Christmas Tree & Temple Lights

The last week has been super busy and has absolutely FLOWN by!!! Only two more sleeps 'til Christmas!! I can't wait! :)

Last weekend, we ventured out to pick our Christmas tree. I put the lights on it and we decorated the rest of it as a family on Tuesday. The kids had a great time putting ornaments on the tree. Blake made a little clump of his own ornaments! LOL! Each year, the kids get a new ornament. This year, Brooklyn got a princess ornament, Blake got a Spiderman ornament and Gavin got a Lightning McQueen ornament. We've only had a few incidences of playing with ornaments or the lights, thank goodness! This is Gavin's first year dealing with a Christmas tree (last year we were visiting AZ so we didn't have our own Christmas tree) and he's done pretty well. Of course there will be no presents placed under the tree until after the kids are in bed Christmas Eve! We needn't have any unnecessary temptation. ;)

Having a little fun with the camera!

Friday night, we headed over to the temple grounds to look at the Christmas lights. This is a tradition that I have missed every year while we were in California! The LA temple was just too far of a drive (with traffic). It was fun to bundle up a bit, admire the beauty of the displays and feel the quiet spirit that emanates there.

The beautiful Mesa, AZ temple
Blake, Brooklyn and Gavin sitting at the spot where
Matt and I first talked about getting married!

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." "...behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem...""Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Christmas Traditions

Every year, both sides of Matt's family has traditions that the entire extended family participates in.

Sunday night was the LeBaron family nativity. The children dress up as Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men and angels while Grandpa LeBaron reads the nativity story and the whole family sings Christmas carols to go along with each part. I wasn't able to be there for the actual nativity part, so Matt took some pics for us. Brooklyn was Mary, Blake was Joseph and Gav was a shepherd.
Monday night, the Palmer family got together for Santa's visit. This same Santa has been coming for over 25 years!! I think it's neat that our kids get to sit on the lap of the same Santa that Matt saw when he was little. Santa brings along his elf, Snappy, and we sing Jingle Bells, Santa does some magic tricks with the help of the children and then each child gets to visit with Santa. All three of our kids were ecstatic to see Santa!!

Brooklyn helps Santa with a magic trick

Gavin couldn't wait for his turn!

Blake whispers to Santa what he wants for ChristmasBrooklyn gets snuggles with SantaGavin savors his treat from Santa Clause

Eventually, we won't be able to participate in every family function at Christmastime, but I'm thankful for these wonderful traditions that we've been able to be a part of thus far. I love being a part of a big family (including the in-laws) and the sweet sense of family closeness that we feel at this time of the year.

Who spends $40 on M&Ms??

Apparently we do!! One of the highlights of the Christmas season for Matt is MINT M&Ms. I've bought a bag here and there for him this year but just like last year, he wanted to stock up on MINT M&Ms before they are gone for another year. Every time I've been to WalMart, Target, the grocery store, I've looked for MINT M&Ms and I couldn't find them anywhere! Matt thought he was going to die from MINT M&M withdrawals. ;) Just kidding! I decided to stop by the Target closest to us on Saturday night and lo and behold, there are the MINT M&Ms that Matt is craving so badly!! I called him up, asked him how many bags of MINT M&Ms he wanted and he asked me how many bags there were. Up at the front, there were 17 bags, so he said, "All of them!!" I found a bigger stash in the back, so I added 3 more bags to the pile to make it an even 20 bags of MINT M&Ms! I was quite embarrassed at the checkout line as I put my basket with 20 bags of MINT M&Ms and mascara for me onto the conveyor belt! Thank goodness they were only $2 a bag, not the $2.79 that it said on the shelf! I hope Matt is happy that I love him so much to search high and low for his beloved MINT M&Ms!! The things we do to keep our husbands happy!!! Now we'll just see how long 20 bags of MINT M&Ms last! ;) Any guesses?

Weekend Getaway

Matt had to be back in California this past week to take part two of the national board exams for optometry. Before moving from California, Jennie, Trenda and I had talked about trying to arrange so that us wives could come, too, when the guys had to return for boards. For awhile, I didn't really think it would work out. Well, it became a reality!! For the first time EVER, Matt and I were away from our kids overnight!!! A BIG thanks to my sis, Becky and her husband Taylor for taking in our kiddles for a few days!

Matt drove to California on Tuesday. He took the first part of his exam on Wednesday, then that evening, I flew into California. The Barneys and us met up for a bit before heading to our hotel rooms for the evening (we stayed at the same hotel).

The next morning, the guys had to be up and out early for day two of their exam. Trenda met up with Jennie and I and we went shopping at South Coast Plaza for a few hours. I *almost* left empty handed, but at the last second, we stopped in babyGap and I couldn't pass up a few deals for my boys! ;) We picked up a late lunch, which practically almost ruined our dinner since our men finished with their exam much earlier than we anticipated!!! We managed to hold off on dinner by strolling WalMart and the Brea Mall with the Barneys. Then we all met up with the Poulters at Lucille's BBQ for dinner - YUM! After dinner, we met up in the Barneys room and played Cities & Knights of Catan. We barely made it through the game before Jennie passed out from tiredness! Haha!

