Christmas

Christmas Eve. Our tradition of going to my parents to open pajamas. Tons of fun.

 The best I could get of them all. =)

 After Santa came! 

 Mark opening his favorite gift - The Piano Guys CD. At this point he didn't even know that it is signed by all five of them. Wish I got a picture of his face when he saw that!

 The kid's got Madagascar 3 from Santa and it came with Marty's circus wig. No one likes to wear it for very long though.

 Gotta have a picture of the mess. This is what makes Christmas feel like Christmas. =)

We had a great holiday and especially loved experiencing the magic of Christmas through our kids' eyes. They are at such great ages. It was nice to have a day to be lazy and just be home. Now we are looking forward to the new year and all that it might bring!

Holiday Cheer

I figured I better catch up before Christmas comes and I have more posting to do. We have been having fun doing lots of Christmas things. Mark's work does a family party every year where they feed you pizza, let you see Santa and then the kids all got a free present (good ones too!). We love it.

Another thing we love this time of year is the party we have with my sisters and their kids. Cousins draw names and us sisters are on a rotation. Ty had to jump in here for our "sister" pic. And yes, the turd is taller than all of us.

 The best thing about the sister party is the gag gifts. Sarah looks way to cute in these.

 Shane is rockin' the cowboy hat. Styrofoam cowboy hat.

 And Mark is trying out the bald man's comb that I picked from the pile. Pretty funny coincidence. =)

 We also had parties at Mark's mom's house (forgot pictures, whoops) and his dad's house. We have such wonderful traditions with our family members and we sure do love seeing them all this time of year.

Baby J is always willing to strike a pose. Show him and camera and say "cheese" and this kid will ham it up.

My kids have been getting pretty creative with what to do in the spare time that we actually do find. I thought this was too cute not to share. Love them!

 But all the fun sure does wear a little guy out! Don't you just want to eat him up? So cute.

 And last but not least, our best attempt at getting a Christmas picture this morning before church. 

While it is true that our days have been filled with lots of fun and Christmas spirit life gets in the way too. Mark got sick last Sunday and after lots of testing has found out that his gallbladder is not functioning. We see the surgeon on the 27th to find out more. Poor guy is pretty much flat in bed all day. Saydi and Jonas have had ear infections and Weston's glasses didn't get here before the Christmas break so he has been struggling with his headaches still and will not even have a chance of getting his glasses until Wednesday at the soonest. The young women got put in charge of the ward Christmas party so that was a huge stress for me but it turned out great and I am glad to have it over because now I know I won't be in charge of it next year. =) I share all of this not to complain or seem negative but so that my kids will know our life was real and not just all twinkles and glitter. And most importantly so that they know that even when things get chaotic or don't go the way you hope you can still make the most of things and have a great life. Which we do!

Weston's 5th Birthday

I can't believe my boy is so grown up! I was telling him stories today about when I was pregnant with him at Christmas time and it seems like it was just yesterday. He had a great birthday. The Friday before his big day we had a party with cousins. Weston requested a ninja turtle cake so that is what I attempted. On his birthday we opened presents, he went to school, and then we spent the rest of the day playing until we went to Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's and then to look at lights. 

 Wearing the crown he got at school.

 In his new jammies from G&G Anderson. He loves them.

Weston started getting headaches this last summer but they were very infrequent. Then within the last month he has complained of severe headaches every single day. So we decided to start with getting his eyes tested and sure enough, this poor boy needs bifocals! The doctor we saw specializes in kids so she sees a lot of them and she said he was the worst farsighted case she has EVER seen in a child his age. Crazy. But he is sure going to look handsome when they get here next week!

Wes is still an absolutely amazing big brother and person in general. He wants to be good and do what is right and tries his best to be obedient. He has an amazing memory which helps him to be awesome at playing games on the Wii. He can tell you exactly where to go to get a Yoshi or an extra life, etc. when he plays Mario! =) He is very smart and loves to learn new things. He is always asking questions and is curious about things. He likes black and red and his favorite food is pancakes. Our family is blessed to have this sweet boy in it. We love you so much Weston!