Dang, I am a Copy Cat (Sorry Em)

Kim the owner of thebabymarketplace.com - a great online spot for Baby Clothing, Shoes, Toys, Gifts and Cloth Diapers is hosting the December JuJuBe Diaper Bag Give-Away @ mommyknows.com go on over and comment and be entered to Win one of two great JuJuBe MiniBe Diaper Bags!

Disney Christmas Lights

We went to Disneyland last Friday and it was a little colder than we like and a lot more crowded than we like but we still enjoyed ourselves. The boys love seeing the lights and it was fun to meet up with Papa and Mike. We got there, we had to wait in line in the parking structure! We decided to go to It's A Small World first. We got in line in front of the Toy Shoppe (for those you familiar with that area) toward Toon Town. I thought "no big deal, the arch way that normally starts the line is right there." Wrong. We looped up towards Matterhorn but we were only in line for 17 minutes and the boys love all the lights and the show that plays on the outside of It's A Small World. They love the Christmas songs that play during the ride (instead of the usual song, they have it decorated for Christmas).
We meet Papa and Mike outside the Castle, where they had saved some space for us to watch the firework show. I brought a blanket and some Chex Mix but we were told we were not allowed to sit down because we were technically in the street. The show was great until it was cut short because of wind. We went on Buzz and tried to go on Haunted Mansion but the line was way too long for us, so Papa and Mike headed home and we watched Fantasmic before we headed home. We LOVE Disneyland.
Oh, we are planning on going back the second week in Jan. for those interested, hopefully it won't be as crowded.

Free Diaper Bag!

Emily posted about a free diaper bag contest on her blog because one request is that you link the contest on your own blog. I want the frog one too (sorry Em).
If I don't win this contest, I want this diaper bag instead (and Bryan would have to make some serious money).

I am planning on posting Disney photos soon, please be patient with me. I have a another post but can't do it until I get to my parents' house (they have a scanner). I figure if I promise posts, you will come back (I know wishful thinking on my part).

Thanks Papa!

I love when CSU gets out of classes, it makes my Dad available to watch the boys when I desperately need him too. Last week, Papa came down in the afternoon, played with the boys, had dinner and then we went with him to his house. Tuesday night, he came down, spent the night so he was able to watch the boys at 7:45AM!!! Of course the boys couldn't fall asleep until they saw that Papa made it safely here. A little before 6, Papa brought Lil A in, with Big A following close behind. They had a great morning, taking "shortcuts" to Papa's truck and making a car out of a box. Papa left for a meeting when I got back and all afternoon Big A kept asking "where Papa at?" after I answered, he responded with "but why?" This is a nice plus to being so close. I will be posting photos from Disneyland (Mike & Dad met us there) on Friday.

WICKED!

In celebration of my mom's birthday, we went to Wicked! I have been wanting to go for over a year now and was glad I got to see it with the group I did. We started our evening by going to dinner, my brother Matt agreed to watch the boys that night so we could go (Thanks again Matt), so Matt took the boys back home after dinner and we headed to LA. We had given ourselves plenty of time to get to Pantages but after we hit some traffic, we arrived with about 20 minutes before the play started. I thought we had pretty good seats, even though Mom and I sat behind some puffy hair ladies, which made our view a little blocked. Dad laughed through most of it. On the way home, we stopped at an AM/PM for hot chocolate- Mike got a soda, even though it was freezing outside. When we got to Mom & Dad's, Matt had the boys in bed asleep. It was a great evening, thanks to Jill for planning it, Mom for having a birthday, Dad for dinner, and Matt for taking care of the boys so I didn't worry about them at all the whole night.

Romney

Other bloggers have posted articles related to the Romney speech, so I feel inclined to follow. This article was pretty good.

Elves FINALLY

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1223581891

I finally did it. It was harder than I thought just because all of the straight on face photos of my boys are close up and I couldn't get their whole face to show.

Christmas Quiz

Tis the Season to have a little fun! Feel free to post this quiz on your own blog to spread some Holiday info about yourself.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper because bags make peeking easier but bags make wrapping easier.

