Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I can hardly believe it. I've decided that I'm a "pre-season girl". I love everything about the Christmas season... I love the lights, the snow, the window displays, the shopping, the warmth of my home, family traditions, etc. I love the magic and excitement that the children are feeling and the spontaneous giggling without reason. It makes me smile. I love it and I don't want it to end just yet.

Feeding Santa's Reindeer

Seth, Camie, Elle, Cole, Jackson, and our family went to see Santa's reindeer tonight. It was so much fun and the kids loved it.

I have to laugh when I see these pictures. When I was a little girl my Mom made our family go Christmas caroling to friends and neighbors homes. She would make a large variety of cookies and we, as a family, would deliver them and sing. It was more embarrasing the older you got. Hilary wasn't born yet, so it was just me with my five brothers, and Mom and Dad. We have no musical talent in our family. That only entered our home when my brothers got married, and when Hilary joined our crazy bunch. Thank heavens for them.

So there you have it... now we make our kids do it.

I have to say though, it was a really fun night! That's what life's about... traditions and making memories.

Christmas Recital

Cecily, Francesca, and Isabella did a great job tonight. Way to go, girls!

I love walking upstairs and finding all of my kids together, in my bed, watching a movie. It's such a fun sight as long as it's not 3:00am and Tyler and I aren't trying to sleep.

Santa Claus is coming to town...

A magical thing happened...

We had just arrived home from Mexico and the kids went upstairs to get their pajama's on. Noni and Pap came by to say hello and we were all standing around in the kitchen with Uncle Chris. When the kids were finished, we started hearing what sounded like jingle bells. We looked at each other with wide eyes and then looked towards the front door. "Ho Ho Ho" came next and then there "he" was... the man in red, Santa Claus was standing in our house! Laughter and shock filled the kitchen. Apparently Santa had visited our cousins in Midway earlier but when he discovered our children weren't there, he made another stop on his way back to the North Pole. He always loves to check in before Christmas. It was so exciting!

We love MEXICO!

Words cannot explain how much we love spending time in Mexico. It is a spot where we go to be with Grandpa and Mimi, soak in the sun, eat ice cream every day at 2:00, watch amazing sunsets, and relax, relax, and relax. We think this is Grandpa's favorite place to be right now, so we call it "his place"... and enjoy every day completely.

Two days before we left, the girls made up a song about Mexico and sang it nonstop until we boarded the plane. Punta Mita is not just one of the best places, it also means getting Mimi and Grandpa to ourselves, says Finnegan.

We had such a wonderful time!

Finding shells with Mimi

Catching mini crabs

Mimi and Grandpa, We love you!

Baby Maggie

Kids yoga class

Catch of the Day