Christmas, Christmas...

Christmas morning started early for Little Miss Aiden...she woke up at 5:00 and decided to chat Uncle Dan's ear off for an hour before she finally decided to go in and wake Reilly up. Roo sprang awake like a little rooster (her words, not mine) and simply couldn't wait to see what Santa had left for her and sister. So much excitement, so much happiness...and the presents were unwrapped and getting played with in less than 10 minutes. Nothing too grand, but all-in-all it was a really great Christmas morning.
 

An early Christmas morning...

  

  

  

  

 

Jolly ol' Santa Dan...who spoiled us rotten

 

The girls' favorite gifts? It's a toss up between...well, everything. Zhu Zhu pets, Pillow Pets, Monster Pillows (thank you Finley and Berlin), Little Pony set (thank you Kemry), Magnetic Dress-up Dolls, Pink Toothy, Cute Kitty, and Play-doh. Here is how Aiden spent most of her day...making Play-doh people and hiding them around the house.
 
Meanwhile, Reilly seemed content hanging out, watching movies, and drinking IBC cream soda with Papa and Uncle Dan.  Here are some snapshots of Roo goofing off and being her silly little self.
 

Thank you to everyone (family, friends, and some very generous ward members) who made our Christmas absolutely wonderful. Words cannot express how grateful and humble we are.

Twas' The Night Before Christmas...

 

"The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads."

Hungry, Hungry Caterpillars...

The rain let up a little bit this afternoon, so the girls and I decided to go out and run a few last-minute Christmas errands. Turns out we weren't the only ones enjoying the break in the rain...we found some pretty hungry caterpillars on a bush in our front yard and the girls simply had to stop and check them out. Normally, we see one or two a day...today, we counted 12 buggers munching away on some delicious greens.

  

  

  

  

We're hoping this little cluster of caterpillars means we'll have some beautiful butterflies this spring!

Polar Bear Plunge...

What can I say? A week straight of rain is bound to make even the sanest person go a little bonkers...here are some photos of what the crazies in my house decided to do today to make the most of our winter storm. The girls had a blast and didn't want to come in, so Doug was a good sport and ran a few extra laps in the freezing cold rain just to make them happy.

  

  

 

Man, oh man...do I love these little crazies!

Trimming the Tree...

  

 

  

Christmas Boat Parade

          

Sorry the pics are a little blurry, but it turns out it's a little difficult to snap photos of moving boats in the dark. Despite the poor photos, we all had a lot of fun watching the festive boats as they made their way through Newport Habor for the annual Christmas Parade. The girls absolutely LOVED seeing all the lights. I think as long as we live down here, this will become a yearly tradition for our family!