtails, like the photo above, gets into so many tangles. It's rarely worth all the untangling (hence the braids).

And I have to use a JAZILLION bobby pins to keep it in something like this^^.

So right now the very tips reach the back of her knee. Sigh... She's currently not happy about the idea of cutting it. So we'll let her enjoy it for a little bit longer. But I will always enjoy the memories.

Violet at about 4 months old.
Ivy is currently about the same age and I call her "baldy".

On the Ice

The day after Thanksgiving, we decided to head to our local ice rink. It was the first time the kids had ever tried ice skating and we were curious to see how they'd do. They had a really fun time!

We were grateful they had these walkers! It was all Ginger could do!

Though it was pretty difficult for her, Violet probably enjoyed it the most. She keeps asking to go back.

We ended the day picking out a new Christmas tree and having a nice, cozy evening in with our monthly pizza and movie night.

Halloween 2019

It was a COLD Halloween this year! But that didn't stop us from having a fun time trick or treating with cousins. I didn't end up with a lot of photos, but here they are:

Ivy spent her night trick or treating with us in a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin sleeper. Not that you could see it, since she was bundled up tight! I love it when she wears this to bed. During her night feedings all I see is this glowing jack-o-lantern smile. :)

Jaxon wanted to be a pirate, again. Violet a witch, and Ginger was so excited to be "Blancanieves" (Snow White).

Earlier that day, Violet had her Halloween parade, and after school we had some one on one time and made/decorated Halloween cookies. I think she likes Halloween more than Christmas.

Happy Halloween!

Ivy in the Pumpkin Patch

It's been a tradition now to get a photo of each of my kids in a pumpkin patch their first fall.

Since Ginger is a December birthday, she's a little older in her photo.

And here is the latest addition...

It was actually FREEZING this particular day. We could still see our breath at 12:00 noon. So I had to be very quick. But she didn't seem to mind. What a good baby. :)

Fall Happenings

October was a busy month! We tried to fill it with fun. :)

Of course we had a wonderful General Conference. Bingo is always a hit in the afternoon sessions.

For most of the kids, anyway.

Ginger redeemed her Christmas coupon from last year for a tumbling class. Each day she never wanted to go, but now that it's over she still cries that she can't go anymore.

Under the parachute!

The kids really got into the Halloween spirit. Violet loved reading spooky stories to Laykin.

And Mamie threw her annual fall party during fall break. We decorated rice krispy treats, played bingo and other fun games, and of course had our doughnut on a string.

 We decorated a haunted ginger bread house (pre-bought, sheesh I don't have that kind of time on my hands...).

Ginger and her pumpkin hat. I got it for her pumpkin costume last year and she still LOVES to wear it. She's definitely super cute in it. I always get so many compliments on this hat. Usually they ask if I made knitted it, to which I usually say, well, see last paragraph.

And I guess I don't know how to knit, either.