The Cost of Christmas Magic

Lately everything has been carefully monitored by how much it costs and if it really is a necessity. Spending $25 to sit on Santa’s lap and get a poor quality photo was not on the necessity list and I have been putting it off for weeks. Today I threw that out the window and finally said, “Yes!” to Jadyn’s pleadings to go and talk to Santa. She has asked every day since Thanksgiving. She wanted to go and see Santa and give him an enormous hug. She has even had Jenna start asking me over the last week. Well, today was the day.

We got up and went to our outdoor mall only to discover that Santa does not arrive until noon. (We were there at 9:45 – and it was cold this morning!) Since I didn’t want to disappoint my kids, we took off for an indoor mall. Santa was our very first stop.

The girls were so excited standing in line. They could not stand still for a second! At last it was our turn and Jadyn rushed to Santa, almost knocking him over with a HUGE hug! He just laughed, “Ho, Ho, Ho!” and Jadyn giggled. Jenna didn’t knock him over, but she was so happy to be able to sit on his lap.

Hyrum did remarkably well (no crying or fussing) for his first visit to Santa. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about sitting on a stranger’s lap, but he did OK.

They allowed me to take some photos of the kids talking to Santa while the “official” photo was being processed. I LOVE these pictures! This is why a visit to Santa was important. Both of the girls had Santa’s undivided attention for a few minutes as they told him exactly what was on their Christmas list and listened to him tell them that he was proud of them for being good girls and listening to Mom. It was so sweet to watch.

The rest of our mall visit was also costly…a ride on the carousel and a snack to tie us over until we got home. Ugggh. I am normally more prepared, but I wasn’t intending to be gone for so long.

Riding the 2 story carousel was a lot of fun. Hyrum sat on the elephant for a minute, but asked, "Down, Down!" He likes to sit on the seat and watch the girls go up and down.

Pure Enjoyment is a real treasure.

My kids had a wonderful day. The highlight was seeing Santa, but playing and riding the carousel were also treats. On the way home, we sang Christmas songs until I noticed that I was the only one singing. Yep…all sound asleep.

So, the day cost me about $35 (ouch), but the experience was priceless.

Hyrum's Blanket

Hyrum loves his fuzzy blanket. He sleeps with it and likes to put it in his mouth... meaning I have to wash it almost every single day. Before he could walk he used to put the blanket in his mouth and crawl (scoot) around. Sometimes he throws himself on his blanket or hides under it. His sisters can take just about any toy from him, but heaven help them if they try to take The Blanket!

Gotta love that boy and his blanket!

Pony Carts and Parks

So, for those of you that have never experienced something as enjoyable as a pony cart, you'd better check this out. We were invited to the park since it was getting a little cooler (ha,ha) to have a pot-luck lunch and let the kids play and ride the pony cart. It was a great way to spend a day. The kids loved riding around on the cart and Jadyn even got to 'drive'.


Seriously, doesn't this look like fun?

One of my personal favorite stories from our Park Day happened shortly after we arrived. Jadyn was pointing me out to one of her friends from preschool (not knowing they are 2nd cousins) and told her that following,

"That is my Mom. She is very nice and so stylish."

Now, that not only made my day, but I knew I had to write it down so that when she is a teen and I am nowhere near "stylish", I will have this to look back on.

A few of the older kids tried to get a game of Red Rover going. I laughed when Jadyn was called over and "fell down" before ever trying to break the line. We'll have to work on that.

This is a picture with most of the young'uns. There were are few missing, but we captured most of the group and the all important Pony Cart.

My cute sister-in-law Melanie and her sweet little Addison.

Hyrum seems to be making friends with a younger cousin - except when she tried to take his blanket.

Jenna and Razzie were sitting on one side of a wagon and enjoying all of the yummy snacks.

Peek-a-boo! I see you, Jadyn!

Every kid needs to have time to rock with Nana and the park provided a perfect place to get away from our normal routine and relax. I count it a great blessing to have such an amazing mother-in-law. She is an extrodinary person and she loves her family so much. I really enjoy watching her with my kids. They all adore her. Apparently she had the magic touch on this particular day, becuase Hyrum actually fell asleep in her arms. Aren't they beautiful together?

