Courtney and Jake

My baby sister and her husband came for a weekend to hang out with us. We loved having them over! We always get a kick out of them, and my kids love all the attention.

We went to the park and Courtney gave Aiden a tennis lesson, Gracie ran in circles, and Jake played 'pirates' with Aiden. Never a dull moment with those two!

California Trip

We took the kids to California to visit their grandparents and great-grandparents. The weather was beautiful and we had the perfect weekend.

We spent our first day at the L.A. Zoo with Bryce's dad. Aiden loved seeing all the animals, especially the bat cave, but was constantly in a rush to see what was coming next. By the end of the day, he was exhausted and told me his feet were too tired to carry him any more.

We spent the next day with Bryce's grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Turner. They have more energy than I do! They had never met Gracie, so we had a lot of fun catching up and listening to all their wonderful stories.

Aiden with his Great-Grandpa Turner.

Bryce's brother, Brent, and his three kiddos.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas this year! We don't have any family close by, so we had to Skype and make phone calls to talk to our loved ones. We were completely spoiled and had a wonderful day.

The kids finally got to meet Santa at our ward Christmas Party the week before Christmas. When they announced that Santa would be greeting children in the primary room, Aiden stood up and yelled "SANTA!!!!" And ran down the hall to be first in line. He had been waiting to tell Santa how good he's been and that he would like a glow pencil, a glow book, and a light saber for Christmas.

Gracie couldn't take her eyes off his beard. At least she didn't cry!

We opened our traditional Christmas ornaments and book on Christmas Eve.

And the kids both got to open pajamas. I don't know if that's a tradition, but I did want them to have something warm and cozy to wear.

Christmas morning was SO exciting. Gracie had gotten sick during the night, so she didn't get to show off her cute pajamas. She was a little out of it, but still got excited and opened all her presents.

Can you see the excitement in his eyes! "Enough pictures mom, I have presents to open!"

Gracie with the apron I made her...

and Aiden with his.

We made quite a mess! Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

A Day at the Park

Happy Birthday, Aiden!

Wow! I can not believe my Aiden is 4 years old. I am so proud of him and love being his mom. He keeps me on my toes each and every day, but I wouldn't change a thing about who he is as a person. He is incredibly smart, athletic, energetic, sensitive, loving, thoughtful, and creative.

He has grown up so much lately and continues to make us laugh. Here are a few Aiden-isms:

A: Mom, who's the lego set for?
M: Your cousin, Jake. For Christmas.
A: Mom, I have a story. Once upon a time, I was born and my name was Aiden. But my real name was Jake, so I should probably go open my present.

A: Mmmmmm! This candle smells like monster hands!

A: Dad, I sure love you. I love you more than spaghetti!

A: Dad, we're a great team.
B: Ya! Like Batman and Robin.
A: I love you, Robin.
(This is especially funny because Bryce is such a big batman fan.)

A: Mom, I said a prayer to Heavenly Father to help me make it through my time-out.

Aiden jumped into bed with us one morning and then he farted.
A: Wow! That really smells! I should probably go watch cartoons so I don't have to smell it!

I made mini chicken pot pies for dinner, which Aiden did NOT like, and said "Mom, I never want to see these in our house again!"
M: I just need you to eat two bites.
A: I'm too frustrated at this food to eat it!

Because Christmas Eve isn't the ideal day to have a birthday party, we had it on the 18th of December. Of all the friends he invited, only two could make it. Luckily, they were two of his best friends who he spends a lot of time with anyway, so I don't think he even noticed that no one else was there. We took them to Jumpin Jacks (a bounce-house warehouse), but I didn't take any pictures! What was I thinking?! But we did get a few of Aiden, Luke and Landon opening up Aiden's presents.

Happy Birthday, Aiden!