At the very first of the month- Aunt J came out for a visit! I was so grateful to spend the extended weekend with her and so GLAD she was able to take our family pictures! They turned out AWESOME and we absolutely loved them! It was fun to catch up in a way we never get to! We laid by the pool, ate out, went to the movies and talked and talked and talked. Love my sister so much!!!
We were also blessed to have Grammy in town for a week! It's always pretty amazing to have my Mom here to shop, bake, chat, help advise, organize and love my children! We were able to get SO much Christmas shopping and organizing done! My mom taught Evelyn how to sew and created a darling Sally Brown costume for Evie's upcoming play! (Phew! They were $80 on Etsy). Each child picked a couple of treats they wanted to bake with Grammy-- that is the kids' little tradition and they love it! Evelyn chose oreo balls; Dane chose ice cream cake and fudge, Grant chose a chocolate cake and popcorn balls. It was quite the site around here with treats all over the place. We had a nice time in Old Town for the kids' day off from school-- the kids were spoiled rotten at the rock store! I roped my mom into teaching the Activity Day girls a couple of line dances at the Daddy/Daughter Hoe Down while she was here. She helped so much! Making corn muffins, chili, helping to decorate and then lead a big group in dancing! Ha! I don't know that she'll be making her way back around here any time soon with all of the tasks I had her do! But all in all, we had a very amazing week! Love my mom so much!
This past month we were able to celebrate Evelyn's 11th birthday. Such an amazing girl we have on our hands.... she wanted a sewing machine and clothes for her birthday. Evelyn started curling her hair and wearing bangs. She looks so grown up! She continues to love to knit (got that from Grandma who just finished her blanket!!), create and cook! This month she saved and bought a donut pan so she could make spice donuts--- they were delicious! For her birthday this year, we headed up to Los Angeles to spend the weekend with Grandma and Aunt Stacy. It was truly so much fun shopping around the grove-- mostly at Zara's! Stacy helped Ev to pick out some cute outfits and darling shoes at Nordstroms. We went to eat at Stacy's good friend Yuko's Japanese restaurant-- it was delicious and we loved every bite! Fun to try to spot famous people!! We laughed our heads off spending the night at Stacy's-- she is always so gracious to give up her bed for us to stay over. We loved Universal Studios (THANK YOU GRANDMA!) so so much. Wasn't too crowded and is such a favorite for Ev, Stac and I! The weekend was perfect and a wonderful way to celebrate our little red-headed girl!! She is full of spunk, but kind hearted and loving as well. Her teacher at conferences told me that she is so very helpful with many many friends who look up to her. She adores having Evelyn in her class.
Last week Dane got his braces off! Yay! He's thrilled and looks so handsome with his new smile! Dane has been taking robotics classes after school on Mondays and is loving building robots with his buddy Cole. He showed such maturity a few weeks ago at the Cub Scout Rain Gutter Ragata! Dane likes to win-- he has a VERY hard time losing. But at this particular event, he didn't win and he was ok with that-- I was so proud of his behavior-- no tears and great sportsmanship! He is such a giving and sweet kid. At conference, his teacher boasted of his high reading and writing scores (just like his Daddy!) and his perfect behavior! She adores him and so do we.
Grant was in heaven this month getting to spend the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house by himself! We were all worried that he might not be able to make it--- Grant is our kid who likes to be close to home. The kid definitely does NOT like babysitters and has been known to get a bit homesick at times. But to our surprise and delight-- Grant was wonderful! He had the time of his life with Grandma and Grandpa-- eating at IHOP, taking the train to Oceanside, playing uno and go fish, staying up late to watch movies-- he loved every second and Blake and I were pretty proud of his behavior (and grateful to Grandma and Grandpa for their sacrifice!) Grant is just full of energy and such a fantastic, funny child. His teacher at conference told me he is the best leader in the class- that all the kids look up to him and follow what he does. I can definitely see that in my little guy-- he is a take charge kind of kid.
Anna is all about the holidays right about now. She loves wearing her turkey/christmas outfits and playing with nativity figurines and Rudolph puppets. She is our festive little girl who is happy about everything and full of sunshine. She is practically perfect and the joy in our lives.
