I Have Been Good, Santa

Last Thursday, our family went to see Santa at Disneyland. What a fun trip! We were second in line to see the big guy, and the boys were so excited! Caden wanted to keep what he was going to ask for a secret from us, so when he talked to Santa, I tried my best to hear his request. Vance wants a firetruck, and Caden...well, he wants a robot. Not just any old robot. He wants a robot that "can control Mom and Dad." Who knew?

Vance really wanted to be in the Jedi show, and Caden did not, but they picked Caden to be in it! Vance was very sad. We were so happy for Caden! He fought Darth Vader, and he got to use the force on two stormtroopers.

Vance was so excited to see Tigger. "Tigger! Tigger," he shouted. Auntie Talicee spent the entire day with us, and Uncle Micah also hung out for a little bit. Then, we got to see him in the Christmas parade and Fantasmic.

We also saw Grammy at work leading the marching band and training a new guy. I love Disneyland at Christmas time. The castle is gorgeous with all its lights. Disneyland truly is magical at this time of year.

October Birthdays

Our birthdays this year were a lot of fun. Caden requested an ocean party. I thought he meant an ocean-themed party, so Aunt Calee made an awesome shark cake, and Grammy and Aunt Talicee put up fish decorations and planned fun ocean-themed games (my favorite was "Get the Tail Off the Seahorse"). As we were driving to Grammy's house, Caden started crying, because he thought we were having a party at the ocean- not about the ocean. Fortunately, he still had a great time!

Vance wanted to celebrate his birthday with his best friend, Jacob, at Pretend City, which is a big children's museum in Irvine. Those two boys had so much fun riding around in the pedal cars!
Calee did a fantastic job on Caden's cake! He (and I) appreciated it so much!

Vance and his new tool set.


.I thought Grammy was going to pull Caden's arms out of their sockets. I don't think that they ever popped that balloon.

Halloween

I made the boys' costumes this year. Caden wanted to be Obi-Wan Kenobi and Vance wanted to be a pirate. The fabric store didn't have a pattern for any Star Wars costumes, so I had to figure it out on my own. Vance wanted a fancy pirate jacket. Thankfully, I was able to get all of the fabric from the remnants bin or the sale rack. It cost the same as it would of if I were to buy it, but I had more fun. Also, for their boots, I just covered their rainboots with the appropriate fabric- cheap and easy!

We actually carved the pumpkins this year! Last year, we got so busy that they remained uncarved. Caden designed his own.

Archery

At Mom's birthday, Caden had his first archery lesson from my brother Billy and Tevye. He hit the center of the target on his first try!

Our Soccer Star

Caden made the first goal at his first game. We later found out that he had no idea that he had scored a goal. He was just happy to have a chance to kick the ball. Doesn't he look cute in his uniform?

Caden in the First Grade

First day of school.

He is still enjoying it.

Un Templo en Concepcion!!!!

I was so excited to hear President Monson announce that a temple will be built in Concepcion, Chile! This is great news! Right now, there is only one temple in Chile (Santiago), and the members from our mission area had to travel very far to get there. I know that they are grateful for this blessing.