Cutting the Christmas Tree

We found a nice little Christmas tree farm to go to this year.  It is still in the mountains, but the trees are groomed a little and so they look a lot better than what we have found the last few years.  the kids had a blast and our tree looks great!

There was also a great view of the valley!

American Girl Birthday Party
We also celebrated Sarah's birthday with a party and lots of little girls!  She wanted an American Girl party, but really it was more like a craft party where her friends brought their dolls and stuffed animals!  Donald had to work, so we also sent Joshua to a friends house and made it all girls!  Thankfully my friend, Shelly, stayed and helped and made everything go smoothly!  It wasn't as exciting as the Harry Potter party last month, but I think the girls enjoyed it in their own quiet way!

Painting little treasure boxes.

The pinata that didn't open properly or spill candy out.  The girls were just happy to get the candy later anyway!

Making bracelets.  They were supposed to make one for them selves and one for their doll or stuffed animal, but we were running out of time!  Shelly stuffed some string and beads into plastic bags for the girls to take home.  Honestly, I was happy not to tie all those bracelets!

Sarah wanted cupcakes instead of a cake!  They were so easy!  I'm glad they were so easy, but I felt a little sad that she didn't want a special cake this year, I love to do that for them, despite the hard work, it is something that I always remember my mom doing for me and I hope they will look back and treasure it!

Sarah's Baptism
November 12, 2011 
Sarah was baptized on her 8th birthday by her dad and is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She was very excited and just beaming all day.  Her grandma, Donald's mom, was able to attend as was her cousin Clayton and Vickie's friend, Aunt Ann.  Her best friend Ella and her family came as well as many friends from church.  I think she felt very loved and very special on this day!

Here are more pictures from our trip.  We had a gift card so we actually got a cd with pictures the Disney photographer took of our family around the park.  I'm so glad we had that for this trip since BOTH the kids did Jedi training and fought Darth Maul!

This was a highlight for Elizabeth!  She is obsessed with princesses, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in particular.  She was just stunned that she was meeting a "real princess"!  She just stared at her and hugged her and held her hand.  These nice ladies must just get that all day long!

Sarah has aways loved Snow White, so it was a bonus that she was there too!  I thought this picture was so sweet!

Sarah fighting Darth Maul.  How was she not scared of him?!

Joshua fighting!  He would make a great Jedi!

Family Vacation to Disneyland
We needed to get away and have some family time and fortunately, Donald was given a lot of days off of work.  We decided to pull the kids from school, enrolling them in independent study so they get credit and the school gets money, and head to southern CA.  It had been almost 6 months since we were there and we sure needed to see our families!  It has been a very stressful and emotional fall for me, so being back "home" was just the medicine I needed.  I really wish we had more time, or that we could have gone back for Thanksgiving.  We spent the first few days with our families, then Donald and I ditched the kids and spent the day all alone at Disneyland.  It definitely made up for all of those date nights that we never go on!I don't have a lot of pictures from that day, but we had a blast.  We went on roller coasters, saw shows, held hands all day, and went in shops with no one grabbing or begging!  We did go back to my mom's and collect the kids who had a blast in our absence, and spent three days together as a family at Disneyland!

Uncle Wayne and Aunt Jolene!  The kids love them so much!  They always take time to spend with us when we visit and we look forward to our time with them!

We celebrated Wayne's, Sarah's and Ash's birthdays one night.  My mom cooked dinner for all of us, even making my favorite potato salad.  Donald commented on how much I ate, but I couldn't help it, everything tasted so good!

I was just relieved to see Elizabeth warming up to my mom!  We left her with grandma all the next day!

My sister loves my kids so much!  The day we were gone, she took Sarah for her first pedicure!  I wouldn't have gotten around to that until she was getting married or something!  Sarah loved it and I know it will become a special tradition for the two of them!

Wayne took Joshua for a spin around the block in his buggy!  He hopes to take Joshua out on the sand at some point and I hope Joshua will like it!

Brenda also took Elizabeth to Build-a-bear.  She had taken Sarah and Joshua when they were little and felt like Elizabeth should get to do that too!  She got this Purple Peace Kitty (its official name!) and she loves it.  She sleeps with her every night and carries that box around with her treasures in it all day long!

My mom got Joshua a Harry Potter costume for Berry (that is the bear he made at Build-a- bear when he was a tot!).  He was so thrilled.  Since it isn't really a Harry Potter costume, but a little suit and separate glasses, Sarah helped him make the tie out of ribbon.  How cute are they?

Here starts the Disneyland pictures.  Elizabeth really loved the rides this trip.  She wasn't afraid to try any of them.  I think Donald will finally have someone to go on the really BIG roller coasters with him in a few years!

 This is really cool!  The kids got to be the pilots on the Mark Twain Riverboat!  Apparently, if you ask and not one else is in line, you can go up with the riverboat captain and help drive the boat!  I stayed out with Elizabeth, but I could see the kids through the window and they loved it!  They got to blow the whistle and ring the bell too!  Donald said the captain was really nice and chatty and answered all their questions.  I feel like they got to do so many special things this trip!

This was on our "date day".  The kids were putting pictures in their school journals, so when I got pictures printed, I got this one printed too.  They were both so embarrassed that I kissed Mr Toad!  I thought it was hilarious!

On Monday, my sister and her husband came down to spend the day.  I could have left and no one would have noticed!  They had a great time together and we are so glad they came down to spend the day!  Donald had Elizabeth napping at the hotel and I think it was one of the best parts of the trip!  I could just enjoy the park with out being worried about anyone. 

Sitting in the very back of the monorail.  It has a really neat view and was super cold back there!

I LOVE this sign!  They should have these everywhere for Donald.  At least one of the hospitals here and one during residency has double entry doors that are shorter than Donald and he hits his head all the time!

Sarah and Joshua were both keeping journals for school, so we made sure we took time to read and learn about things as we went along. This is a play area in California Adventure called Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  There are several obstacles like this for the kids to complete and then a checklist so that they can earn a sticker badge.  We have never taken the time to complete it before, but it was a lot of fun.  We had great weather by this point too, so that was an extra bonus!