Christmas-ing in Pendleton

So this year we decided to have a quiet Christmas at home but not seeing any family would be just too sad so we decided to go to Pendleton for a little before Christmas partying.

We celebrated Joe's birthday...

Going back to my home town is always a treat. I love spending time with my grandma and other extended family. This time the kids took turns having sleepovers at my grandma's with their cousins Aby and Pochito. The girls one night, the boys the other.

Pochito and Camden can't get enough of each other! When Pochito first saw Camden he said "Hey Camden is five now because he is as big as me!" Pochito is five, Camden is three...They had a great time together, they went on a journey looking for dinosaurs.

They also helped Joe do some outdoor decorating...

The girls made cookies with Joe...

We took the kids to see the Christmas lights which was fun especially when we would hit a dead end and almost went down a cliff.

I was able to have dinner with some of my childhood friends. I loved reconnecting with these wonderful ladies. Even though we are all old now, it's so neat to talk to people who knew me way back when...when I was becoming who I was going to be ;)

One of my favorite memories of growing up was eating Peanut Butter Butterflies from "Up With Donuts" or  "Up Your Donut" which is what I remember calling it. Anyway, I took Aric on a little date there, he was impressed not only with the size but the yummy-ness!

Whenever I am in town I love to see what project my brother Ben is working on (he builds houses). He is currently building a 3800 sqft house. It is beautiful, he has some skills, that baby brother of mine :)

I was able to go on a couple of long runs. It was lonely but fun to run around my old stomping ground seeing it through grown up eyes.

Another cool Pendleton attraction is the food vendors that roll into town. From the first moment Aric laid eyes on this truck he couldn't wait to eat there...

Well he had to wait a few days but he got his foot long corn dog...

The best part was when he paid for it with a ten dollar bill, this is the change he got back...

$2 bills, Silver dollars and fifty cent pieces.
SERIOUSLY??

The night before we left, we had a fun family Christmas party. It was so great to hang out with my extended family, I love these people!!!

Me and Tia Lucy

Eden got to play Santa...

Camden rocking out with his sweet new guitar...

The girls loved their Aeropostale gear that they got...

Every year I try to do some homemade gifts. This year it was my Tia Ines's turn to get a homemade goodie from me. She has never had a real church bag to hold her scriptures and manuals in so I made her this special one.

She loves roses so I found this rosey fabric for her and the most special part of this bag is the button. When my Abuelita Tina died, all I wanted was her sewing basket. At the bottom of the basket were some buttons that she had saved from clothes she had worn. I found this button and thought it was perfect for this special bag.

I love taking a bunch of fabric and ribbon...

...and turning it into something pretty and practical.

And that my friends is how you secure your spot as the most favorite niece.

One of the things that happens in Pendleton, that cannot be avoided, is running into someone you know everywhere you go. Knowing this fact, I sent Aric into Walmart as we were rolling out of town. It needed to be a quick stop so I stayed in the car with the kids....until I saw my friend Jenny coming out of  Walmart with some of her family! She had just gotten into town from Utah. So I jumped out of my car screaming her name, it was a fun reunion in the parking lot.

It was a very pleasant trip to Pendleton. It was the perfect way to kick off Christmas! This is my favorite picture from the trip...

C with my Tia Lucy...LOVE IT!

Christmas Awesomeness...

The past twelve days have been jam packed with Holiday Awesomeness...

Nothing starts the holidays off better than a visit from my awesome friend Cynthia.

Then it was Maya's orchestra concert...

This picture is awful but it's documented right??

Aric got death glares from people because he saved a whole bench for us and the Romney's.

Camden was making friends right and left and was definitely not using his concert etiquette.

I was in charge of our ward/congregation party that also included women and children from a local battered women's shelter. We had close to 300 people in attendance. This is what my car looked like on the way to decorate.

We also adopted eight families from the shelter. This is what my front room looked like after collecting all the gifts at the party. I have been working with this women's shelter for seven years now, it is hands down the best part of my Christmas.

We delivered the gifts on Monday for Family Night. I wanted a picture of Eden sandwiched between all the gifts...

But then Maya and Camden wanted to be in the picture, this is how those turned out...

We invited our friends the Young's to join us. It's so awesome to see the generosity of so many people. It's a ton of work to coordinate it all, but to be on the Lord's errand is such a blessing that the work doesn't feel like work at all.

We live in the coolest town ever...Santa comes to your neighborhood with his musical truck to check in on the kids, they run out and say hello to him. He reminds them to be good and gives them a candy cane.

Then we had Eden's 3rd grade Christmas concert. The poor girl was on the risers in the corner that had no light so I didn't get any good action shots, but here she is after the concert with some of her buddies and her teacher.

I have been busy making homemade Christmas gifts so I kept the kids busy with Aric making a gingerbread house...good thing I took this picture right when it was finished because unfortunately C was left alone with it this morning and let's just say some candy is missing...

I had "Muffins and Moms" with Maya before school this morning...

Then I made a ton of sugar cookies...these were the ones left over...

All for Eden's Christmas party in the afternoon...This party was a piece of cake compared to the ward party I had to plan!

Camden was AWFUL!!! Eating the candy off of kids cookies they had just decorated. Crawling on the floor like an animal because he said he was an animal. Knocking plates off of desks, on accident of course. He got snapped at by the teacher because he was snooping by her desk. He had all the boys acting crazy during musical chairs that there were injuries happening during every round. Seriously, he will NEVER be invited to another school party again!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks but it's all part of the holiday season and I really do love it. I only wish there were more hours in the day...we are headed to Oregon in the morning for a few days. We'll be back just in time for a quiet Christmas at home just our family of five. We've never done that before. It will be interesting ;)

Stay tuned, there will be more awesomeness to post soon ;)

C is Three

This boy is three and it's breaking my heart a little tiny bit...

He had a little party with his play group a few days before his birthday. Having your birthday Thanksgiving weekend is tricky. He wanted a motorcycle party...

 On his birthday he got to have a family party.

This picture he is showing us how old he is...

These are the motorcycles he got from his sisters...

These are the Mr. Potato Heads he got from Grandma Kathy and Papa Ron...

C wanted to go to McDonald's for his birthday dessert and Papa Joe and Abuelita were able to join us...

C wanted a chocolate shake instead of cake so that is what he got...

I love this kid more than words can say. He completes our family, he completes me. He says the funniest things all the time. He loves people. He loves to be funny. He loves to dance and sing. He loves Buzz and Woody. He loves the movie Cars 2. He likes to draw faces. He likes to talk in different voices/accents. He makes me crazy most days but I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Happy Birthday to my little man!