Christmas

Officer Drew

Officer Drew enjoying tea parties with his sister

Doesn't Ella look thrilled about her adorable new outfit?

But only a little excited about her new Barbie car

I love that all of this year's Christmas pictures showcase my son's battered face

His black eye from when his dad accidentally kicked him from behind walking up the stairs

And here are his two front teeth that got knocked backward while playing with his cousins

And yes, they will look like this til the day they fall out. Oh well!

We had a great Christmas!

We did things a little different this year and plan to keep the new traditions up every year. We opened gifts after the kids woke up of course; Santa brought toys for them but as for our little family we each made 1 homemade gift for every person. It was perfect and so fun to get Drew and Ella involved and enjoying the giving part of it all. Then we made breakfast and relaxed while the kids played all morning (until church anyway). We had dinner with Andy's family that night as we did on Christmas Eve. We're so lucky to have our little munchkins to spend this day with! They make this holiday so much fun.

Birthdays!

Batman turned four...

And my little princess turned two...

We're so lucky to have these two little ones in our lives.

Costumed Cuties

Here are the kids in their Halloween costumes!

Halloween night we had dinner at my cousin's house and trick or treated with them and their son Ruger. I forgot my camera so I had to dress them back up and snap a few pics a couple days after Halloween. I did the exact same thing last year... I guess my mind is completely gone. I blame these two cuties:

The first pic was from Boo at the Zoo before we got the Little Red Riding Hood outfit (made by my amazingly talented friend Akaela) so we used her Snow White dress up clothes instead. I really enjoyed watching these two enjoy the holiday. They are so much fun!

Preschool Days

Here's the big man at his new preschool - it's in someone's house and she lives right up the street from us so we get to walk there.

The first day of school I pushed Ella in the stroller and Drew walked. We met some classmates while we waited for the door to open and then off Drew went after a kiss and hug from Mom. He wasn't afraid or nervous at all and was excited to go.

We turned to leave and Ella was whining, but it was a sad whine rather than an annoying one. When we got home she wouldn't get out of her stroller so I brought the whole stroller inside and she just sat there with a sad face so I got down to talk to her and she just said "Bubba" over and over trying to figure out why we left him.

When we picked Drew up he said he'd had a great time. He said he used paint to make a hand print on his school bag that the teacher gave them, that they had a snack and that he played with a big buzz lightyear toy during free time the first few minutes. He also told me though, that the teacher was mean because she told him not to sit on the couch. I asked if his teacher said "please get off the couch" nicely, or if she said "get off the couch!" in a mean way. He said it was the second scenario but I highly doubt that. I told him to tell me if she's ever mean to him. Now I'm a little concerned about what he tells his Sunbeam teachers at church about ME!

The second day went just as well for him but was just as hard for Ella. I guess I should have prepped her as much as I had prepped him about him going to preschool! He made a little girlfriend named Ella and told me that another girl left the light on in the bathroom and he reminded her to turn it off lol.

I'm glad my kids are so close - I hope it stays that way forever.

Baja Mexico anniversary cruise

Leaving California:
Dinner in the restaurant:

The family we met at our dinner table:
Me & Heidi laying out, listening to the live music and playing cards
Ensenada:
At the beach:
The blowhole:
Shopping:
Free drinks:
Comedy Club:
Saying goodbye:

There's a lot I didn't get pictures of but we had a blast... we spent a LOT of time eating, went to a hilarious "newlywed" game show and a bunch of great comedy shows. I gambled for the first time and lost $20 playing horribly at blackjack. Heidi and I tried to participate in everything including the conga line and dancing on stage!

I'll never forget the hilarious steward on the plane ride there that Heidi almost ran away with, me asking her for her playing cards so Andy and I could play then realizing she thought I was asking her to change seats to come play with me, Andy and I being serenaded for our anniversary and having our faces pushed together to make us kiss, making friends with Fran and her family, seeing Heidi and Troy really stress out about the pushy salespeople and a really funny thing Andy said about the ship that I'm not allowed to share.

We also got the kids these cute wrestling capes with masks; Drew's has Superman on the back and we had to search for one where Superman didn't have long girl hair or crazy eyes. Ella's is a little creepy since instead of a mask it has a princess face with the eyes cut out. We missed the kids but it was wonderful getting away for once. Thanks to Andy's parents for babysitting!

What a great way to celebrate 10 years of marriage! Love you hun.

Going back to school!

Andy finished his last pre-requisite a couple months ago and since the Physical Therapy Assisting program is first come first serve, it got filled up fast and Andy got put on the wait list. We have been waiting/hoping for someone to drop out so he could go this Fall because otherwise we would have to wait a whole year for him to start. Keep in mind we sold our house (and dog) and moved to our apartment in order for him to be able to quit his job and go to school full time just in case he got in this year. Well folks, I'm happy to tell you that he got in this morning and will start in the Fall. We will continue working at the apartment complex in exchange for our rent which has already saved us a bundle. The waiting has been a big fat test of faith for us! Things happen for a reason people. I'll try to keep that in mind next time something doesn't happen according my timeline! Congrats Andy! You rock :D

Family Pictures

We took these at the Great Salt Lake - it was hot and there were a million brine shrimp but it was worth it. I love them! Even though Ella refused to smile after the first 5 minutes we still got some cute shots. These are some of my favorites: