A Day in the SNOW

Yesterday we drove up to Mountain High with some friends. We went to the North Pole Tubing Park where the boys had 2 hours of tubing fun and we all enjoyed hot chocolate. Stella loved playing in the snow! The cold didn't bother her one bit. It was a lot colder than I expected! Then we went down to the main resort so Bennett and the boys could try out snowboarding. Bennett was instantly hooked and could have stayed there hours longer. It was insanely crowded, but they managed to have tons of fun. Here are a few pictures...

St. Regis

Last night we went to the St. Regis in Monarch Beach to see their Christmas sand sculpture and visit Sam. When we got there he had already gone home, so we walked around the grounds and took pictures. Joey's brother Andrew had to go straight to the airport from there. The kids LOVE their uncle Andrew. The resort is so beautiful!

Christmas Day

After opening presents at our house we went over to Joey's parents house to be with all of his family. Joey's mom makes a yummy breakfast and we hang around together all day. We walked down to the beach and played in the sand while Joey and Sam surfed. It was a beautiful day.

Christmas Morning

Barbie Heaven

Stella and Spiderman

Merry Christmas

Ready for church on Sunday.

Welcome Home Dad

After a long trip Dad came home on Saturday. He had a lot of delays he had to deal with. We are glad to have him home safe.

Gingerbread

Today we had a fun visit from Aunt Sydney and Uncle Nate. They recently moved back to California and we are so happy to have them closer. We decorated gingerbread houses!

Innsbruck, Austria

This morning Joey emailed me some photos of Innsbruck Austria. Isn't it beautiful?

Holiday Airhead

I don't know what it is, the busy holiday season or just being a mom. I have some really silly incidents that happened to me this week. First of all, I should have read this instruction on stamping envelopes before I did my Christmas cards. I know I learned how to address an envelope a long time ago, but for some reason I put 150 stamps on the WRONG corner of all 150 envelopes when I was doing my Christmas cards. I spent almost 2 hours carefully peeling those expensive stamps off the WRONG corner and placing them on the correct corner. Joey and I both had a good laugh that night.
Then I got a call from my neighbor telling me that I sent her 2 cards...2 separate envelopes. How did I do that? How many other people are going to get 2 cards from us?
Then Joey came home a little early on Tuesday night to get ready for his trip. We were heading out to get dinner and Stella starts screaming and crying telling us that her ear hurt. Since the doctors office was closed we decided to take her to the urgent care. She doesn't normally scream in pain like that, so I was sure there was something wrong. As I am backing out of the garage in my vini-man (that's what Bennett calls it) I wasn't paying close attention and I side swiped Joey's truck that was parked in the drive way! There was silence in the car (except for Stella who was screaming). We got out and checked the damage, it wasn't too bad and went on to the urgent care. Joey was so nice about the whole thing. If anyone knows the men in his family, you know how much they take pride in caring for their cars. It is serious. He held his tongue the best he could and sent me a really sweet text msg on his way to the airport. By the time we got the the urgent care doctors office, Stella was as happy as can be, of course. The doctor checked her out and there was nothing wrong with her, no infection, no lego stuck in her ear. Anyway, long story...we went to get dinner and came home so Joey could pack. He is in Innsbruck, Austria until Sunday, then he goes to Burlington, VT fo sales meetings. I just hope I can avoid anymore airhead moments while he is gone.


Here is picture of my car...it had a little more damage than Joey's truck

Cold Night

This evening we went on a walk near our house to enjoy the cold, crisp air and look at the Christmas lights. Joey decided to do a timer shot of all of us and we were pleasantly surprised when both kids were actually looking at the camera. I love my family.

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward Christmas party was on Saturday and it was amazing! The decorations were so good and the whole thing seemed to run pretty smooth considering how large our ward is. There are so many kids! Stella was brave and sat on Santa's lap for the first time. She was just chatting away.

Pajama Party

Our good friends Bryan & Summer had a Christmas Pajama Party on Saturday. Although we were 2 hours late, we were glad we went. It was a lot of fun, as everything is when Bryan & Summer are involved. Thanks for the fun night Thacks! I promise Joey was smiling by the time we left the party!

"Puttin on the Glitz"

Every year on Thanksgiving weekend there is a Christmas celebration downtown. We had a fun night with grandma and grandpa walking around Del Mar Street watching all the fun holiday festivities. They had a train ride, a carriage ride, hot chocolate, treats, face painting and much more. Santa Claus cam down the street on a fire truck. I love the holidays!

Bennett on the train with grandpa

Final Soccer Game

We had an awesome experience with Bennett playing soccer this season. He learned so much. All the kids on his team were so fun and they all got along great. It was a great mix of boys. We were lucky to be on Coach Reny's team and have a couple friends that we already knew.

Pinewood Derby

Joey and Bennett built their first pinewood derby car together. I actually painted the blue stripes. Even though he lost he was a pretty good sport.

Bennett's Thanksgiving Class Show

Better late than never. I am finally catching up with the last couple weeks. Here are some photos of Bennett's class "Friendship Celebration" for Thanksgiving. All the kids had to say what they are thankful for. Most of the kids said their toys, family, trees, etc. Bennett said he was thankful for Thanksgiving. He was so excited to have Joey and his grandparents there.