Utah Christmas - December 25, 2011

We made sure Santa knew that we were at Uncle Matt's in UT.  After that was settled, it was Christmas as usual.  The kids left cookies, carrots, milk, and snacks for Santa and the reindeer. 

Poor Rylee was sick with bronchitis, but the other kids were excited for Christmas morning.  We took the traditional "Reinbold Christmas Morning Photo" (on the stairs). 

 Megan got a DS.  She was a little excited.

 Amaya was on information overload.  She mainly just watched the utter chaos unfold.

 I swear, we didn't give her Dr. Pepper before this all started. 

 Santa didn't eat all of his cookies, so Amaya helped him out. 

 Rylee opening presents. 

 I got a Lucy Yoga Rosie the Riveter shirt. 

 Amaya decked out in her Elmo backpack, jewelry, and Christmas pjs. 

 Daddy got an ipad!  (The last one at the store, by the way.)

 Skype Christmas with Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Scott.  We also Skyped with Granna and Double G. 

"Howdy, Partner!"  Connor and Nolan had matching Woody pjs.  They sat on the fireplace, ran straight to me, and yelled, "Howdy, Partner!" over and over and over again. 

Lights at Temple Square - December 22, 2011

We're not much for planning trips (hey, it's genetic), but we decided to go to Utah for Christmas.  We left a day early because of an impending blizzard - turns out that was a great idea - and once we beat out the blizzard, we took our sweet time.  We drove like mad-people to NM and then we stopped in Moab, UT for the night.  The next day, we were lazy and drove to Salt Lake City.  Uncle Jeff, Aunt Lisa, and her family - the fabulous Tamaki family - invited us to meet them at Temple Square to enjoy the Christmas lights and nativity display. 

 Can you tell that someone was SUPER excited to see her Uncle Jeff?

Casual family photo in the COLD!

Amaya, when we first arrived.  The kids couldn't stand that she was asleep, so they might've helped her wake up. 

We went to a local bakery/cafe together and pigged out on sweets.  It was good to see the Tamakis again. 

Cousin Christmas Day - December 17, 2011

Following tradition, we met together for the Goulding Cousin Christmas day.  We did things a little differently this year.  We met at Gran and Papa's, ate lunch, opened gifts - Cabelas gift cards for the boys and American Girl Doll gift cards for the girls - and then split up to go shopping.

Megan's Dance Recital - December 15, 2011

Megan participated in her first real dance recital.  She knew that routine by heart and looked so stinkin' cute on stage.  Connor was super proud of her, too, as he kept pointing to her and saying, "That's my sister!" (it was pretty loud).  I found out afterwards that she had a mini-meltdown back stage and almost didn't make it out onto the stage.  I'm so glad she did.  I'm sure there's some sort of law against or privacy something-or-other, so I won't post the video to the blog, but it's SO cute.  And we're so proud of Megan for making it out on stage even though she was scared at first.

Decorating the Tree - November 29, 2011

Yes, I'm going to blog about decorating the Christmas tree because 1) we didn't wait until the last minute and 2) it was momentous because the kids worked together without fighting.  They got a little camera happy and kept saying, "Here, take this one!"

Megan's First Field Trip - October 27, 2011

Do elementary school teachers know that they could just rent a bus and drive kindergarteners around town for the first field trip and they'd be perfectly happy?  Megan was SO excited to go on her first field trip, but mostly she was just excited to get to ride a school bus.  The destination just happened to be the zoo...details.

I took the day off of work to go with her, and I'm so glad I did.  It was fun to watch her interact with her classmates and friends.  It's a side of her that I don't get to see very often.

American Girl Doll Sleepover - October 14, 2011

We have now entered the (warped) world of American Girl Dolls.  Okay, I'll be nice.  It's just not a world I will ever understand.  But Megan loves that world, so here we are.  Megan had to earn her doll by doing chores around the house.  She completed several chores and filled up a chore chart.  We went to the AGD store (if you haven't been there...oh my...it's an experience), and she picked out Kit Kitteridge.  It was a tough decision and took several hours to accomplish one seemingly simple shopping trip.  Now she had the doll and needed to introduce her doll to other doll friends.  She declared that she needed to have an American Girl Doll sleepover.  So we invited her cousins, some friends, and all of their dolls over for a sleepover. 

 

I tried to think of something fun for them to do, rather than just eat and watch movies, and of course I can't do anything too simple.  I decided to let them stage a photo shoot with their dolls and then make scrapbooks with the pictures they took.  They scoured the house and used just about everything they could find to make into props or outfits.  They were also very excited to use my cameras.  I found it quite amusing and just loved watching them be so creative.

Pinch Me! ALCS and World Series - October 2011

I normally just post about the kids on this blog, but I'm sneaking one in about myself for once.  Boring.  I didn't go to any Ranger playoff games last year, so I promised myself that I'd go the next time they made it to the playoffs.  Jeremy and I talked about it one morning and poof! we bought tickets to the ALCS game.  It didn't come without a price...we had to sit through a very LONG thunderstorm...BUT who cares???  I went to a Rangers' ALCS game!  We sat in the Homerun Porch, right above the Rangers' bullpen (and under cover for the rain).  It was a dream come true.  Amazing. 

And as if it could get any better than an ALCS game, I lucked out and got to go to a World Series game.  It was awesome!  I got to sit in the infamous family seats, right behind home plate.  Talk about amazing. 

Sea World - September 30, 2011

 I don't know how many times we promised Megan we'd take her to Sea World, and didn't, but we finally came through with our promise.  We went to Sea World! It was the perfect weekend to visit.  It wasn't hot, it wasn't crowded, and it was just plain fun. 

One of Connor's favorite parts was Alligator Alley (you know, since he's a Swamp People addict).  He just wanted to "watch the gatahs".  One gator had a turtle hanging out on his head, and Connor just loved that.  

 Connor and Megan with Shamu.  Connor wasn't so excited about a big, stuffed, walking whale.

 We saw the Shamu show.  Titi Jana was kind enough to sit down in the splash zone with Megan.  They made it through the entire show, until the very end, before getting soaked.  Megan thought that was "the best ever!"

And what trip to Sea World would be complete without Connor "catchin' me a gatah"!  He yelled that so loud that everyone around us started laughing and talking about Swamp People.  They aren't real, of course.