McCormick Train December 12

We took a ride on the train at McCormick Train Park in Scottsdale with the Francois' on Saturday evening. It was packed!!! The line was 1 1/2 hours long, but the kids loved it. There were some great light displays en route and the carousel was a big hit as well. The kids even had the opportunity to see some creepy characters from various cartoons (walking around the park). It was worth seeing their excitment and made the whole evening fabulous...minus the 1 ride home and parking lot feeding before we made the trek. Sometimes it feels like we live in our van!!

December 7 Santa's lap

We visited Santa at the Chandler Fashion Mall with the Francois clan. The kids were all so very excited as we waited, and then fell apart a little as the time actually came. Benton sat right down and whispered that he'd like a "nappy mcqueen to sit in and drive". Earlier he told me he also wanted a bicycle. He was shy, but no scared. Emmie on the other hand bawled and did not like the experience at all! Mae was clueless but sweet. We enjoyed seeing Santa and then Benton and Pa braved a ride on the Mall Train. Benton LOVED the train! A little shopping ensued and made for a great evening! Maybe next year we'll all be smiles!

Thanskgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving party in preschool and all of the kids made headbands, and thankful necklaces. Benton had a great time! Thanksgiving day was awesome. We spend the morning with the Cooley's and had a blast in a bounce house/slide. The kids were in heaven...and clearly so was I! We enjoyed our morning relaxing and eating breakfast there and then headed over to the Francois' for dinner. Jackie and E.B. (newest addition to the family) joined us as well as Rick and Jolene. We had a delicious dinner and enjoyed an evening of gingerbread houses. I picked mine up that day and did not do much prep work as I usually do. Therefore my house turned out hideous and resulted in not being photograph worthy...there's always next year! I enjoyed having a great day with family and my three sweet babies. I love creating these special memories and am so very thankful for eternal families!!

November Magic

Love that little girl and her sweet dimple!!! (just like mommy) So these were from mid-November and the box picture has a great, but scary story to accompany it! I heard Mae crying and just yelled to the kids to give her binky to her, but she kept crying so I made my way in to help her. She was no longer in her swing where I had placed her and my heart leapt with panic! I couldn't see her anywhere and then I looked to the box train the kids had made hearing the cry grow closer as I approached I looked at Benton and Emmie sitting in boxes looking at me innocently and then I lifted the flap to a partially closed box behind them, only to discover my little baby girl! Benton had picked her up out of her swing (no idea how) and placed her in the box so she could "ride the train" with them. I explained that only mommy and daddy pick her up. As soon as she was rescued she stopped crying...not hurt a bit, just scared. Those kids! I placed her back in the box to recreate the incident and capture it on film...don't worry when it actually happened she was rescued immediately!!

Bike Ride

I loaded the kids up in the bike trailer today and thanks to our neighbor and friend April filling our tires up, we were able to bike over the the park for a picnic. The kids and I needed to get out of the house and we had so much fun! Benton and Emmie played on the playground and went down the slides together. They are getting so big! It's great when you don't have to follow them around the playground the entire time. Mae slept in the bike trailer while we played. She is spending more time awake and loves to be held by her brother. She is a great baby, although can be a little gassy! We are really enjoying our time together!

Happy Halloween

We spent Mae's first Halloween in our new home. We went to the ward trunk or treat, trick or treated our neighborhood, attended a b-day bash for Tiffany, and watched Monsters vs. Aliens. Great evening. Even Uncle Greg, Aunt Kera, and cousin Gage joined in on the fun. We had tons of trick or treaters come by and got to meet some great neighbors. We love our new neighborhood!!! The kids dressed up and had a blast wearing their costumes...next year we'll go all out, this year was just too busy! I had two fairy princesses and a pirate most of who were bouncing off the walls due to sugar intake. We had a wonderful time!

Loving Life

These were the last few days we spent in our very first home. We packed and moved a few blocks away just before Halloween!! Now we are in a bigger home with even more space to run laps and jump off of things. We are loving life!