Simba

Gray found a new friend on our Laguna trip.  He has been singing everything lately, and knows all the words to tons of songs.  He keeps going back to the Lion King though!  Since we have been back he sleeps with Simba every night as he cuddles up with his arm around him. 

Family Time

Our favorite part about our trip to Laguna Beach was the fact that we could all be together!  We had a great time going to fun parks, playgrounds, and beaches.  We walked around town, had yummy snacks, and played outside in the sun.

Going to California

Mayson and Gray were super excited for our holiday trip to California!  They did some bonding in the airport, and loved spending time playing together on the trip.  It is awesome to see how much fun they have playing together.  This was our last flight with a lap child so we had Gray bouncing all over the place, but they both did great!  Our kids are fantastic fliers--never any tears, just busy keeping busy. 

Mayson is 4!

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl, Mayson!  I keep telling her that she is going to stay 4 and I won't let her be 5 because she is getting so big.  She loves it and laughs when I tell her she will be 4 again on her next birthday.  We can't believe what a beautiful, smart little girl she has become!  Since she has started preschool, she has learned so much.  She is now clearly left handed as she carefully writes and colors.  She stays in all the lines, and can write all of her letters.  Mayson has surprised us with her love of geography, she knows all the continents and different animals that live in each habitat around the globe.  She can count to 100, and has started figuring out the place holders to 1000.  She is trying to sound out words with all the sounds she knows for each letter.  She always asks, "What is inside__?"since she is labeling everything in preschool.  She still loves to read, and begs us to watch videos.  Frozen is still discussed in our house quite a bit, but we have switched things around a bit in our playlist, and Taylor Swift's 1989 album comes first now (thanks for the suggestion, Katie).  Mayson knows all the words and her current favorite on the album is "Bad Blood," so she can yell "Hey!" in all the right places.  She also has a great personal style, and selects all of her clothing in her own version of matching.  Most frequently this means socks that don't match and an assortment of colors and patterns.  I'll try to get a picture to capture some of the best outfit choices.  

Mayson's 4th Birthday

Mayson's big birthday extravaganza happened the Saturday before her birthday and she invited her friends for a gingerbread house decorating party.  Mom and Dad stayed up (maybe until 1am) the night before putting the houses together and getting set up.  There may have also been an emergency trip to the store to get more graham crackers.  But the party was a huge success!  We started with a treasure hunt around the house for candy canes, and then did a snowflake ball toss into the gingerbread house windows.  We also had a dance party to Frozen songs and Mayson's other favorites, "Call Me Maybe," and "All about that Bass."  She celebrated with her friends Noah, Molly, Brandon, Sydney, and Julianne, plus little siblings Gray, Liam, little Sydney, and Will. We had fun decorating the gingerbread houses with tons of candy and frosting and then had a fun lunch followed by cake.  Mayson already requested to have another gingerbread party for next year.

A Fantastic Trip

We loved every minute of our trip.  It was so nice to be relaxed and not on a schedule.  The weather, views, family, and friends couldn't have been any better.  We are so thankful to have had such a wonderful time.  We can't wait to make 2014 another great year.