Christmas Time is Here

We had a very nice and quiet Christmas this year. It was just us, which was kind of strange. The last two years we stayed at home and family visited us for Christmas. We figured when we moved into the parent's house we would see even more family, but not this year. We've decided it wasn't us--it was being 20 minutes from Disneyland!

We really missed seeing everyone, but enjoyed the time we had as just us. The front room floor remained covered with gifts, wrapping paper and boxes for almost a week because I didn't stress about cleaning, and Robert loved his Christmas Eve dinner of just appetizers because I didn't need to cook for anyone else. Here are some pictures from this past week:

Visting the Oakland temple:

Getting to open one present on Christmas Eve:This toy was as much fun for Robert as it was for Jarrett:Christmas morning:The hair's great:The smiles are even better:

The best part is they're even smiling for books:

Merry Christmas!

Have we mentioned?

We LOVE Disneyland!

We had to visit Disneyland at Christmas time, so we took a quick trip. This time we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which is another one of Danielle's (and perhaps Robert's?) dreams come true.

This was the view from our room:
Here's another great view:
We splurged again and went to Goofy's Cafe. We basically paid $15 for each kid to just have them eat a bowl of Fruit Loops, but we also got to meet some fun characters:
Afterwards we somehow got Danielle to go in a moving gondola on Mickey's Fun Wheel. She wasn't too thrilled:
Jarrett and Liesl had a great time, though:
I promise Liesl is smiling. Here she is smiling on the carousel:
This is her NOT smiling:
Cotton candy sticking to her fingers freaked her out a little. Other than that, we had a great time.

Cinderella

Danielle's dance studio performed Cinderella last night. She got to play the part of a mouse. Here she is before we left for the theater:
She did not like getting her hair and makeup done, which surprises me for how girly she is.

This is her performance:
She was so excited.

And curtain call:

Dreams do come true

Danielle is full of passion. We often hear "This is the BEST day of my life!" or "It's my DREAM come true!" Saturday was one of those days. She got to be in a parade!
She was with the dance studio that she takes ballet with. They'll be performing Cinderella in a few weeks, and they asked the little girls to dress up as princesses and hand out flyers advertising the performance. Not my idea of fun, but Danielle was thrilled. I think the only parade she's seen is the Disneyland parade, and this little hometown parade (as are most) was a far cry from that, but she thought it was sooooo wonderful. We saw one of the floats parked today, and she just couldn't contain her excitement that it was a float from her parade.

A little bit about Liesl

Liesl is so fiercely independent and stubborn--her favorite thing to say (screech) is "I do it!" And most of the time I don't mind that she wants to do things on her own, but sometimes her judgment is lacking. We love that she's potty trained fairly easily, but we've had to take away her potties (it's okay since she can go on a toilet) because she would go on her own, and then empty them herself, ending up on the floor more often than in the toilet. And on the same subject, we've caught her a few times cleaning her own poopy diapers (she still wears one at nap and bed time), and you can imagine how that goes. I think she's learned not to do that now.

The other morning we heard her crawl out of her crib, close our bedroom door, go downstairs, and head out the front door. We couldn't believe it, and by the time Robert got outside, she was halfway down the driveway, "looking for mommy," she said. What the ?!? Not sure where that came from. Needless to say we're installing a childproof lock now.

I love that she tries to dress herself and will get her own snacks and fills her own water bottle (now that she doesn't spill it every time). She loves to help me cook, but once again, the lack of judgment is often scary. As is the park--she has no fear.

One more tidbit: I finally figured out that whenever Liesl gets a cold, her MO is to throw up within the first 24 hours. I don't know why I didn't figure it out until this last cold, but from now on I will be prepared. This last time she was acting okay, just a runny nose, so I went to the hardware store with her and Jarrett and stopped at Starbucks to get some hot chocolate for them as a reward for being good. As I walked up to the cashier, Liesl started coughing and then, out of nowhere, threw up all over me. The poor cashier just turned away and I made a beeline for the exit. I've decided greater love hath no mom than to catch her child's throw up so it doesn't go on the floor . . .

