Merry Christmas!

Though this year has been a bit hectic, we sure have enjoyed our first Christmas in our new home and back in the United States. I've always wanted to put Christmas lights on the outside of a house. Dan put these up for me, don't they look great?

Christmas morning was simple and perfect. Budgets were tight this year, but the amount of presents seemed to be just right. A lot of times my kids get overwhelmed after a while of opening gifts, but not this year! Help me remember that for next year, okay?  Here's a few pictures of the kids enjoying their presents. I hope you all had a safe, healthy and happy holidays!

Hot Wheels wall tracks are pretty cool!

Merry Christmas!

Seeing Santa

Cade's school district put on a fun Christmas night at the local community center. I really didn't want to go because my kiddos generally whine and complain the whole night at group events like this, but for some strange reason we actually had fun.

There was a hay ride, tree lighting, hot cocoa, cookies and Christmas crafts. Santa AND Mrs. Claus were even there!

Cade's been asking me if Santa is real. I generally skirt around the issue for now, but that night he said, "I know that's the real Santa because he said Ho! Ho! Ho!"  That really made me smile.

Christmas Pajamas

This is the best $20 I've ever spent! The boys LOVE and LIVE in these nice, soft, warm footie pajamas. There's a green pair too with santas all over them.

Christmas Tree

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Kevin was the only family left. He sure is a great uncle and my kids just love him (and Alex will tell you that over and over and over and over...)

I knew that if I didn't put the tree up that weekend that it would never happen.  I was due to get my wisdom teeth out in a few days and then it really would not be a fun experience. So, after I assembled the tree, Kevin helped me with lights and we all helped put ornaments on.

Now time for the star!

And here she is all done. I didn't put up the rest of my Christmas decorations until a few days later.

And even though it's a little blurry, a night shot. I sure love this time of year, sitting by my beautiful tree.

Garden of the Gods

After Thanksgiving we had a few days to spend together before parting ways.

Friday the girls went Black Friday shopping while the dads and kids went to see Rise of the Guardians. We didn't do the super early shopping, but still braved crowded stores and enjoyed some lunch at Mimi's Cafe.

Saturday the weather was gorgeous. Not often is it in the 70s at Thanksgiving in Colorado, so we decided to go to Garden of the Gods. I guess everyone had the same idea because it was packed. We finally found a place to park and a great trail to hike. I think everyone had a good time and we got some great pictures.

This is what I want to do, horseback riding through the Garden of the Gods!

This is the first time Grandma Kathy has been with all her grandkids.

I love this picture of Emma!

"Enough pictures already!"

Mom might kill me for posting this picture, but I love it :)

Shadows on the rocks

Our little climber

This is at balanced rock, where you can get fun shots like this!

Doesn't this look fake? The color of the sky and the rocks were just so bold that we look like we're in front of a green screen.

And my favorite shot of all. My handsome men.

This was actually the first time we'd been to Garden of the Gods too. Can't wait to go back!

Thanksgiving Day

Now that we're in the midst of the Christmas season, here are my Thanksgiving pictures!

I was so excited to be back in the United States this year and to share this holiday with family again. Though,  truth be told, I did miss having everyone from Dan's unit packed into our tiny apartment with great food and great company. I guess that means we're always making the best of our situation and enjoying the holidays no matter what!

This year my mom and brother came down from Denver and my sister drove up from Phoenix with her family. It's the first time my siblings and I have been together in about 5 years! And of course, any excuse to get the cousins together is going to result in great fun.

Everyone arrived on Wednesday (except Kevin who had to work and joined us for the feast on Thursday), so we quickly started baking. Pies and salads the day before, rolls, turkey and sides on the big day.

Don't these rolls look amazing? They were.

Here are the cousins spending some quality electronic time together. Cade and Kyle or racing on the DS, while Drew and Alex are sharing an iPad.

On Thursday morning we all got a hankering for some carbonation, so Marcus did a drink run for us. Ahh... refreshing.

I had to get a lot of pictures of the cousins all together because it doesn't happen very often. Here they are eating lunch and then enjoying some Thanksgiving activities that Aunt Valerie put together.

And seeing how my sister and I are craft bloggers, we had to come up with a few crafty things to decorate our tables. 

And of course, don't forget the food! Everything was delicious and plentiful. We truly had a great Thanksgiving Day together.

Of course we did more than just eat, but that's for another post. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving too!

Excuses

I know it's been a terribly long time since I've blogged. I have plenty of excuses which all seem pretty valid to me.

1. I'm used to doing more of a travelogue, since we were the only ones in Korea and people wanted to experience our journey, and we were constantly seeing new things, blog posts were easy to come by. Now I need to get back in the mode of blogging to keep a history of our family's events, not just our outings.
2. Umm.. I'm busy! Who isn't?
3. Right around Halloween our life got kinda turned upside down, and I'm not ready to blog about it yet, but it put a halt to a lot of things, including blogging. I just wasn't up for it.
4. Flu bug, we all got it the week before Thanksgiving, (which is MUCH better than getting it during Thanksgiving, right?) so by the time we were all feeling better it was time to get the house ready for guests!
5. Thanksgiving! I will blog about it, my sister has already beat me to the punch.
6. Wisdom teeth! I had my final two wisdom removed right when Dan's parents came to visit, so there wasn't any time for anything but slurping up jell-o and pudding. Blech. 

How are my excuses? Well, I hope to get caught up quickly since the holidays are upon us and there's always a lot going on during this great season.

And it can't be a post without a few pictures. Have I mentioned the gorgeous place that we live in? Colorado Springs is nestled in some gorgeous mountains and we get some spectacular views. Dan called me one morning on his way to work and said if I had a chance I needed to get out with our camera and get a few shots of Pikes Peak and the moon. I was intrigued and boy am I glad that I did. Just check these out!

 So despite life's trials, there is much to be thankful for and partake in.