Tahoe

The week before Christmas our family enjoyed a lovely little getaway in Tahoe. It was SO NICE to be together with nothing to do. The ride up there was so interesting. When we left the house Kyle asked Adia to pray for our safety and boy are we glad she did! About 10 minutes into the trip the light on my dash lit up that says "service 4 wheel drive". We stopped at a mechanic who said they couldn't fix it. We then headed to Grandpa Paul's to switch Saburbans. The picture below is where we got stopped on the mountain. We found out it was due to some major snow fall and about 6 cars needed to be cleared off the road. It was at this spot that a news crew showed up and I was panicking because I thought you would be able to see me in the background of the newsladies report. I turned in my seat to face away from the news van when Kyle says "Amy, shes coming to your door". Sure enough I coulnd't get out of being interviewed and Kyle and I were put on the news for plenty of our friends to see - SO ANNOYING! I guess that is payback for all the pictures I have refused to be in for so long.



Anyway, we finally made it to Tahoe and had such a great time. Here are some of the highlights...

Good old fun in the snow.

Lots of beautiful photo opportunities!

Sledding!

Snowball fights!

Icicles

Snuggle Times!

Goofing around!

Spending time with GREAT FRIENDS

who joined us for a couple nights!

Looking cute in our gear.

Watching Lake Tahoe look like an ocean.

Watching the big kids!

Getting sick but feeling really loved when Adia delivered snow to play with inside.

There are so many good pictures I wanted to share but my computer is being funny and I have several more posts to complete in the next few days so I need to just get this on here. Overall we had such a great time. The kids got lots of snowboarding and sledding in and we all enjoyed some really precious time as a family. I wish we could go back next week!

Girlie Christmas Gathering

On Tuesday (the ONLY night Adia doesn't have volleyball) Adia and Avery invited some girls over to have a little Christmas fun. We had a great time and I think we'll add it to the list of traditions over here. :)



We started by making Gingerbread houses. But the girls were WAY more interested in chatting with each other rather than decorating.

Then we made a little craft for them to give to someone they love.

Next, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and the girls went around the table sharing a gift they want to give Jesus this year.

Adia is giving the gift of being more patient with her siblings.
Avery wanted to give the gift of trying to control her temper.
I told Him I Would spend more time with Him in prayer and in the Word.
Some of her friends shared they would be nicer to their siblings.
Adison said she would give Jesus the cake. Obviously she didn't get it - as usual!

Of course we had to take some silly photos.

These are Adia's BEST FRIENDS! I am so thankful to God for giving her such godly girlfriends. They are truly SO SWEET and SUCH GIFTS in her life. I love that they are getting older and girlie yet they still have a blast and act super goofy! It's funny sometimes she gets in trouble and I know I should take away the privelage of hanging out with friends but I LOVE the influence they have on her and the relationships they are building so I rarely stop a get together.

Avery had a fun night with her friends too but it's hard to be the little sister and ALL your friends think your older sister is really cool and try to hang out with her all night. This can be really hard for her. I hate it. But one of her friends is one of Adia's BFF's little sister so she never leaves Avery - she gets that they aren't so cool after all!

And to end the night they gathered on the couch to watch a Christmas movie. Adia and her friends enjoyed it to the end. Avery and her friends ran upstairs and went crazy about 1/2 way through it.

Over all it was a great night, with great friends and I think Jesus must have smiled looking down at all these young ladies who love each other well and Love Him a bunch too.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Disneyland

We just got back from our families first trip to DISNEYLAND!

Grandma & Grandpa helped us make that happen for our whole families Christmas gift. It was also mine and Kyle's gift to our kids this year. Everyone had a BLAST and it was totally worth the combined effort to make it happen.

THANK YOU!

Here is what we looked like on the LONG drive there. But we finally made it and had such a good time!

Splash Mountain!

I LOVED all the Christmas decor!

Lot's of shoulder rides! Grandpa was the best baby holdder ever!

Kaden is IN LOVE with Buzz but freaked out when he got close to him. Adison on the other hand LOVED meeting all the different characters. I love how she does her feet in pics!

He didn't freak out on the ride though - he LOVED it. Adia and I fought over who could go with him until we realized the 3 of us could all fit in together.

I kept trying to get the adults to look at the kids they were sitting with but all of them (besides me) were way too interested in getting points by shooting the silly guns! Dorks!

