And We're Done

2012 has been a quite a year with lots of ups, downs and unexpected twists to it.  We are very happy to be wrapping up the year and heading into 2013 with lots of great plans for the future.  Our year ended quietly at home with out little family celebrating together.  We did New York New Years with the kids and then Matt and I stayed up until it was really midnight.  The family humored me in a mini photo shoot to capture the moment and wrap up this year right.

One last highlight to wrap up 2012 on an up note was the arrival of McKenzie and Ben's two new cousins Conor Daniel and Elouise (Ella) Morgan who joined the family on December 28th.  They are as cute as can be and were a perfect ending to 2012.  Ella is on the left and Conor on the right.

So glad to finally wrap up 2012 and start fresh in the new year!

Wild Lights

This year instead of our usual trip to the Garden D'Lights in Bellevue we decided to go to the zoo to see their light show.  We waited until after Christmas and ended up with a great night without any rain.  The lights were pretty but I think the highlight of our trip was taking the school bus shuttle from the South parking lot over to the West entrance which was the only gate open.  The kids loved being big kids on the bus and McKenzie was very proud of all her school bus knowledge about how to behave on the bus.

Here is McKenzie, Atti and Ben on the bus in route to see the lights.

Right at the entrance when we walked in they had a snow machine and the kids stopped in amazement.  You can see from the look on McKenzie's face that she has just finished tasting the "snow" while Ben is still busy shoving some into his mouth.  I believe it was more soap bubbles then actual snow and apparently not very tasty.

We saw all the lights, the best part was over by the carousel where they had a recording of a lion queued up to roar in time with lions made of light racing towards some other animals.  The kids really like that roar.  We also took a ride on the carousel, since no zoo trip would be complete without that.

Overall, it was a nice evening but I think we enjoyed the Garden D'Lights more since they have a lot more lights to enjoy and a wider variety of things they created out of the lights.  Maybe we'll try something else next year like heading up to Warm Beach for their light display which sounds amazing.  I'm just happy we got our trip in to see some great Christmas lights again this year.

Dashing Through The Season

A mad dash is what the Christmas rush feels like as we get closer to the big day but then as we hit our various parties times seems to slow down enough with each one that we can enjoy the moment before we rush on the the next activity.  We did our usual events with both sides of the family and had a wonderful time seeing everyone and catching up.  The kids were more into the little things this year like making sure we had reindeer food and cookies for Santa.  We almost forgot on Christmas Eve but they came out of their rooms practically in tears and we rushed around making sure everything was just perfect for Santa's visit.  It was so much fun watching the kids enjoying the magic of Christmas.  

Ben and Nathan ready to open gifts at my families Christmas party.

McKenzie waiting patiently with her gifts.

Kayla reminds me so much of my sister, Kacey, in this picture.  Must be the hair and the smile.

Kayla and McKenzie putting on a dance show for us.

Posing with the Elf on his last day visiting us - they could not believe he wrapped up the toilet.

Making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Possibility a new tradition?  Roller skating on Christmas Eve - so nice to get out for some exercise before the next big meal.  McKenzie did so much better than the last time we went skating, it was a dream come true to do the Hokey Pokey with my daughter on roller skates.

We discovered they had these walkers on wheels that helped out so much for learning to skate.  McKenzie can't wait to go back and skate again.

We caught a picture of Santa with our camera this year, we were all so surprised to see this!

Discovering what Santa had left for them in their stockings.

McKenzie opening her new Barbies from Santa, just what she had dreamed of.

Ben and his new light saber, it met all his requirements and then some.  It lights up, has a button and is blue.  He was so excited to open this gift!

Playing with new toys, Ben got a big castle structure with lots of different pieces to play with.

All of our wonderful Christmas cards from family and friends - it's so nice to get the reminders of how many people's lives we are part of when we receive cards each year.  We truly are blessed with a wonderful life!

Elf On The Shelf Daily Adventures 2012

After last years fun times with our Elf on the Shelf we were very excited when he returned to spend the holiday season with us again this year.  He seems to have learned some new tricks while he was away but we loved having him here with us and looked forward to finding him everyday.  


