Chrismas Morning

I slacked a little bit on the Christmas morning photos, but it all happened so fast! We were making coffee, getting cinnamon rolls in the oven and getting ready for my parents to come over for our eggs benedict breakfast. Syd was excited to see that Santa ate up all three of the cookies she left out for him! Her first present was a beautiful purple bike that her Nonnie, Poppie and Aunt Amanda gave to her. She was riding it all around the house. Absolutely her favorite gift by far!

Sydney opening her presents

We made a delicious breakfast, cleaned up and then headed over to my parents for a wonderful Christmas meal. We decided to start a new tradition of small appetizers. Only problem was that everyone was so excited about it that we all brought 3 - 4 appetizers a piece. Needless to say, we had way too much food. I suppose there could be worse problems to have. So nice to have everyone together though.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Syd was very specific about the exact type of cookies that Santa wanted her to leave for him. She left three cookies in a row with a small glass of milk. She asked if she could stay awake to see him come, but we all know the answer to that one. So she fell fast asleep in her bed while visions of sugar plums danced in her head.

The Polar Express

We were excited to head up to the Polar Express again this year. Sad that Sarah, Neil and Savannah couldn't make it though. As we were driving up, I realized we were on the 5:30 train, not the 7:30! Whoops! That meant we had to change plans and drive right to the train versus stopping in Prescott first. Then of course, as we drove we ran into a full on snow storm. It felt like we were back in Chicago! Only problem is that these people in Arizona aren't used to driving in a snow storm the way Chicagoans are. We hit a bridge and literally slid across it. Chris' eyes about popped out of his head. We got to the station and attempted to get in line to see Santa, but as we stood in the non-moving line, they announced that it was time to board the train. We hopped out of the Santa line (to visit him after the train) and went to see Mrs. Claus instead since her line was short.

Syd was so excited to see some snow! She insisted we take a photo of her by a tree before boarding the train.

All aboard!!!!!

Syd was so excited to head out to see Santa!

As soon as the train starts to move, the party starts. They pass out hot cocoa and snickerdoodle cookies. We'll just say that Mommy had to break her 25 grams of sugar a day guideline and eat one of those bad boys. SO GOOD!!

So we all received the heads-up that we were approaching the North Pole! Syd was on the lookout.

She spotted it along with Santa! "HI SANTA!!!"

If you can make it out through the world's foggiest window, I applaud you. It's Santa and his sleigh.

Now it was time to head back to the train station, which means it's time to sing Christmas carols. You can tell that this is Chris' favorite part.

Suddenly there was an announcement that Santa was actually on the train and headed for our car!

She got to talk to Santa for a minute and he gave her a magical bell.

Love this look. I think he's trying to tell her he knows she's been on the naughty list this year :)

This girl just can't resist a purple tree!

Syd's photo with Santa

Christmas Gifts

We decided to make some jars for Syd's teachers and our neighbors again this year. Some delicious chocolate m&m cookie mixes. Sadly it was so busy that I only got one photo with my cell phone, but they were so cute and everyone loved them. I made little tags on the front that say "Sweet treats for you" and then when they remove the cloth top, there are directions on how to mix and bake the cookies on the lid.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Syd was seriously itching to get the Christmas Tree put up. Little did she know that we would put it up, take it down (and throw it angrily out in the yard) purchase a new, fresh tree and decorate it all over again! Lesson learned was to not place a fake tree in a plastic bag to sit in a hot shed during the summer months. Makes for a stinky, oh so very very stinky tree. That all being said, here are the photos from our first set of decorating!

Taking a moment to strike a pose

Placing the Bear on top of the tree!

She did it!

Christmas Recital

Sydney worked hard for her Christmas Recital this year. They practiced the songs along with hand movements. One of the songs was even sung in Turkish! She did such a wonderful job, they put her in front and center because she was one of two kids that knew all the words and movements. So proud of her! Lala and Papa came to see her as well. They showed up with some flowers, she was so surprised and happy!