Adia and I on a fast ride that went down and around a mountain... not sure what it was called.

Jenny cracked me up - checking out her pictures before the ride was even over. She was a blast to be there with. I swear she knows that place better than I know the local mall. Crazy!

Daddy & Avery fighting their way through the park.

This is how the Middleton's keep entertained while we wait in the lines!

Adisons' favorite part for sure!

When I asked her who's castle it is she quickly said "mine"

I'll have to find the many shots of Kyle like this as a little guy.

Kaden was not feeling good at all while we were there but when he felt good - he felt REALLY GOOD!

Everything was so beautifully lit up for Christmas. I LOVED it!

Brad & Lindsey even stopped by to have some fun with us. Brad went on the Tower of Terror with the kids as well as the wet rapid ride (2x). Then G'ma and G'pa took the kids swimming at the hotel while the 4 of us went out for a nice dinner. It was a great treat to see them.

Everyones favorites...

Kyle - Pirates

Amy - California Soaring (or something like that)

Adia - Tower of Terror

Avery - The loop de loop ride (not sure what it's real name was but it's the roller coaster in CA adventure)

Kenyon - Indiana Jones and The Jungle Cruise (some random boat ride with tons of cheezy jokes)

Adison - The princesses & the honey pot ride


Kaden - Buzz

Cappuccino Christmas

The Women's Ministry of our church has a HUGE event each year called Cappuccino Christmas. There is live entertainment, beautiful tables hosted by different ladies from the church and a wonderful dinner served to all. I wasn't going to go this year but Stephenie invited me to sit with her family and I couldn't pass up a night to chat with her while watching her hubby do a little drama stuff on stage. I'm glad I went!

It was a night full of good friends!

Cute Babies

(do any of you bloggers know why it keeps turning my pictures???)

Lots of fun tables to look at...

And for the entertainment this year they did a live radio broadcast of It's a Wonderful Life...

and they did a really good job!

Christmas Tree Party

Recently we visisted a homeschool program that our family is joining in January. It is an AMAZING program that I will share more about later. For now you get to know that each time the kids meet there they each do a short presentation in front of their class to practice their public speaking skills. Well, since my kids were new they got interviewed in front of the classes they were in. Adia and Kenyon's teachers both asked them about the upcoming holidays and what traditions they most look forward to. I thought it was so cute that both of them talked about our annual Christmas Tree Party. I didn't get to hear Adia's answer but her teacher told me how neat it sounded later. Kyle and I sat in on Kenyons and heard him tell the kids all about the ornament we pick out for them and how it has to be something special about them and that we get to sleep in the room with our new tree. It was a sweet reminder that these traditions really are special to them and worth the effort it takes to make them happen.

So here are some pictures of this years Tree Party with my tutorial on how to make it happen for yourself.

1 - Go get a tree. If it is raining feel free to throw it in the car so your carpets don't get soaked when you get home.

2 - Unwrap your new pajamas, put them on and look very festive while you decorate.

3 - Have 1 new ornament for each kid. It has to be something that very much reminds you about them in that past year. Gather in a circle and let someone open the untaged ornament. We do it this way to add to the excitement of guessing who each one is for. The kids (and Kyle) LOVE it!

...don't forget to charge your camera so you can take pictures of each part of the evening.

...this years ornaments were as follows:

Adia - Volleyball

Avery - Kitty cat

Kenyon - Micheal Jackson (don't ask me - talk to his dad!)

Adison - Strawberry Shortcake

Kaden - Buzz Lightyear

4 - Have hot cocoa and donuts while mom gets the lights on the tree.

5- Put a Christmas movie (The Nativity was this years choice) on for dad so he will stay in the room and be part of the fun.

6- Let the kids help put all the ornaments on (even though it looks CRAZY when they are done).

... this part is so special because as each ornament comes out of the box you hear the kids talking about old memories. Things like how Avery used to LOVE Veggie Tales and say Bob all day every day. Or how Adia was such a great big sister to each of the kids. Or Kenyon's first Christmas and how chubby he already was.

7 - Enjoy your time together, talk about the Birthday Boy a lot, cuddle with each child and be sure to cherish every moment. I have been told that sooner than we would like I might have an empty house - can't imagine but neither could any of the people who told me it happened to them.