Christmas Eve

We have the same tradition every year for Christmas Eve.  First we go to Christmas Eve Mass before dinner.  Here are two of my kiddos before we left.

 

After church we go over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and presents.  We usually have German food for dinner and, again, it was delicious!  I was able to get the cousins together for a picture before opening presents.

Cara got a Mulan doll from Uncle Denny and Aunt Deborah.  They got it in Disneyland and her tummy is personally signed by the doll designer.  Cara loves it!

She got this design set from Uncle Patrick and Aunt Julie.  Cara is dying to play with it!

A new Lalaloopsy from Grandma and Grandpa:

And, finally, what she wanted for Christmas:  Ugg slippers!  She was super excited!

Ali got a set of Fiestaware and she was very excited about that!

Bryan got a new WSU sweatshirt:

And the guys got new Seahawks hats and 12th man Starbucks cards!  I think everyone had a great night!

Christmas in Spokane

We went to Spokane a few days before Christmas so we could celebrate with John's side of the family.  Cara loved all of her presents.  She got a Doc McStuffins doll:

 

and a princess Sofia doll:

Bryan got cash.  He plans to save it to spend on his truck.

Ali also got cash.  She's planning to get a couple of sets of dishes.  She will be moving into her own apartment this next fall so she needs to start getting a few household items so she has them for her new place.

Cara loves all things Olaf, so she was excited to get a new picture for her room.

The next day the kids went to visit grandma before taking Cara to see Santa at Riverpark Square.

According to Cara, the Riverpark Square Santa is the BEST Santa, so she was thrilled to see him and let him know what she wanted for Christmas.

We will see what Santa brings...

Christmas Tree Shopping and a Surprise Visit to Santa

Today was the day we went to pick out our Christmas tree.  Bryan spotted the perfect tree right away.  We still looked around at the rest of the trees, but ultimately went with Bryan's first choice.

 

As the boys were loading the tree, Cara and I went inside to buy some poinsettias.  We were surprised to find Santa there with no line.  A lady suggested that she have Santa sign her cast, so she did.  How many girls get Santa Claus to sign their cast?

She said she didn't know what she wanted for Christmas.  Santa told her she still had time to think about it.

And we went back home to put up the tree!  I love how this one looks this year.  Just a bit more decorating and I will be all done except for the Snow Village.

Master Bedroom is Ready for Christmas

Our master bedroom is decorated for Christmas!  I've never decorated bedrooms except for mini trees last year for the kids, so this is new and exciting for me.  

 

I also put up a mini tree in our bedroom this year, too.  The picture looks a little weird because the tree is on the dresser in front of a mirror.

Now all we have left to do is Bryan's room!

Cara's Room for Christmas

Cara loves Christmas.  She's generally game for just about anything, but the excitement of Christmas sends her over the top. :)  We put a Christmas quilt on her bed today.  Her room is really, really, pink, so the light cream of this quilt worked best.

 

Here is a close up of the pattern:

And Cara has had her Christmas tree up in her room for at least a week now. :)

We are starting to decorate the living room now since Thanksgiving is over.  We will go pick out our tree and hopefully put it up on Sunday.

Pumpkin Carving

The kids always look forward to carving pumpkins.  Cara carved with Daddy:

 

Jake carved with Grandpa:

And Bryan carved his own:

Cara posing with one of her pumpkins:

Jake posing with one of his:

And all of them posing together before they took their pumpkins outside!

Bryan's First Day of School

I need to start doing some serious blog catch up.  Here is Bryan on his first day of school his Junior year:

 

He is a Junior in high school, but he is also doing running start this year.  He only had one class (weight training) on the high school campus for fall semester.  The first week of college he was saying, "Maybe this was a mistake."  College was a lot harder than he expected; even though his older sister did it, too.  After the first week was over and he figured out how much work was needed, he settled in nicely.

Now, I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls a 4.0 GPA his first semester!  Bryan is a hard worker, that's for sure!

First Day of School

And Miss Cara is a second grader!  She was really excited for school to start this year.  She wanted to wear her "Seahawks" dress for the first day of school since they were playing that night.

 



And here's a back view of her bun and her new backpack!

Here's to another great year!

