Like Christmas!

Family

On the 23rd we spent the whole day with all the cousins at the Harper's house where we played games, made and decorated cookies, and made ourselves pretty for family pictures. I got to go shoot shotguns with Chris and his brothers, the older cousins came too since it was only a short walk to the wood yard where they were and took some turns before I walked them back to the house. Family pictures were scheduled that night at a fancy barn so in the early afternoon I started my hair and most of the girls all had fun getting ready together. The barn was big and had plenty of places to take pictures and for the kids to run around playing tag and getting some flush to their cheeks. After the girl's bedtime, I cooked a batch of muffins while Chris went to the gym for a quick workout and to pick up more milk, eggs, and muffin mixes.

Christmas

On Christmas Eve, I stayed behind with the girls and one of my sisters-in-law to cook and set the table for breakfast while the rest of the family went to clean the church. We had a breakfast casserole, 3 types of muffins, bacon, and fruits with hot chocolate, milk, and juice to drink. After we had our fill, we rearranged the sunroom so we could all sing songs and listen to some stories before presents. All the kids got gingerbread houses that we got out and decorated a little later, there were games we played, puzzled we've put together, and plenty of books. By the end of the day, everyone had either gone home or to the other spouse's family to celebrate another Christmas and we were the only ones here for a lazy real Christmas Day where the only thing we did was go sledding. Chris and I made Christmas an event for the girls on Christmas Eve instead of opening presents twice when everyone would be gone, it would have been hard to stop them from opening all of theirs as well.

Claire

She is enjoying our vacation so much and always finds fun things to do no matter where we are visiting. On Wednesday, when we went to the temple, they stayed with their cousin's grandparents and made some friends there. At Grandma's and Grandpa's, they like to bring the cat in to cuddle, play with toys downstairs, or play in the sunroom pretending to exercise on the machines. There is so much to do at her cousin's house that she has no problem finding games with friends and toys all around. It is fun to see how well she plays with her cousins and listens instead of trying to boss anyone around like she does at home. She is always so excited to do the things we are doing like when we decorated cookies or the gingerbread house.

Shay

It is so unfair that she is so cute and also such a stubborn stinker butt sometimes. Her beautiful blue eyes melt my heart whenever I'm mad at her for throwing a tantrum and screaming because we don't have what she wants. The last 4 nights have been the best on our vacation so far and she has been able to sleep through the night in her own bed. She constantly asks for things we don't have like Cheetos, a yellow balloon, to go to a swimming pool, and doesn't forget about them anymore, just keeps bringing them up. No matter how many times I tell her we don't have the things she is asking for and explain why she still gets more and more upset about not getting what she wants. Luckily she is getting better at finding her own games with toys or playing with her cousins like getting piggyback rides!

To Look A lot

 Nevada

We were able to find a lot of fun things to do while we were in Reno and the surrounding area. We went to Virginia City on Monday and walk around the old town with wooden sidewalks while it was snowing outside. We went into a store with the owner and her dog that the girls connected with and played with as I looking for a souvenir. She told us about the museums and we went to This Is The Way Museum that was just opening when we got there. Then we went to get some fudge and decided we didn't want to get stranded so we headed back to the hotel and saw a rainbow on our way home that lasted until the last little bit so we were able to say hi and Claire had us roll the window down to sing to it. The snow followed us and we woke up on Tuesday to a few inches so the girls went out to play, Claire made tons of snow angels and when Grandma came outside, they made a snowman. We searched for an indoor pool and found a rec center that wasn't too expensive and went during their lap swim to teach the girls how to kick their feet with a noodle under their arms. Then we were able to come back for an hour of family swim and ended up being the only family!

Idaho

The drive to Idaho didn't seem so long since we had the first 3 hours done last week, but it was so long because the girls kept getting bored and wanting to stop. Once we got here they immediately went downstairs and dumped toys out on the ground to find their old favorites. Chris helped bring all our stuff in then had to go check on his guns that have been "so lonely" and I worked on organizing and settling in. We opened an early present from Chris' brother Mark and his wife Alyson, under their direction, so we could use them while we were here. We got matching PJs! First time wearing a one-piece PJ in my adult life and they are warm and comfy. We've visited some family, had some family come to visit us, went to Lava Hot Springs, and attended a Fireman's dinner party where the girls got to see Santa! I joined mom in the choir at church today and was lucky the director is so great at his cues because it was easy to follow along and it felt wonderful. We also have a stake concert tonight that has a few numbers from every ward that I will sing in too.

