First Christmas tree

I am so proud to announce that my Mom and Chad have a Christmas Tree for the first time in almost 5 years (I think). Every year they have some excuse to not put one up but this year they had to give in because Aly would ask where their tree was every time we visited. We took the kids with us to help them pick out their perfect tree while it was raining! Luckily we had our truck so it was easy to deliver it to their house. James helped put the stand on the tree and he agreed that next year we will be buying a real one too! They smell so good!

Do to the fact that it was raining my brilliant mom brought down her blow dryer to help dry the tree. Hmmm, some times I wonder about her!

Aly and Nana loved digging through the ornament box getting everything together.

One year I bought tinsel and used about half of it before realizing how much of a mess it made. So since I had a lot left over that we will never use, we kindly brought it over to my moms where Alyvia proceeded to take it all out!

Brock didn't participate in the decorating (he was watching a movie) but Alyvia, Nana, Mom, and James all had fun decorating. Even Chad helped by putting the star on top. I took pictures and made sure all the ornaments had hooks.

Alyvia made sure that everyone was using the tinsel she took out! Look at the tree sparkle!

The end result was so pretty and the smell of a real tree is just so refreshing, especially one that was out in the rain! It was so much fun spending time with the parents helping them get into the Christmas spirit (thanks Aly for making nay-nay feel guilty!).

Brocks last day of school

For the last day of school before winter break Brock's teacher hosted a pancake breakfast and invited all the parents to join. James and I are always involved with his class but this time Alyvia was invited also. She was so excited to be able to see Brock and all his friends. The kids got to enjoy a huge breakfast that had every ones favorite pancakes and sausage.


I am always amazed at how well behaved all these kindergarten kids are. I really admire Brock's teacher she is such a great teacher.

Alyvia wanted to have her breakfast to so she smooched off her brother. Lucky for her he was in a giving mood! LOL He even shared his sausage with her.

The best part about this breakfast was Santa came to visit their class as a surprise to the kids. What a sight that was all the kids started yelling and clapping and everyone was just so excited. It was so neat to see all these kids get so excited.

Alyvia got to sit with Santa also. She was supposed to sit with Brock on him but unfortunately her and I had a misunderstanding and she was crying when it was Brock's turn. Once she calmed down Santa got her attention and she climbed on his lap and cried a little on his shoulder but he calmed her down enough to get a picture and then blew her a big kiss. He was such a sweet Santa!

At the end of everything we got a class picture and all the kids ran outside for some recess time. It was such a great morning! As we were leaving Brock's teacher gave us presents for him to open (which he opened early of course) and a plate of cookies for us. The first semester of school was so wonderful and I really can't wait to see how the second semester turns out.

Town Square Santa

James and I are so proud of ourselves this year for actually taking the kids to see Santa early. Every year we seem to procrastinate and last year stood in line for almost 3 hours on Christmas Eve so they could sit on Santa's lap. This year we went early and waited in line for a whopping 5 minutes!! I was so excited and the kids weren't cranky one little bit.

Before we headed out to visit Santa I had to go shopping to get the kids their Christmas outfits. I'm one of those moms who like my kids to dress up and look extra nice for pictures with Santa. I have to say Aly and Brock looked so wonderful that we actually got compliments!


Alyvia has never had a fear of Santa and Brock only did one year. When Alyvia was close enough to see Santa she started giggling and pointing to him. I literally had to keep a hold on her arm otherwise she would have ran right to him. Brock just stood patiently waiting his turn with a huge grin on his face. Once it was their turn they both walked up and Aly sat with Mrs. Claus and Brock sat on Santa's lap. After the picture they each told them what they wanted and both James and I got choked up. Our kids are growing up so fast!

Thanksgiving

These days I have absolutely no motivation to do anything, I'm surprised I'm finally blogging about Thanksgiving. This years Thanksgiving was spent at my Grandma and Grandpas house with just some close family. I actually enjoyed how small our get together was. Almost every year there are usually over 25 people at the house but this year I think we topped out at 15.



Grandma decorated the table so beautifully (I didn't remember to take a picture) and made most of the main dishes. The kids had their own table but like I expected didn't really sit still long enough to eat their meal. The adults had a wonderful time sitting around eating all the fabulous food and just socializing. I personally love Thanksgiving for all the food. LOL



Every Thanksgiving I like to take a moment to remember what I'm thankful for. This year Brock and his class got to learn about the holiday and write down what they are thankful for. He told me he wrote he was thankful for his family. Now me being pregnant makes me over emotional so when he told me this I started crying. I love that little boy! So here's my list of what I'm thankful for...

• I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband. He is everything to me and I don't know what I would do with out him. He is the one person I can tell absolutely anything to and is always there for me. I'm so thankful James is my best friend, husband, and father of my children, I couldn't have asked for a better man in my life.


• I'm so thankful for my children. Brock and Alyvia are my life. I'm so blessed to finally be a stay at home mom. Those two just love life and are always laughing, running around, acting like crazy kids. They know just when to give me a hug and kiss and say I love you. I'm just so blessed to be a mom!


• I'm thankful for all my family and friends. Just knowing that I have so many family and friends that are there for me makes any day better.


• I'm thankful for all the men and woman that are out there fighting for our country. Military families will always have a special place in my heart knowing what they sacrifice so the rest of us can have our freedom.


• I'm thankful that James has a job. His work pays for our bills, puts a roof over our heads, and food on the table.

I have a ton more but I don't want to bore anyone. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!