This is Jenna tucking Hyrum in for his nap. Isn't that sweet? Jared's aunts made the beautiful quilts under him. I should have taken a photo of just the quilts. They are gorgous. Although I think the little boy sleeping on them is pretty darn cute as well.

Thanks for such a fun play day!

A Tonka Truck Party

For Hyrum's first birthday I got really excited about doing a boy theme. We had a Tonka Truck party and it was a lot of fun. Hyrum was given everything a little boy needed. Everyone was so generous with their gifts. We have such wonderful family and friends...What a blessing!


This was our spread. We had little sticks (pretzles), dirty logs (carmel and chocolate dipped pretzles), wheels (chocolate doughnuts), dirt & rocks (oreo truffles), dirt pudding (chocolate pudding with cookie crumbs and gummy worms), chocolate dipped oreos, and the Truck Cake. I thought the whole set up looked great. Hyrum loves chocolate and went for the doughnut wheels right away.

We did the family tradition of "Silly, Silly" and each of the young girls took turns bopping Hyurm on the head with his gifts. Jadyn made his wishes for him. Hyrum was good about it.


He had lots of help looking at his new toys.

The only glitch of the evening was when he tried to grab his birthday candle instead of blow it out. He cried and we had to run his little fingers under water. I have never had a kid that tried to grab the lit candle before. That was a first for me and I felt like a horrible mom. Oh well. He recovered well and had a fun party anyway.

You can't have a first birthday without making a mess of your cake, right? Hyrum did a decent job. He preferred anything chocolate to his birthday cake, but still had fun making a mess.

Happy Birthday, Little Man! I can't believe that you are already ONE! Where did the time go?

Grandma's Surprise Gift

The day after Hyrum's birthday, Grandma called and asked if the kids might be interested in a train ride at the park. Of course, my kids LOVE that sort of thing and it was a great surprise.

With the exception of loosing one of Jenna's flip-flops on our second train ride, (I tell you, Jenna looses more shoes than any other kid I have ever known) everyone had so much fun on the little train. They waved to people and got really excited to see all of the ducks. When we asked Hyrum, 'What does a duck say?' his immediate response was, "Rrrrrrr!" By the end of the night he was saying something closer to "Quack, quack."

Hyrum was not a big fan of riding the horses on the carousel, but he did like sitting and waving at Grandma as we went around and around. Once he got off, he loved waving and yelling, "Hi-ah!" at his sisters and Mom.

Thanks, Grandma for such a fun day at the park! I feel like my kids are especially blessed with wonderful grandparents. I am grateful for the days when we all just get to play together and create a bunch of memories. The kids were thrilled to ride the rides and see the ducks. It was a perfect way to celebrate Hyrum's birthday. As we drove home Jadyn remarked,

"It is so good that Hyrum had a birthday so that Grandma could take us to ride the carousel and the train at the park. Will Jenna's birthday be next week?"

A Celebration of Hyrum

It is hard to believe that my son is turning 1 today. Hyrum is a wonderful boy with a huge grin and the sweetest disposition. I was looking through his photos this last week. I had forgotten how dark he was (for one of my babies) when he was first born. He has always been a handsome kid. Here is a backwards glance at Hyrums first year…

Welcome baby Hyrum! Your sisters were so excited to come and meet you. They came with Grandma and brought a balloon and some little gifts for you. You didn't mind that they poked and loved you to pieces.

A few days old.

A few weeks old.

3 Months old.

Hyrum's first Christmas.

Six months old.

Do you think it is hard to be the only boy?

Could he be the cutest little messmaker, ever?

At the park on his birthday. I was laughing at him. He was so excited to walk and climb. He would randomly scream for kicks. He also would "roar" at everyone he saw.

Your birthday was a fun day. You actually had fun just playing all day with your sisters and your mom. Thanks for bringing so much joy to our lives! I hope that you always know how much you are loved.