Christmas Morning

Christmas gets more and more fun as the kids grow. Carter and Addilyn were so excited for Santa to come this year. Preslee was a late sleeper and celebrated her Christmas a little later than the other two kids.

Preslee's darling outfit she got from Gigi. It's my new fave on her.

Addilyn got a cute 50's inspired mic from Gigi that she LOVES singing into. You can step on part of the bottom and a crowd will applause.

Addilyn, checking out Preslee's loot.

Carter got a racetrack from Santa. He loves it but loves his remote controlled helicopter from Gigi much more. :)

Our beautiful Christmas tree.

USS Midway

You know how when you grow up in a certain place you don't take advantage of all it has to offer? Like, when I was in high school I got sick of the beach. I preferred my pool because I didn't get sandy. And I've never been to Magic Mountain. The USS Midway is another example of this. I can't believe that I was never taken here on a field trip. It's a docked Aircraft Carrier that is now a museum (more of less). There were tons of planes and helicopters that we could look at and even a few we could get in. It was amazing! The kids had a BLAST! We knew Carter would but Addilyn has asked to go back to the "ship plane" several times since we've been home. I think we'll have to start making this a regular stop while in San Diego from now on.
A view from the dock.

Trying to peek into the "halidoctor"

This picture cracks me up because it says "Danger" and Carter's head is literally in the hole.

There are several different vest colors the air force (or whatever armed force people that are on this) wear. They had examples and explanations for each one. The color you wear shows what your job is. It was really interesting. Addilyn wanted to stand by the "pul-ple" one.

Taking a closer look with Papa.

Carter got to sit in this one and push buttons to his heart's content. Addilyn wanted NOTHING to do with it but would finally sit in it long enough for me to snap a picture.

It was REALLY chilly and super windy. My little AZ babies are NOT use to that! Good thing we dressed warm.

Addilyn snuggling into Papa for warmth. "It's code!"

Santa!

While in San Diego we went and visited our old pal, Santa. The kids did great. Addilyn actually allowed Santa to sit by her. Carter gave him such a list of what he wanted that all Santa said was, "Wow, that's quite a list!" Lovely. ("A halidoctor with a co-troler, a race track, a car with a co-troler, a train with a co-troler because the one I have right now is too slow....")

Santa happened to be only a few streets over from my parents house. The people who own the house go crazy setting everything up. Their entire house turns into Santa's workshop. They have a toy for each child that sees Santa, and hot cocoa and treats for everyone. The best part is that it's free. This family does it for the entire city and have 10s of thousands of people come every year.

Touring Santa's workshop with Papa.

"What the crap is all over this old dude's face?"
We met up with my childhood best friend, Krissy, who, no matter how long it goes between visits, will ALWAYS be like a sister to me. I seriously love this girl more than words could say. My mom offered to take a picture of us so instinctively we put our heads together, squishing Addilyn right out of the picture... :) This was right after that... clearly I was still laughing about it.

Christmas Eve

This year was an "on year" for my family. We spent a lot of time in San Diego (pictures coming soon)and were back in time for Santa to make his debut. On Christmas Eve, Ryan and Hillary invited us over to their house for dinner and games. We had so much fun. Holidays are all about spending time with family.

Aunt Kelly, Uncle Robby and Preslee.

Runkin doing the "snowball" game with the kids. It's a bunch of saran wrap. As you unroll it there are little dollar gifts inside for each kid. The kids love it.

Addilyn and Daddy with her present from the snowball.

Carter's present from the snowball... and his koolaid mustache. :)

Merry Christmas!

Dear friends and family, we are sure you are all on pins and needles wondering what is going on in the Wyeth Household. Well, wait no longer! We are all doing great and have included a few tidbits below. We hope this Holiday Season finds you all happy and healthy. Hopefully our paths will cross soon. Until then, have a very Merry Christmas!

Bryan:
Drilling away on innocent people’s teeth.
Working with the 12-18 year old boys at church.
Was able to have a great boys weekend in Chicago involving a Cardinals game (they won!), lots of pizza, and an MMA Fight (whatever that is) … but no shopping… such a shame.

Jen:
Still taking far too many pictures and is really excited to have an actual website. (jenniferwyethphotography.com)
Working with the 12-18 year old girls at church and LOVING it.
Thrilled that Preslee is sleeping through the night but not thrilled that the baby weight isn’t all off yet.

