Santa at the Barber's

One of our favorite traditions is going to the Barber's house to see Santa. We all bring a treat to share and we eat and eat! The best way to spend the Christmas season. Thanks Barber family for being so brave to have so many kids over at your house.

Eliza and Avery have no issues with Santa.

Mia was scared this time so I had to hold her.

Then she warmed up and I was able to get the three girls together.

Avery's Kindergarten Performance

During the Christmas season the entire kindergarten performs a bunch of holiday songs. I'm talking about 12 songs! It was super cute.

Avery with her friend, Cali.

Mia wanted in on the action.

Happy Birthday, Brett!

To the best dad and husband. We love you! Look at these girls, do they love their dad or what?

Ward Christmas Party

We had a great Christmas breakfast at our church. The kids sang the Nativity songs and then we had a visit from Santa.

Here are Eliza and Mia waiting for Santa to arrive.

Eliza had to make sure she told him everything she wanted.

It is always so funny to me when I see Avery act shy. It is sweet, isn't it?

Mia actually sat on Santa's lap. She was terrified at first. Then as the crowd of kids thinned I took her up to say hello to Santa. Crazy enough, she recognized his voice and went right to him. The candy cane helped, of course.

Oh, Christmas Tree

For the last few years we have bought our tree through the local high school. It is a big fundraiser we have decided to support. Although it is a great cause, it does take the fun out of going to pick out a tree. But the real fun part for the kids is decorating the tree. They love to put on the decorations (that Brett and I fix after they are in bed). Avery was the chosen one this year to put on the star. Afterwards we have hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. It is a great tradition I intend to keep.

Thanksgiving

With the ranch house complete we were ready to have Thanksgiving. This was the goal...to have Thanksgiving in the new ranch house. Honestly, I could not believe it happened. It was a dream come true! It was a great weekend with cousins and beautiful weather.

Here are the highlights:

Eating Thanksgiving dinner at the table. This table is huge. It sits all 14 adults perfectly.

The kids loved to play dress up and then put on a cute little play for us.



Thanksgiving weekend would not be the same without Grandpa Brian's eggnog. It is tradition to have an eggnog toast.

Mia was a little difficult this weekend. She didn't sleep very well. We held her a lot or read her books. Or took her on a drive to get her to sleep. Luckily we had moments when she would play with her cute cousin Crew. They are cute!


As a thank you for our beautiful new house, the kids gave Brett's parents this awesome ranch bell.

A trip to the ranch would not be complete without Aunt Darin giving haircuts. Avery was the only one who cashed in. She said it was one of her favorite parts of the trip!

My favorite picture from the entire week. Pat is so sweet and hugs Eliza at least three times a day to tell her that she is his hero. With all of the hard treatments he has had it has been emotional for him to realize Eliza had to endure the same. They are both amazing!

Saying goodbye. This is the best we could get for a picture with Grandma and Grandpa Brian. Although we never managed to get a family picture. Go figure.

The new ranch house

This year we spent Thanksgiving at the new Brian Family Ranch. The Hale family ranch has been around as long as Brett can remember. Since we are a growing family, Brett's parents decided to build our own house on the same property. And they did it in record time. The project started in January and was finished just days before Thanksgiving. Pat was undergoing a lot of hard chemotherapy and they still managed to visit the ranch each week. They managed the project through a lot of hard times. They are amazing. The house turned out more beautiful than I expected. It is so nice to know it is ours. I know we will be visiting often. Here is a little tour:
The house...look at that backdrop!

The front room. I could sit here all day and look at the view.

The kitchen.

The sitting area off the kitchen.

The spiral staircase that leads to the loft. I love this picture of Brett's Dad.

The loft. All of the kids like to sleep here.

My amazing mother-in-law. Seriously, I'm so lucky.