Open House

Tonight was open house at Cara's school.  She will be in the second grade and has Mrs. Carlson for a teacher.  Bryan had her for a teacher, too, and had a great experience and learned a lot.  We were happy that Cara gets to be in her class.

 

I was excited to get a picture of the three of them together.

Cara has everything packed and ready in her backpack.  She's so excited for school to start!

First Day of School-Ali



Since Ali left for school on Friday I had to take her "first day of school" picture last Wednesday.  Ali will start her senior year at Washington State University tomorrow.  She is double majoring with two business degrees; one with an emphasis in finance and one with an emphasis in accounting.

 

She did Running Start in high school, so she's actually two years ahead of her peers.  She will most likely go an extra semester and graduate in December 2015.

 

She's in an apartment this year and loves it already!

 



Have a great year, Ali!

Ali's Apartment

We moved Ali into her first apartment this weekend in Pullman.  She came back home with us for the next two weeks before school starts.  She has her room all fixed up and virtually all she needs to do when she returns is bring her desk chair.  She wanted to do a gallery wall in her room and found an inspiration pic online.

 

I think her wall turned out pretty cute!  A couple of pieces she had from her dorm room last year and the rest were either made or purchased this year.

 

Her bed looks so comfy!  We wanted to use some of what she had last year and not have to buy everything new.  The gray comforter is new, but the turquoise duvet and pillowcases were from last year.  The shelf is new from decorsteals.com, but the stuff on the shelf is from last year.

We looked and couldn't find a night stand we liked, so my hubby screwed two old apple boxes together and it fits perfectly!  The lamp is new from Hobby Lobby.

The sign over the door and the 'A' on her door were in her room last year.  You can kind of see the bathroom across the hall.

This dresser was in my living room.  We brought it for Ali's room and it, too, fits perfectly.  The t.v., jewelry box, and "Alison" picture holder was in her room last year, but the hanging ball and lanterns are new.

The door panel is new from decorsteals.com and Ali found the little white cabinet this week for 50% off at an antique store.  The desk used to sit in her room at home with her doll house on it.  She refinished it and changed the hardware on the drawer.  Her chair is still being refinished at home.

The closet was open when we got here.  They had doors on them when John and I lived here.  It looked ok, but we wanted to cover it.  We went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and got a tension rod and two curtain panels to hang.  It looks so much better!

This sign hung in Ali's dorm room last year, too.

Here is a peek at the bathroom.  It isn't finished yet because the girl she shares it with is still bringing some stuff.

Ali loves her room!  She should be very comfortable here.  The only drawback is the carpet is horrible!  It's dirty and stained and I don't think any amount of shampooing can get it clean.  She called the office and they said it will be replaced and they will move her things.  I sure hope they don't break anything!

Cara's Back to School Fashion Show

I usually start my back to school shopping for Cara a the Nordstrom sale.  I was really surprised this year!  All I found for her at the sale this year was a winter coat.  I've started shopping other stores the last week or two and found some really cute stuff.

 

Cara is 46 3/8" tall and weighs 46 lbs.  She turned 7 the beginning of June.

 

This outfit is from Justice.  All size 7.  Black skater skirt, black cami, and a sequined tank.

 

This obviously isn't for back to school.  It's a black sequined swim suit from Old Navy, size 6/7.  Cute!

This sweatshirt is from Next Direct, size 7.  She already had the Gap red skimmer jeans.

Selfie shirt from Next Direct, size 7.

Back view of selfie shirt:

Dress from Next Direct, size 7.

Funny story about this Old Navy dress (size 6/7).  Cara said, "It looks short."  I said, "It's a beachy dress."  She said, "Did you just call it a bitchy dress?"  Lol.

Shirt from Next Direct, size 7.

Cara has been wanting to wear scarves like her big sister.  I saw this outfit on a back to school thread.  Justice size 7 sweater.  She already had the pink cami.  She loves it!

Gymnast shirt, size 8.  They didn't have a 7.  It's going back and I'm going to keep looking for a 7.  It's just too big.

She loves this sequin sweatshirt from Justice.  It fits a little weird, though.  Short in the waist and long in the sleeves.

Last one is Gap, size small.  So cute!

If you make it this far, thanks for looking.  She has a Gap "Good as gold" shirt waiting for leopard sequined and black boots to come from zulily.  Then she should be set. :)