Arrrrrrrgh.......

Tanner turned 3 on the 15th!!! It's crazy to me that he is all ready 3! They grow up way to fast!!! I love that boy so much! I asked Tanner what kind of party he wanted - I thought it would be cars - but he wanted a pirate party!!!! And boy did we ever have a pirate party!!!

I love my kids birthdays - I love decorating the house, making their cake and planning the party! I think I decorated so much for his party because his birthday is so close to Christmas -I wanted it to be special for him. I tried to move all my Christmas stuff aside and make it feel like his birthday!

My mom and I made him a sword birthday cake! I made the cake and cut it into the sword shape. My cute mom decorated it with the frosting and did an AWESOME job! She had the hard part!!! It looked so good!!!! Thanks mom!!! I sent everyone on a treasure hunt through the house - from the basement up to Tanner's room! Every clue led to something a pirate would wear - like eye patches, pirate vests, jewelry, swords, hats and of course gold! So when we were done with the treasure hunt everyone looked like a pirate!

Here are all the pirates - now ready for the party!At the end of the treasure hunt I had Tanner open one of his presents which was a pirate costume! Tanner is so into dress-ups right now! You never know if his going to show up as spiderman, batman - and now he can be a pirate too!

He also got a red Power Ranger to dress up in!!! He has not taken it off since his birthday - literally!!! Every where we go - he's a Power Ranger- and proud of it! He'll walk into a store or a room of people and announce that he's a Power Ranger!
Tanner snitching the cake while we were playing games!

We all played pin the patch on the pirate! Tanner got it right on the pirate's eye- but he was peeking! It's okay - it was his party!

Then we played musical islands! (Yes, everyone was a really good sport with all of my games)
Happy birthday Tanner - we all love you so much!

Breakfast with Santa!!!

Every year for the past 3 (or 4) years we have done breakfast with Santa at the same place! It has turned out to be a really fun tradition! The kids get to each spend time with Santa, eat breakfast, sing songs with him, get their faces painted, go on a treasure hunt with him, and write letters to him (that he will respond to personally)! This year we had quite a crew there - my parents, Brent and Brenda, my Grandma Hawkins (who is here in town because my grandpa is at Alta View Hospital) and my little family! This year my mom got to even dance with Santa! I love Christmas!

OUCH!!!!

Need I say more???

Well - poor Jake killed his head Sunday night right before we did gingerbread houses with my whole family. He was standing on my mom's fireplace and jumped and whacked his head on the corner of her table. I heard this loud crack and Jake was screaming at the top of his lungs and shaking on the floor!!! It was so sad! I think he screamed for about 10 minutes - he probably cracked his scull. Well -we put ice on it for about 30 minutes, then he was back at it! I hope he doesn't have drain bamage from it!

Boy, did we ever get a tree.......

We went up to Wyoming this weekend to get a Christmas tree!! We had a lot of fun - Anne, Kayde, Drake, Wil and his friend Brandon all came up for the big occasion! Every year Porter's family goes to the forest and cuts down their own tree! Usually every year - 1 or more - vehicle gets stuck! But not this year - we made it without having to dig a truck out!

Here is Mark's (Porter's dad) car leading the way!

I was in the truck with Porter and Jake! (He's not smoking - just chewing a match - he quit several months ago - just kiddin')
Jake got a little bored on the way up there and was making faces at me!!! He looks pretty freaky!!! Jake and Court biffed it on the tube!
After a long hunt we found the perfect Christmas tree!! Porter wanted a huge one - that's all he cared about. He wanted to get a 18 foot tree so it would reach our ceiling, but he finally came around and realized a 14 foot tree would do. (And yes, Porter did have a tape measure)! Mark and Cynde got a great tree- Anne and Kayde did too - and Brandon's tree, well more like a tree branch, will be perfect in his dorm room! My camera batteries died, so if you want to see a group photo of everyone with their trees, you will have to go to Anne's blog. Hopefully she will have the pictures up soon!

So we get the tree home tonight (Sunday) and it is freakin' huge!!! It's like having my own forest in the family room. It makes everything else in the room look tiny! I do love it - it is a beautiful tree, and It smells soooo good. I don't know how I am going to get lights on it - or if I even will! And the bottom of it might be the only part that get decorated. Oh well, I think my kids will always remember this tree! (This picture doesn't really do it justice)

If I ever get lights on it or decorate it - I will add more pictures - but it might just stay this way! I hope everyone is having a merry Christmas so far! I can't wait to see everyone soon!