Last Day of Chaos: Disney Cruise Day 7

Our last full day on the boat was a bit of a rough one. We hit some stormy weather, so everyone seemed to be hiding out a bit. Chris remained on the top deck with an extra set of my mom's electric anti-nausea bands on his wrists. My mom was hibernating in her cabin trying to keep anything down. That being said, it was cold, yucky and nauseating! We took the kids to see Winnie the Pooh in the theatre (which was packed). Syd and I snuck out a little early to get some final photos with the remaining characters on the boat. A small group of us made it to dinner, but unfortunately Seamus started turning green in the middle of it. Jay had to rush him out of dinner only for him to barely make it to the bathroom in time. Poor guy! I've never seen so much carpet cleaning in my life. It was like watching a bad scene from Goonies. It was hitting everyone, everywhere. Somehow Syd and I were pretty lucky to have been able to avoid it. Although, the second we stepped off the boat in the morning, I felt like I was still on it for almost a full week! So not sure which was worse. That all being said, not many photos from the last full day at sea!

Bunny rabbit on the last night!

Swimming With Dolphins: Disney Cruise Day 6

This was a pretty exciting day. We headed off to the Dolphin excursion where the kids were going to be able to touch the dolphins and see them do a few tricks. The kids had ants in their pants waiting for them to tell us that we were all set to head up to the pools!



All the kids got in the water and they went down the line with each child being able to kiss the dolphin, get splashed by the dolphin and a few other tricks. Then near the end, they had the kids place their hands on the dolphin's fins and the kids were taken for a ride in a circle. Seamus could barely contain himself because he wanted to do it so badly. Syd leaned over to him before it was her turn and said "you can go instead of me because I'm too scared." Soooo, the trainer put Syd's hands on the dolphin anyways and as she started to scream "I don't wan....." she was swept off by the dolphin. I've never seen such a big smile on her face! So glad she was pushed into it because it was her favorite moment! We were so proud of her, we bought her a Cabo dolphin t-shirt and a dolphin stuffed animal.

After the excursion, Lala and Papa met us at the dolphin pool. The kiddos decided to head back to the boat with Lala to do some swimming. We stayed back to head out to some lunch before the boat took off again. Dad posing with a lovely pirate!

Chris wanted to walk into town and the rest of us headed off to do a little shopping. Betsy found some lovely objects!

We headed back to the boat and met up with the kids and Lala at the pool! We made it just in time for Syd to dance a little with Minnie Mouse.

We all got together again for a fun dinner and then went and took advantage of having some photos taken (aka trying to use up all our photos we paid for!) :)

Our waiter loved doing tricks for the kids. He did this very trick and the kids were in shock. Syd asked Chris if he could do the trick again for her...and he did!

After our pictures, my mom set up an appointment for Syd to get her hair braided. I wasn't exactly keen on the idea, but Syd wanted it and my mom wanted to have it done for her. Soooo we made it to our appointment. The one thing I can say is that it truly made Syd appreciate how gentle I am when I do her hair. Poor girl was in some serious pain. I had to hold her hand and try to distract her from what was happening.

All done and she loves it!

It was absolutely freezing on the deck since we were at sea. So we headed right back down to our room and were greeted by a hanging monkey towel!

Cabo Fishing & Shopping: Disney Cruise Day 5

We arrived in Cabo San Lucas and I have to say that the view was absolutely breathtaking as we pulled up. We were all out on our balconies ooh'ing and aaah'ing together.

The boys had a deep sea fishing excursion waiting for them, my mom decided to stay put and hang out at the pool. This left Syd, Betsy, Seamus and I to head into town to do some shopping and exploring. I'll just say that this was a VERY long day of walking and I'm completely impressed by the kiddos for sticking it out and walking the long distance that they did. We found some fun little stands to shop at. The kids picked up some sunglasses and Syd found herself a lovely Corona, yes CORONA, pink cowboy hat. Lovely. After walking through the middle of town and hitting the mall, we decided to stop for some Mexican food before we went back to the boat.

Seamus was a little smiled out. So Syd decided to give him some help.

How cute is she?

The view from the boat the guys were on as they headed out to start fishing!

Chris' first Mahi Mahi catch!

Chris isn't much of photographer. Sorry Jay for cutting your noggin off!

Dad's Mahi Mahi!

Chris went and caught himself a second one!

This is the life

Dinner that night had a Pirate theme to it. They had Pirate bandanna's waiting for all of us at the dinner table. As you can see, I seriously lack in the bandanna wearing skills.

Jay and I decided to try on the kids' new mouse ears that my parents gave them. My parents must be so proud!

Syd and her Dad

Syd got to meet Peter Pan too! She wasn't really keen on standing next to him, so I got talked into joining her.

This night we had a lovely and very cool elephant waiting for us in our room!