Family

It's been a few weeks since my parents went home, but I'm finally getting around to this blog. I'm getting really behind on what we've been up to over here. So... I better start catching up. 

My dad fixed so many things here at our house, my mom cooked amazing meals, and they both LOVED on my boys. They LOVE their grand babies. I felt so lucky. We had so much fun! 

Dinning out, making cookies, dinners at home, painting, coloring, wine nights, sitting by the fire, park fun, shopping, and so on. I wish we could do these things on a regular basis. Since we can't, I'm happy for the fun time spent together. :)

Here are some pics:

Out at breakfast. One of our fave breakie spots.

Took my dad to buy trees.

My grandma and mom painted with the boys...

We celebrated New Years... These two are super tight!

Silly boys. Dylan (10), and Jake (3).

Mommy, Jakey, and I.

Asher helping his pop pop. Asher followed my dad around trying to help him do things around the house.

My boys.

Mommy and I.
We went to appys and wine...

AND... We went to Home Goods to design a gallery wall.

Now it's time to put photos in all of the frames.

Boys saying goodbye.

We miss them so much. I can't wait until we see them in March!!! :)

Thank you mom and dad for all that you guys did for us. We love you so very much! That was my favorite Christmas by far! 

Christmas 2013

What another wonderful holiday spent with family. My parents, brother (Dylan), and grandma were in town from December 23 - January 5. Seems like such a long time... but, it seriously flew by. Just like it always does. The excitement to see them pull up... and the sadness when watching them drive off. But, I'm thankful for the days that were spent together.

It was nice having my family come in before Christmas this year. That way we were able to do a few of our family traditions.

A few traditions on Christmas Eve/Christmas are:

1. Christmas Eve breakfast, and cookie bake (Gotta bake Santa something special).

2. Christmas Eve PJ's, and Christmas Eve baskets (instead of the Christmas Eve gift that we've always done).

3. Evening church service (this year the boys where sick with fevers, so we didn't attend)

4. Christmas morning we immediately open presents... we don't do anything before. It takes everything in us to wait that long! ha. Then we get ready, start cooking, and wait for the rest of the family to head over. 

Here are the Christmas Eve baskets for the boys. PJ's, books, DVDs, iTunes gift cards, toys, coloring books with crayons, etc. 

 A few pics of the boys looking at the tree, and presents.

 My character. Seriously, this kid is hilarious.

 Uncle Dylan is the best!

On Christmas Day, my brother, uncle, aunt, and cousins came over. We had so much fun! Seriously, my favorite Christmas to date!

Here are the immediate cousins. Yep. I'm the only girl on my side of the family. 

Grant took the picture, so he wasn't in it. :( Next year we are buying a tripod. 

My parents and brothers.

Cousins.

 My brothers.

Perfect ending to the perfect day... 

Next blog...
A new year... and new goals to accomplish. I LOVE goal setting and completing!

SANTA!! I know him!

On Sunday, Grant and I took the kids to Old Ranch Country Club, for the Santa's brunch event. It was so much fun! We had brunch, and then headed over to make cookies, bounce in the bounce houses, and even see Santa. 

Jake has been asking about Santa quite a bit lately. He has been watching "The Elf on the Shelf" movie, and has been on his best behavior so that his elf "Harley" can tell Santa all about it. As I expected, Asher wasn't interested. 

Here are some pics below.

 Daddy had fun too!

 Finished cookies.

 Santa...

Jake of course told Santa he wanted everything Superman. ha! Too funny.

 Grand finale... Asher. He wanted NOTHING to do with him. I don't blame him really... I'm 33 and still frightened of him. But, we still tried. ;)

I am all done with Christmas shopping! Now time to relax! Next week this time... my family will be in town! I'm SO SO SO excited!!! Can you tell?

Have a great week all!

My boys.

These little dudes are best buds. They laugh, hug, kiss, talk, play sports, wrestle, yell, and do pretty much everything together. I know that they will grow to have their own friends, and lives, but I'm pretty sure these two are going to be tight. That makes me so happy... It literally brings tears of joy to my eyes.

They are so incredibly different and beautiful in their own way. I didn't realize how different two little brothers could be. I love seeing them grow and learn. Being a parent is such a blessing, and I'm so fortunate.

I'm so blessed that God gave me two, healthy little boys. 

And this man... I love him so! He works so hard for our family. I get to stay home and raise our boys, while he's out working. Thank you to this gorgeous man, and for our fabulous life. And thank you even more for our handsome boys. Smitten.

Happy weekend! 

Off to make crafts with the boys! I'll be posting pictures hopefully tomorrow of what we make.

Jake's first Christmas play.

ADORABLE. That's really all.

What else can I say about 2 and 4 year old children singing about Jesus? They spilt the school recitals by when the child attends so that they church wouldn't be too full. The children were adorable, sweet, funny, full of energy, and all followed direction perfectly.

I was a proud mommy. Like usual.

I didn't get good pictures. This is shocking. I know. But, I am buying the video of my little man singing and dancing.

Here is all I could get from our view.

 Back in the classroom waiting for the parents.

Today was pajama day at school also.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

My favorite time of year!!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CHRISTMAS. I think my favorite month is December in general. :) I really am in a good mood MOST the time. ;) There is something about Christmas that puts a smile of my face. It's been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. And it's gotten even better (hard to even imagine), since I had children. :)

The weather (just a little cooler in Orange County), lights, music, shopping, family gatherings, holiday crafts, decorations, and the celebration of Christ's birth. It's all so exciting. Oh man. Guess I should tone down my excitement a little. ha ha. ;)

This year we started The Elf on the Shelf. Jake named him "Harley". I don't let my little elf make a mess or get into things. I just place him somewhere different every morning. I don't want my kiddos to think it's OK, to make a mess with him. Jake wakes up so excited to see where Harley has went. At night he says good night to Harley, and tells him that he'll see him in the morning.

We took our annual photos in November. Even though 2 boys, 3 and under aren't quite into the arranged picture deal... it's totally worth it when we see the final result. Seeing how much we've changed/grown from year to year is truly amazing, and such a blessing. 

Jake, 3.

 Asher, 1 1/2.

 My presh family. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

Making a gingerbread house.

I'll be posting my Christmas decorations soon. Here is one of Jake, and I decorating the tree.

More to come!

Jake's 1st trip to the dentist.

I wasn't sure what to expect. But, I do know that Jake is a pretty darn good kid. Being 3, it's time for my little man to now start seeing the dentist. So, Jake and I both went in for cleanings.

Jake wasn't scared at all! He sat in the chair, took X-rays, and got his little teeth cleaned. I was so incredibly proud of him. He is such a special little boy. UGH! I just love him.

Anyhow, not much to report. His teeth look good, and he LOVES to brush and floss his teeth. Here are some pics from our visit.

 Such a big boy.

 Perfect little teeth.

This is how my cleaning went. Jake laid on top of me. ;)

Everything is all good with me too... except I grew ONE wisdom tooth this fall. I'm 33 years old, and grew a wisdom tooth? So strange. I only have one. I never had any other teeth out, and never grew the others. Apparently, I always had one little bud up there, but it didn't grow until now. And that one little tooth needs to come out after the Holiday's now. Lucky me. ha ha.

 One of my buddies. I love these little turkeys of mine.