WINTER WONDERFEST

Well our little family decided to make our annual visit to Navy Pier for the Winter Wonderfest. We love this place!!! We decided to go over my birthday weekend since we were leaving for Canada the following weekend. It was a blast this year, especially since Tristen was able to go on the rides and appreciate more of the decorations. Well we enjoyed a full day of fun and family time. Here are some pics of our outing.


Tristen and Blake before we left for downtown Chicago


Tristen on the Ferris wheel. She didn't crack a smile the whole time she was on the ride, it was the end of the day and time for a nap.


Mom and Tristen decorating a giant sugar cookie


Mom and Tristen decorating a sugar cookie. The final product, hmm... maybe it's a good thing that we cut it out of the picture.


Blake just chilling in the car seat and being a good baby.


Say cheese...hmm not so much. Tristen is getting tired.


Tristen and dad after Tristen got off her first pink dragon ride

THE BIG "30" !!!!!

So I am starting to feel a little old these days....probably because the BIG "30" is in a few days. I'm not a big Birthday fan to start off with, but thinking of 30 makes me even less of a fan. But then again ... when I think of my life and where I'm at, I'm feeling not too bad about getting a little older :) I am proud of the things I have accomplished thus far in my life. I am also proud to be a wife and mother. I am happy with most things in my life and the things I not a 100% happy with, I dare say I'm making almost a daily effort to change them. So I guess I should celebrate being 30 and be grateful for all my life's blessings thus far. For journal purposes (sorry people I like to blog but if I can knock 2 things out at once, then more power to me...this is my way of journaling) here are 30 things about me.

30 Things YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

1. I love being a wife & mom
2. I am all about bedtime for kids ... quiet time
3. I enjoy decorating and shopping (HOBBY LOBBY)
4. I enjoy working with the teenagers
5. I want to travel one day to Italy, Scotland, and Europe
6. I would love to serve a mission one day (Religion is important in my life)
7. I would love to run a marathon
8. I hate chalk, chalk boards, and flour...the texture freaks me out
9. I like being a stay at home mom, on most days
10. I like working out and I love my gym membership
11. I have a slight addiction to facebook
12. I love chocolate and sweets ... but I try to behave
13. If I could be famous, I would love to be famous for being an Olympic athlete
14. I wish I could dance and play musical instruments ... especially the piano
15. I am one of those people who rarely trys anything new at a restaurant ... I play it safe ... I wish I was braver at times
16. I actually enjoy cleaning and cutting grass ... laundry ... not so much
17. I HATE wrinkles in clothing ... they really bother me
18. I still can't believe I used to work at a couple of prisons but it was cool
19. I don't like being late, I almost would rather stay home than be late ... but kids/husband are helping me get over this. (most of the time not by my choice)
20. I don't like bananas, but I LOVE banana bread and most things with banana in them
21. I love warm weather ... winter not so much, only for Christmas
22. I love my new vacuum and find great satisfaction when I see all the dirt it sucks up!!! Kirbys ROCK!!!
23. I am not a procrastinator except when it comes to packing ... I am always afraid I will forget something
24. If I could choose a superpower to have, I think I would like to fly...this would help me with chicagoland traffic and being late (saves $ on gas as well ;)
25. My favorite holidays are Halloween and Christmas
26. My favorite TV shows are House, Prison Break, So You Think You Can Dance, and Law & Order SVU.
27. I love having a DVR and fast forwarding through commercials...oh the time it saves
28. I am grateful for my family (parents, especially) and friends...I am am so happy to have stayed in contact with some of my friends over the years, I love hearing about their lives (especially when they blog about it :)
29. I love psychology and having deep conversations with people
30. I love date nights and spending quality time with the hubby and kids

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Christmas tree and some x-mas decorations


So I am in a really really good mood today :) I am sooooo happy that Jason just finished his last exam (last night) for his master's degree and he just passed his statistics waiver exam (Mon night) to test out of a class for his upcoming MBA program which starts in 3 weeks. It will be REALLY NICE having a husband for the Christmas break. I am also glad that Jason will have a stress free break, which is much deserved.

This Christmas our family is planning to visit Canada and spend some time with my family. Coming from a big family, 9 kids, we don't often get the chance to visit with my siblings due to distance (our family is spread out over Canada and the USA). We were lucky to have some of my family visit us for a few days during the Thanksgiving break, my parents, my sister Jane-Claire and her husband Brian, as well as their kids. Tristen loved playing with her cousins Emmerson and McKinnley. She kept on asking about them several days after they left. So we are really looking forward to seeing and spending some time with family over the holidays. It is also going to be a fun Christmas this year due to the fact that Tristen will understand it a bit more. Yes, she might not entirely get the whole Santa Claus concept, but she totally understands the PRESENT concept!!!! We are also glad that Blake will be celebrating his first Christmas with us this year. I think he was the best gift our family received this year. I can't tell you how much we think about how much we lucked out with his sweet little personality. Blake is such an EASY GOING baby, and even if his little personality changes, we consider ourselves very lucky to have enjoyed his sweet demeanor this long. I still can't believe that he will be 6 months old on the 20th of this month. Time flys ... I'm totally getting it, that's why we are trying to enjoy our family time as much as possible. Speaking of family time, we are planning our 3rd annual Winter Wonderfest trip in Chicago this Saturday. It is so much fun and this year we might have friends come along with us. Well this is a long post, we have a lot going on this month so all going well I will have a lot to blog about. Below are a few pics from Thanksgiving, pics of Tristen and her cousins at Bounce Town.


Blake and 8week old cousin Brogan


3yr almost 4 yr old cousin McKinnley


Showing off Tristen...going on her tummy


2 yr old cousin Emmerson


Jason, Tristen, Uncle Brian and gang in part of the pic...not the greatest shot..my bad