Jarrett's Joy

Jarrett's preschool teacher told me that if she's ever having a bad day at preschool, all she needs to do to feel better is watch Jarrett play. She said there's just something about him that makes her happy. I couldn't agree more, and after I thought about it a little bit, I decided that it's because he's a joyful kid. He has the best smile and laugh and is so easy going. We're very grateful he's a part of our family.

One thing that has made Jarrett sad, though, is that Grandma and Grandpa aren't coming back. The last few months they went on so many trips, I think he thought when we were saying goodbye to them for the last time that they would be back in a week, just like they always were. A week ago, he was asking "Where's Grandma and Grandpa?" We replied that they're on their mission. It didn't really hit him until after we took their car to be sold. He was pretty mad that their car wasn't here anymore. He misses them. We all do.

Child labor

At least we give them gloves!

Halloween

Halloween was easy this year, except for the fact that we had five parties in as many days the week leading up to it. But other than that, Jarrett wanted to wear the same costume as last year:
Poor Jarrett had a little cold on the day of his preschool party, so we gave him some medicine, which actually makes him excitable instead of tired. When they performed their songs, he was loud and made the motions very animated. Other parents probably didn't notice, but he's such a quiet guy . . . I really wish we had video of it!

Liesl was happy with being a ladybug (I had suggested it since we already had the costume for Danielle when she was the same age). She thought it was lots of fun:
Danielle wears costumes throughout the year, so the only difference is she gets to wear them out of the house. For her school party she wanted to be Ariel with red hair, so the red wig is the only costume I had to buy this year:
We tried the wig on after I bought it, and it kind of freaked her out, but I couldn't return it, so I told her since I paid for it, she had to wear it at least a little bit. (Geez, that makes me sound evil. It didn't sound so bad at the time.) She wore it for her school's parade, but before I got back to her classroom to help her take it off, she had already ripped it off, leaving the bobby pins in her hair.

For trick or treating, she decided to go for a more demure Cinderella costume:
Trick or treating was, as it was last year, a big hit for Jarrett and not so much for Danielle. Liesl loved it too this year, so Danielle was outnumbered and had to "suffer" through getting more candy.

A Cultural Experience

Danielle was asked to be a flower girl for a wedding last weekend. It was an honor for her and our family, and she represented us well. But whenever I saw her during the wedding, I kept thinking of the Sesame Street sketch "One of These Things is not Like the Other." Here's why:
Can you see her? Her blonde head is next to the lady in purple in the middle of the picture. It was a Cambodian wedding for one of Robert's pharmacy school classmates. This was the first time we've attended such a ceremony, and it was a great experience. There were traditional gifts, food, music, and clothing (the bride wore at least three dresses), and it was all very colorful. It was also very long--about six hours. There was also a dinner reception that night, so it made for a long day for Danielle, but she was smiling and pleasant the whole time. Being a flower girl brings out the best in her!

Of course we couldn't go back to So Cal without a visit to Disneyland. Here's a few pictures from this trip:

Fall Break

One nice perk that came with moving to a new school is the "modified traditional" school year. School here starts at the end of July, we get a two-week break every Fall, Winter and Spring, and get out in early June for a two-month summer break (just right, in my opinion). We just finished our fall break. It will be nice for us to get back into a routine again, as well as have some time apart!

During the break we took a road trip to Arizona to visit family and stopped at Disneyland on the way home.

Liesl's AWESOME hair at McD's on the way to Arizona.

I was surprised at how much Liesl remembers of Disneyland. She couldn't wait to go on Small World and the Teacups. Jarrett was pretty excited too.

Danielle does not like the end of the Alice in Wonderland ride when the birthday cake "explodes". We've at least taught her how to manage her fear.

Liesl sharing her sucker with Daddy, including the hair attached to it.

