Christmas Fun

We had an awesome Christmas this year. The kids got everything they could ever want and we spent a lot of time with family. My favorite is always Christmas Eve when we get together and have dinner, play games, and re-enact the Nativity. All the kids are at such a fun age. They are starting to understand the true meaning of Christmas and were so cute dressed up as the Nativity characters. My mom made all new costumes this year, so it was really fun to use the new outfits.My mom and dad always give the kids pajamas on Christmas Eve. They love matching with each other and hanging out in their new pj's at grandma and grandpa's house.For the last few weeks we have had some special visitors at our house. Some elves, Bobby and Suzie, have stayed at our house to keep an eye on the kids and report their behavior back to Santa. The kids have had a really fun time finding the elves every morning and it has been a good reminder for them to use their best behavior. On Christmas Eve the kids put cookies and milk out for Santa and the elves since they were leaving with him.Treyson asked Santa for a BB gun. I thought he was still too young, but Jared convinced me to let Santa bring him one. Ashten asked for Heelies. She really likes to roller skate, but heelies are way cooler. Traxton didn't really ask for anything. He has a serious interest in super hero's. He was always having me tuck his blanket into the back of his shirt, so I thought capes would be great. I made him a batman and superman cape and mask. He has totally loved them.Jared spent a lot of time on Christmas helping Treyson shoot his new gun. Traxton had to try it out too. Jared is such a good dad. :)
My dad and brothers made these diggers for each of the grandsons. They are awesome and the kids are so excited to use them in our sandbox.
Dressed for church. We love matching!

Happy Birthday Treyson

Last week Treyson turned six years old. I'm amazed he is that old. Time goes by way too fast. He is such a carefree little boy who loves to wrestle and tease his brother and sister. He truly is so easy to be around. He doesn't care what he wears, what he eats, or what's going on. This is such a contrast from his brother and sister that Jared and I both comment on how nice it is to have a child who doesn't have such strong opinions on everything. As long as he gets something to eat every so often; he's happy.

For his birthday this year we decided to have a little "Polar Express" party. We invited some of his friends to come over in their pj's, made a candy train, played games, went on a train ride and drank hot cocoa. It was such an easy party to prepare for and the kids had a blast. I even heard "this is the best party ever" come out of one of the boy's mouth. :) It was actually really nice for me to enjoy the party and not be stressed out over it.


Playing a game of blowing the snowballs off the train track. They were so cute trying to blow the cotton balls.
They're ready to go. They all got tickets to ride the train.

Ashten was in charge of the decorations and she hung up the cute signs around the yard and house.

We love Treyson so much and are so thankful he is a part of our family. He mellows us out so much and we wouldn't be complete without him.

Gingerbread Houses

Our family has a tradition of making gingerbread houses together. It is always so much fun letting our creative outlets run and getting to see what everyone else comes up with. Since the adults get so serious about decorating the houses, my mom decided to let the kids make their own this year. It was so fun for the kids to do exactly what they wanted. I loved watching them design and create a house with so many little details. Ashten had a sandbox and swing, while Treyson had a corral for his animals and a chimney for Santa. Traxton just loved being able to eat his frosting and stick his candy wherever he wanted.




Having the kids decorate their own houses was a huge success. They got their fill of decorating and then moved on to watch a movie. This left us able to get serious about decorating our own houses. This year Jared and I decided to create a beach house. We thought it would be fun to get away from the usual snow covered house. It turned out really cute and we had a blast designing it. I'm so glad we have this tradition and I hope we can continue with it for years to come.