Sea World During Christmas

I knew we would make a day trip to Sea World since I was on vacation this week and we opted to go Friday since Jacob was going to be in town. When we first walked in they spotted Santa Shamu and had to get a picture. 

The Shamu show was going to start shortly after we got there so it worked out perfectly to go there first. They set the show to Christmas music, which was nice.  We got to see all of the big shows and it was fun to have them changed up for the holidays.

Sarah is always in the mood for a picture.....

They desperately wanted to ride the Shamu ride so we headed there next. Kristen did the entire ride with her arms in the air!

Sarah wanted a picture with Abby and The Count.......Kristen was hanging out on the stroller.

We really wanted to go to see the lights at night. They had it looking so festive and the only thing missing was the cold weather. Once it got dark it did cool off just a little bit and since it was so warm we were able to stay longer than we probably would have otherwise.

They had a section that was decorated like a candy cane forest. Super cute with music, hot chocolate and roasted pecans.

We could see these blue and purple lights so we set out to find them. It ended up being an enclosed "winter wonderland" type of exhibit where you walked through and got to take pictures with lots of animals.

We ended up staying until just after 8:00, which was really late for us. The girls did absolutely great while we were there but they started to melt down once we hit the car. We left to go to dinner because we had only been snacking and couldn't bear to eat another theme park hamburger since we had that for lunch. We went to Bill Miller's BBQ right outside of the park but Sarah was DONE by this time. Once we got in the car I think all of us (except Joe of course) slept all of the way home. When we got home we put them straight to bed in the clothes they wore that day.It was fun to go this time of year....glad we got to use our season pass.

Today I went to my mom's house for Christmas with my brothers, their wives and my nieces. No pictures taken today since I wasn't there for that long but it was nice to see everyone.

Right now I'm sitting here watching the countdown to New Year's show.....not sure I'll actually make it to midnight. 2011 was a fabulous year and I look forward to 2012. I truly just hope for another year of good health, safety and happiness for my family.

Christmas with Joe's Side

We went to Matt & Angela's late Christmas Day for dinner with Grandma Katie, Angela, Matt, Sunshine, Hannah and Matt's sisters.

Sunshine is growing up so fast! It was a great visit with everyone and a nice way to wrap up Christmas day. I am truly lucky to have such a wonderful mother-in-law and sister/brother-in-laws.

Kristen was pictured out....I have no idea why   :-)

Sunshine taking a few steps

All of us

Christmas with Grandpa

My Dad drove up Christmas morning and got to our house before noon. We had lunch together and he got to spend some time with the girls. It was a long drive and made for a very long day for him but we're so happy he decided to come up!  Kristen & Sarah really enjoyed their visit with him and wished they could see him more often.

Christmas Morning

Kristen & Sarah have been really good so we knew Santa would be stopping by our house. The girls got up and were surprisingly patient while we were getting up and ready to check our what goodies Santa left. They got a trampoline, scooters, Lalaloopsy dolls, the Innotab (it's like a toddler iPAD) and a camera that goes with it that takes digital pics and video. I told you, they were really good girls! 

The scooter was an instant hit and every since Christmas morning they have been riding it in the house. They go from the front door, through the kitchen, through the living room and back. They love them! 

They have also become whiz kids on the Innotab. It's going to be a great thing for car rides!

Joe put the trampoline together the day after Christmas and they loved it. They jumped and jumped and jumped. 

This Christmas was very special. There is something about being 4 years old.....we're in the sweet spot and I don't want them to grow up!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was absolutely perfect! We were home and it was so nice to be here with the girls. We woke up and started baking cookies to have them all ready in time for Santa. My mom spent most of Christmas Eve with us and stayed the night to be here Christmas morning. We're so glad she was with us!

The girls made ornaments at school and we will treasure them forever. 

They also made me a gift (below). They made Joe a gift at school as well. It was an ornament with their hand print on it.

I picked up these cute aprons when we were in Grapevine and they were so excited to put them on!

After cookie making we got ready for Christmas Eve service at church. We went to the 1:00 service to give us plenty of time to get back and get ready for dinner.

We loved having Nana with us for Christmas.....hopefully every year she can spend it with us!

After dinner they decorated cookies for Santa.

We got on Norad and started tracking Santa. Santa was only in Argentina when we were getting ready to go to bed so we had plenty of time. Sarah started freaking out saying she needed to hurry up and get in bed. She didn't even want to put the reindeer food out because she was in such a hurry to go upstairs. When we took the time to put the reindeer food out anyway she started crying. She was so nervous she was going to miss Santa by being awake when she should be asleep. We quickly got her to bed and the last thing she said was for all of us to get in bed as well. :-)  Christmas Eve was a great day....next up Santa Claus!