Daddy's Birthday

Happy Birthday Brandon!

When you're the grown-up you don't always get celebrated but this year we really tried.  We celebrated Brandon's birthday with carne asada, mocktail margaritas, chips, salsa and his favorite cake.  We sure love Brandon and appreciate all he does to care for us every day.  Though regularly exhausted on our behalf he continues to work hard so that we can enjoy so many things.  He's the fixer of all things broken, the builder of our beautiful home, a master griller, a scone connoisseur, a baseball coach, a constant comedian, a protective father and husband, and a goat doula.  It's all in a days work when your the father of 7 I suppose.  Seriously though we're so very thankful for him. 

Storybook Land

 Storybook Land

It's been many many years since we've visited Storybook Land.  In fact the last time we went was the year we moved to Oregon.  We were living at the dairy that Christmas and went a few days before Christmas.  All I remember was a very long wait in the rain with littles and being very cold.

This time we went much early, on a much warmer day with a much bigger family.

Maddie loves stuffies.

Aubrey found Grogu.

Sesame Street

Noah's Ark

There's a 1st time for everything. 

Gingerbread Houses

 Gingerbread Houses

Have I mentioned my mom is pretty great?  She's undergone A LOT of changes this past year but she's always finding a reason to be thankful, always making the best of things, always finding a way to pour into others, always finding a creative way to adapt.  One of the major changes this year was moving out of the main house on the dairy and over to the modular home across the way.  This is a big change as we are all use to crashing Grammys house and now it is much much smaller but Grammy always has a plan.  A favorite Christmas tradition for many many years now has been making gingerbread houses and rather than giving it up, which honestly sometimes we thing she should because it is such a HUGE amount of work, she made a plan.  She set up tables in the garage with houses and candy prepped and hosted 20!!! YES 20 grandchildren all at the same time!!!  I don't know how she does it.  Kids are truly her gift and ours are the luckiest to get to call her Grammy!

Cousins

Adelina and Sadie

Ollie, Cooper, and Lily

Evie and Autumn

Tommy and Andy

Carter and Ollie

Aubrey and Hadley

Harper and Evie

Ellie-Jo

I know you don't get to have favorites and mine change all the time anyway but Ellie-Jo is so stinkin' cute right now.

Sadie

Wyatt

Cooper

Hazel

Evie

Aubrey

Maddie

A Christmas Village