2. Real tree or artificial? I love the smell of the real ones, but a fake one is more practical with kids and fires and they last way longer. I have been hanging real wreaths for the smell.

3. When do you put up the tree? FHE after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take your tree down? A few days after Christmas (2 years ago it was after New Year's because I was still in CA and our fake tree was set up in Texas).

5. Do you like eggnog? NO! I drink chocolate milk instead of plain milk.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? That's tough. Bike probably but really I don't remember stuff like that. I remember more about what people were there- like the one Christmas with Robin (family- y'all know who I am referring to).

7. Do you have a nativity scene? I am waiting for my Little People one to come- I ordered it Friday (it was finally on sale).

8. Hardest person to buy for? From my family, Jill because she buys whatever she wants/needs but this year she is moving out so that would make her the easiest and Mike because he doesn't really say he wants anything (except for a truck but I can't buy that- so glad I don't have him this year!).

9. Easiest person to buy for? The boys- Big A wants everything, even if he already has it.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever got? I can't think of one.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, Grandmas and Grandpas need the snail mail and really I enjoy getting snail mail too but I LOVE good emails.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf, of course.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After Christmas. We know who we have from my family because we are on a rotating schedule. I am constantly thinking about what to get the person/family I have.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas Eve Mexican Fiesta and Mom's sweet rolls and Bryan's Dad's homemade candy (I can't remember if he is still making that though).

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Both but we do colored on tree, clear outside. And I can't remember what our tree has on it so maybe it is different than what I put.

17. Favorite Christmas song? I LOVE most Christmas songs but if I had to pick one I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day and Picture A Stable (from the Primary songbook).

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I love Christmas with family but I can understand why people start having their own traditions- very stressful to travel (and shop), keep things hidden from a very smart 3yo with a fabulous memory.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Maybe

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Either.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. We opened jammies one year (Em- the red and white flannel ones and got slipper socks) and we opened those Christmas Eve but Christmas morning is present time.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Commericalism.


Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

Gingerbread House

We decided to decorate a gingerbread house this year and start it as a tradition. I have decided this is going to be a hard tradition with a 2yo that LOVES candy. It was torture for him not to eat the candy, even though he was promised candy when we were done. He licked one and I caught him before he could put it back in the bowl, so he got one. A little while later, he tried it again but I caught him and made him eat it. Then Big A started sneaking candy but by then we were almost done decorating so I gave them a couple pieces each. While Bryan and I assembled the house (we decorated then assembled), I turned on Polar Express with promises of Hot Chocolate when we were done. Lil A keeps telling me "house" and I keep telling him "you can eat it later." We decided after making it and seeing how hard it was for them to keep their hands off it during the photo shoot that we would let them eat a little bit at a time (starting in a week though). I am glad Bryan decided that we needed the kit because it was a lot just keeping the candy out of mouths, I can't imagine if I had made the gingerbread too. I am more impressed with my mom all the time.

*Sorry about the lack of postings lately but I have been reading Twilight and New Moon and y'all are lucky I didn't get Eclipse or else I would be doing these posts later.

10-2 Season

We went to the BYU-SDSU game on Saturday and, as always, had a fabulous time. My dad, sister Jill, brothers Mike & Matt, Bryan's parents and my little family went and it was great. In the first quarter, Jill & I were a little confused because we thought BYU was suppose to dominate. There were only a few Aztec fans near us but one was so loud (not rude just loud and had something going back and forth between some BYU Pacific Islander fans, so a little entertaining) I think he gives himself headaches. My friend Kelly was there, supporting her brother, and she came over to say hi during halftime which was fun. I think Jeff's uncle was sitting in front of us (yes I eavesdrop). The boys were throughly entertained by Papas, Nannie, Aunt Jill, Uncles and, of course, swinging on the handrail in the aisle. Overall it was a great game and I am glad we were able to go to 3 games this season, hopefully next year we will be able to go to more.

How Would You React?