Christmas

Christmas was so amazing this year! Violet was so excited about it. We did a family night about Jesus' Birth and Violet wanted to rock the Baby Jesus for days afterward. I bought way too many presents for the kids, but of course, they were so excited about each and every present.

We spent a lot of time with family and there was just a real spirit about Christmas this year. We didn't get very many pictures, it's mainly all video. But I still wanted to document this special time for us.

In the Snow

I was so worried that Scotty would HATE his snowsuit. Scotty really likes to be comfortable. But he didn't mind it at all. The snow itself on the other hand:

I couldn't get enough of him in this snowsuit. It made him twice as big, but he managed to keep on the move anyway. He just stayed on the driveway, out of the snow, and he had a great time. Violet dove right in. She wanted to eat the snow and throw snowballs.

Scotty's reaction to the snow reminded me of this picture taken 3 years ago:

I LOVE these babies.

Our Christmas Card 2010

I was able to actually get a Christmas card out this year. It's a true miracle when that happens.

These past few months I had a wonderful experience reading the Book of Mormon again and I felt so impressed to include a message with the card. It essentially expressed that life is so good, even when its not. This past year has been challenging in many ways, but life is still good. Family is essential and makes our lives so meaningful. Even when life gets hard, it is still beautiful in so many ways.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family.

Violet BELIEVES . . .

in Santa, of course. I have loved every minute of Christmas this year with Violet. It is so fun when there is a real element of magic in Christmas, and this year I've seen it all over her face.

Violet's 4th Birthday!

Violet is so good natured and sweet. I love her little voice and the way she sings and dances. She gives me loves and hugs and kisses freely. She is my best friend. She's also bossy and opinionated and stubborn. In some ways, I feel like Violet should be older because it feels like she's been telling me what to do for longer than 4 years. When I had Violet, my life changed forever and I'm so grateful for that. I love her more than words can even say.

Violet is very into the Cat in the Hat right now and I thankfully talked her out of having another Mickey party, which is originally what she wanted. This is the invite:

We decided to have her party at a play center this year and it was a success! It was so much easier to do, plus free clean-up! This chair helped her feel even more special:

The cake:

I don't know why I have such an obsession with dressing up my kids . . . but I couldn't resist them being Thing 1 and Thing 2. They were darling. I even had extra hats for everyone at the party. This is the best shot we could get of our little things together.

Thing 2 loved Violet's party almost as much as Violet. He ran around until he couldn't move anymore. His energy astounds me.

Violet could not have had more fun and it seems everyone agreed. Thanks to all of our friends for coming and helping us celebrate Violet.

The Oasis of the Seas

If you have a chance to take a cruise on this ship, do it! It is unbelievable. It's huge and packed full of stuff to do. The food is also the best I've had on a cruise ship. We had a F-U-N trip.

This ship had awesome shows and we had one to see almost every day. It had so many pools and there were always loungers available. It had a carousel . . .

It had an area they call Central Park that was a garden growing in the middle of the ship! There was a little restaurant there that served the best roast beef sandwiches I've ever had. We ate there a lot.

Free Donuts (my favorite).

We did a zipline excursion and laid on a private beach in Haiti . . .

We got soaking wet in the Cozumel rain (which was SO worth it), we had the best authentic mexican food there!

One of our favorite things was the flowrider, a simulated surfing machine. Zach was a natural. I was pretty good too, but I don't want to show you a picture of it in an effort to only show my flattering self . . .

The reason we chose to go on this cruise is because Zach's best friend was the professional comedian on the ship this week. We got to hang with him the whole time and he is the best. He is of course, funny, but mainly just an easy travel companion. It was so fun to have him with us. It was also nice having someone there as our personal photographer. I suggest everybody hire him to travel with them. Ryan Hamilton, you are the best!

We truly had an amazing time. We watched a few movies and took plenty of naps in this fabulous room.

I sure did miss my kids though. Seven days was too long. On day 6 and 7, I was dying to see them. I am so grateful to my moms and dads for watching the kiddos. Violet missed us I think and Scotty terrorized their houses. I'm sure caring for the babies was a tough job. Thank you guys so much for being there for us.

Finally, I just LOVE these shots.

Our 5th Anniversary

5 years with this guy has flown by. Being with Zach is as easy as breathing and I'm grateful for him EVERY day! Oh how I love my other half!

Zach took me on a cruise for our anniversary. It was wonderful! More pictures to come.

The gifts:

I love love love sharing this boy's initial . . .

This is some fake bling that Zach bought me at the airport in Atlanta. I was really upset that I forgot my real ring at home. I'm excited to have this fake little ring to travel with, because if I lose it, no big deal.
I LOVE YOU ZACH!

New Family Pictures

Getting these pictures was a breeze. Seriously. We got lucky that day. Violet was a little model and Scotty held still for a couple seconds at a time!