Santa!

We finally made it to see Santa! Between Santa being sick last Saturday, and the kids being sick starting Sunday it was tricky! All 3 have strep throat but I was able to get them on antibiotics early enough for them to go see Santa without being contagious.  Thus was a great Santa's helper too!  The kids each had a chance to chat with him.  Carson was a little shy but I think it was more about the pictures than about Santa.

Kayda's Birthday

Kayda really wanted to have a sleep over for her birthday so Saturday we had Ella and Chase stay the night.  They had a great time, ate pizza, watched a movie, had popcorn and eventually went to sleep.  Kayda was SO excited for them to be there. In the morning Kayda chose french toast and of course we opened her presents.

 Kayda got a camera this year and had a fabulous time playing with it.  These pictures are hers.

 Kayda wanted to make her cupcakes "from scratch" this year instead of just using the boxed variety we normally do.  She and Ella did great I just supervised but most of it was just the two of them.  Well, Carson dumped in ingredients after the girls had them measured out.

We went to dinner with Grandma and Papa H also.  She was quite happy with the way her birthday turned out.  I am so blessed to have this girl and to have so many people around her that love and support her too.

Christmas prep and Clara

 We decorated for Christmas a little earlier than normal this year in anticipation of Uncle Justin, Aunt Ayana and Clara's visit.  The kids always get so excited and this year was no exception.  I pack their ornaments all separately and I love to watch them sort through theirs before hanging them on the tree.  They are of the opinion that all their ornaments need to go up high but without a little one in the house that isn't really true anymore.  Though we did have Clara coming she never actually got interested in the tree.

We spent Thanksgiving with Daddy's family.  There were about 30 people there.  The kids had a blast, though Kayda struggles when Kimber is there because she doesn't get Ella's undivided attention.  The girls (Ella, Kayda and Kimber) are all enamored with Eliza (not quite 1).  Kayda and Carson helped me make pies and Kayda also helped me peel potatoes (which she loves).  Then they played hard at Grandma and Papa H's house.  

Friday Aunt Ayana, Uncle Justin and Clara (about 1.5 years) came to visit.  The apple cup was on but according to them it really wasn't a very interesting game.  Carson and Kayda had a blast playing with Clara.  Dillon played occasionally but it was mostly Kayda.  It was fun watching Clara with them.  We had the Christmas train out and she would tell Kayda "stop" and "go" for the train and then she bossed Carson around in the playroom.  She is full of spunk and my kiddos were happy to spoil her.  Though when they left Kayda said "She's exhausting!"  Considering how many times Clara wanted to go between the family room downstairs and the playroom upstairs I can imagine they'd both be worn out.

We didn't get the outside decorations up until Sunday because it was a crazy weekend but it sure was fun!

Kayda's Volleyball

Volleyball games started a few weeks ago.  I ended up coaching for Kayda's team and I'm having a lot of fun with it.  She loves it so far, though her intensity fluctuates a lot.

 Ariana and Kayda have been best pals for several years now.  Ariana only played because she was going to be on Kayda's team.

 Left to right:  Kaylee, Me, Kayda, Adryana, Arelly, Payton, Ghianna, Ryann, RaeLee, Kennedi, and Ariana

 The games really come down to who serves the best.  Every now and again a ball will be returned and on a very rare occasion it actually goes back again.  The girls are still figuring out the game but seem to be having a good time doing it. Thus far they've won 2 of 3 games.  The first one (the one we lost) the other coach wasn't familiar with the rules.  Each girl can start serving at the 10ft line, if the get 2 in a row they move back to 15ft, 2 in a row back to 24ft, and 2 more in a row and they are at the end line.  Once they move back they are supposed to serve from that point for the remainder of the night.  I meticulously recorded where each of my girls were supposed to be serving from.  Meanwhile the other coach was starting them back at the 10ft line every time they came up to serve.  I didn't realize it until the third game (I do NOT do well keeping track of anything when I'm coaching the girls).  So we were at a severe disadvantage.  I firmly believe my girls would've gotten it if the other team was playing at they should've been.  Needless to say I now speak with the other coaches EVERY game to be sure we're on the same page.

Dillon's Soccer and the Last Game

We got some pictures of some of the other games from his teammates so I'm putting those in.  Dillon is really disappointed that soccer is done.  There was talk of doing a weekend tournament but they couldn't get enough kids to even put the tournament on.  Then there was talk of indoor soccer but it looks like that won't happen either.  Hopefully we can work something out soon because he LOVES this sport.  

 Back, left to right: Coach Houser, Coach Austin
Middle, left to right: Braden, Jack, Landon, Dillon, Kayden, CJ, Lucas
Front, left to right: Aiden (Houser), Aidan (Long), Zack, Alex

His last game was pretty cold! As far as weather we really lucked out this season, only a couple windy and cold days and a couple rainy, one of which was just on and off rain.

 Carson stole Daddy's sweatshirt because he was cold.  Too cute not to take a picture.

The next day we had his banquet.  The coach pointed out that they had found "his position" as goalie and lamented the fact that it wasn't discovered sooner.  One of the other parents was expressing her frustration about NOT having him in goal because he does such a good job there.

Excuse the quality, it was taken with my phone but here is a quick clip of one of his blocks.

Carson's Last Soccer Game

Carson loved soccer.  That's really all there is to it.  He's kind of disappointed because next year they don't play coed anymore.  He was amazing out there!  It was the only really wet game of the season which was nice for parents but it sure is fun watching them get muddy!

 Left to right: Blake, Joey, Hadley, Madison, Carson, Kylee and Caroline.  With Coach Scott.

He had his end of season banquet last Friday.  The coach called him "Mr. Shy Guy".  By the end of the season he had definitely warmed up to everyone and was starting to get sillier with his teammates.

Here's a quick clip of one of his goals!  He's in the blue coming up the left side.