San Diego... Finally!

We just finished our first 24 hours in San Diego. All of the secret planning to surprise Grandma Cardon has finally paid off. She was quite surprised to show up for her first night at the resort and find her room full of family. The Grandkids were so excited about the idea of surprising her and even though there were some close calls, none of them gave the secret away. Hearing her laugh when she realized we were all here was the best.

Grandma and Claire all snuggled up to talk. Claire had a lot of catching up to do with Grandma since she has spent the last several weeks avoiding talking on Skype or the phone so that she wouldn't give away the surprise.

 Wyatt and Jaren spending too much time using the iPhones even in sunny California.

 Tatum and Jade sharing a little bear hug.

 Rachel got to bathe Tatum and Jade in the giant spa tub, that was also enclosed in glass and had only a small door. Wading in was the only option.

Today we headed out to go to sacrament meeting. I had looked up the address for a nearby chapel that met at 11am. We arrived to find that the wards that met there had changed times for the beginning of the year, and we were just in time for the spanish branch. We had a laugh and then stayed for the meeting. Afterwards, Nathan and Papa told us what had gone on that most of us missed due to our language barrier.

All of my handsome boys dressed up for church.

We also went to walk around at the San Diego temple. It was a bit chilly for San Diego standards, but very nice temple grounds.

 After the Temple we went to the Mormon Battalion museum in Old Town San Diego. We took a tour that walked us through the journey of the Mormon Battalion on their way to California. Gavin even got to be the family soldier and receive his uniform and rations for the trip.

 Taking aim.

 At the end of the tour the kids got to pan for gold and try out the old well. Luckily, no one fell down.

 Wyatt in the covered wagon.

Christmas Morning 2013

What a fun morning we had. First Christmas in our new house. First Christmas for little Finn. The older boys had spent quite a bit of time pondering their Christmas lists and drafting letters to Santa. Luckily, the both included a variety of gift ideas and then asked Santa for the ones they believed Mom and Dad were least likely to get them. Wyatt was just a bit confused about what was going on this year, so he was easy to please.

I love how they look marching in by height trying to spot which presents are theirs.

 Finn was up earlier than normal to join the fun. Though he may has been a bit distracted from his present.

Wyatt had to stop his playing to read a book.

Gavin got his first sets of Pokemon cards from Santa, since both Caleb and I have said that we just don't like them.

 The present opening last quite a while and was a lot of fun, since the boys really enjoyed all of their gifts and wanted to pause in between every present to see what their brothers had opened as well.

 Finn loved opening his presents because he kept moving at attack speed to try and eat the wrapping paper. Even when all of the paper was gone, he still also liked his toys.

And just because we should prove that their parents exist and got presents too. Caleb opening his football from the boys, who were just as excited about it as he was.

 Me, opening up some new running clothes. Gotta love Christmas morning. We do.

Christmas Eve

We love Christmas Eve with the Cardon cousins, and this year lived up to all our expectations.

There was a tense moment for Gavin in the morning when the snow started falling and the wind was blowing hard, and he worried that they wouldn't be able to make it to your house. Luckily, they arrived without isssue.

We went to work on our of or festive plans, including the cookie decorating for Santa.

Henry, Libbie and Mallory getting to work.

 Mia and Gavin are always fairly meticulous in their art and cookie are no exception to that rule.

Mallory was by far the most detailed, adding little eyes and buttons to her creations, made from tiny sprinkles.

 Stacy brought some Christmas minute-to-win-it games for the kids. They all had fun trying them out, tho I only got pictures of Jaren and Wyatt playing the stacking game, 2 year old style.

 Finn was not in a great mood, despite the good company, but Aunt Stacy was the baby whisperer for awhile. She even kept him happy while listen to Claire tell her a story about something.

 Then, of course, came the annual opening of Christmas Pajamas. Everyone loved this.

 Especially Wyatt. He was still a bit confused about why they were in a circle holding presents, but that all changed when he pulled out Angry Birds pants.

 Just a funny little shot of all the Cardon boys. We forgot to send Stacy the blue pjs memo for this year, but Jaren is the most Christmasy of all.

On The Third Day of Christmas...

Nope, you didn't miss it... we haven't counted down any of the other 12 days, but that won't keep me from starting with the last few. 

We finally got to head downtown and see the Temple Square Lights, and it was a good thing we waited. We got the share the company of the fabulous Willardsen family and it was no less than 45 degrees outside. Yep, perfect. Especially for those of us that love Christmas lights, and it was even manageable for those of us that are willing to be dragged along.

These silly kids are of course in the category of people who love lights.

This guy turned out to be one who would tolerate it since it was nice out...

 ... and because we remembered to bring his milk cup.

 A great Temple pose. Gavin, Josh, Gabby, Henry and Parker

 And Wyatt will smile if he gets to have his picture taken alone.

 This picture really makes me think about how these two will look as teenagers. They were just hanging out with hands in pockets watching the crowd. I hope to enjoy a lot more small moments before they hit that more grown up point in their lives.

 Some of the trees from my favorite area of the lights beside the Assembly Hall.

 These guy seem to all know where to stand for the perfect pose.

 Us, not so much, but we were also standing around Finn's stroller where he was snoozing and laughing at Caryn trying to take our photo.

First Biter Biscuit

Finn had his first biter biscuit a few days ago. He was so excited when he realized that what he was holding actually tasted good. He is growing so fast.

Festive poses

I love this time of year when my kids look so much cuter for church than normal. Now that Finn is a little bigger, there are so many outfits that have been handed down that he can wear to match Wyatt. And let's face it, he has such a super cute smile.

I took a few of them in their matching outfits on Sunday. They look like they are just snuggling up, instead of Finn tipping over, until...

Wyatt tries to help him back up by pushing him in the face.

Thanks to the silly brothers they are watching, a couple of cute smiles.

 And now for everyone's favorite time of year... The Christmas Card rejects. 

They just make me laugh.

 Luckily, all we needed was one good one, since we got about 25 in all kinds of silliness.