Last Week...
...Monday, when I picked the girls up from school, they were having too much fun and begged me to stay a little while longer.
...when we finally got home, Grace helped me put together goody bags for her friends at school. My grandma made these adorable Rudolph bags, so all we had to do was fill them with candy.
(Thanks, Grandma!)
...once those were all done, we started baking Christmas goodies for the neighbors (we had already gotten five packages of cookies from them). The girls were super helpful this year and loved to stir everything while I put it all together. Plus, they looked as cute as can be in their adorable chef hats and aprons.
...Tuesday after work, we packaged it all up and dropped the packages off to everyone. We just love our neighbors. They are all so awesome!
...once they were all delivered, we headed to Poppa and Grandma's with a plate of extras to share with our family. They decided to celebrate Christmas a couple of days early so we could all make it. The girls always have fun playing with their cousins, and this time, they played us some tunes on the organ.
...we got home just in time to watch the final minutes of the UNLV vs. Arizona game. I was sure they were going to lose badly, so it was an awesome surprise to see that they had beat the #3 team in the country!
...I came across this on Instagram and immediately sent it to Shelly. We are always talking about how impossible it is to keep a house clean while kids are busy making messes in every other room but the one you are cleaning.
...Wednesday and Thursday were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and we had the best time celebrating all of our families' traditions and spending time with each of them.
...Thursday night, we drove up to the cabin, and we woke up to this on Friday morning.
...we got all dressed up in warm, winter gear and headed outside to play in the snow. Grace insisted on bringing her doll, Halley, and her puppy, Snowball, outside with us.
...we walked down to the pond, and discovered that the ice was frozen solid. We spent the rest of the morning running and sliding on it, while the boys shoveled it off.
...it was too cold for the snow to stick to build a snowman, so we drew one instead.
...after a while, it was getting a little too cold for us Vegas folks. We headed back inside, and the girls played with their neon racers from Papa Craig and Grandma Sunshine.
...while they played, I made some hot chocolate with Nutella - otherwise known as Olaf's Hot Chocolate. They loved it and drank it up pretty quickly (so did Allison and I).
...they started to watch a movie on their iPad but decided to come cuddle with Mommy instead.
...Char fell asleep pretty quickly (always one to take advantage of her beauty sleep).
...while Charley napped, Gracie helped Grammy peel potatoes in the kitchen. After a while, Char woke up and wanted to help, too, so Grammy let her crumble bacon into bits.
...the girls rode around the cabin on this motorcycle they found in the closet.
...Grace tried on Papa's glasses, and thought she looked so big in them.
...after a delicious dinner and some laughs with the Simmons crew, we relaxed in the living room. While I watched it snow outside, my babies watched movies on their iPads. It was the perfect, peaceful end to a wonderful evening. We also watched The Interview later that night, and it was pretty hilarious.
...Charley hid from Gracie in the hutch before we headed to bed.
...Saturday morning, we woke up to more snow. We got ready for the day, so we could head to Duck Creek Village for breakfast.
...I couldn't get over how long Char Char's hair is getting. My baby girl is growing up too quickly.
...we got to Duck Creek and checked out the snow there before heading inside to eat. We sat at a table near the Christmas tree, and ate some yummy food.
...back at the cabin, Papa got the RZR our for us to ride. We had some big plans to find the perfect sledding hill.
...when we finally found a good spot, Auntie tried it out first and gave us a "thumbs up" when she survived. I was pretty surprised that the girls weren't scared at all. They both hopped right on their sleds and went down the hill over and over and didn't even complain about having to walk back up.
...Grace didn't want to go with Daddy, but he grabbed her at the last minute and made her go. It was so funny when they got to the bottom, and Grace stomped her feet, screamed, and told him, "Daddy!!! When I say no, I say no!" We were all cracking up. We had so much fun sledding and playing in the snow.
...when we were finished sledding, we got back to the cabin and changed into our matching Bear Bottom PJ's for the night.
...the girls got an Olaf's in Trouble game for Christmas, so we brought it up to the cabin and played while we waited for dinner.
...Charley fell asleep for the night, while we finished up our game.
...we decided to head home that night, since we had so much to do Sunday before we went back to work. Gracie and I posed for a picture in front of the last Christmas tree of this season.
...Sunday morning, we went to Fausto's for breakfast burritos.
...we spent the rest of the day cleaning and organizing their playroom so all of their Christmas presents would fit. We ended up getting two nets to hang in the corners for all of their stuffed animals and got the Barbie Dream House completed and set up. Of course, they spent the rest of the day having a blast taking all of their toys back out and making the room a mess again. That's what kids do best!
It's been such a fun Christmas season with both of the girls old enough to revel in the joy of it all. I'm not ready to see it go yet!!
