The most wonderful time of the year!

Kyler loved his Joy School nativity program. I think he may have been the super singer, leading the group.

Sometimes we realize there are many life experiences we accidentally forget to give to children #3 and #4. We have done them a couple times with the older two, so we don't realize the younger two have never done them. And, sitting on Santa's lap is one of those! Grandma waited in the hour-long line so we could have a visit with the Man in Red. Kyler and Teyah LOVED it! I'm so glad we took the time -- and even more grateful to Grandma for doing all the work!

With our nutty Nutcracker December, no cookies had been made at our house. As soon as it was over, Grandma made sure our cookie Christmas was saved!

Years ago, I instituted a self-indulgent tradition that we give our kids Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. I don't think the kids appreciate it, but I think it makes for awesome pictures. If you look closely, we had Santa, two elves and reindeer pj's!

 

We all worked on this terribly difficult puzzle all December. But we accomplished it!

I love the literal fashion sense of a 4-year-old! There is nothing better!

The kids planned and carried out our family Christmas Eve program. It was pretty typical to the plays these kids incessantly plan and perform.

I love when these kids love each other and play well! I'm actually quite lucky because they usually really play well together.

Ellie had a special Christmas because our kids have begged for a pet for years. We always said no, but Santa didn't listen and brought Ellie a fish, she named Sparkles. Sadly, the Beta fish lived only a week. We replaced it, however, and the new one, she named Aquamarine (or Aki for short) is faring much better.

Kyler's dream came true by receiving TWO light sabers! I didn't expect to have a son who is so into weapons -- this has completely come from him. But, it's fun to see how totally different boys are from girls and to have different things to shop for!

We love our little elf Teyah! She is the biggest sweetheart and this outfit fits her so well!

Grandma always comes through with the best gifts! This is their reaction when they went downstairs and saw this...

An indoor trampoline is the perfect gift for our looooooooong winters. Clearly, Grandma is definitely the Christmas hero -- well, of course, other than the hero Jesus Christ, who is the reason for the season.

Puppets, Mice, Soldiers, and Pages

 This year Nutcracker became a much bigger deal for this little ballerina! Let us count the ways!

 

 

 Aubrie performed in all seven of the Nutcracker shows, including the overture scene as one of Drosselmeyer's puppets and was one of the first dancers on the stage! Drosselmeyer also picked her up into the splits, and it was beautiful!

She got to dance in the same show as Teyah (the mouse)!

She got to have multiple parts, which even included a 90-second quick change (because she also got to be transformation puppet).

Her grandma got to help backstage and watch her perform! And she got her own makeup Caboodle and chair for her things.

 

Aubrie even got to dance in both acts (this is her page costume)!



She was selected to be a living room soldier (only a few people in her class got this honor), along with a war soldier.

Her Aunt Lauren got to watch her dance and support her!! This is extra special since Lauren is her ballet role model!

She also got to perform her Living Room Soldier dance at the Mall of America in the Rotunda! This was so fun for many reasons. One of her favorites, was that she even got to go "behind the scenes" of the mall.

She made lots of friends and loved every minute of it!

 

 Teyah and her pillowed-mouse tummy are just scrunchious!

An end of an era

Sending our friends away when they move has been a difficult thing for us in the past few years and we had to say goodbye to another favorite family. The Ponczoch's have been the greatest friends to us -- the best part is all four of their kids match up in age and gender almost perfectly with our kids. And, they all play together so well! 

What was supposed to only be a one-night stay ar our house -- in between packing their house and then driving the next day -- unexpectedly ended up being a couple day party at our house! The reason for the party wasn't ideal because Kim had some pregnancy complications, but fortunately all turned out well. Even though these few days were probably stressful for them, our kids were in heaven to be able to spend a few extra hours with their best buds (and create several more plays together). The Ponczoch's will definitely leave a hole in our hearts!

Kyler's 4th birthday

We knew that with Kyler turning four, he needed a real friend birthday party! He chose a dinosaur theme, so I made this volcano cake with dinosaurs in front of it.

And he knew exactly who he wanted to invite. We were actually a little surprised by his guest list because it didn't include a couple of his best friends. His list included all of his more mellow friends! We didn't complain about this though!

This kids loved making these dinosaur masks. I had picked these up during the Target Halloween clearance, and they worked perfectly for the party!

Creating a boy-themed party was just so much fun!

 I've done so many princess parties, that it's nice to change it up a little!

Some things about Kyler:

-He has great hair! It looks good long or short because of all the wave in it and it has a great texture. However, Daddy demands it long and mom prefers it short. So, we are compromising with summer long/winter short! Haha!

-Kyler has a very big personality. With his quick wit, verbal strengths, and clever thoughts, he keeps us on our toes and rolling on the floor laughing. 

      Some examples, "Mom, we are all special, right?" "Yes, Kyler, we are all special." "Well, then because we are all special, we all deserve a treat!"

      And, every time we drive by 3M he says it's where we get stuff for free (like Post-its) and that's why it's called "Free M".

      At Sam's Club, he asked if he could sample the "hashtags" aka hash browns!

      I wish I could remember more!

-Every move he makes is purposeful, determined and focused.