Carter: (4 ½)
The BEST big brother in town and a really good helper to Mommy.
Reads everything he sees… it’s crazy!
Seriously the coolest kid around. I love this age. He says he most hysterical things that I’m sure only I find entertaining.

Addilyn: (2 ½)
Obsessed with Princesses and fairly sure she is one.
Dancing queen; often dancing to music she sings quite loudly herself.
Asks literally on a daily basis if we can go to Disneyland or go see “Shamoon” (Shamu).

Preslee (4 ½ months)
Has a big, open-mouthed smile that we all adore and the greatest giggle ever.
Already turning out to be a little bit of a dare devil and loves Daddy to CAREFULLY throw her around.
Object of her older siblings’ attention (much to her dismay some times).
Giving Addilyn a run for her money in the “Daddy’s Little Girl” department.

A Few Mommy Stories

On Sunday, we were at church. Bryan was out of town so it was total chaos with all three kids. I sat in a side pew so I could keep them contained. At one point Addilyn came up and was trying to get past my legs into the isle.
Addilyn: "Cue me, mommy." (excuse me)
me: "Addilyn, where are you going?"
She looks at me, completely serious and says, "Disneyland." (except she doesn't say the S)
It killed me! I just started cracking up.

While wrapping Christmas presents with the kids the other day we were singing Christmas songs. A while later Carter told me we need to get the movie about Olive, the reindeer. Confused I asked him who Olive was.
Carter: You know, that other reindeer.
me: No, I don't know who Olive is.
Carter: Mom, you know the one from that song.
me: Seriously, Carter, what song? I have no clue what you're talking about.
Carter (now slightly annoyed): Mom, you know, Olive the other reindeer. She use to laugh and call Rudolf names?
I was DYING! He's so cute!!!!! He thought "All of" said "Olive" in Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. It says "All of the other reindeer use to laugh and call him names."

Final Goodbyes

Last Friday (December 4th) we buried my sweet Grandpa. I couldn't believe how hard it was for me. I have much a wonderful testimony of the Plan of Salvation and I KNOW I'll be with him again for eternity, but I just hate not having him here. It was so very hard watching my Grandma, Dad and uncles go through this hard step of life. That being said, it was such a wonderful day filled with as much laughter as there were tears. It was a great bonding experience and I know the day went just how Granky would have wanted it to go.

Craig and Susan with Grandma.
Grandpa's new view. This cemetery is in my home town and is so very beautiful! I can't wait to take my kids to go visit Granky when I'm home next week.
Lexine with Abby and Gracie. She took them on a little walk after the service. They just adore her!!

My mom had a bunch of pictures of Grandpa out at the house where we all met before hand. My Uncle Cory, who is an amazing writer, wrote a Eulogy. I'm hoping he'll send me a copy so I can put it on my blog.

My dad, Grandma, and Craig after the service.

Grandpa was an avid golfer. Each of the people at the service (it was only immediate family and a few very close friends) put a golf ball in the flower arrangement. My friend, Scotty, even gave us a million dollar bill to put in there. Even more than golfing, Grandpa enjoyed slipping his loved ones cash. We never argued. ;) If you look closely you can see the money shoved in there.

Grandma and Dad. My dad gave such a beautiful talk. He has such a way with words.

Grace and Abby cried through the entire funeral. Gracie just sat on Gigi's lap. It was really nice to watch my Grandma, in her hardest moments, put herself aside to comfort her little great granddaughter. It shows you what an amazing woman she is!

Uncle Craig with the rest of the Pall Bearers. They were: Craig, Cory, Dad, Ryan, Kevin, Bryan, and Rob.

Grandma and Dad putting their golf balls in the flowers.

My grandpa was in the coast guard so Grandma was presented with an American flag which I'm sure she'll proudly display in her home.

Oh this picture. It just breaks my heart and shows how important family is. I love my uncles. They are amazing people and an amazing support to not only their mother but also each other. This is Dad and Craig.

Nearly the entire family. (Minus Cory and Lexine who were mingling with the other guests.)

My immediate family with Grandma.Runkin and Hills. Still in love after all these years. ;)

It was a perfect day... under crappy circumstances.