{family picture shoot}

I am trying my best to hide the baby bump in these pictures and now I am wishing I had just celebrated it! Tate was a toot for these but Chad was a champ. O2 photography took these down in the valley (that is my best friend Rach and her hubby Zach- I will post a link). We had so much fun with them because the husbands could commiserate together about the joys of having sick, pregnant wives- Rach and I are both due in July.

Christmas Morning.....

Chad made me these nifty ski hooks.

Chad pretty much stayed on the couch assembling and untying toys all morning. What a great dad.

Christmas morning was magical as it is every year. I love having kids. It makes everything extra special all over again. They were so thankful for everything which was my main goal this year. I hate it when kids just expect things. Chad got me a Kindle which I am not sure is a good thing because I have already read five books! I have no self control and this instant gratification movement we have going on is terrible for my personality. A great learning opportunity I guess. We had a relaxing day at home and Chad made me my favorite dinner- why? Because he loves me so very much! Chicken fried steak, Chad's signature Magic Mashed Potatoes and green beans (we are talking the kind drowned in butter with no nutrients left what soever) just like I love them. I had a great nap and the kids played on their "ripsticks" all through the house. I will have to video them and their mad skillz and post it.

North Pole Experience

For Christmas this year Chad's parents rented us a cabin up in the White Mountains so we could take advantage of the "North Pole Experience". It was a funfilled adventure- we were able to eat dinner with Mrs. Clause and travel through a portal to the North Pole on a christmas trolly. While at the North Pole we toured a classic toy museum made toys with the elves, attended elf university, ate yummy cookies and hot chocolate, and of course sat with Santa himself! But that was not the end of our adventure- we got to read bedtime stories with Mrs. Clause and the next morning we ate breakfast with Santa. It was jam packed full of christmas excitement and truly was magical. Thank you Andrea and Darwin for an amazing Christmas memory! The cabin was a really spacious place for the kids to run. They especially loved their cowbay room that had two sets of bunkbeds in it. Livia and Abbie had to share a bed of course. We made gingerbread houses at the cabin and visited with Grandma Great. She was such a trooper hanging out with the crazies! Chad and I picked her up on our way to Eagar and the kids were so excited to have her join us. We sure do love that special lady.

{nutcracker}

This year was the real deal! After attending the lollipop ballet each year with Livs she finally got to be one of the dancers! A Chinese dancer to be exact! Pappa and Grandma made it through the two hour performance and I was amazed that Chad and I did as well. I was so worried with how shy Livy is that she would freeze up on stage (it was a real ballet company performance) She lit up the stage and stole my heart! She loved being a part of it all. It was really a fun beginning to the Christmas season.

the tree...........

The tree this year was quite the experience. Chad was determined to go chop down our tree and in true Griswald fashion we picked the hugest one we could find (remember they always look smaller out in the wilderness!) we would finally hike up to a tree we thought was just perfect and then we would glance behind us and find one that was even better! this went on for some time and all I could think of was my perfect fake one at home under the house. I was trying to be a good sport but it just so happened that I was quite sick with this third pregnancy and kept sitting down and chad thought i was not getting excited enough for this amazing family experience. Why can't men be pregnant just for one day?

baby turns 7!

Livia turned 7 on Friday and we are so happy to have her little witty self in our family.............She still has not lost one single tooth or gained one single pound believe it or not! I know these are older pictures but honestly she looks pretty much the same. All she wanted for her birthday was a new bike with a big basket and mom and dad delivered. She was ecstatic and rode for most of the day. She helped in making her birthday cake and we waited for our dad to return from an elk hunt so we could really celebrate later that night. Livia has turned out to have such a strong little moral compass. She is known for her quiet leadership skills and her big heart. She is about as shy as can be but we get the privilege of seeing her corky sense of humor at home each day. I love having a daughter to share with. She is a blessing.