Christmas 2011

Christmas vacation has been so wonderful this year. We have had so much fun together, and really had few problems. We spent so much time as a family, and it was such a great way to end the year.
For Christmas Eve, we had our usual clam chowder dinner (which was fabulous), then we had our program. Autumn danced while Chloe sang "Rudolph", Brooke read "Santa Mouse", Chloe read "A Charlie Brown Christmas", Ciera sang "Angels We Have Heard on High" and played "The Holly and The Ivy" on her french horn, I read "The Red Sweater" and Dave read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the nativity story from the scriptures. (I took videos of each of the girls parts, but didn't get any still pictures of them... Dave and I didn't want videos of us so we took still pictures... that is why there are no pictures of the girls doing their parts!) After we got the girls into bed, we waited for Santa to come. Ciera FINALLY fell asleep at 12:40 am.
Chloe woke up at 3:30 am, and woke all the kids up with her! They came in to wake us up, and we told them that we wouldn't get up until 5:00. They went out and played and waited (and came in to re-wake us several times), and we finally got up at 5:00 to open presents. We were done by 6:00, opened a few of the packages of toys, and Dave and I went back to sleep for about an hour before getting up to get ready for church. The girls each got a new pair of pajamas, and have been wearing them ALL THE TIME since they opened them! They are super silly girls and it was really fun to see how excited they got over all of their presents! It was a great day!
We talked a lot about the real reason for Christmas with our girls this year. We made a "Jesus Tree" out of paper where we wrote things that we know about our Savior on paper ornaments. We did it every day leading up to Christmas. It was full of wonderful things about our Savior. We also drew our own pictures of the birth of Jesus Christ. Each day we read a part of the story and drew a new part. One day, Mary and Joseph, one day the shepherds, one day the angel, etc. Christmas morning we added the baby Jesus to our drawings. It was really nice and our girls really enjoyed it.
We had a wonderful Christmas this year, and look forward to our new year together!

A Trip to the Fort Worth Zoo

On Wednesday, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was a really fun day. The weather was sunny, albeit a little cold, the zoo was not at all crowded, and the animals were mostly cooperative! We walked around the entire zoo in 4 hours, then traveled home to eat dinner out at Cici's Pizza. It was a great day!

I guess I shouldn't have procrastinated...

We went to see Santa today. Yes. Four more days to see the big guy, and we were just getting around to it. Apparently so was everyone else. We drove 35 minutes to the Bass Pro Shop in Rockwall (where we went last year), and when we arrived, the woman at the front of the store (where you check your firearms...) said that the lines were so long that they were giving time slot passes for those interested in seeing Santa. She said the only time slot they had left was for 3 1/2 hours later. I wanted to see for myself. Maybe she had been given misinformation. Maybe there was going to be a Christmas miracle. Maybe there would really be time for my girls to see Santa. When we went down to see about it, they said all the tickets were completely gone. There was no time left. There was no Christmas miracle.
Autumn said, "We can't see Santa. But, we can ride in the elevator!!"
Chloe said, "Maybe we can go get ice cream instead." So I told them we would go get ice cream.
Brooke said, "That will make me feel better!!"
We did not get to see Santa. But we rode in a elevator and got ice cream. And my girls were happy. Maybe there was a little miracle after all. Merry Christmas.

Meet Ava and Piper

Christmas came early for Ciera and I this year. We each got a kitty for Christmas! We went yesterday to the Rockwall Animal Adoption Center to look for kitties. We found some, but weren't quite sure that they were the ones we wanted. The shelter told us that they were having an adoption event at Petco, so there were more to choose from there. We went over and found two sweet kitties to adopt.Ciera's is named Ava, and she is 5 months old. She is really playful and sweet. She is great with all the girls, and is cute and cuddly when she wants to be. She is a great fit for Ciera. She was quick to settle into the house and even slept with Ciera for part of the night last night.My kitty is named Piper, and she is 4 months old. She is super sweet, but is having a hard time adjusting. She is really loveable and loves Dave and me to pet her, but is really shy, so she has been hiding under the bed most of the time so far. (I have to lay on the floor to pet her!) She has a SUPER loud purr, and woke me up last night standing on my chest wanting to be petted. After I pet her for a while, she curled up on our bed at our feet and slept for a while.
We are so excited to have little kitties in our home and can't wait for them (mostly Piper) to become comfortable with us all! I am so glad that my sweet husband thought to get me a kitty for Christmas. And we were so happy to get Ciera her own first pet! Merry Christmas!!

The Great Christmas Baking Day (actually... days.)

On Friday and Saturday, we baked all of our Christmas goodies. We did it as a family. I made a schedule (what cookies needed chilling and cutting, what baked when and at what temperature, what cooked on the stovetop, etc.), and then we all got involved in the treat-making extravaganza! It was fun, and a little bit crazy! I think we will make it a tradition every year!

HaPpY BirThDaY AuTuMn!

Autumn has had several "birthdays" this year. On her actual birthday, we had her open her gifts in the morning, and then we did a baking day, where we made all the holiday treats. She was glad to have the day with everyone at home together. She was able to be a "taste tester" on a lot of the goodies, and we all tried to make the day special to her!She loves to play princess. She loves princesses... anything having to do with princesses. That is why I was surprised that she wanted a "fruit" cake for her birthday. Not a fruitcake. A cake with fruit drawn on the top. I worked on changing her mind for a while, and after a lot of convincing, she chose a princess cake instead.
We are so happy that Autumn is in our family. We love her!

Autumn is five!!

I can not believe that my baby is five years old today. It truly has flown by! It just seems like yesterday that we were in the hospital and our beautiful baby girl was born. She has been such a feisty spirit since the day she joined our family, and she makes me a better person just by being who she is. She is such a joy to have in our home, and I am so glad that we are blessed with Autumn in our lives.

Happy Birthday to my little sweetheart.

Winter Band Concert

Ciera's band concert was last night. They did a great job! The entire band played two songs together, and each instrument got to do a song by themselves. There are six French Horn players, and Ciera is currently second chair. They did the song "The Holly and the Ivy". I really enjoyed watching her play, as did her dad and sisters! We are so very proud of her! (The video is the song by the horns only.)

Dance Recital

The dance class that I was teaching this fall had their dance show yesterday. I had 11 children in my 4-7 year old Tap/Ballet class. Brooke and Autumn were both in it. It ended up being really fun. Here is their show...

Visit by Grandma and Grandpa Tanner

We had a wonderful weekend with Grandma and Grandpa! They arrived on Thursday, and we went out to get a Christmas tree. Friday, Grandpa and Dave went to work in the morning, and the girls went shopping and made the fondant for chocolates. We met the men for lunch at Costco and shopped a little more! In the evening, we decorated our tree and made the chocolates. They turned out SO good (the tree looked good, and the chocolates tasted good!)!! Saturday, the boys went to cut wood for our fireplace, and the girls shopped some more (Yay shopping!), celebrated Autumn's birthday with Grandma and Grandpa a week early, then we went to the Stake Christmas Choir concert in the evening (which I sang in). Sunday we went to church and then came home and had a big early dinner/late lunch before having to say good bye to Grandma and Grandpa. It was a wonderful visit, and we are so glad that they were able to visit us here in good ol' Texas.