Christmas!!

Christmas gets better and better each year watching Eva and Sophia: from the weeks before Christmas when we are decorating the house, to their anticipation as the night "Santa" comes draws closer and closer, to the morning excitement that fills our house!

Here are some Christmas morning pictures:

Sophia was quite hilarious with this gift. She "had" to get all the wrapping paper off...every last little bit.

Check out my eyes - so BIG and blue!

All decked out in our Christmas dresses...

Checking out one of Mama's Christmas trees...

Auntie Alisha snapped this picture of us...Sophia wasn't wanting to sit on our laps : (

Our family...

We got kitchen appliances!! ☺

The girls actually had enough gifts that gift opening spilled over to the next morning...

Fall in Arizona

Ah, fall in Arizona. Our fall colors and subsequent leaf dropping usually happens in December. I really enjoy this time of year since it can also be really nice and warm outside!

This is my Chinese Pistache tree, which I purposely got for its color changing...

This is our Evergreen Elm tree, which is leafless for about 3-4 months (Dec - March). It's leaves are fairly small, so the "leaf pile" for the girls is not so impressive! ☺

In our neighborhood's large, grassy park area are Cottonwood trees. They turn a very pretty yellow and then drop their leaves. These leaves are larger than our Elm tree leaves, so you can make a really nice leaf pile!!
I was trying to teach the girls to roll down the hill, but they wanted to go side to side and not down ☺

Yahoo...

Baking cookies and tree decorating!

It was time to make Christmas cookies at Grandma and Grandpa's... This year we let the girls help with the peanut butter blossom cookies.

First, I would make the balls and give them to the girls...

Then, they would roll the balls in the sugar and put them on the cookie sheet and I would put them in rows...

Sophia squished hers! ☺
Checking out their handy-work!

Grandma made them each an apron with their name on so they can help in the kitchen more often!

Then it was time to decorate their "kids tree" at Mama and Papa's house...

What have I been doing?

Hello everyone! I am so sorry that I have been away for so long! I can not believe that I have let this amount of time go without updating my blog. I just wanted to let you all know that I will be updating this week...if all goes as planned : )

The posts will be backdated, so please look back to October 18th or so for the new entries.

Nicole

Santa brought snow to Apache Junction!

Every year, the parks and rec department in Apache Junction has a Holiday Program the beginning of December. There is a holiday light parade in the evening (cars, motorcycles, etc. are decorated with Christmas lights), but before that the kids can visit with Santa, play in some snow, drink hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music.

Since the girls had recently seen snow in October when we drove up north, they enjoyed being able to see it again. Can you tell Eva liked it?

Sophia wasn't sure what to think... there were SO MANY kids there!

Look what I have!
Then we visited with Santa. Sophia was not happy - she cried when we got near Santa, Eva was a trooper sitting on Santa's lap, and well, Mommy's eyes are a little too big when she smiled ; )

To the park we go...

It was a nice December day, so we headed to some of the parks in our neighborhood. Here are the girls walking through the greenway over to the next park (I am pushing the stroller on the sidewalk).

It amazes me, yet makes me a little sad to see my "little" Sophia just go and climb the equipment at the parks all be herself. She is becoming my independent girl!

Go alligator, go!

When Sophia was at the top of the slide, Eva told her "I'll catch you." What a nice big sis! : )

When we returned home, we had lunch outside since it was so nice.