Bye Disneyland.... for now

Our Disneyland passes expired and we have to take a break for awhile... it's just too expensive! We had such a blast though and the kids really love it. As frustrated as I am that Disneyland has raised its prices, it still remains a really great place for families to spend time (and we don't even go on very many rides!) It's clean, the food is good and reasonably priced, and they have a ton of things to do for little ones. We will definitely miss our Disneyland weekends. Perhaps Santa will be generous for Christmas 2013 and we will renew.

Totally amazed by the parade

My kids sure do love their Auntie Torrey!

Carter is still terrified of the Disney characters but Archie loves them all!


 We also went to Medieval Times recently. I was not sure how the kids would react (and if they would sit still!) but after a few initial tears because of the screaming and clapping, they both realized how fun it was and joined in the cheering!

Baseball

Baseball. It is one of the only sports that we both enjoy. Dave and I can't wait for our boys to be old enough to start playing tee-ball and little league. There is a huge baseball field in our neighborhood but typically the kids just avoid it and play on the playground instead. But the other day, we found a baseball at the park and Carter asked if we could go play. So off to the field we headed and now they both love it! We run the bases and practice throwing. Basically I just encourage them to run as fast as they can for as long as they can and then naptime is a great success!

Running the bases

Playing with his shadow

We sure do love our neighborhood!

We Had a Holly Jolly Christmas!

Archer's face says it all, right?

We had such a great Christmas this year. It started with a trip to visit my Dad and Mary and the boys got to play with their sweet girl cousins that just loved up on them. We ate delicious prime rib dinner and just played toys and relaxed. We came home on Christmas Eve and baked some Christmas cookies for Santa, then got in some snuggly pajamas and went to bed. Santa was pretty clever this year. All the presents he left were wrapped in Santa wrapping paper and they were to both Carter AND Archer. Santa knows that the boys love to share their toys. (Not sure how much longer Santa can get away with that!) Santa brought the boys a LOT of new trains and a new car track. So far it has provided hours of entertainment so it's been awesome. My mom, brother, Grandma, and Uncle came over for Christmas brunch and then we headed over to Dave's parents house for dinner and more presents with Uncle Brandon, Aunt Jackie, and the cousins. Our kids were exhausted and were in bed that night before 8pm.

Dave and I bought each other a joint Christmas gift this year--we painted our house! I will take some pictures soon. I am so in love with it... I smile every time I drive down our street and see it!

Carter was totally into the spirit of Christmas this year. He was so excited for Santa to come to our house and he was such a big helper with decorating, making cookies, making and painting ornaments, and getting things ready for Santa. The Elf on the Shelf tradition was started this year too (whenever I could remember!) but I think it will be more fun next year. All in all it was a fabulous Christmas and by far one of the best I have had in years!

The World According to Carter

Carter loves to play with my camera. Usually he just likes to look through all the pictures but lately he is becoming adventurous and likes to take pictures. At first it was pretty annoying because he can fill up my memory card so fast with fifty pictures of the floor. However, the last time I looked at my camera, I found a few that were actually pretty cute. It's fun to see the world through Carter's eyes.

This one is my favorite!