Christmas- Part One

What to say about Christmas?

I can only describe my favorite Holiday Season with just one word:

FAMILY

So here is the first family party picture overload with the James side...

                           

                                

                              

Visit to "Grandma Oranges"

I remember as a child, I dreaded visiting my grandparents. When you are 8 years old, you just don't appreciate  the looooong stories and various pleasantries associated with an elderly visit. As an adult, I absolutely adore and cherish every minute I have with my parents and grandparents.

For the last 10 years, I have only had one living Grandparent; my Dad's Step-Mom. When my kids were younger, they had a hard time remembering the difference between "Grandma James" and "Great-Grandma James". A few years ago when I told Landon we were going to visit Great-Grandma James, he said, "is that the one in St. George or the one with Oranges?". After my puzzled look, he went on to explain that every time we visit Great-Grandma, she feeds us oranges. From then on, we've secretly called her Grandma Oranges.

Last week, Landon and Emma begged to see Grandma Oranges. It made me so happy, because like I said, at that age, I certainly wouldn't have asked to spend the afternoon at my Grandma's house. She was elated to see us, and even more excited when Landon asked her about her childhood. We listened to a few wonderful stories about her famous father and a few more about her siblings...

And then we ate some oranges.

Winter Recital

I love Emma's dance recitals! In the past they were two hours long, and Emma was only in one dance. I love her current studio, American Dance Academy, because the entire recital is only one hour, and Emma was in three dances. 

We invited all the Grandparents for the first time and Jeremy's Grandparents were able to make it. 

She looked so cute and was very excited to perform. In her words, she had butterflies both because she was super excited but also scared. I just love her.

After the recital, we decided to take everyone out to Market Street Grill.

Jeremy was in a 'photo-bombing' mood...probably because we were going to his favorite restaurant.

To our disappointment, it was closed from 3-4 and we got there at 3:15. So lame. 

So, we walked across the street to The Pizza Factory, and it ended up as the better choice anyway. 

Every time we see Jeremy's Grandparents, we end up coming home with books. If we don't see them for a month, each of the kids get a book in the mail. They absolutely LOVE it, and get so excited. I think it's the sweetest thing ever. 

(Jeremy was still on his 'photo-bombing' kick.)

Landon was pretty excited to have all the Apple Beer he could drink. Grandpa kept giving him a hard time about not driving, every time he ordered another. 

The perfect day ended on a bit of a sour note however...after our meal, Landon and Grandpa were still bantering back and forth, and while walking in the parking lot, Grandpa started to chase Landon and got his feet tangled up, and hit the pavement- face first. His entire face was covered in blood, but he insisted he was fine, and just wanted to leave. The kids were so sad all the way home, thinking he was badly hurt. It turned out that he just had some road-rash and a fat-lip, which was nothing for an avid cyclist ;)

Giving Thanks

The morning of Thankgiving, we woke up to the sound of men playing football. Nothing says Thanksgiving morning better than a 'Turkey Bowl'!

After a lazy morning, we got ready to go to Grandma's.

Of course there was Football...

Wrestling...

Toys...

Reminiscing...

Games...

And finally...FOOD!

Then everyone figured they had already talked enough for one day...

I am SO thankful for my family

and just so blessed!

Coffee Talk

My girlfriends and I meet at the Coffee Shop once a week  and I always feel bad because there are more kids than adults, and it's not exactly a kid-friendly place. We usually clear the place out within the first few minutes and then take it over.

Although, I think the women are even louder than the kids!

Sunday Dinner

Jeremy's family is nice enough to invite us over for the occasional Sunday dinner. It's always good food and great company, but I had to take some pictures of this last time.

It was a beautiful day and the colors were just starting to change on the mountain.

Once dinner was ready, there wasn't enough room on the "Grown up" table, so Emma had to sit here. 

She was being such a little stinker about it. 

I thought it was funny.

After a while, she said she wasn't feeling well, and wanted to go lay down. I thought she was just pouting still, but knew she must be sick if she didn't change her story once the cake came out. 

Olivia on the other-hand, stopped right in the middle of playing "Rock Star" and ate that cake!

The next morning, Emma woke up with a fever and red cheeks.

Sorry for calling you a stinker ;)

Landon's Birthday Party

Landon's birthday isn't until October 16th, but we can never count on it being good weather, and this year he really wanted an outside party. So I decided to have it this weekend and got busy planning outdoor games like a treasure hunt or relay games, when Landon reminded me he's turning eleven- not six. He clarified that eleven year old's just 'hang out'. I guess all my plans were foiled, but hey, much less work for me! I did manage to talk him into a "Sports Theme" and include a cake.

I had a movie prepared just incase things got a little slow. But, once the boys showed up, it was non-stop craziness. They played a pretty serious game of hoops...

Then settled down to watch the movie and have some pizza...

Once the pizza was gone, they started a pillow fight...

Then cake and presents. He had a great time and scored with the gifts!