Day 1: Our Christmas Elf has returned bringing some holiday fun with him. He made the kids a paper chain to count down until Christmas.

Day 2: Our Elf is interviewing new reindeer for Santa. We'll see if this one makes the cut!

Day 3: Our Elf is very happy that McKenzie and Ben had such a good visit with Santa today. They did a great job telling him what they wanted for Christmas.

Day 4: Our Elf is camping out in a stocking by the stairs just to be sure everyone stays in bed. 

Day 5: Our Elf really knows how to get in the holiday spirit. Bedtime stories with a few of his favorite friends by the tree.

Day 6: Our Elf is up to all sorts of mischief tonight. Go cart racing with Mario and Yoshi on my dining room table is not allowed if you want to stay on my Nice list.

Day 7: Our Elf is not shy about his love of cookies; I hope Santa doesn't mind sharing! 

Day 8: Our Elf has been missing the snow in the North Pole so he made a snowman for the kids out of the next best thing - marshmallows! 

Day 9: Our Elf got touched today and it seems he lost some of his magic, now he is outside looking in our window wondering who locked the door? 

Day 10: Our Elf is showing off this years tree topper choice - he thinks we should consider choosing an elf next year. 

Day 11: Just in case the kids aren't clear about what's at stake our Elf is leaving no room for uncertainty about today's report. Let's hope tomorrow is a nice day.

Day 12: Our Elf found a nice spot to relax after observing the kids nice behavior today.

 

Day 13: Our Elf helping the kids see where I was during my work trip this week. 

Day 14: A project to help our Elf with - planting an elf garden to grow some sweets for the sweet! Should be exciting to see what grows.

Day 15: Who knew we could grow our own candy canes? Just took a little help from our friendly elf and a whole lot of sweetness! 

Day 16: The Elf would pick the day we're having a sleepover with the cousins to play his favorite trick. Won't everyone be surprised in the morning to see their underwear hanging by the fireplace! 

Day 17: Our Elf has brought us an elf hat of our own to try out. He thought it looked quite dashing on our wonder horse. 

Day 18: Our Elf is bringing a little magic to our house with his generous donation to help fill our Disneyland jar. We have been saving forever and we're getting close! 

Day 19: Splish splash our Elf is taking a marshmallow bath in the cute little dish McKenzie's teacher gave her.

Day 20: Always up for a good trick our Elf turned our milk green. Hopefully it won't also turn our teeth green!

Day 21: Our Elf and his friends delivering the first gift of Christmas. A photo book filled with all the fun memories he has shared with us. Last year’s book was so popular he decided to make it a tradition.

 

Day 22: A nice reminder from our Elf to stop and smell the roses this time of year. So much wonder and excitement in all this holiday magic.

 

Day 23: Our Elf is hanging out checking out all the great Christmas art projects the kids have made.

 

Day 24: Our Elf is going out big again this year, we will miss his mischief when he heads back to the North Pole with Santa.

 

The kids are sad he's gone but the Leprechaun will be here before we know it!  Time to start designing out traps for him.

Making Our List and Checking It Twice

We did check our list and made sure this year that we were very clear when we told Santa what we wanted.  Both kids did really great during our visit to Santa and they stuck with the same gifts that they asked Santa for all Christmas season.  Ben asked for a light saber and a watch and McKenzie asked for Barbies, babies, a watch and crayons.  Santa's workshop was a bit updated this year with lots to look at and a giant 'Nice' list that the kids could write their names on.  McKenzie made sure she put her and Ben's names on there several times just to be sure.

2012 - McKenzie 5 1/2, Ben almost 4


Pictures from Christmas Past

2011 - McKenzie 4 1/2, Ben almost 3

2010 - McKenzie 3 1/2, Ben 22 months

2009 - McKenzie 2 1/2, Ben's First Christmas 10 months old

2008 - McKenzie 1 1/2 years old, not talking to this guy

2007 - McKenzie's First Christmas, six months old.  Santa and Kenzie both have  rosy cheeks!