Family Outings

We have been having fun with Spencer's side of the family in town this weekend. Today we finished planting in our backyard and then headed out to Red Rock Canyon to go on a hike. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to be outdoors. Then some of the family went swimming. Thanks Aunt Wendy for the pictures.



















Here is Nora with her Aunt Wendy who is currently unattached. Two bathing beauties.

Dance Revolution

The Revolution is beginning, do you feel it? Here we are cuttin' a rug with Dance Dance Revolution. This was my workout last weekend at the in-laws. Both links are something different, enjoy. Have a happy weekend.

Our Family Sleepover

Our family crossed the Vegas Valley over to Henderson to have a sleepover at my brother and sister-in-law, Jon and Steph's home. It was lots of fun getting to put down the kids and stay up to play Settler's of Catan, Cities and Knights version. Nora enjoyed sleeping over at her cousin Lauren's house and playing dress up with all the many princess dresses they have. My highlight of the mini-trip was Stephanie making us eggs benedict and eggs florentine for breakfast. It was mmm, mmm, good.



















Don't you just want to take a bite?

Dada's Day Off

Happy Martin Luther King Jr.'s day! We love great leaders who help put things into perspective and into the light for us. To celebrate the national holiday Spencer took half the day off and we took the girls to the park. It was a little nippy from the wind but we had fun. Take a look.

Springs Preserve

We have had the pleasure of having my brother Nathan's family in town for the past week and thought it might be nice to stop into the Springs Preserve's Winter Festival of lights. Although they didn't have the best festival of lights we had fun watching a cute puppet show for the kids, sipping hot cocoa, and listening to a youth orchestra. Nora was loving the music played by the youth orchestra so much that she got up and danced the whole time. That was the best part of the night watching our two year old get down to classical sonnets and Christmas songs. The youth orchestra was playing to raise money for a Europe trip (which they truly deserve because they were so good) but I think Nora stole the show with her awesome dance moves. Fun times.

Happy New Year!

Since family was in town we opted not to put on a party like what I posted about before and decided to hang out with my side of the family. Well, since my family only celebrated until 8 pm we went home and had Spencer's sister come over and our friends, the Hale's, come over at the last minute. We played Ticket to Ride Europe the board game and Guitar Hero and toasted with some Martinellis to ring in the new year. Although it was not the party I had talked about it was a fun way to celebrate the new year. Happy New Year all!

The Nativity and More

The day after Christmas we celebrated the "Christmas" dinner and Nativity. My mom broke out some awesome costumes and all the kids looked great. We even had the newest grandchild Benjamin play the baby Jesus. He is so tiny you can't even see him in the picture. Nora was a donkey and really played up her part. You can see her playing stubborn on the floor in the second picture. Afterwards, fun Aunt Katie made balloon animals and hats for the kids. We have some amazing talent in our family.

Santa Came to Grandma's

This past Christmas Eve before we went out caroling Santa made a stop at Grandma's house. I don't think our girls quite get the whole "Santa coming to town" thing. We talked with Nora before Santa came about what she wanted. She said, "princess stickers". Which are any stickers that have the wonderful Disney characters on them. When Santa came he hugged each child and gave them a candy cane. When he was done he quickly left to go to his next stop of the night. Nora, looking confused, turned to me and with sad wonder said, "stickers?" I couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes it hits me hard how simple things are to her. Her worry was gone when I explained to her that Santa was coming to our house that night and wouldn't forget the stickers then. As for Aubrey, she didn't give Santa the time of day. Not one look in his direction as you can tell in the picture. Next year we will make sure to have them each sit on his lap to get the full Santa experience. In the first picture is one of Nora's favorite cousins Eden and in the next is Ava, Eden's sister.

Bye, bye Santa. Till next year. We will miss you.

A' Caroling We Go

As always we had great fun caroling to some neighbors this past Christmas Eve. I love this tradition and thoses who we caroled to do as well. Check out Brad's post to see more pictures. This is a great tradition to have. One that our family will do when we get to be closer to the Osmond family size. Well, maybe not that big.

{photo courtesy Brad}

Magical Forest

On Friday our Family went to one of our favorite places to go to during the Christmas season, Opportunity Village to experience the Magical Forest. I love this place! We have gone every year since being married and I went even when I was single. Every year they seem to out do themselves from the last. They have an array of activities to choose, from train rides to funnel cakes. They even expanded their rides to include the Super Slide and had a magical maze to get lost in. I know they gear this place for children but it is my kind of adult toy land as well. Isn't the old school carousel magically beautiful. Takes you back to another time.They have sponsored decorated trees throughout the Magical Forest so it is fun to meander through and see how companies, families, and organizations decorated the trees. Harley Davidson even joined in the fun this year with their cool bad Santa. If living or visiting during the holidays this is one place to check out. For those who don't know Opportunity Village is a non-profit charity in Las Vegas. Here is their description of themselves:

Opportunity Village is a not-for-profit organization that serves people with intellectual disabilities by providing them with vocational training, employment and social recreation services that make their lives more productive and interesting. Through Opportunity Village’s programs and services, hundreds of people with disabilities are learning vocational skills and being placed in jobs throughout the community.