Christmas 2011

Christmas started out with a bang with our annual family get together on the Saturday before Christmas. We were lucky enough to be able to host this years gathering and we had about 35 or so people. So much fun!

The kids had a lot of fun playing on the trampoline and out back. That is Jill, Avery and Lexi. Below is Devin on top of the play house with Ella and Braeden next to it. Then behind it are Kirk, my cousins Randy and Ken and my dad.

My cousin Linda, cousin-in-law Kenny K and my mom.

Cousins-in-law Brenda and Jeri.

Linda's clan - Eric, Caroline, Gail and Linda.

Playing cards - Eric, Damian, Mike, Kenny K and Gail (with little Jonathon)

Tandy brought her chocolate fountain and we had all kinds of goodies to dip.

Christmas Eve was spent at our house and my parents came out and treated us to El Pollo Loco for dinner since I was going to be cooking the whole turkey dinner the next day. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Devin got some fun stuff!

Avery scored with things from her favorite store Justice.

And Justin was super surprised to get an iPod shuffle!

He plans on redecorating his room in Angels decor soon, so this picture will sure help!

Santa was good to the kids.

This is what Devin got...

Avery...

And Justin...

Love how excited they are when they first come down.

Nice new mountain bike, Justin!

Santa even remembered Haley and gave her some dog treats. She's been such a good doggie!

After church we came home and got ready for Kirk's family to come over and Kirk fried a turkey this year. It smelled so good the moment it entered the oil!

Mark doing his yearly job - carving the turkey.

The kids table (Matthew disappeared).

Yummy lunch/dinner!

Avery and Matthew

The perfect gift for Kirks mom. She says she never knows what day or date it is.

The craft table...

It was a great Christmas! We are thankful for our savior, Jesus Christ and having the opportunity to celebrate his birth each year by spending time with family and friends. We hope the spirit of the season will be felt throughout the coming year too!

Christmas Programs

Last week Devin and Avery had Christmas programs at school. They had been practicing for a couple of months and were able to perform with their own grade levels on different nights. And can I just say how much I love that our school does CHRISTMAS programs and CHRISTMAS parties? So thankful! So, here are some cute pictures of their performances. They did great!

This picture shows how he was the whole time - giggling and having fun with his friend. It was so cute!

I've been spotted!

Thanksgiving break - days 6 and 7

Friday we walked around main street by the pier and looked in some stores, bought some treats, did a little shopping. It was nice and it was a beautiful day...actually very, very warm! Then we went to the Monarch Butterfly Preserve right down the road from where our camp ground was. It was incredible! There were thousands and thousands of butterflies. They had telescopes set up pointed to some of the areas where they were clustered. Just look at all the butterflies!

No, those aren't brown leaves. They are the backside of the wings of Monarchs!

Amazing!

Then we walked along the path and came across some more fun trees by the beach to be monkeys on.

In the late afternoon the Forrests wanted to go to the beach, but we knew it was going to be chilly, so we opted for the heated pool instead.

This is how Devin ended his evenings every night - watching The Polar Express. We all stayed out by the campfire and Devin would wind down inside.

Saturday we packed up and headed home. It was a fantastic trip! So much fun! And if you're wondering how Haley travels, this is a picture of her asleep on the floor in the back seat of the truck. Kind of snug for the kids, but it works.