Talon's Birthday Breakfast

We HAD to have a birthday breakfast for Talon. Birthday Breakfasts are the biggest part of a Potter's birthday. It's tradition & it would be sad if we didn't do one while the entire family was together. So Saturday morning we woke up & made Talon a special breakfast of "goulash," fruit, & hostess cupcakes with candles in them.

Talon let the kids help him blow out the candles. They love their Uncle Talon so much.

We had a WONDERFUL morning together. I love the birthday breakfast tradition. SO MUCH FUN!!

Surprise Double Baby Shower!

Mom & I had this little baby shower all planned for Carolyn for when they arrived in Vegas on Friday night. I could hardly wait for them to get there so we could surprise Carolyn. Tarrish seemed really excited too which made me even more excited. As soon as mom & dad walked in, we started getting everything ready.

Well, it turns out there was MORE to the surprise shower that I wasn't aware of. They are a bunch of sweethearts & changed it into a double baby shower for both Carolyn & I. I was SUPER surprised. It was SO MUCH FUN! We both got all sorts of fun things!

Even the new daddies got to have turns opening up gifts. I loved that the men stayed & played with us too. It made it even more fun.

Thanks everybody for such a fun surprise. I am SO lucky to have such a wonderful family. I love my 2nd mom & dad & all my "sisters!" LOVE YOU GUYS!

Black Friday

I love that we actually got to sleep in on Black Friday. There were lots of Aunties & Uncles who WANTED to get up with the kids, so we got to sleep in until about 7:00 which is 2 hours later than we usually get up. It was WONDERFUL!!!

We took our time getting ready for the day & then met my mom, dad, Cari, Justin, & Korbyn at a nearby mall for lunch, shopping, & Santa Claus. We didn't buy much (just an ornament for the tree), but everybody else got a lot of shopping done. (I always get my Christmas shopping done well before Thanksgiving!) But it's fun walking around the mall with all the Christmas decorations & Christmas music playing. It's such a fun atmosphere.

The kids were getting bored so Auntie Tarrish promised them a treat if they continued to be good. She took them to the candy shop & came back with HUGE suckers. The kid were SO SO SO happy. I just laughed. I knew a big mess was coming, but I like to let the Auntie's spoil them. It's fun for everyone.

Then we let the grandkids all go meet Santa Claus. This was the first year that Lorien & Taya didn't freak out on Santa's lap. They were both THRILLED to tell him what they wanted for Christmas this year. Bladen was the one that freaked out, but it made a cute picture. I also love Korbyn's "mug shot" face in the pic. What an adorable picture for years to come right?

We said good-bye to my family & left for Talon's house again to rest the rest of the day. On the way home, Taya fell asleep while still eating her sucker (yes, here's the big mess story). Of course the sucker made it's way into her hair & shirt the whole ride home. When we got back to Talon's house I carefully unstuck the sucker & grabbed it so that it didn't make a bigger mess. Then I woke Taya up. Her eyes were still half way closed & she put her fist up to her mouth & started licking the air. It was the CUTEST thing I've ever seen. It was like she knew she had a sucker when she fell asleep & she was just picking up where she left off. She did this for about a minute before she fully woke up & realized I had taken her sucker from her. Then there were screams of anger. I gave it back to her & she went inside & ate the entire thing for the following 2 hours. Little pill! She ate THE WHOLE THING!! Don't ever get in the way of Taya & a good sucker! ha ha ha.

Once everybody made it home, they watched the kids while Trek & I had a little mini-date which was HEAVEN!! We were only gone for about an hour, but it was a wonderful hour! I love my sweetheart!

Talon's Surprise Birthday Party

At Talon's house, we all got together & celebrated Talon's Birthday. His birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year. Tylee & Carolyn made him a yummy red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting & then we had oreo ice cream. It was YUMMY!

Talon was SO excited to have the kids there with him. He wanted to let them help him blow out all the candles.

Poor Taya wasn't fast enough & cried when she didn't get to blow any candles out, so Talon & Tylee re-lit them so that she could have a turn too. Don't my kids have the best Aunts & Uncles?

After the party, we were all DEAD to the world. Tuhk & Tarrish suprised us all & showed up at Talon's house too! We weren't expecting them until Friday night so it was fun to stay up & talk for a little bit. Potter stories are the best! Then we set up the beds & went to bed for a much needed rest!

Thanksgiving Day Las Vegas

Thanksgiving Day was a little different for our family this year. It was the Potter's year for Thanksgiving & since Talon & Carolyn are expecting my first little niece any day now, we all decided to take Thanksgiving to them in Las Vegas this year. BUT, some of the Potter's couldn't make it on Thanksgiving Day so we pushed Thanksgiving dinner off until the Saturday after Thanksgiving so we could have the whole family together.

Well, it just so happened that MY family spent Thanksgiving in Vegas this year as well. So on Thanksgiving Day, we drove into Vegas & met my family & spent the day with them. It was perfect because I could spend my holiday with BOTH families.

We met up at the MGM Grand hotel where we had fun at the rainforest cafe shop where there were animatronic animals all over the place. The kids LOVE animals.

except for Bladen. They just scare him silly! ha ha ha.

But he enjoys them if he can stare at them from far far away.

After we all met up, we headed back to the Excalibur Hotel & had our Thanksgiving Feast at their buffet there. Vegas has gotten EXPENSIVE!!! But the food was good & I didn't have to make it or clean it up, so that made it all worth it! We had our little family, my mom & dad, Justin, Cari, & Korbyn, & then my cousin Kerri (who I haven't seen in YEARS) & her fiancee Scott there with us. It felt like an old fashioned Thanksgiving even though we were in a buffet in a hotel. I loved it. It was a ton of fun.

