Tahoe

First Disneyland and now Tahoe. Who are we?? haha We joke that we haven't taken may trips with the kids yet but these last few months have been very busy and fun for us! We took our first trip to the snow with the kids and two other families - our good friends the Chamberlains and the Brengards. We rented a house in South Lake and spent 5 days playing the snow and hanging out together. It was a great time for sure. We managed to get all the kids in bed and sleeping every night so the adults could actually have some time to talk (and maybe have a cocktail or two!). We can't wait to plan our next trip together now that we have one under our belts.
Audrey's first time in the snow!

Vanessa and Scarlett (she doesn't look too happy in this picture but she really was happy the entire trip!)

Allicyn & Lily (who also had a great time and was loving the snow!)

Nathan pulling up his sled (or what he called a "boat")

Todd and the kids getting ready to sled.

Audrey building a snowman with Haley and Jaeden.

Audrey spent a long time helping Aaron build this snowman - she loved it!

Trying to get a picture of all the kids together - very hard!

The little girl who refused to wear her hat catching snowflakes.

Nate throwing snowballs at Todd.

Todd, Aaron & Chris built this very cool igloo out in front of the house for the kids.

Storytime before bed

Snuggling with blankets and pillows while watching a movie.

Happy Birthday Lily!

Lily celebrated her first birthday on Valentine's Day! What a fun day to have a birthday - instant party theme! Everyone had a wonderful time at her party :) We had a great lunch and the kids made Valentines. A fun day spent with friends - Happy 1st Birthday Lily!!

So ladylike with her cake.

Nathan & Jaeden laughing and having a good time with Todd.

The kids couldn't wait for cake!

Singing to the birthday girl

Enjoying a delicious lunch

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Yes, love was in the air....... the kids had been busy making Valentines for weeks before the big day at home, at playgroups and at school. Audrey loves to glue anything to paper (especially colored puffy balls) and Nathan sticks on a few stickers and glues a few hearts and he's "all done!" They woke up Valentine's Day morning to a few special Valentine gifts from Mom and Dad.

Valentine's Day arts and crafts with our twins playgroup at the Crozier's house.

Keira and Kyla cutting and gluing Valentine's for their Daddy!

Hunter & Andrew with mom Laura making some special cards.

So many fun things to create with!

Jaeden working on her scissor skills.

Ryker & Olivia with mom Linda gluing and creating

Madison & Logan having fun with glitter glue and stickers!

A Day with Dad

Todd, being the most wonderful husband on Earth, will often take the kids on outings on his days off so I can run errands, get some housework done, or just rest. I love him for this precious time to get things done and he loves spending alone time with the kids. He recently took them to Pajaro Dunes where my dad was staying for the week. In fact, he took them there two days in a row. The kids loved it! The weather was beautiful and they played on the beach all day until the late afternoon. Grandpa spoiled all three of them with lots of delicious food and yummy snacks.

Big Sister Party

Our playgroup threw Paige and Lauren a party at the beginning of the month to help them celebrate becoming big sisters soon! The theme was "Big Sisters are Blooming Here" (Katie has all the creative ideas!) It was very sweet to see them so excited and all the the kids brought them gifts to help them welcome their new siblings into the world. Expecting moms Dara and Claire looked beautiful! We can't wait to meet the new additions to our playgroup!!!

Soon-to-be big sister, Lauren, is helped into her seat by cousin Elizabeth.

Soon-to-be big sister Paige looks so cute in polka dots!

Playgroup moms: Katie, Jenn, Brigit, Claire, Dara, me, Vanessa

Expecting moms, Dara and Claire

Yummy food and beautiful presentation (thank you Vanessa!)

opening gifts

all the kids enjoying their snacks

Andrew & Abby enjoying delicious treats made by the hostess, Brigit

Audrey & Nathan picking out a treat

Disneyland!!!

We did it! We drove to Disneyland in January and stayed for three nights. It was SO much fun!!! The drive was not as bad as we had anticipated. The kids watched DVDs, played with some new toys (including really cool viewfinders that Todd bought for both kids), snacks, snacks and more snacks. It only took us 6.5 hours with one stop for lunch - not bad! We went to California Adventure the first evening and had dinner at Ariel's Grotto where the kids got to meet all the princesses. We spent the next two days going through Disneyland and checking out all the rides and attractions. The kids did great! They rode all the rides and weren't afraid of any of the characters. It was a lot of walking and some bribing to get them to sit in the stroller, but that's what lollipops and cotton candy are for, right!? We watched Disney's nighttime show Fantasmic twice. We saw a really neat Pixar Parade, a Disney Playhouse stage show and a few rides at California Adventure as well. There were hardly any lines and we managed to avoid the rain. It was interesting to try to get them to sleep at night in "big" beds, but by the second night they were so exhausted it wasn't too hard. Their favorite attraction was, by far, Sleeping Beauty's castle. They love the movie and recognized all the characters. We walked through that castle many times! The kids still talk about their trip to Disneyland and we can't wait to go back. It was magical!