Snow Much Fun, NOT!

Let's see, it was basically a nightmare with a little fun mixed in! With got to Flagstaff without incident. The kids actually slept in the car and when they woke-up it was a winter wonderland and it was snowing. There was a major line to get into Wing Mountain and the kids were antsy but we finally got in about 30 minutes later. We bought two plastic sleds since they were on sale so the kids were really excited. We had been there about 40 minutes. The girls were sledding together on a smaller hill and Dilan was on the big one. The girls had just gone down together and were waiting for Andre and I to come down the hill when two teenage girls SLAMMED right into them. Haylee was facing them so she absolutely got pummeled. She was screaming and when we got to her it looked like her nose was broken. Andre went and grabbed Dilan. By the time we got to the hotel the swelling was going down so we just weren't sure if it was broken or not. We kept ice on it for awhile but Haylee just kept asking if we could go make a Snow Queen. She wanted to play in the snow so bad so we did take the kids out in the courtyard area of the hotel to play. There was tons of snow and nobody around. It preceded to snow the entire day and evening which was beautiful but definitely hard to get around in. We ended up staying the night at the hotel and coming back early the next day so we could get Haylee's nose X-Rayed. The good news is that it is not broken.

Then there is the Addisen story. At 10pm, she says, "I don't feel good." I felt her head and she was burning up. Luckily I brought Tylenol with me. She slept in between Andre and I so at 4:18am we were awakened and showered with puke. She continued to feel awful and have a high fever that finally ended on Sunday. It got up to 104.5 so she was really sick, poor baby. So needless to say between her feeling awful and Haylee needing to get back for an X-Ray, we couldn't stay to play in the snow that morning. And of course it was beautiful sunshine when we woke-up. What a mess.

As for Dilan, not a bruise or fever. Nothing but fun for him. And he took it like a trooper having to leave early. Last year, we ended up not being able to even go because he broke his arm. Ahhhh, the Cole kids, you gotta love em'!

Addie's Big Girl Bed

Santa brought Addie a Tinkerbell big girl bed for Christmas this year. She slept in it for the first time last night. This is how the process went... Addie it is time for bed. She walked in and we turned out the lights, turned on her fan, her nightlight and her sound machine like usual. She then got on her bed and started jumping. She turned to Andre and I and said, "I need to jump awhile, leave!" So we left thinking at what point are we going to see her and how many times? Well, we saw her at about 8:57am this morning, WOW! Addie did amazing, let's hope every night goes this well :)

Christmas Morning

How can Christmas morning not be the best day of the year? To wake-up and see the looks on your kids faces when they run out to see what Santa has left for them. Well, it was that case for at least one of our children. And that was Dilan. He got up about 7:30 and waited so patiently for his sisters. Finally, at 8:30 I went and woke them both up, big MISTAKE! Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. It took Addie just a few minutes but Haylee about 30. It all ended fine with everyone loving what they got. We had a great breakfast, eggs, turkey bacon, cinnamon rolls and OJ. Andre took the kids to the park while I got the turkey ready. It was a great day topped off with a football game and turkey dinner. Exhausting!

Christmas Eve

Dilan the photographer took this shot of Appa and Tom!
Dilan took this one too :)
Oh, and this one too, I love that Dilan loves photography.








Andre, the baby whisperer!



We celebrated Christmas Eve with my Mom, Arthur, Paul, Sara, Miette, and Arthur's brother Tom and sister-in-law Michelle. What a fun night it was. It was filled with fun, laughter, food, wine and my favorite lemon bundt cake. The kids had a blast opening their gifts from Na & Appa and Uncle Paul & Aunt Sarah. It was Miette's first Christmas and she looked adorable! We tracked Santa on NORAD and as he hit the East coast it was time to get in the car and get home to get to bed. By the time we got home the girls had fallen asleep. It was up to Dilan to make sure that the cookies were out and Santa's Magic Key was left on the door. He prepped the house, did one last check on NORAD (Santa was in Mexico) and was off to bed. We all know what happened next...

MOMS Club Christmas Caroling

Today our MOMS Club went to Chris Ridge Assisted Living and sang Christmas Carols. I think everyone involved had a really good time. The older kids were out of school so they were able to join us and they had a blast. Dilan turned to me and one point and told me I was singing too loud and to be quiet :) Apparently it brought me back to my choir days and I just let loose! Afterwards, the kids walked around and said Merry Christmas to all of the older people and they were so thankful that we were there. The director then took us downstairs for milk and cookies were we met the Executive Chef. I think it was a really great experience for all the kids and adults too. We even burned off a few calories sweating, it was really hot in there.

Dilan's 2nd Grade Holiday Program

Dilan's music teacher Mrs. Rebb put on a Holiday Music program tonight. It was filled with Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa songs. The kids even sang a Hawaiian song with sunglasses on while they played kazoos. It was so good and my kids were entertained the entire time.

Andre's Christmas Party

A time to get dressed up and kick my heels up! This year we were at The Sheraton downtown and the theme was Holiday Lights. The food was great and a night out without three kids was very nice. Na watch the little kiddos and even had a sleepover with them.

Clark Reese - Our Elf

One morning we came out and Clark must have been partying that night because he was swinging from the ceiling fan. It was hysterical, the kids loved it :)

Decorating the Christmas Tree

This year was so much fun decorating the tree. Addie helped by making a pile under the tree of ornaments, it was so funny. Dilan and Haylee hung so many ornaments this year. I basically did the top of the tree and unwrapped them. Andre took lots of pictures (normally that's my job). We listened to Christmas music on the TV, sang and had hot chocolate.