Claire

4 is the perfect age to go on trips because she isn't cranky from not taking a nap during the day, is excited about anything we tell her is happening, and sleeps really well at night even though we aren't home. She did amazing when we went swimming and was controlling her direction when we had toys to play with during our second time swimming. After we got out it was close to bedtime and she was saying she was so tired she kept laying down on the bench and made daddy carry her to the car. Shay was tired too but she liked screaming in protest instead of laying down. Claire worked on a sandcastle in a horseshoe pit and found leaves and feathers to decorate it with while Shay had a stick for hers. They got to wear their new pretty HANDMADE dresses from Nana Nila in our Sacramento ward, and they loved matching each other! At church, Claire was excited to meet new friends and got a candy cane and a night light with a picture of Jesus on it from the Primary.

Shay

She was watching me get ready to leave for a grocery trip and decided she was coming with so she has her baggy PJs on and her new beanie. While we were waiting in line she jumped on the paw prints down the aisle to keep herself happy and was really good at helping put things in the basket and listening. I'm glad she likes her face mask even though she still asks for her binky when she gets extra upset, they were a fun idea and both girls want them when they go to bed. When we went to the firehouse to feed Grandpa Bell one day they were playing "fall asleep on each other" on the floor after seeing the firetrucks and ambulances got boring. She gets tired during the day and falls asleep if there isn't anything exciting going on which makes bedtime harder because she isn't as tired and keeps Claire awake. She also gets out of bed and wants to cuddle with us in our bed, but it's only a size full so there isn't enough room!

It's Beginning

Prep

We have been counting down for a while getting the girls excited to go see Grandma and Grandpa so this week was each day getting closer! I had the help clean and put away the outside toys so they were safe in the shed, eat up all the extra food so it wasn't lonely. With the things I had to do for our ward Christmas party decorating, I had them distracted so I could wrap utensils and gather my decorations. I spent plenty of time planning everything I needed to get done so I wouldn't forget anything and it made Friday decorating and then leaving for vacation to go smoothly. Although I'm sad I missed the party I was very happy with how beautiful the gym looked for everyone who would be there enjoying it! I was very grateful for the help I had and look forward to hearing about how great it all went.

Landing

We are taking a mini-vacation in Reno Nevada for the next week with the Bell grandparents before our Christmas in Idaho with the rest of the siblings and family. We already went on a Santa Train in Carson City yesterday that Claire was the most excited for and was very persistent to ride while we were waiting. We got a picture with a stationary train that was in a movie, and then we went out to eat at a grill that was suggested by our train guide. We were going to go swimming after getting home and the girls had fallen asleep on the way home but the pool was closed and we ended up doing a puzzle in the hotel. They like to go outside even though there isn't anything that exciting around the resort, but Claire went for a walk with Grandma and Shay took a walk with me. There is a gym here that Chris and I checked out and got time to sit in their sauna afterward which we haven't been able to do since Utah.

Hello December!

Claire

This week, both girls have been finishing their coughing and sickness out, so they are 100% again and get to play and have fun. I've been working on felt animal crafts for weeks now, I started with drawing the shapes on freezer paper, tracing them on felt, cutting them out, and now finally got them glued together. I had planned to give them as Christmas presents, but the girls begged to play with them as I was finishing them. They don't like that I put some in bags to be presents for other people, but such is homemade crafts! Claire has started recognizing her own name because she we have been asking her what word she sees for mom and dad. She has a problem with thinking she already knows what the word is and not spending time sounding it out and actually reading it. I don't know how long she has been dreaming, but this week was the first week she has ever told me that she is dreaming! She woke up and explained how I punched a bad guy in her dream and daddy was there too with Baby Shay and then said, "I love dreams" and it was so awesome!

Shay

There was more sunshine this week and we have been trying to keep up with raking the leaves and found that we needed to cut our grass...in December! California is so crazy. The girls helped daddy rake and pick up the leaves then Shay started off pushing her bubble lawn mower as I was mowing. She gave Claire a turn and still wanted to help so she pushed on my butt to help me with the big mower. It was nice to have good weather and the rain came and ruined it on Friday! Shay is now back to falling asleep for a nap during the day or falling asleep 1-2 hours before bedtime and I have to try to not wake her up while getting her ready for bed. She wanted me to write her name on their church drawing pads when daddy was doing it for Claire, then she helped decorate it. They are such cuties but I still have to shush them a million times during sacrament meeting. It is so hard to understand her since I've been getting used to how good Claire talks that when Shay is missing so many sounds I have to interpret. It feels like she knows what she is saying so confidently and is annoyed that she has to tell me a million times!