Christmas Eve/Christmas Day

I would have to say that the happiest times in my life occur over Christmas. There is nothing more specials than seeing the excitement in the eyes of Isabelle and Mark. The buildup to Christmas and the day of Christmas just make my heart melt because of the laughter, love, and pure joy that they have. We had such a wonderful Christmas!

We were so happy to have my sister and her family around for Christmas. The kids had a blast opening presents and playing with all the toys.

The newest game, Kids on Stage (charades), was a total hit. We play this game about every night with Mark and Belle. It's one of the funniest things ever to watch Mark. He runs off, turns his back for about 2 minutes and studies what the card says-it has pictures, then turns around and tells everyone what it is, then acts it out. We still all pretend we're guessing, even though he told us what the card said. When we guess correctly, he runs over and gives us the biggest hug ever because he is so proud of what he did.

Making and eating cookies while writing our letters to Santa on Christmas Eve!

 

Word for word, their notes to Santa.....

Santa arrived with all sorts of gifts this year!! They just raced around, tearing open every gift as fast as possible.

Mark's top favorite gift-a Power Ranger helmet that talks to him and gives him missions to accomplish.

Belle had a lot of favorites, but she sure loved her new kitty cats. (Unfortunately Santa couldn't bring her a real cat which she wanted so badly! I don't believe Santa will ever be able to succeed in getting her that gift.)

Mark getting his work belt all put together.

Sierra even found her gift amongst all the other gifts. No joke. She pulled it out and started tearing it open. I love our dog. She is amazing.

Belle also tested out Mark's work belt as they talked on his Power Ranger walkie talkies.

And all the cuties performing some Christmas songs for us...

Or dress up performances....

Riding on Papa's back and crashing down.

Before we made it to bed, this little girl was all tuckered out (even with all the screaming, crazy kids jumping over her). We are so lucky to have had such a happy Christmas. I can't wait to do it all over again next year!

Pre Christmas

After our trip to Moab and a big Thanksgiving feast at our house with family, we headed up to the mountains to get our Christmas tree. This turned out to be more fun for me and Jamie than for Belle and Mark. They walked around for about 15 minutes before heading back to the cabin to play with Pepe and drink hot cocoa. Jamie and I continued our search together.

Notice that a Power Ranger goes with this boy everywhere...

Found it! It was only about 9 feet tall. So, yes, we cut a ton off the bottom. I enjoyed laughing at Jamie as he dealt with cutting the tree to a manageable size.

The next week Isabelle had her holiday program at school. The preschoolers and kindergartners put on the cutest performance ever. She learned about 8 songs and was right up front and middle just singing her heart out! When she first walked out she had the look of fear on her face, but once the music, singing, and dancing started she began to relax.

I was trying to get a decent picture over all the adult heads. Not so successful.

The next event was our annual family get together at the Boulderado Hotel. I love all the build up to Christmas and it's about 10,000 times better when you have kids! Their excitement makes me the happiest person. Isabelle and Kylie had a lot of fun with each other.

 

 

Here are a few of the kids (all the little ones who couldn't sit for longer than 15 minutes at the table for brunch) listening to Nana tell them all about their great, great grandpa, Hugh Mark, who managed the hotel and lived in this room. They were all so attentive!

Mark peeking over the railing.

Singing Jingle Bells with Noah, Kylie, and Jordan in front of the ginormous Christmas tree.

Taking a better look at how tall the tree was inside the hotel.

 

After brunch we went to the cemetery where all our grandparents are buried. We do this every year and it is such special tradition. Mark was named after my mom's side of the family. Unfortunately, he was getting tired and refused to sit next to this so I could get a picture.

 

But he would sit next to some random stone of the Shideler family. 

 

 

We have done this tradition for 4 years now and it is so special. It's so much fun to see aunt's, uncles, cousins, and all the kids that come along with my cousins! And to remember those who aren't with us anymore!

November

We have been so busy the past couple months. Back in November we had some fun cleaning up the millions of leaves that had fallen in our backyard. The kids only managed to gather a small pile before jumping in them.

Sierra loved it too! She found the largest stick possible and ran through the leaves with it.

Just before Thanksgiving we took a family road trip to Moab to visit my sister and her family. It's a 6-7 hour car ride, so Jamie got these super cool headphones for the kids. Best car ride ever. They listened to music, watched a movie, read some books, and slept.

We had a great time in Moab! We did a hike everyday because the weather was so beautiful. My sister took us to some amazing arches. The kids hiked about 3 miles a day!! We didn't carry Belle or Noah once. They were fully entertained with each other the entire time and led us on the hikes.

Mark got a few rides from dad, but still did more hiking than I thought he was capable of doing.

In Arches National Park. So amazing, but my anxiety was getting the best of me with cliffs all around. Having kids has made me severely afraid of heights and totally anxious in sketchy areas!

The beautiful red rocks we hiked on. What kid doesn't love hiking in Moab when you get to climb on rocks the entire time!!

Visiting the museum after our long hike. Still smiling....

Mark in heaven playing with Noah and Will's Power Rangers, Knights, and cars. He played for the entire Bronco game-4 hours- by himself. That's a record breaker. I love new toys.

My boys.

Inseparable cousins. Belle even got to go to preschool with Noah to participate in his Thanksgiving celebration.She had the time of her life.

We hiked to this arch the second day. It's called Gemini arch. We even watched a guy repel down from the top of it! On this hike we had to climb up a rope and a ladder at one point which was beyond fun for Isabelle and Noah. I didn't watch as Jamie and Mark climbed it. Luckily Mark was content staying in the backpack as Jamie climbed.

 

 Our last hike at Slickrock. What a fun and amazing trip! We also had the best food ever, thanks to Uncle BC and Milt's Hamburger Stand! Can't wait to get back there!