More Holiday Fun! Ice Skating and the Christmas Train (Looking Back)

I LOVE the Christmas season! Of course, we take plenty of time to remember the reason for the season, but we also take plenty of time to enjoy our family and the many memorable activities that we can do together! This was a great day for our whole family We started off by visiting a local ice skating rink for the kids first real attempt at ice skating. Katie had been to a birthday party before where she was able to pick up a few skating skills, but this was a first for Aidan and Mylie. Aidan was a little trooper and tried to get out there and skate, but he didn't last too long - or should I say after too many falls. Mylie refused to put on the ice skates and just enjoyed watching everyone else play, um, fall, while she climbed up and down the bleachers. This past Summer my sister and her kids moved up to our area and we take as many opportunities to play together as we can! After skating we headed over to one of our favorite local outdoor malls (RTC) for a yummy dinner and and then off to ride the holiday train. The train didn't go far, just around the mall, swerving through the parking lots, but we all had a GREAT time!

Daddy helping Katie feel a little more comfortable on the ice

Mom and my girl!

My neice Cailley, her friend Mariah and Aidan

Cute cousins!

Cute girls again! This restaurant has the best milkshakes!

It may have been cold, but the train ride was fun!!!

Katie and Bri staying warm on the train by riding in a covered car!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town! (Looking Back)

For the past two years, Santa Claus has come to visit our neighborhood kids at our friend Stacy's house! It is the best experience for the kids! Not only does this not requre standing in long lines at the mall to get a quick picture with the Jolly old man, but we have a whole evening to spend with Santa, to ask questions, to take pictures and of course to get presents! For the past 2 years, Santa has brought each of the kids their own Christmas ornament! He talks to the kids about his reindeer, how they drop him off and then go and graze in the fields down the hill from our house, and then come back to get him when he rings his bells.We LOVE Santa in our house, and this is a tradition that I hope will continue for many years to come!

Katie sitting with Santa, telling him all that is on her list! :)

Aidan wanted Santa to know what video games he was hoping for this year

Mylie hasn't develped the Santa love yet. :) She figured it out quick on Christmas morning! :)

Mylie happy as long as she was in daddy's lap!

Daddy and his girls

Katie showing us the present Santa just gave her!

Aidan was ready to open his gift!

Mylie didn't love Santa yet, but she loved her ornament!

Aidan's Christmas Concert - Looking Back

I LOVE Aidan's preschool! It is a Christian based preschool, and I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I first enrolled him 2 years ago, worrying that their views might differ too much from my own. They have weekly chapel which has turned out to be a very fun way to continue to teach him about Christ. They also celebrate all of the Christian holidays, which is one of my favorite things about this school in compared to other schools we have looked at - because these holidays are big for our family as well (Christmas, Easter, etc).

Each year at Christmas time the school puts on a darling Christmas concert. It is held during class time, so there are only 2 classes that participate together at one time - so it doesn't get too big. Last year the boys dressed up as Wise men and the girls dressed up as angels. This year, all the kids got to choose which to dress up in, and almost all of the kids choose the angel. I have learned a lot about Aidan during these concerts! He is a total ham and has an absolute blast getting up in front of a crowd and singing and dancing his heart out. He has provided us with some great videos from these concerts and he always gets plenty of complementary comments from the other parents because he is having so much fun! Here are a few pictures of my cute boy from this past Christmas (2010). Remember I am still trying to catch up with my blogging so I know that this post is about 6 months overdue! :)

Christmas Gingerbread House

It's a yearly tradition for our family to create a gingerbread house at Christmas time. This past year was just a little bit different - in that the kids decorated the house all by themselves! Usually Eric helps with the decorations (this usually is a daddy/kids activity), but this year he took care of the structural part of the design and the kids did the rest. I have to admit that I hardly believed that they did it themselves when I saw the results! Great job kids!

Zoo Lights - Christmas 2010

I am ridiculously behind with my posts - as in 6 months behind - but I am determined to catch up! I am horrible at doing scrap books, so I rely on this blog to be my memory keeper, and skipping 6 months just doesn't work. I think it is funny though that I stopped posting regularly when I was about 8 weeks pregnant - when my energy was zapped and it doesn't seem to have returned quite yet. :) With the baby due in 6 weeks - I better catch up - and fast! Bear with me as I take a journey back.....

This past Christmas we took the kids to the Point Definance Zoo Lights for the first time and had a blast! In previous years we have visited the Bellevue Botanical Garden to view their holiday lights, but we thought the zoo would be fun this year. The kids had a great time - because a family "road trip" is always fun and celebrating the Christmas season by looking at beautiful lights is a recipe for a good time. I have to say that next year we will probably go back to our old staple location because the distance to see the Zoo Lights was a very long trip in rush hour traffic. We were also a little disappointed that you have to pay a very hefty entrance fee and you weren't able to see any of the animals because all of the animal exhibits had their lights turned off. Needless to say, a good time was had by all!!