Christmas Morning

Christmas morning this year was a little quiet, but fun. We were on our own for the first time in our marriage. We didn't go anywhere and no one came to us. But it was just fine being with our little family. The Christmas magic was so fun to watch with the kids! I thought the older you got, the less exciting and magical Christmas gets, but not when you're a parent. It's great!

Santa came! And those are the nightgowns they opened Christmas Eve (another tradition).
The only thing Lexi asked for was an Easy Bake Oven.

And Ava asked for a baby doll that really peed... yeah, there are NOT any cute dolls anymore!

Stockings

Lexi insisted on handing out the gifts

Ava sleeps with this music box- every night! :)

The lovely mess after everything is unwrapped

Santa left a few crumbs...

That afternoon Bret, Natalia, and Abby came over for Christmas dinner. We had our traditional prime rib, Benj does a great job cooking it to perfection! It was great spending the rest of the day with some of our family. We hope your Christmas was a great one! Happy New Year everyone!

Seaworld

We took a quick trip down to San Diego this weekend and took the girls to SeaWorld. They had so much fun... and Benj and I did too. It's changed since we were there last. Lexi is at a great age where she appreciates these things, except the rollercoaster (at the very top, hiding her head in Benj). She especially enjoyed the Shamu show. Ava loved the Sesame Street play area and the penguins. Here are some pics:

And we always visit Old Town San Diego. I love the cool little shops and the kids love the super cool candy store. :) Benj and I celebrated 9 years of marriage this weekend as well... I can't believe it's been that long!

Kids' Stuff

This past week and a half has been filled with the girls' activities. Ava's little preschool class did their Christmas play at a local nursing home. Ava played the angel and did a great job (and of course refused to wear the halo).


Lexi had fun in her first season singing with the Clark County Children's Choir. Her concert was this past weekend. She even had a little solo. Great job Lex!

She's on the very left, on the end. =) The video we got is way better.

Lexi also had a first grade concert at school. They did a lot of cute songs!

This morning Lexi was awarded with the Distinguished Dragon Award at her school. This award is for demonstrating the Six Pillars of Character at school: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. Way to go Lexi (although I have to wonder at times how in the world she got this award... wish she could show these characteristics more at home!)! =)



With Mr. Tanaka and Principal Chua

I didn't get to stay to watch her actually receive the award, but Benj was there and taped it all. I had to come home and teach Ava's preschool and get ready for their little Christmas party. Benj even went to Lexi's class for the "author celebration" where the kids had written their own books and read them aloud.

The Joy School party was a success. The kids did their Christmas play again for all the parents and we had made cookies/treats beforehand to share.

Phew!! Sooooooo glad this week is about over. Time for some R&R and Christmas celebration with my family.

December, December

I cannot believe it's December. It seems like this year really flew by! Anyway, what have we been up to?






Our Thanksgiving was fun. My parents decided to come down and they drove through the night to get here @ 5am Turkey Day morning! My brothers and family came over and we had a great feast. My mom and I did the insane Black Friday shopping @ 4:30am, and we did good! I got a lot on my list and we took our time and went to breakfast too. :) And no visit to Vegas is complete when my parents are in town without hitting the Red Rock buffet... mmmmm. I'm hungry now. Thanks mom & dad for sacrificing sleep and joining us all down here for a great holiday visit!



I've been slowly getting the house ready for Christmas. I really wanted a real tree this year and my house to smell like a forest. But with how much Benj is working, it will never happen. Could you see me driving the Ford and hauling in a tree from the tree lot? That would be entertaining. So I did the next best thing and bought a new tree from Walmart and hauled it into the mini van. Well, the kindly Walmart employee did. But I hauled it into the house and put it together this afternoon. We got it decorated Sunday evening.



We had our ward Christmas party Fri. night. My primary kids sang a couple songs we've been working on and they did great! I don't think I can call them "my primary kids" much longer as I've got a new calling now (compassionate service leader) and will be released as chorister soon. As inadequate as I've felt in this calling the last year and a half, I will really miss the kids. I've been in primary since we moved into this house (3 yrs) and have enjoyed it incredibly! It will be different to go to RS again.



Tonight is Benj's company Christmas party... ugh. And since he's at a different hospital, I will know absolutely no one... ok, I guess I know his boss since it was his old boss from SH. Anyway, should be interesting. They rent a ballroom @ Red Rock and have a buffet dinner and dancing. The food should be good... Yeah, I'm looking forward to the food.



