Baking Christmas Cookies!

Today was our baking day. We put together plates of goodies to deliver to family, friends and neighbors. Each year I like to do sugar cookies with the kids. We use my great grandma's old recipe (so yummy!) and her butter cream frosting recipe. It's all made from scratch and taste heavenly! The kids helped with everything... as you can see! :-) They loved every second. The helped to roll the dough, use the cookies cutters, color the frosting, frost the cookies, and sprinkle the cookies. Michael worked so hard on frosting the cookies. We had so many cookies to do and Michael stuck with it so focused the whole time. We had a blast! The girls helped as well, but mostly they worked on the M&M cookies. They loved pushing the M&M's into the cookie dough before they baked. They worked very hard to make sure there were plenty for everyone.

Getting ready to roll out the dough

Oh the love!

The kids using the cookie cutters

So excited about her first star!

So much fun with Boompa!

When my hands started to hurt, Michael took over rolling the dough and did an incredible job!

A quick break to read some stories with Boompa

Coloring the frosting

"oh, it's such hard work to push all those m&ms in the cookie dough."

Counting out the m&ms to make sure they are equal

So serious with her work. hehe

The joy!

Working on her sugar cookie

Putting sprinkles on her little duck cookie

School Bus!

Daddy driving us around the block with his co-captain

Backup driver

Mid-air jump

So excited!

Sweet girl
Adam was at a wrestling tournament today and he came home for a few minutes to surprise the kids. He brought home the school bus that he takes the kids to and from the tournaments in. The kids were SO excited! We couldn't get them off the bus. Adam ended up taking us for a ride around the block. It was so cute to see them so excited.

Family Pictures 2011!

Family pictures this year was fun. We went to Anthem Park. They have a huge jungle gym, big grassy area, beautiful lake, gazebo, water fun, and a cool train running through the park. It was a great place to get pictures. Of course trying to get pictures of our three small kids sitting still at a park is impossible. That's why we are so grateful to our photographer, Polly, for chasing after our kids and capturing these great pictures. We were pretty sure we would get zero usable pictures with how crazy excited the kids were, but some how she managed to get some really great ones! Our family picture was certainly tougher. The kids were never all looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. However, I like these because it portrays the truth of our family: laughter, happiness, and pure chaos. haha. It's perfect! The individual shots are so cute. They show our kids personalities perfectly. Hailey is sweet and calm. Emma is a free spirit down to the core, and Michael is sometimes serious and other times and total comedian.

Love this shot. Adam and I just smiling as our kids run wild behind us.

My sweetie :-)

I love this shot. I didn't even know she was taking a picture.

Look at the joy on my boys faces. So sweet!

I could have died when I realized that I didn't' get any shots with me and Emma. Hailey was being really clingy to me and Emma to her daddy. So I took one when I got home. haha.

See what I mean.... daddy's little girl.

Look at the smile on her face. She could have stayed there all day.

Hailey loved the train!

Mommy's little girl.

This tree was so awesome!

My Angel!

Michael's serious look....

And here is the comedian. :-)

My free spirit. She got there, ripped her bow out of her hair and took off!

Such a sweet baby girl.

Baking Cookies with Mommy!

(After we were done......the bigger the mess, the more fun we had!)

(Look at all that flour on the floor,.... oh dear emma)

(My baby Hailey.... loves to lick the beaters)

(My girls.... and there is Hailey's classic smile)

Michael helping mommy stir)

The joy!!!!! BEST MOMENT EVER!!!!

(There's that smile)

(Very serious about her stirring)

(Sweet Emma taking her job seriously)

(My beautiful children & little helpers)

(Michael favorite part....eating the dough)

(He likes to stir too...)

So this holiday season had been a bit of a struggle for me. But no longer! My kids want Christmas and they are going to get it! :-) You saw in previous pictures how we decorated for Christmas and how wonderful it was! Then came the cookies. We set everyone up at the table. Everyone got their own bowl and measuring spoons/cups. They were so excited to be helping! Every time they would take turns dumping the right ingredients in, then I would take a smaller amount and put it in their bowls. They were so excited and we had so much fun and made such a mess. We listened to Christmas music and danced like crazy while we stirred. We had such a great time! The Christmas Spirit is flowing wildly throughout my home. Merry Christmas!

Loving Moments w/ Great-Papa Tobler!

We do dinner at my mom's house every Saturday. Hailey and Emma have developed very special relationships with their great grandpapa. I can totally understand it because I have always had a very good relationship with him. He was practically my dad growing up. I love him so much! And my girls do too.

(Emma smiling with Papa)

(kisses with papa)

(Hailey & Papa)

(Hailey telling Papa where his eye was)

(Papa kissing her elbow owie better)

(Sweet Kisses)

(Feeding Papa Cheese)