Christmas Day

We told our kids that they couldn't get up before 5:30am and of course they were sitting in front of the clock from about 5am on. The boys were especially excited this year. They both asked Santa for a new Nintendo DS. We explained that with 4 kids in our family it was probably outside of Santa's budget so they saved birthday money and did extra chores and made a deal with Santa. The deal (which they sheepishly told the Santa we went to visit) included leaving about $50 each out for Santa in exchange for the more expensive present. The plan went well and Santa delivered Christmas morning! 

The smile of getting exactly what you wanted for Christmas!

For Ethan's present for the family he played a mash up of all the songs he has learned on the piano.

Her face opening a princess dress from Grandma and Grandpa Barnum.

A special visitor came to Grandma Connie's to help hand out the presents there.

Ethan was not too happy to sit on a "fake" Santa's lap. Truth is he still believes in a real Santa ; )

Christmas Eve 2014

Ahh its March and I never posted any of our Christmas pics. Here's my attempt at getting caught up on at least the major holidays ; )

Sweet Rhett was crawling during Christmas season and loved to get the balls off of the tree.

On Christmas Eve we went over to the Smyth's house and made candy trains and had a lot of fun playing with friends for a few hours.

The kids opening up their Christmas jammies as Christmas Eve was winding down.

My failed attempt to get a good pic of all of the kids before bed. They were too excited to sit still.

Christmas Eve before you go to bed is my favorite part of the holiday. Everything is put together and ready and there is so much anticipation for the morning! This is a pic of all of the gifts after Santa had come through on Christmas Eve.

2014 Family Pictures

Yeah we finally have a family picture with Rhett in it! He's officially part of the family! A couple of weeks ago my sweet friend took our pictures at a nearby park. We wore our long sleeves pretending it is fall outside and my kids smiled for at least the first 15 minutes : ) I especially love their individual portraits and can't wait to put them on my wall.

Disneyland!!!

I have been so busy with work and school lately that I have not been able to update any pictures on my blog! We went to Disneyland 2 weeks ago and had a great time. We rode a lot of rides and got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Barnum which made it extra special! It was incredibly hot at Disneyland all the days we were there so for that reason it probably isn't my favorite Disney trip, but overall we really did have a great time. 

Excitement is always high when you are waiting to get in the park for the first time. Halloween decorations were out but since it was 107 out it didn't feel very much like fall.

Sweet Rhett was a good boy, and hung out in the stroller most of the time.

Waiting for the parade, Dad saved us some good seats!

Grandpa was a good sport and even went on the spinning rides.

One of my favorite pics from the trip, waiting to ride Radiator Springs Racers with Joshua.

So hot so we were always seeking out some shade and a water source.

A highlight of our trip was eating at Ariel's Grotto. The food was delicious and we got to meet 5 of the Princesses while relaxing in the air conditioning.

The boys couldn't resist hopping in a few of the princess photos too!

Sweet Rhett and his first time sitting in a high chair. This is right before we discovered his poop explosion that ended up all over me and the high chair.

Rhett's take home present, a baby Pluto that he was just laughing and giggling away with.

Our last night we did a power hour with just the two boys and rode a few of the bigger rides a few more times.

The boys during our long wait for World of Color to start.

Our Avery doll was just at 40 inches and went on all of the big rides including Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Tower of Terror!

Cole Family Camping

At the beginning of the month we went camping with my Dad and siblings like we have done for the last few years. We had a great time! Camping is always a lot of work to set up and clean up but is a great opportunity to make memories especially for the kiddos.Fire restrictions were already in place like usual but the weather was great with just a little coolness at night.

Rhett's first time camping and he did great. He also got to wear his arm jammies that don't get used here in Phoenix.

Aaron setting up the stoves.

Yes this is how much fun Avery had camping!

Nap time in the afternoon.

Grandpa Doug and Mary also came to visit and eat dinner with us.

Mud Lovin'

This past year there has been a lot of digging of large holes in our backyard. Michael finally decided to fill them back in and finish landscaping our backyard. In the process a lot of mud was made, which made a perfect spot to play for the kids. Josh and Avery loved the mud and played in it for a few hours. Ethan not so much...

This is him sitting and refusing to play with the other kids.

 

And this is him after we stripped his clothes off and threw him in. I know we are cruel parents : ) but actually he had fun and starting playing after we made him get dirty.