Even ice cream cones are more fun at Disneyland.

I was pretty beat by the end of the trip. I ended up getting sick for about three days afterward. Luckily we could just stay home for a few days and recuperate.

We did finish the break with a day trip to the Jelly Belly Factory.
Danielle and Jarrett were enthralled through the whole tour. Jarrett loved all things mechanical, and Danielle liked the videos and seeing tray after tray of colorful jellybeans stacked throughout the factory. Liesl just liked eating samples along the way.

I tried to do some outlet shopping afterwards, but that was pretty crazy. Never go shopping with kids after taking them to a candy factory! Next time we go (and Jarrett and Danielle are already asking when that will be), I'll go shopping first.

Stop it Mister!

Jarrett's usually a pretty easy going, trouble-free kid. However, these last few days when his sisters are bugging him, he'll growl "Stop it Mister!" at them. I guess he must get into enough trouble to know that's what will make it stop!

You're Always There

Baby Danielle with Grandma Lola Stone

I am so lucky to be your granddaughter. When I look back on all the important events in my life, you were there. I don't remember much of my baptism, but I know you drove through a snowstorm to be there. I can't count all the times you sat through hot August afternoons to watch me show my steer at the county fair. You were there at Junior Miss, graduation, and even my district’s dance championships.

You were such a fun grandma—so full of energy and joyful service. Whenever we would visit, you were always busy making sure that we were well taken care of. When I visited you for a week all by myself, I felt like there was no one more important than me. And when I got homesick, you rubbed Vick’s on my chest to help me calm down. Whenever I smell it now, a vision instantly comes to my mind of lying in the downstairs bedroom with you there by my side, singing sweet songs.

One of my favorite memories is of living with you for the month before I was married. It was such a crazy time, and I’m sure I didn’t let you know how grateful I was, but I could not have made it through without your love and understanding. You helped me move out of my apartment, got me through knee surgery, and woke me up every morning with a gentle “Jennie” and the smell of a delicious breakfast (Robert never complained about driving from Provo every morning to pick me up because he knew he would be well fed!)

One thing that I have learned from you is the importance of traditions. There’s a lot of comfort that comes from knowing that no matter what, there are constants in our lives. Potato salad, flocked Christmas trees, egg hunts at the cabin, parades, Rook, BYU football. Which reminds me of another favorite memory. I love that when I was attending a game, I could go over to your seats and you would be so genuinely excited to see me, and then always tell the people around you something about me.

If I’m ever feeling down, I just need to think of how special you made me feel. That’s the best gift you ever gave me, and I hope I can do that for my own children.

It's Hot

Whenever we go outside, Liesl tells me it's hot (bright) and she needs her sunglasses. Sometimes she's just so cool she needs to wear them inside, too.

The Smell of Sunshine

I was flat ironing Danielle's hair this morning, and she told me that it smells like sunshine.

Two Gone, Too Cute

Danielle started first grade a few weeks ago, but she officially has the "first grade smile" now:

Jarrett Turns 4!

Four must be Jarrett's lucky number. He got to have two birthday parties this year! On the day of his birthday, Robert had to work until 9 p.m., so we had a small party with an M&M ice cream cake and a few presents after he got home:
Jarrett has been asking for this present for six months now. Every time we went to Target I had to remind him he either needed to save his quarters for it or wait until his birthday. We know how much Jarrett likes to spend his quarters, so he ended up waiting until now to get it. Of course now it's not available at Target, so thank goodness for the internet!

A few days after Jarrett's birthday, much of Robert's family (13 adults and 11 children) came to visit, so we decided to have a BIG party then. This was the party Jarrett's been most looking forward to since we received the Birthday Express catalog six months ago. He chose a Speed Racer theme, so we had the balloons, plates and cups to use as we ate pizza and a Speed Racer cake. Luckily there were lots of cousins to help him blow out the candles:
I think he had a great time:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JARRETT!