Christmas

Christmas began on Christmas Eve for us. That morning we went to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas with them and a had a delicious breakfast together. Then, that evening, the kids and I went over the hill to my family's traditional Christmas Eve party. They had some fun Christmas-y things to dress up with.




After that we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. That night, after the kids went to bed, I decorated the house with streamers and balloons to celebrate Jesus' birthday. I wish I had a picture of Abby's face when she saw it in the morning. It was the most adorable look of wonder and she said "Wow, mom. It looks bootiful."

That morning we opened stockings and gifts and had such a fun time together.


Isn't this the CUTEST sister picture?!

After riding bikes up and down the street for a little while, our dear friends, the Orlandos, came over for a little birthday party for Jesus.


After the party and naps, we headed up to Carey's parents' house to have Christmas dinner and open more gifts (and spend time together, of course)! We had SO much fun with them. The kids loved playing with their cousin and their aunts and grandma and grandpa.
Cousin Brannon
Thank you, Auntie Kelly for reading to Abby for SO long!

Oh, and a tip for those of you that are parents; band-aids. I put a box of band-aids in each of the girls' stockings (Abby got Curious George and Haley got Dora), and let me tell you, that was the best $5 I spent on Christmas gifts. They LOVED it. When we were asked them later that day what the best Christmas present ever was (going for the answer of Jesus) and they immediately shouted "BAND-AIDS". Everyone that they have talked to about Christmas they have started off by showing them or telling them about the band-aids. Who knew?!

Boogers

Today in the car:

Abby: Why you don't eat boogers everyday, Haley?
Haley: Some days I do like boogers and some days I don't.
Abby: Eat a booger Haley.

A few moments of silence.

Abby: Did you eat one?
Haley: Ya. Today I don't like boogers, Abs.
Abby: Eat a booger, Haley.

Later in the booger conversation:

Abby: Haley, give me your tissue.
Haley: No. It's a snotty tissue, Abby.
Abby: I want the snotty tissue.
Haley: You can't have it, Abby, 'cause it has caffeine in it.

Disneyland (Day 2)

Finally, here are the pictures from day 2 at Disneyland:)
The group shot!

Riding the train that goes around the park (which apparently, I'd never done before, because it goes through a whole dinosaur tunnel I had no idea existed).

Thank you, Grandma Jackie for new sweatshirts:)

Sugary treats!



Playing in Minnie's house...I missed this part, because I was saving our spot for watching the parade, but I heard they had SO much fun in her house.

Look at Abby's face watching the parade! This was definitely one of the highlights of Disneyland.

Funny note: While we were getting on to the Jungle Cruise ride, we walked past a woman wearing a mask over her mouth. No one commented on it, I just noticed it out of the corner of my eye. Yesterday (a week later) I took the girls to the doctor because they have coughs. As we walked through the door, I had to put masks on them, because of their coughs (there was a sign mandating it). As I put them on, Haley said "Hey, we saw someone at Disneyland had one of these." That child is seriously SO aware of her surroundings.

Jingle Bells Merry Christmas

Today we went to get our Christmas tree, which the girls named "Jingle Bells Merry Christmas".




We took her home and decorated her up real nice!

Auntie Laura put the lights on, which was EXTRA nice because Jingle Bells Merry Christmas is VERY pokey.

Disneyland (Day 1)

For Haley and Abby's 4th birthday we went to Disneyland, and it really was the happiest place on earth. The day before their birthday was a pre-school day, so they got to bring cupcakes.



Then, when I picked them up from school, we hopped in the car with both grandmas and headed south!

On their 4th birthday they were SO excited to be at Disneyland. They were so into it. They loved the rides, the characters, everything. They just LOVED it.
Riding the tram from the parking lot into the park...notice how brightly they are all dressed. We didn't lose anyone.

Oh, we are so excited to finally be at Disneyland.

As soon as we walked into the park, we ran into Alice. The girls had no clue who she was, but they were thrilled to see her.




You can kind of see the "Happy Birthday" pin that they gave to the girls. So, as we went through the park, everyone that worked there would say happy birthday to them. They loved that.

Probably the highlight of the trip was the princesses. Haley and Abby were in heaven hugging and chatting with them, and being wished a happy birthday by them.



When they met Cinderella, they kept asking her about her stepsisters; where they were and why they ripped her dress!

Seth was not such a fan of it all. He did not like the characters or any of the little mechanical things in It's a Small World or any of those kinds of rides.

He did love playing at Goofy's house, though.

In Toon Town they have a little roller coaster that goes fast, but doesn't really have a huge hill and only lasts about 23 seconds. The girls both wanted to go on it. Carey and I and both of our moms figured that Abby would love it and Haley might cry.
We were all wrong. This is Abby after the ride. She cried. Then she told us she wanted to go on it again but she wanted to ask the lady to make it go slower! Haley LOVED it and even went on the Matterhorn the next day.

By the end of the first day, we were all very happy and very tired.

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek at our trip to Disneyland. I will do a post on it (and Thanksgiving) soon.