Friday was D-day - DISNEYLAND!! We hadn't been to Disneyland for about a year or so and it was great to be back! It really is a magical place! The Poulters had their kids, so the Barneys and us just hung out all day, enjoying the freedom to ride the adult rides! We started off at California Adventure. There is this rafting ride, the Grizzly River Run, that you are bound to end up soaking wet on. We were debating whether or not to go, but ended up riding it TWICE! The first time, Jennie and I cinched up our jacket hoods in a meager attempt to help stay dry, but alas, it wasn't to be. All four of us ended up pretty wet, but we had some really good laughs during our adventure!

This picture doesn't do our soaked-ness justice!!Drying off

I'm beginning to think that as you get older, thrill rides take a larger toll on your body. After the California Screamin' roller coaster, Mulholland Madness, the Grizzly River Run (twice), the Tower of Terror, and Soarin' Over California, I was feeling a bit woozy and nauseous!! We watched the Aladdin musical spectacular, which was fabulous. It's a live production of the Aladdin story on stage. Too bad we never took our kids to watch it while we still had passes! They would have LOVED it!

After lunch, we headed back over to Disneyland. We hit Splash Mountain (more wetness! poor Jennie got it right in the face!), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones and Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters. Weston had the brilliant idea that the losers of the Buzz ride would buy the winners a little treat! Thanks Weston! ;)
That was it for day at Disney. We headed out to Downtown Disney to do some shopping, then said goodbye to the Barneys. We decided to drive home that night, which was rather difficult since we were both so dang exhausted. I'm just happy we made it home in one piece thanks to Matt's perseverance! Here are some other pictures from our day-

'L' is for Lindsay!

Should've worn my sunglasses!The giganto Christmas tree

We had an awesome time being away together as a couple, but it was even more fun to be able to spend some time with our good friends!! Jennie and I already discussed that this kinda thing needs to become a tradition! Disneyland was fun to do just as a couple, but I really can't wait to take our kids back there!! Something about seeing Disney through the eyes of your child is amazing!

Sitting with Santa

Our ward party was on Saturday (AP ward puts them to shame! LOL!) and Santa came to visit!! Gavin's eyes got SO big when he saw Santa enter the room! Brooklyn, Blake and Gavin all sat on Santa's lap and the older two told him what they want for Christmas. Gavin didn't want to get off!!! Brooklyn kept telling me, "Mom! I forgot to tell him I want a double stroller and a Jasmine dress-up that doesn't show my belly!" We assured her that she'll see Santa again and can tell him then. Don't worry Brooklyn, I'm sure Santa will take care of you! ;) Each child received an orange from Santa along with the well-known Christmas Orange story. We read the story that night before bed.

I know you're expecting pictures, but I'm going to hold off until we visit the REAL Santa next Monday!

Been a Bad Blogger - Catch Up!!

As everyone knows, this time of the year just gets busier and busier with Christmas upon us and other daily obligations. I just haven't had the time to sit down and write a good blog lately! I keep thinking to myself, "Oooh, I need to blog about that!" but I never get around to it!!! So here we are with a little overview of the past week or so.

SHOPPING
I just love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!! I took Brooklyn and Blake out one evening to do some Christmas shopping for their cousins, with whom they are exchanging gifts with. I tried to let them have control over what the cousin would receive, but it ended up being more like them choosing from a couple options I gave them! ;) And I'm happy to report that I'm very close to being DONE with my Christmas shopping!!

DATING
Matt and I had the opportunity to go out on a date last Friday night (thanks Britt for watching the kids!) with Matt's brother, Derek, and his wife, Kristin. It was a rainy night, but it's been soooo long since Matt and I had been on a date (not meaning some function we had to attend) that I didn't care! We ate at El Paso BBQ, which was yummy, then headed over to the movie theater to watch August Rush. WAY good movie! I'd recommend it to everyone and anyone! It's not a total chick flick, even guys can enjoy this one too! ;)

BAKING
I brought out the Christmas decorations and Brooklyn and Blake were quick to put on their Santa hats and their Christmas aprons, so I decided that we needed to do some baking. I made banana nougat cookies, of course, and tried to let them help as much as possible. Sometimes it's hard for me to do that because I can do it much quicker myself and usually, it's a lot cleaner of a process! I didn't have to worry for long, they lost interest pretty quickly. ;) I love holiday baking and taking goodies around to our friends and neighbors!