-He has learned to "feel" the music with crazy uninhibited dance moves! It's hilarious to watch!

-He knows all his letters and letter sounds, his left from his right, and I didn't teach him any of it. He picks things up so quickly! He also loves counting things. 

-He is a mama's boy and loves to snuggle.

-He is still a great napper.

-He is still in his crib, mostly because he hasn't been evicted, but also because he's such a great sleeper that we didn't want to rock the boat. He is fully capable of climbing out, but he always patiently calls us to come get him when he's awake. I think this is a result of habit/routine more than anything. Because when we put him in his crib for a timeout, he climbs out before we even leave the room! When he's tired, he gets manic, so him being a great sleeper has been a great blessing!

Thanksgiving

We had such a quiet Thanksgiving this year, we didn't take many pictures! Ellie's school class had a special feast that she shared with Dave and I! This is a pic of Ellie and her buddy, Hailey.

We spent our first married Thanksgiving without extended family! After our plans fell through last minute, our dear friends invited us to celebrate at their new home. It was a wonderful meal in a beautiful house! The Jacksons were wonderful hosts! We also enjoyed it with our best buds the Ponczoch's. I actually didn't take this photo, but found it on my phone long after Thanksgiving! I am guessing Aubrie or Ellie snapped it. At least we have a record of Thanksgiving 2013!

Star Wars

Our current family obsession is Star Wars -- fueled by Dave showing them 5 of the 6 movies in the past couple weeks.   The obsession, however, has been taken a little too far at times. One night while I was away, I received a text message of this picture of Dave!

And then later this picture! I actually don't know which kid that is! I see pink socks, so I'm thinking Teyah! Apparently, she was using her Jedi powers to clean the living room. Obviously, that didn't work so well! Dave loves that the kids now understand the cultural references to Star Wars. And now, all Kyler wants for Christmas is a 'life saver' aka lightsaber.

A Wicked Halloween

While watching "Wicked" with Dave, I got the idea to have our family take on the "Wicked" theme for Halloween. This decision came about a week before the first party, so it was an extremely fast put together! We realized that Dave's getup, made him look like any and all of the male Disney characters, because without the rest of the family, people asked if he was Flynn Rider, Robin Hood, Prince Erik, etc. Hopefully, as a collective group, he looks like Fiyero during his college days. And, I of course, was Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West. Unfortunately, the face paint was difficult to work with and didn't quite give the right look.

Kyler, the flying monkey, is the costume that took the most work. Sewing costumes is fun for me. I just wish I decided to do these things farther in advance! My house was a disaster that week!

Teyah's costume was recycled from when we did the "Wizard of Oz" theme five years ago. I had sewn this costume for Ellie when she was three! Teyah was thrilled to be Galinda, the Good Witch.

Aubrie took the most convincing in participating in a family theme, but as soon as she saw the green dress at Goodwill, she was sold on being an "Emerald City" character.

Ellie already wanted to be a witch, so this theme worked perfectly for her. We found the socks at Party City, and Dave crafted a wheelchair out of the bike stroller wheels, weight-set bars, a small chair, and a toy ride-on car! This turned her into the perfect Nessa Rose (Wicked Witch of the East). But when it came down to it, Ellie was too scared to use the wheelchair as a prop -- much to Dave's dismay!

I hope the Wicked memories will be worth the cost of a week of craziness I invested into this!

Grand View Vacation

When we found out that Grandma was going to be in town for our Fall Break (MEA), we knew we needed to plan something special. So, we booked a couple nights at the Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, MN.

Our friends had been there many times and raved about it, so we thought we'd see for ourselves what a beautiful place it is.

The Fall weather had broken just the day before we left, but all things considered, we still had flowers, decent temps, and beautiful Fall leaves.

This, along with the fair, made us feel true Minnesotan -- going up north to a cabin! Notice the view out our window! This picture doesn't even do it justice! It was stunning!

The lighting and scenery was just too perfect to not snap lots of pictures!

Matching braids!

We love being with Grandma!

The lake was gorgeous too. We can't wait to go back in the summer, so we can enjoy the lake amenities too.

Crazy kiddos doing the "fashion pose"!

Kyler loves the 'ninja stance.'

We took a lot of walks, played a lot of games, watched movies, enjoyed the resort amenities like swimming, S'mores, and games. It was a great chance to just be together and relax!

The coldest day there, we took a boat ride, and the guide let all the kids take a turn driving. Kyler thought this was pretty cool!

I snapped this: my favorite picture of all time! Teyah had enough of the cold wind on the boat. She complained of her eyes being cold from the wind, so I loaned her my glasses. It was all just a bit of a sensory overload for her  -- cold wind, layers that included a life vest, noise from the boat, and the rocking of the boat was a lot for her to handle. But, she hung in there! Their faces in this picture say it all!

The resort had a fun Fall festival that included a pie eating contest! The girls, Dave, Grandma and I all participated. Of course, the winner of it all -- my cute husband with the huge mouth! Haha! He even won a gift card! The kids enjoyed the pumpkin carving, bag decorating, and hot cocoa and treats! This was a perfect weekend in a perfect place! We made great memories and had a much-needed recharge!