MeRrY ChRisTMaS!

We made our way to California this year to celebrate Christmas, and it was by far our favorite.  Mostly, because our kids were at the perfect age.  Kaden was so excited for Santa to come.  He put out a plate of cookies, a mug of egg nog and carrots for the reindeer.  

After the kids were in bed, Brandaan and I put together Kaden's new train set.  It was a lot bigger of a job than we thought.  Brandaan even had to swallow his pride and use the directions!  Reese's four-wheeler was a lot easier.

Brandaan's mom had a stencil of Santa's footprints.  Brandaan used baby powder and the stencil to make footprints coming from the fireplace.  It really looked just like footprints coming in from the snow.  Of course the footprints were leading in the wrong direction.    Even though we made a rookie mistake, Kaden didn't catch on.  

Sheryl had all kinds of Christmas goodies for us to snack on while we opened our presents.  We also had the traditional DeGroot Strata.  It was so yummy, we all had seconds.

We all were more than pleased with our presents.  Happy smiles were all around this Christmas.

MicKeY MoUsE BirTHdaY!

My sister Tiffany threw her little boy a Mickey Mouse birthday party.  Carter loves Mickey Mouse.  Tiffer spent alot of time putting this party together and it showed.  She started with the fabulous invitations that she made by hand.  Kaden carried the invitation around and kept saying the magic words, "Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse."  

The party was just as fabulous as the invitations.  She made rice krispie treats in the shape of Mickey Mouse and dipped the ears in chocolate.  She wrapped them in these bags with magical stars on them.  Kaden couldn't wait for dessert, so Tiffer let him eat one early.  They were so yummy.  We had Chili and hot dogs for dinner.  It was perfect because Carter wished for a blizzard for his birthday.  It was so cold, so the warm food was perfect.  When it came to the cake, Carter dove in head first.  It was a great party and we all had a blast!  Happy Birthday Carter!

HaPPy ThaNKsGiVinG!!!

The MeXIcaN RiVieRa!

Mexico was a blast! We dropped off some extra baggage, aka "the kids" at Brandaan's parents house and hopped on a cruise ship to the Mexican Riviera.
The first stop was in Acapulco where we hung out at the beach. The guy's played a few games of football and the girls were more adventurous and rode jet skis. After the beach we made our way over to go bungee jumping. Brandaan and I didn't jump, but our friends did. We regretted not jumping later. We then ate some authentic Mexican food and then made our way over to see the cliff diving show. We ate some Mexican Pizzas and drank apple soda as we watched. MMMM! We were addicted to this apple soda the entire trip. We then made our way back to our ship to set sail to the next destination.
The next place was Ixtapa. We took a water taxi over to a beach. The guys went snorkeling, kayaking and rode the banana boat. The girls sunbathed, got massages and drank some fruity drinks. MMMM! We packed up and went to swim with the dolphins. This was the highlight of our entire trip. When we got there, they had already started their last show and didn't have room for us. Luckily, Ben spoke spanish and talked the guys into giving our group of five our own private showing. Those of you that have gone before know that you go in a large group and have to wait a long time to ride the dolphins just once. We were lucky that it was just us five. We got to skip the introduction and ride the dolphins the entire time. It was a blast! They have two dolphins put their noses on each one of your feet and then push you out of the water. The guys were attempting flips. Imagine that they are so strong as to push Brandaan out of the water! Wow!
Our last stop was Manzanilla. We got a taxi over to a beach where there was a sunken ship. The guys went snorkeling and the girls soaked up the sun. We then decided to ride ATV's through the jungle. We went to a place where there were jumps and of course the guys were crazy! Check out the pictures of them popping wheelies! When we went through the jungle, we went through a river. The guys were crashing into each other and pulling some serpentine evasive driving through the water...water was everywhere. We were all soaked and sooo dirty. It was so much fun!

HaPPy HaLLoWeeN!!!

Sorting out the candy!