Happy Birthday Caroline!

{DECEMBER 5, 2008}

My happy, bouncy, bubbly, beautiful Caroline is five! Where has the time gone? She has such a happy soul, she is so full of sunshine and joy. We just love her -- she brings so much imagination and energy into our family! She's my Bubba Jo, my Caroline Valentine. We had a couple of different parties for her (one earlier when Grandma and Grandpa Becraft came up with Paige) and one on her "real" birthday.

Grandma can always find the funniest, silliest presents that the kids just love. This year's was a big hit... her cap-a-tiller!

As ordered a blue, purple and pick princess castle cake!

Of all the presents she got this year, this is the one that got the big reaction: Tinkerbell socks! Good pick Laura!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

{DECEMBER 2008}

Why, oh why is it so hard to buy a Christmas tree and get it decorated?!? The fates just seemed to be stacked against us this year... blizzards, work schedules and illness absolutely made it impossible for all of us to go out and pick out a tree. The Fergacraft's / Becason's finally gave in and we got out the fake tree that Todd and I had bought (we haven't been home for Christmas in the years we lived in Washington, so we just used a fake one there). It felt so good to finally put up the tree. We decided to just let the kids go and decorate it with whatever they wanted... boy, that tree had personality!

Ohhhh, what a tender moment!

Our traditional Christmas family picture... non my favorite one, but not bad for a timer on my little camera!

Only one last thing we needed to do to be ready for Santa... cookies!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Christmas....

*Phew!* Bring on Christmas, we made it just in time!

Christmas Eve

{DECEMBER 24, 2009}

Christmas Eve was so much fun this year! I think we started a new tradition... sledding! Uncle Adam and Todd built a perfect sledding hill right here in the back yard. (Elizabeth says "Funcle" Adam is the best uncle ever!!!)

If you know Todd at all by now, you won't be surprised to hear there was a bonfire too! Laura made us some super yummy homemade cider to sip on while we roasted.

This was Louis' first time really playing in the snow. He just stood there all bundled up at first, he wouldn't move a muscle. It was too funny! He quickly figured out that he loved to go fast down the hill! Then he would lay down flat in the sled while we pulled him back up the hill again.

Everyone was there, and the hill proved to be too much to resist for even Nana and Papa! Aiden boy loved sledding even more than Lou did!A little video of Lou's first sled ride. He loved it more than it shows... and yes, we did beef up the ending there. Don't want any kids in the river!

After we had all the snow we could stand, we went inside for dinner. Clam chowder for Todd, and chili for Adam (spoiled boys). Then Papa read the Christmas story out of the Bible and the kids each opened a present. Bless Elizabeth's heart, she even pretended to be surprised when she found jammies inside!

Super Lou!

Merry Christmas!

{DECEMBER 25, 2008}

This has to have been one of my most favorite Christmases ever! My kids are the perfect ages. They are big enough to remember our traditions and know what's going on, but still young enough to still really believe! They got so excited over everything! I loved seeing the joy in their faces! An added bonus was that we got to spend the day with everyone! Christmas just wouldn't be the same without a little craziness and a lot of love. It was so nice to be living back in Idaho for the holidays this year. No more 14 hour drives and squishing everything into a week. I am so thankful to be living by our families again!

We started out the morning finding what Santa left us in our stockings.

Yummy! Chocolate!

After an old traditional Beesley breakfast of Christmas Crunch, the kids finally persuaded us to let them open the rest of their presents. Money was a little tight this year, so a lot more thought went into their presents. They loved these little tents!

Hooray for slave labor! Thank you Santa!

This was my #1 present of the year, and a complete surprise! A new camera! My poor old one may have been dropped one too many times and turned itself off and random and very inopportune times. Like all the time. I'm so excited about this one!

I "bought" Todd a scope and a gun case for his gun (it was his Grandpa Becraft's gun originally). I love "buying" Todd gifts because he almost always picks out his own!

Next stop on our whirl-wind Christmas was Nana and Papa's house. I love these pictures of mom and my girls. I can't believe how grown up my babies are getting!

I made calendars full of grand kid picts for mom and daddy -- a big hit!

Finally, new slippers. Those old ones are older than me! He's never found a new pair he liked until now!

After a few snacks and many thoughtful gifts later, we hopped into the Jeep for a drive through the snow to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Utah. Grandma Byington had fallen a few days earlier and had broken her hip. We were hoping to get to the hospital in time to see her, but we didn't make it. My heart went out to Marge -- she put on a brave face and we had a wonderful Christmas there too.

"Can we open presents now Grandpa, can we open presents now?"

Louis got so many little boy toys this year. A yellow dump truck, dinosaurs, cars, a tool set, and a Transformer. Boy toys are fun (and a nice change around here)!

Paige got Elizabeth the neatest gift. It had a real oyster in a can that you opened and could dig a pearl out of. Different colored pearls mean different things. Then you put your pearl into a necklace. She loved it. Another one of her favorite gifts was a watch set from Grandma. She told me, "I like it because it's kind of a grown-up gift!"

This has to be a tie for Todd's #1 gift. He it a Guitar Hero nut... I'm seriously thinking he may need an intervention soon!