Cruisin

Parker got this plasma car for christmas and he loves for Caitlyn to take him for rides around the house.

All Good Things

Yes after a very exciting and busy holiday season we were basically wiped out, but it was definitely worth it, getting to spend time with all our family. Luv you guys! :)

Pump It Up

Of course no trip is complete without a couple hours of bouncin at Pump It Up.

Alladin

There is a little theatreby my parents house that really does a good job. They do anything from Les Miserable to kids theatre. We took the kids to see their production of Aladdin, and it was so cute. They keep it short and sweet, just an hour, but they really make the characters and stories come alive. The kids enjoyed it and even Parker sat through all but the last 10 minutes.

Lovin Legos!

Who couldn't pass up a trip to LegoLand? You have to admit it is pretty neat what they make out of legos. Everything you see here has been made out of Legos.

The Eifel Tower

Santa, of course.

R2-D2

Indiana Jones

Harry Potter, Amy's favorite.

This is the spider that was awaiting us at the end of the jungle maze, and yes the entire jungle was made out of Legos; plants, animals, water, everything.

This was the entire downtown Chicago made out of Legos.

Grandpa sat and made race cars with the kids so they could race them down the racetrack.

Party-poopers.

Field Trip

With everyone in town we took a field trip to visit Sue, at the Field Museum. I have to say she was pretty cool and the kids were impressed. Although they were confused that they couldn't find DUM DUM from the Night at the Museum movies, sorry kids, wrong museum.

Hi Jerry!

This is my favorite picture. Parker with his bamp-pa.

Bowling Mania

Grandma and Grandpa Jeppsen came down for a visit the day after Christmas. Among the many hours we spent opening and playing with all they toys, we were able to slip away and do some bowling! From the looks of it, Dad and Grandma did the best.

Merry Christmas!

The kids woke up early and were ready for the action. I think they got what they really wanted and maybe even a couple of surprises too! Emma got a pottery wheel, Brandon got his much anticipated night vision goggles (random?), Caitlyn got a kid-friendly video camera, and Parker got some foam swords. They all got robes, which Dad is thankful for--no more towel wrapped sprints from the shower to their bedrooms. :)



After we opened and played we drove over to Grandma and Grandpa's to open up more presents!

Christmas Eve

Grandma and Grandpa Jensen held a pizza picnic around the Christmas tree. We played games, ate yummy Giordano's pizza, and finished the night acting out the nativity story. We also watched the nativity story movie from the church.

After the festivities at Grandma's and Grandpa's we drove home. We told the kids they could open one present under the tree (which is usually matching pj's). Well for some reason Parker started throwing a major temper tantrum and would have nothing to do with his present. And then as fast as it started it stopped and he got dressed in his pj's and even let us take a picture.

The kids wanted to leave a snack for Santa, he gets the cookies and milk and the bananas are for the reindeer---yeah didn't ya know reindeer love bananas!

Sledding at Grandma and Grandpa's

We took advantage of the snow that fell and did a little sledding.

Time Out

We had to take a little break from the celebrations to get Parker's first haircut. I really didn't want to but Matt insisted since two people at my parent's ward Christmas party told us how cute our "little girl" was---I mean he was totally wearing boy clothes what were they thinking? Anyways, we went to the place where the kids get to sit in little cars and watch a movie while getting their hair cut. All in all Parker did pretty good as long as he had a bag of fruit snacks to munch on. Although, he was getting a little upset because hair kept falling into the package and he kept eating it---I know, gross, but it wasn't worth the tantrum to take them away, so no worries, a little hairball never hurt anyone right?

Tradition

Usually we make gingerbread houses every year but this holiday season time just slipped by and we didn't make it. But Aunt TT insisted that we at least decorate Christmas sugar cookies instead. And boy were they scrumptious---next time we should have some cookies with those sprinkles! :)

The Nutcracker

The girls and I and Grandma Jensen and Amy rode the train into the city to go see the The Nutcracker. It has kinda become a tradition for us and I think the girls like to go, I definitely like to---I think it reminds me of being little. We got to see the Joffrey Ballet's performance this year and it was beautiful! I don't know how they can dance with all that "snow" falling on the stage. Our favorite definitely has to be the dance of the Sugar Plum Princess. Amy was definitely worn out and couldn't resist catching a few Z's on the way home on the train.

Where's the Love

A couple of Christmas parties later and Parker is still not lovin Santa.



But he sure is lovin those candy canes!

Let the Festivities Begin

Here is Caitlyn in her little preschool christmas program/party. The kids look forward every year to getting to see Santa. For us it kind of kicks off the Christmas season.

This is Parker's first real experience with Santa (since he was a baby last year), and he was definitely not lovin it.

Our Special Visitor

Meet David. He was our special visitor from the north pole this year. Every night in December he would hide in a different spot and watch the kids during the day. They weren't allowed to touch him or he would loose his magic. They could talk to him and tell him what they wanted for Christmas, but he couldn't talk back or he would loose his magic, and he would tell Santa. Every night he went home to the north pole and came back in a different spot. The kids loved getting up in the morning and seeing who would be the first to find him. Mom really loved him because everyone was on their best behavior!

PS. If any of you want to sign up for your own elf from the North Pole just go to www.theelfontheshelf.com

Black Friday

This year for our traditional Day-after Thanksgiving shopping weekend everyone met in the great city of Chicago. It is one of my favorite traditions, which my mom and grandma and aunts started years ago, when I was just a kid. It is a weekend filled with everything from good food and shopping, to great movies and fun---well I guess I should say almost everything because it is definitely NOT filled with good SLEEP! And this year was no different. Seriously, I think Allison and Kylie flew in from Utah and landed around 10:30 p.m. and we were off. We heard Gurnee Mills Outlet Mall was open all night. And it was quite the adventure I must say. There were definitely some questionable people hanging out and we later found out there was a gang shooting incident that night. Luckily we weren't near it, but scary. I know you all are thinking was it worth it, and I have to say I think it was---we got some great deals. So when the day finally dawned it was off to hit the "door buster" stores, which is complete and utter chaos. we literally shopped till we dropped that night around midnight. The next day we ventured into the city, which is always fun shopping on the Mag Mile. We got to go to lunch at the famous Walnut Room in Macy's on State and got to see their famous windows. Thankfully Sunday came and we finally got to rest. I truly am so thankful we are able to do this and I got to spend time with some of my best friends, my mom and sisters. Just as a side note we took my mom to go see the movie Twilight and I am not sure she was impressed, most of the time I looked over and she was sleepin away! We told her she should have read the book!

In the Walnut Room they have a multi-story christmas tree they decorate and you can sit under the tree and eat your meal. It is so beautiful.

If you are ever near downtown Chicago near Christmastime, definitely stop by Macy's to see the window display. This picture doesn't really do them justice, but they truly are amazing!

Here come the Swiss!

Grandma and Grandpa Jeppsen and Aunt Jen visited Switzerland and they brought back these Swiss flag shirts for everyone. They said they had a great time and even got to para-sail off of the Matterhorn. After about a million tries this was the best picture we could come up with. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Funny Parker Pictures

We had pizza one night for dinner and apparently we weren't fast enough serving Parker because we looked over and saw that he had helped himself to the rest of the pizza!
Parker in the morning with some major bed-head going on. He must get it from his sister, cuz Caitlyn wakes up with some pretty wild hair too!