An Amusement Park & A National Park

Our 3rd day we headed back to Six Flags for some high thrills.  Our first ride was X2!  Brigham convinced Kaleb to take it for a spin.  This was his first large roller coaster.  After I went on it- I was upset with Brigham for taking Kaleb on it.  That was the scariest ride I have ever been on.  Fortunately, it didn't damage Kaleb for life and he tried out some other coasters.

 (It was also our 2nd favorite- but definitely the scariest.)

These guys are just returning from this heart stopper!  Wow!

This was unanimously our favorite ride.  Tatsu!  You are in this position the whole time and it is like you are flying through the air.  Soooo cool!

The child swap feature was really good to us and some of us got to ride twice in a row!

We all hit the carousel for another ride.

Elaina loved it!

Then we headed up north to Sequoia National Forest in our Sequoia.  The big redwood trees are amazing!

We went on a nice little hike and investigated some local habitats.

It was a long drive and we wished that we had had more time there.

Truly an exceptional beauty!

Six Flags Magic Mountain

We ventured to California for our Christmas gift this year.  Our second day was spent at Six Flags. 

 It was a blast.

Kaleb and Kai braving the roller coasters.

Busted!

Batman and Robin with our own dynamic duo!

Dad, Brig and Katry braved the Dive Devil- a free style, bungie type fall.  Best ride of the day!

Happy Carousel riders.

Laini on the log ride.  Not a great picture-but a great memory for us!

Priceless!

Christmas Day at the Beach

We drove to California and spent a good chunk of the actual Christmas Day at the beach.

Kai was a great hiker!

We found a cool beach with these awesome tide pools.  We discovered a lot of really neat things.

Like lobster parts!

Starfish

Multi colored rocks

Amazing creatures!

Sea Urchins

A cave to explore

Go towards the light

More lobster parts to play with.

One family brought their Christmas tree to the beach, set it up and had a picnic around it!

The sunset was beautiful!

and romantic!

Merry Christmas 2011!

Crazy Love!

Brigham got me a super warm sleeping bag for Christmas- cause I don't like to be cold!

He wanted to make sure it was nice and warm for me so he slept out in it- in the open air- on the snow.  Fortunately, it only got down to 3 degrees that night!   He says he slept snug.  

That is some seriously crazy LOVE!  

Christmas 2011

The kids built some fantastic forts to sleep in, in our crash room. They woke up and played until the rest of us got up.  We blasted the Christmas music and dropped balloons on them as they marched down the stairs.  I love traditions!

We opened our presents and made some delicious Swedish thin pancakes.  Not as good as Grandpa and GmaT's feast- but full of good memories!  

It snowed a lot the day before so we revved up the 4 wheelers and pulled some lucky sledders!

Laini and her baby.

Blowing Kisses!

So sweet!

That's right folks- shoveling the walk in shorts and extra large shoes!  

We spent the evening at our neighbor's party.

A Perfect Day!

Christmas Eve PJ Fest

Love these Posers!

Christmas Traditions

This year we found a great paper nativity project at tipjunkie.  They had a great time coloring, cutting and taping.  We love the finished product- they have had a blast with it.

We also teamed up to make two fantastic gingerbread houses.  This is probably the kids favorite tradition since it involves a lot of Candy.

We also put our Service Star in motion.  Thanks GmaT!  We have actually had to do a little policing because "some" of us tried to pass-off things such as "tucking someone into bed, after they are already asleep, and making someone's bed for them at night while they were in the shower, and bringing in a garbage can-when it was actually their job" as service.  It has been a great tradition and we love it!

We also turn on the Christmas lights and snuggle under our Christmas Blanket and read a Christmas story when we can at night.  There are so many touching stories with so many great lessons.  I never get tired of hearing them.

We also had a lot of fun with our Sub for Santa.  The kids really got into getting gifts for the other kids that they would like.  We loved wrapping up those presents and knowing it will brighten their lives!

I had my annual Christmas Brunch for all the ladies in our neighborhood again.  This was the sixth year that I have been doing this and it always so much fun.  This year we had 18 ladies over and had a great time eating and gabbing.  My camera was out of batteries- so I didn't get a picture this year.  

We also had fun printing up these magnets to give as "neighbor" gifts.  They turned out so cute.

Santa is coming early for us again this year.  Tonight!  The kids have been good- they are definitely on the "nice" list.

We hope your Christmas is Merry and Bright!