holiday fun

We were glad to be back home in Arizona after all the travel. Jackson and Eddie missed us a bunch, so we made sure to give them some extra attention!

Grandma Judy had joined us in Arizona, and I loved waking up in bed with her! We would sit and read for hours!!!


With Christmas right around the corner there were all sorts of activities going on around town, and we had to go to ALL of them!!!

At Lifetime Fitness we got to eat breakfast with Santa! Here I am on the way in all dolled up in one of Mom's creations...

Mom had a hard time getting Macie to stop and pose for a picture- she was too excited to stand still.

At the door Macie stopped just long enough to give Grandma Judy a hug.

Once we were inside Mom tried again to take some pictures of us...

I made sure to pose for the camera,

but after MANY attempts, and lots of frustration on both Mom's and my part, Macie refused to sit and smile nicely.

Inside there was TONS of fun things to do- I played with my friends and did lots of neat crafts.

When Santa came, both Macie and I made sure we were the first kids in line! Mom had us both pose for a picture and then let us take turns with Santa all on our own!!!




When we were done with pictures, Mom ensured us it was alright to pig out and the breakfast table. Macie and I made sure to fill up our plates, and dug right in!

Our table manners were forgotten, and Mom was mortified when I began using my sleeve for a napkin...



When our bellies were full both Macie and I made our way back to the craft area where we worked on different projects.

Before we left, we made sure to pose for some pictures with Dad!!!

We had a great morning at Lifetime, and after naps went to the train park to see what Holiday Fun they had in store.

It was AMAZING- everywhere we looked there we characters, holiday decorations, food, etc.

After we made our rounds, and took pictures with ALL the characters, Grandma Judy and Dad took us over to the park where we met up with some friends and had a blast!!!

The days leading up to Christmas were filled with lots of fun and family. We did all of our usual holiday traditions; after going to church and eating a big family dinner, we watched the Grinch in new Christmas pajamas and ate cookies while writing letters to Santa (Mom can't seem to find all of our Christmas Eve pictures, so here are a few).

Cookie Making with Aunt Hayley:

Church:


Will and Eddie:

Macie mesmerized by Christmas Music(she RARELY sits in front of the TV for more than 1 minute):



Macie and I woke up Christmas morning ready to get the day started- Here we are opening our presents:

I had asked Santa for a guitar, and was SO excited when I opened one!!!

Macie said she only wanted CANDY, so her stocking was stocked full of all her favorites (which we all new Mom would be eating when no one was looking).

Macie also got a guitar from Santa, but the candy was by far the gift that made her the happiest!

Opening our Disney dolls was another highlight of the morning!

Mom and Dad were the last to open their morning Christmas gifts. Macie and I couldn't wait for Dad to open ours...



We bought Dad a guitar t shirt that he could actually play music on. The most amazing part was that it actually sounded REALLY GOOD!!!

We all sat together on the couch and enjoyed our time together as a family- unfortunately Mom caught me acting very un-lady like...

Dad showed Mom her present, and she was really excited about it...

Unfortunately Dad decided to show a clip from a TV show that WAS NOT "child" friendly, so Mom had to think fast and jump in front of the screen to keep me from seeing the violence...


Uncle Will joined us later in the morning for a big Christmas brunch and afterwards we exchanged gifts.



Macie and I were thrilled when we opened princess sticker books (so was Mom, since she knew they would provide HOURS of entertainment!!!)


We opened the rest of our gifts before naptime, and I LOVED the electric guitar I got from Miss Jaime's Family!!!

That night we ate a BIG dinner and spent time with friends and family.

When all the excitement was done and it was time for bed, Macie and I were excited to jump into bed in our new jammies and princess dolls!

Before falling asleep, I made sure to hug Dad and thank him for a special holiday!

This Christmas was a lot of fun for our family, and Mom's favorite one yet (since Macie could finally participate in everything, and "get it"). We are all thankful for the family and friends that made our holiday season special this year!!!

Ice Skating with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Liz

Back in San Diego Macie and I spent lots of time with the family. Once of the coolest things we did was go Ice Skating with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Liz!!!

Mom had been talking about for for over a week, and when the day finally arrived we were SO excited we could hardly contain ourselves!

Here we are all dressed up and ready for some fun on the ice:

We all skipped to the car with smiles of anticipation on our faces!

When we arrived at the rink in Downtown San Diego, Ryan and Liz helped us get our gear on.

Standing up on skates was a little awkward at first...

but Macie didn't seem to mind, and took off across the carpet like a pro!!!

The ice was slippery, and it was a LOT harder than I thought. The family all took turns helping Macie and I around the rink.

I struggled a little, and my legs were sort of "jello-y", but I still enjoyed it!

After a while, one of the "skate pro's" at the rink came by and showed me some techniques:

Before long, I was making my way around the ice at a pretty quick pace:

Macie turned out the be the champion- she skated around and was a tough cookie until Mom fell with her and she got scared.

After an hour, poor Uncle Ryan (who, not only is almost 6'5", but a size 15 shoe wearing a 13) started to get back pain from bending down to our level. Mom and Liz agreed that we had a good run, and help us off the ice and out of our skates.

Glad to be back on stable ground, the family went to dinner and spent the rest of the evening enjoying food and good company!





The next morning we drove out to the Umbargers to say goodbye to everyone and we surprised when we discovered that Santa had made a special delivery for us:

After the go ahead from Mom, we tore open the packages:

Princess JASMINE DRESSES!!! The ONLY princess we didn't have!!! Boy are we lucky girls!

With our outfits on we were ready for a show, so we invaded Uncle Brandon's room and played him some tunes:

Our time in San Diego was fun filled but short, as we had to head back to Arizona to prepare for Christmas. I LOVED seeing all my family and friends and hope they know how much fun I had with them while in California.

With Christmas only a few days away I am looking forward to all the fun activities and traditions we will be doing this holiday season!