After lunch, Justin & Cari took off to have Thanksgiving with HER family who also just so happened to be in Vegas. (Vegas was the happening place this year), so Trek & I walked with the girls down to the Venetian Hotel while Mom & Dad & Kerri & Scott drove & met us there. It was a FUN walk. It was far, but we're used to walking long distances. We met in Sephora & walked around the Venetian for a little bit. It made me miss Europe. The girls got really excited at the gondolas & started telling everyone how we all rode in a real one in Venice. It made me homesick.

Then we walked up to the Paris & met Tylee & Carolyn there in a little bakery. I got to enjoy a big bowl of gelato & a chocolate croissant (again it made me homesick for Europe) & we got to chat together.

Tylee & Carolyn had to run home to prepare Talon's birthday dinner, so we made our way back to the Excalibur & met up again with Justin & Cari. We all took the kids downstairs to the "Fantasy Fair" & let them play games for a little while.

By the time we left, everyone had won at least 1 stuffed animal. Cadence & Lorien were experts at the horse racing game (where you roll the balls into the holes to make your horse move). Taya beat Korbyn (or should I say Trek beat Justin) at the water gun shooting race & won a teddy bear as well. Korbyn (Justin) won a teddy bear at the racing game too!

And then Taya won Bladen a red lobster toy by fishing a red fish out of the fishing pond. We hardly spent ANY money there too. They were just lucky that night. It was fun watching them all.

After that, we all headed out to Talon & Carolyn's house for a surprise birthday party for Talon's 26th birthday! Overall, it was a FANTASTIC THANKSGIVING DAY!

Baby Craiger's First Pictures

My doctor recommended me to San Francisco to the Children's Hospital there so they could run 6 hours of tests on our new little man to make sure everything is checking out well. They really wanted to check his heart to make sure it was functioning properly. It was a VERY LONG day, but I got to see my little guy for 6 hours straight & though I could hardly move after all the testing, it was worth knowing that he is a healthy & happy little dude. Everything checked out as normal & they even told me he is quite tall for such a little guy. We might get a tall one after all (but not getting my hopes up). ha ha ha.

The pic below is of his nose & lips looking directly at the camera. It's kind of hard to make out, but really cute when you find it.

Field Trip to the Fire Station

I got to go with Cadence's 2nd grade class on their field trip to the fire station last week. We had SO MUCH FUN!! And the best part was that Taya & Bladen could come too. Cadence was excited to show off her little brother & sister to her class. We all just wished Lorien was with us too.

We got to see about 7 different fire trucks & what they did. I didn't realize how much stuff is actually stored on a fire truck. Cadence's best friend Hailey's mom got to dress up in the fire fighter uniform. We all thought that was pretty funny.

We got to walk through the fire station & see all the fun bedrooms, common areas, & kitchen that the fire fighters live at during the week. Then they gave all the kids little fireman hats to wear. Bladen was ADORABLE!!!

But he didn't like the little string that kept the hat on his head. Eventually he took the hat off & didn't want anything to do with it. BUT HE WAS SO SO SO CUTE with it on!

At the very end, they let each of the 2nd graders try to hit a "fire" with water using one of the big hoses. That hose almost picked Cadence up right off the ground. She was so funny to watch. She was more focused on staying on the ground than she was about hitting the fire.

Bladen & Tay liked watching sister fight the fire. And for some reason Bladen was attached to Taya's pink poodle leash the entire day. He's so funny.

It was a fun field trip & I loved being able to go. I love school!

Black Bear Diner

We found the cutest little diner here in Monterey. It's called the Black Bear Diner & it's PERFECT if you have young kids. They brought the kids balloons, coloring pages, teddy bears & all sorts of things. The food was reasonably priced & good & every kids meal came with an ice cream sundae that the kids got to build all by themselves. They LOVED it!! Oh & if you come in on a Tuesday with your Black Bear Diner Teddy Bears, the kids eat free. What a fun place.

The Drama of Tooth Pulling

Oh my goodness! Cadence's top front tooth FINALLY came out the other night. That thing has been loose for MONTHS now. Every single day she would cry & complain that it hurt to eat because of her loose tooth, so EVERY DAY we'd tell her that we could pull it out for her so that it wouldn't hurt anymore. She told us she would rather DIE than have us pull it out. So for the last 3 months, we've waited patiently while she ate like a bird avoiding her tooth at all costs.

Finally she came home from school crying because her tooth was bleeding. I looked at it & she could turn it in a complete circle (which makes me want to throw up). It was DISGUSTING. I told her we HAD to get it out because it was just gross. And of course that threw her into dramatic fit throwing mode. I don't ever remember being THAT scared of losing a tooth. I remember my teeth bothering me SO much that I couldn't wait to get them out. She wouldn't let me near her after hearing that so we waited for dad to come home.

So dad came home & again, she wasn't going to let him pull it. He asked if he could "wiggle" it with his pliers to see "if it was ready" & after about 2 hours of coaxing she agreed. It took 1 second to yank it out. It was hanging by a thread & she didn't even feel it come out. He took the pliers out of her mouth & handed her her tooth & she FREAKED OUT! At first she was crying SO hard that he had pulled it out, but then she was crying because she was SO HAPPY it was out. It took about 30 minutes for her to get a hold of herself & calm down. She started posing for pictures & immediately started on a letter for the tooth fairy. She was happy in the end. (And the tooth fairy brought her a $1 bill & left it under her pillow. She's a rich woman now!)

Being Cute is Hard Work

Poor little man . . . He wears himself out. . . especially while eating us out of house & home.