My helper elves

PURGING
We still have boxes stacked around our apartment and the decorating is still not done. Makes me feel rather detached from this place. But, much to Matt's chagrin, I'm sure, I've been bringing even MORE boxes into our house, trying to clean out and get rid of things. My latest endeavor has been to go through ALL my girl clothing, from newborn to 5T and weed out what I don't absolutely want to keep for future girl babies- if ever. I figure by the next time I get pregnant and *IF* we ever have another baby girl, by the time she reaches 2T-5T clothing, styles will be different, seasons could be different, and I'm just SURE I'll be dying to shop again! ;) SO, I pared down from about 8 apple boxes and Rubbermaid bins to 6, which is excellent for me! I have an immensely hard time letting go of such CUTE clothes!!! Loads of Old Navy, Gap, Children's Place, Gymboree clothes! I gave a bunch to my sis, Becky, for her baby girl and then I did some massive selling of the rest I could bare to part with on one of my parenting message boards that has an auction section. I made myself back about $250 - HOORAY!! :) And that was just selling the winter clothes! I haven't even touched the spring/summer items! Looking forward to making some more mula when the time comes closer!

SOLD!

PICTURE TAKING
I attempted to take pictures for our Christmas card yesterday (thanks again to Brittney for helping me out!) and I was exhausted after 20 minutes!! 215 pictures to choose from and only about 3 decent of all three kids together!!! Why can't kids just manage to look AT the camera and SMILE?!??!? Blake was by far the worst! Looking in every which way BUT at the camera, slouching, and if he DOES look at the camera, it's some crazy, cheesy smile that is no way gracing our Christmas card! At least I managed to get an acceptable one.... grrrr. And no previews yet. You'll just have to wait! ;)

I think that will about do it for now! I promise to be better!

Walk with the Dinosaurs

Today, my sister-in-law, Kristin, and I took our kids to the Arizona Museum of Natural History (used to be known as the Mesa Southwest Museum). There are huge dinosaur skeletons and all kinds of fossils and even some gold panning opportunities for the kids! Blake especially loved our outing today. He's not quite a dinosaur nut, but he likes to learn about them! :)

How do you size up? A HUGE Mammoth!

Blake with the T-Rex (Night at the Museum, anyone?)

My pictures pretty much all turned out wretched because once again, I decided to take our little camera instead of the SLR. When am I gonna learn that I regret that EVERY time!! As big and bulky as it is (moreso than a compact camera anyway), the picture quality is a gazillion times better! So please, don't laugh at my mediocre pictures, with poor lighting and awful red eye! I'm embarrassed. *hanging my head in shame*

This is a dinosaur femur!

Gavin playing with the dinos in the activity center
Brooklyn doing dinosaur rubbings

Outside to pan for gold! So hilarious- Brooklyn was the only one that actually cared about finding gold! The boys just scooped up sand and water, dumped it back in and ended up soaking wet! Brooklyn complained about her flip-flops being dirty afterward! LOL!

Three gold-diggers!

This was waaaay cool and funny! The kids could go back behind this tv, stand against a blue screen and they'd appear on the tv!! All three were being silly!

Movie stars!

We had a dino-mite time!!! ;)

Thanksgiving Weekend - Part Deux

After our yummy Thanksgiving meal, we headed a little northeast (3.5 hours) from the valley to Springerville, where my sister Becky's husband's parents have a cabin. We spent the rest of the weekend there with my family. It was FREEZING!!!! Highs in the 40s during the day, dipping into the teens during the night! I don't know how anyone can live in the cold permanently! Two days was about all I could handle!!! We had the kids all bundled up in layers and big puffy jackets and gloves/mittens and beanies - CRAZY!! They sure were cute though! ;)

Friday, we spent a good majority of the day riding quads. I never have really ridden quads except when Matt and I were engaged and we went to Mexico for Spring Break. Taylor and his family brought up quads, a Jeep, a buggy and a Rhino. The kids absolutely loved riding! And I mean LOVED it!!!! Anyone that took Brooklyn for a ride came back saying all she told them to do was go faster!! LOL! Gavin simply wouldn't get off the quad without pitching a massive fit! Blake was just happy to go with whoever would take him. I really enjoyed riding the quads, although I didn't get too adventurous over any hills or drive at breakneck speeds. I left that to the crazies! Matt even took the opportunity to teach me how to drive a stick-shift in the buggy! I feel like such an accomplished woman!! :) Some pictures - ok, a LOT of pictures!

Matt's great picture of the trip! Lots of wildlife!
My bean wearing a beanieBrooklyn all bundled up!
Ready to ride with Grandpa (my dad)
Blake buckled up in the Rhino
Brooklyn with Taylor in the buggy
Who is that masked man with my baby?? ;)
This is what happens when you try to take Gavin off the quad!Becky and I about to take off
I love this picture of Dalton (nephew, front) and Joshua (brother, back)!
Tada! Here I am!!
Blake's turn with Taylor!
Brooklyn and Mommy! See? I told you she couldn't get enough!!
Becky and her wild hubby!! Yeehaw!

We had an awesome time and I can't wait to go again!