Leavenworth Day Trip, aka Mindy's Christmas Present

After the terrible Christmas gift the I got from Darren last year, this year he made up for it by planning a surprise day trip to Leavenworth without the kids.  He planned everything from the childcare to the sleigh ride.  It was a quick, but wonderful trip!

Leavenworth in the winter is charming.  It feels like you've traveled back in time to simpler place.

One of the highlights of the day was a sleigh ride Darren planned for us to go on.  The horses were beautiful and the scenery was magical.

As part of this little Christmas Gift trip, Darren was less frugal than usual and we purchased several things in town, including an adorable headband that was totally overpriced, some taffy, a caramel apple, and a lb of cured bacon.  Dinner was delicious and the company was delightful.

It was the best Christmas present from my husband ever!

Hales Family Pictures

Back in November we had family pictures taken by a good friend.  They turned out wonderful and I feel bad for not posting them sooner.  Enjoy some of my favorites!

Trevor Turns 4!

Today Trevor turned 4 years old!  We had a party with some friends at the church building.  We had bikes and power wheels which created for a very fun and dangerous party, but the kids had a great time.

Trevor wanted an Incredibles theme, so of course we had to pull out our Halloween costumes from last year and I whipped up an Incredibles cake, complete with red, yellow and black layers.

Everyone, even Austin, got involved in the bikes and power wheels chaos!

As a mom it always makes me to happy to see my children happy.  Trevor loved being sung to and blowing out his candles.

Thanks to everyone who came, including Miss Maleah who is not pictured.

The following day we had a family party.  Listen for Trevor's signature sound at the end.

Merry Christmas From the Hales Family

Santa Trauma

It was a tradition in my family to visit Santa each year and have our picture taken.  We continue that tradition in our family.

In my younger years I (almost) always smiled in the Santa picture, but never cried.  My younger sister, Stacy, was NOT OK with Santa on any level.  She cried at the sight of the guy and screamed when made to sit on his lap.

So it makes me laugh to see my children follow the pattern my sister and I established many years ago.

And you know what they say, "Tis the season to be jolly...unless of course you are sitting on a stranger's lap."

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

Tonight Trevor participated in the Primary program at our ward's Christmas dinner.  He was a shepherd.

Trevor said that sometimes being a shepherd is fun, and sometimes not.

The program was touching and yet hilarious because of the antics of the children.  One of the best parts was when one of the little Sunbeam shepherds took one of the gifts from baby Jesus and tried to open it.  Then he realized that he probably shouldn't be touching it and slid it across the stage back to the baby Jesus.  Hilarious!

I took several videos of the whole presentation, but this video was my favorite.  When I asked him why he was giving me thumbs-down he said, "It means not good, Mom."

FHE: Gingerbread House 2011

Tonight for FHE Trevor and I made a gingerbread house, while Darren took pictures and Austin ate the candy. 

And as Trevor would say, "We did good teamwork, Mom!"

 

Our house looked good enough to eat, and over the next couple weeks I'm sure that all of us at one point will pull a treat or two off the house when we think Santa's not looking.