Ella's 4th Birthday

This year for Ella's birthday we decided to do a princess tea party. It worked out great because Alice in Wonderland was able to come and be a special guest! It was so fun to see Ella excited for her special day and it was as girly as you could possibly imagine. First we had a very traditional tea party with punch and cupcakes, then Ella opened gifts, and after, we had little stations where girls could go and get their nails done and their hair done (like I said, GIRLY). I think my favorite part was just planning it and decorating it, and luckily I have the best family in the world (thank you Katie, Melinda, and Mckinley) because they did a lot of the set up and helped so much throughout the whole party.

This was where we had the tea party, and it was colorful, magical, and fun!

I loved the lanterns, this was my favorite part of the decorations.

All of the pretty princesses. It was just so fun to see the girls excited and giddy!

Everyone wanted to sit next to Alice, and all of the girls were so excited to have her come to the tea party.

Ella has been telling me for some time that she really wanted a cake with candles that she could blow out and have everyone sing "Happy Birthday", and when Mckinley asked her if she made a wish, she said, " I already got it".

I never thought I could find so much joy in creating a magical experience for my kids, but I really did love seeing Ella so excited about everything.

I love that Alice could come, she was just perfect and it made the whole party so happy and fun.

Ella got to open her presents and it was so cute to see how all of the girls were so excited to give her their own present and watch her open it.

We put Alice to work, and she did a great job doing all of the girls hair.

My cousin got put in charge of nails.

That little happy face made the whole thing so worth it.

This is Ella's cousin helping Ella wrap up the baby she just got for her birthday, I just thought it was sweet to see them playing.

Boise Trip

Last week Mike had to go to Boise for business, so I thought it would be fun to make a little family trip out of it, and it was just what we needed. The kids loved everything about staying in a hotel: Jumping on the bed, pushing the buttons on the elevator, riding the luggage cart, swimming, etc.

While we were in Boise, I decided to take the kids to the zoo, it was fun to let the kids run around and be outside without worrying about frostbite, and the best part was I got to see some old friends.

I realized that sometimes we need to just get away and change up our scenery a bit, and although it was not the easiest thing to be out of our comfort zone (imagine Hunter freaking out about his new sleeping arrangement), it was so great to see the kids having a blast.

Winter Wonder Land

On New Year's Day We woke up to this:

It was so beautiful and magical that we had to enjoy every second of it! So we decided to play in the snow and take the kids sledding behind the 4 wheeler. The roads were not even paved yet so it was the perfect environment to sled on and the kids loved being pulled around.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas this year and it is always so nice to be with family, I only wish that it could last longer.

This is our Christmas day dinner and it was another delicious tradition. We have standing rib roast, pop overs, and special christmas crowns.

Everyone enjoying a lovely dinner.

Great food and great conversation.

This was Christmas morning before the kids came out and saw their gifts, otherwise known as the calm before the storm.

Hunter loved his car! I was surprised at how happy he was to see it and how excited he got, he understood way more than I was expecting and he knew this special present was just for him.

Ella desperately wanted a "dolly house" and it was the only thing she asked for. She was very happy to see what Santa brought.

That happy little face, so precious!

Christmas Eve we went to my cousins house where they had a nice dinner prepared and a little program for the kids. It was a great way to to celebrate and so much fun with family.

The kids singing and laughing.

Hunter got into the cookies and made such a mess. But he loved every minute of it and was a very happy kid.

This is one of my favorite memories from this year. Hunter ran back and forth dancing and laughing and we were all laughing with him because he was being such a little performer!

25 Days of Christmas

I love Christmas time, and really my favorite part about it, is the time leading up to the actual holiday. We like to do something every day that celebrates this time of year, so here are some of the highlights:

Decorating the tree and house is one of my favorite things and I think it is becoming one of Ella's too!

She could not get enough of the decorating and kept wanting to do more.

As soon as we were done Ella said, "can we decorate another tree?"

Ella got to make cookies with her Koko and that was one of her favorite things in the whole world!

I love this picture.

Maybe a future pastry chef?

Another treat was taking Ella to the Nutcracker. She had to wear her own leotard and slippers and she loved watching everyone dance!

Ella also danced in her own Christmas recital and I thought it was so cute!

Ella did a great job in the recital and she truly enjoys dancing. I hope it is something she will love her whole life!