So I think Adam Lambert is a total freak (especially after his little performance on the AMA's), but this is my new favorite song. It's catchy and clean and good to run to. And how 'bout them Saints?!! 12-0 now, and that last game against the Redskins almost gave me a heart attack!!



Oh, and most of you already know this; but we are expecting a baby in late May. Yay! Ok, that's me trying to get excited... NO- I'm excited, it just hasn't hit me yet I guess (because my clothes still fit??). I'm a lucky girl because I don't get sick- at all... I know a lot of people who are sick like the whole 9 months. I was just really tired the first trimester, but that's it. The girls are excited. Lexi wants a brother and Ava wants a "baby stister named Lily." Benj is really excited. When we first found out, he couldn't stop grinning.






I hope to get Christmas cards out soon. Happy Holidays everybody!!

SYTYCD/New Moon

So my fun girl's nights we had planned this month (well deserved I think) have come and gone. But all of it was such a blast! The So You Think You Can Dance tour show was excellent!! They did all my favorite dances. Janeene and Phillip are still my favorites, but everyone was really amazing.

New Moon night was so much fun. Angie, your party was great! You are such a sweet hostess, thanks for inviting me. We went up to the theater to get in line around 8pm. We didn't have to sit on the floor long though, they let us into the theater about an hour later, so we had comfy seats to sit in for the next 3 hours. The movie was awesome. And so much better done than Twilight. I cannot wait for Eclipse! :)

Random Thoughts

Mindy's Random Thoughts Lately:

~We took the girls to see A Christmas Carol last weekend. I love Jim Carrey, but it was kind of scary for kids. And it was in 3D and my kids hate wearing those glasses. Lexi wore them, but of course Ava refused. It's a good thing she's free... it was probably a blurry picture for her.

~It's only week 2 of track break and Lexi is driving me crazy! But at the same time, it's nice to have her home and have a break in routine.

~I got the H1N1 vaccine yesterday @ my doctor's office. And I woke up today with pink eye. I know it's totally unrelated (I mean the shot and pink eye, not being in the drs. office and pink eye, cuz that could totally be a factor), but interesting nonetheless.

~I've been wanting to make pumpkin bread for weeks now, but haven't had the motivation. Anyone have a good recipe??

~I miss my husband. Ever since he transferred to MV, he's come home late every night. :(

~I am in desperate need of a girl's night out. 3 more days and I'll get one!! Going out to celebrate Apryl's bday and then to the So You Think You Can Dance tour, to see the season 5 top ten. Soooooooo stoked!

~I'm incredibly grateful for family/friends... I would be lost without you!! Hope everyone is well!



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Halloween Fun

*WARNING: Picture overload!

We seemed to spread out the Halloween holiday for a few days this year. It started with the girls and their cousin Abby riding the rides @ one of the roadside pumpkin patches.

Benj carved this at a pumpkin carving party with friends... I watched. Good job babe! ;)

The girls both had costume parties @ school. This is Lexi in class, they had orange snacks. I had a cute video of Ava and her class singing a Halloween song, but I can't get it to upload.
Grandma Diana sent the girls fun stuff from Crate & Barrel to decorate cupcakes. They had a lot of fun making their creations! Thanks Mom! Lexi: An angel

Ava: Tinkerbell minus the wings... she refused to wear them.

Trunk or Treat night Lexi liked cleaning out the pumpkin... Ava, not so much. Benj carved a Tinkerbell pumpkin, it turned out great. Took the kids to Shark Reef where kids in costume got in free and got to trick or treat. Benj has taken the girls several times, but this was my first time there. It's pretty cool. Hope everyone had a great Halloween!! Now we get to gear up for more holidays. :)

I Love Fall!

I know I've said this a lot, but I love autumn. It doesn't last long here in Vegas, so we take what we can get! The weather is finally cooler, I'm watching NFL every Sunday, and Halloween is coming up. Saturday night we took the girls to the atrium @ Bellagio to see the fall scene. The girls especially loved the talking tree. We decided to walk around front and watch the fountain show too. It's been a while since we were down on the strip.
Last night we decorated sugar cookies for FHE... minus Benj. He works at Mountain View Hospital now, and just started there this week. And now he has to commute! It's about a 25 minute drive. It's weird to think of him being far away now and not just across the street @ Southern Hills. :) But we're so proud of all his hard work in his career and supporting us! Happy Fall everyone!