christmas eve festivities

the kids had opened the last door on their chocolate filled advent calendar which meant only

one thing.... christmas eve had finally arrived.

although, i had felt it had come pretty fast.

but, to a kid, that day can seem like an eternity away.

that afternoon we went to lunch/dinner at mi amigos and then ventured over to uncle garin

and aunt lisa's house where we celebrated the coming day with various activities.

there was the coin game.

a christmas present handoff game.

cookie decorating for santa.

eden swinging with her cousin caden.

my handsome husband with my baby girl.

and, of course, the nativity.

jack and ava were mary and joseph.

a perfect role for a brother and sister.

caleb, playing the glorified role of the donkey.

we got back home just in time to catch the elves leaving christmas pajamas for the kids.

they always ring the door bell and run but leave behind cozy pj's at the door.

jack and ava were so excited but couldn't go to bed until they knew exactly where santa was.

i think he was somewhere in south america by the time they did go to bed,

which only left a couple of hours to fall into a deep sleep before he arrived at the

breinholt house.

and the children were nestled all snug in their beds....

sunday

sunday morning

december 19, 2010

8:03 am

sunday mornings are killing me lately.

8am church is killing me.

i feel like no matter what time i wake up, i seem to arrive at church at least 15 minutes late.

it doesn't help that i am pretty much a single mom on sundays since jason always has some meeting.

i thought for sure we would be on time this past sunday and i really wanted too considering it was "christmas sunday".

i even took a shower a the night before so that would be one less thing to do.

but the morning played out a little different than i had expected (like it usually does.)

all the kids slept in which doesn't happen on any other morning.

jack woke up to find his dad had already left to set up chairs.

he really wanted to go so, this extremely upset him so he refused to eat breakfast.

ava was ready to go minus her hair when jack decided to spill her cereal all down her clothes.

now she's crying.

eden spills her cereal too while wearing only her pajama top (no diaper).

ava can't find her other shoe, i can't find anything that fits over my big belly.

my clothes are too small but maternity are too big. (hate this stage).

finally, everybody is ready and its already after 8am.

so, i hurry the kids in front of the tree to take a few photos so in the future we can look back

and pretend that we had it all together.

when i step back, i realize i am truly blessed with 3 amazing children.

after church, my kitchen turned into a bakery for the next 8 hours....

we baked and baked and baked some more.

cinnamon rolls, rice krispie treats, brownies, cookies, english toffee, and 7 layer bars.

i don't want to bake again for a long time.

we loaded up plates of goodies and delivered them to our friends and neighbors .

i would like to say that baking as a family brings us closer together but sometimes there are

too many cooks/kids in the kitchen :)

all in all, we baked with love.... well, sort of ish.

our finished product x 24.

oh, what a day!

my baby turns 2

this little monkey is officially 2.

which means she is officially in the terrible two's club.

although, she has unofficially been in the club for over 3 months now.

i believe putting whole rolls of toilet paper in the toilet, dumping out bottles of lotion, scaling the pantry to get food and then spilling it all over the floor, squeezing out whole tubes of

toothpaste, climbing on bathroom counters and playing with the faucet while flooding the

bathroom, and undressing herself and taking her diaper off constantly

are all things that would qualify her for this elite club.

she appears to be right on target.

on the other hand, she brings so much joy to my life.

she has an infectious laugh and already says the funniest things.

she is super tough and rarely cries when she get hurts.

she will squeeze me so tight and loves giving kissies.

her favorites are toy story, gogurts, "backpack" (dora), and baby dolls.

i am so sad to think that she will only be my baby for another 3 months but,

i know she will be a great big sister to her baby brother.

happy birthday eden bear!!

our thanksgiving feast

our thanksgiving feast was a classic one. all the regular fixings.

mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry stuff, and of course,

the sparkling bubbly.

i made pies. for the first time, i actually made the crust and the pie. homemade.

banana cream pie. and they actually tasted good.

we had a lovely time stuffing our faces and filling our bellies.

the main course.

the kids table. jack, sydney, kayda, lexi, and ava.

post thanksgiving feast:

front yard turkey bowl/chase whoever has the football and then slam them to the ground.

age is not a factor here.

jason and eden spectating. me. baby bump. 24 weeks prego.

i am most thankful for my family.

hope everyone had a fantastic thanksgiving.

turkey trot

2nd annual breinholt

family turkey trot.

we are thankful for our agile bodies that let us run and run and run....

once again, we woke up bright and early thanksgiving morning and headed to the local

high school track for a run.

it is such a refreshing to start to the day.

i love seeing my kiddos use their little bodies in the way god intended.

not being idle.

jack completed 6 laps.

ava ran 4.

and eden walked/was carried at least 2 laps :)

boston in the fall

one week in boston, mass.

i went to boston for a week with eden and my mom to visit my sweet sister.

it is such an amazing time to visit.

the leaves are all different colors and the farmers markets are filled with autumn delights.

the weather is that perfect cold.

the cold that you can still enjoy outdoor walks through the city and than cozy up to a warm fire at night.

we did that.

lots of outdoor strolls and then warming our tootsies up to the fire at night.

we consumed lots of hot chocolate and donuts from dunkin donuts, of course.

did you know there are 104 dunkin donuts in the boston area?

i learned that while i was there.

boston has so much charm, so much history, and so many grave yards.

i am so glad that my sister lives there so when i get sick of the boring arizona desert,

i can go visit her :)

sleepy hallow graveyard.

concord, mass.

my sister's home town.

my niece aubrie collecting the giant fall leaves.

eden enjoying the fall leaves all around her.

my brother in law barry, my mom, my sister danielle, and eden bear strolling the through the graveyard.

Boston.

eden taking in all the sights while riding on the famous duck tour.

the boston common covered in leaves.

the real music man.

he was playing all these instruments while singing margaritaville.

the finish line of the great boston marathon.

someday i will cross it.

if i can ever qualify, that is. sheesh.

eden fell in love with my sister's dog tilly even though the dog bit her hand.

they sort of developed a love/hate relationship.

thank you danielle for a pleasant back east trip.

and thank you to all my friends and family who helped take care of

my jack and ava while i was away.