Santa's Visit

Santa came to visit us at our house before we left for Utah. The kids were excited and surprised to have Santa visit them in THEIR house.

The kids each got a turn to sit on Santa's Lap to tell him whether or not they were good this year and what they wanted for Christmas.

Spencer said he wanted a car race track (which was news to me, maybe next year).

Natalie said she wanted a baby doll.

To be honest, I can't remember what Bailey said she wanted ( I know, sad, what a good mother I am, huh!?!).

And Tanner, in true 2 year old fashion, said he wants cars.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a turn with Santa, although, even if I did, I don't know what I would have told him I wanted. It is amazing how being a parent turns your attention to everyone else in the family. Here's hoping that Santa fulfills each of your desires!

And we wonder why we go through cameras so quickly. . .

Fun at Disneyland

Brett's Company Christmas Party was held at Disneyland this year. What? Disneyland? I know, so cool, huh. Some may think that since we live 30 minutes from Disneyland this would be no big deal, but it was so exciting for us, and the kids couldn't wait to go (we have known for a couple of months this is where is was going to be held and couldn't keep it from the kids). Even with the prospect of 70% chance of rain that day, we packed up and were the second people in line at the gate for the 8:00 opening.

Bailey, Natalie, Tanner and Spencer

The kids showing off their tickets as we waited in line.

I had mittens, 3 umbrellas, 8 trash bags (to use as ponchos), and even a set of clothes to change into had the need arouse (I think it looked like I was packing for a weekend trip to those around us, but you can never be too prepared). When the gates opened we were off like a flash. We hit the Buzz Lightyear ride first (the very first riders of the day), headed over to the Nemo Submarine ride. . .

. . .and then decided to split up so that boys could have fun on the "big" rides. While Spencer and Dad hit Star Tours and Space mountain (which Spencer wasn't all too sure about), Natalie, Bailey, Tanner and I headed over to the Carousel and some of the other Fantasy Land rides.

Natalie

Bailey

Tanner

When we met back up we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean, hit the Haunted Mansion, climbed Tarzan's Tree, and then went on the Jungle Cruise ride. We had a couple of minutes before we had to head over to the Company Lunch Party, so we decide to ride this rocket ride (I have no clue what the real name is). . .

So in the two and a half hours before lunch, we were able to walk on to the 10 rides we were wanting to go on that day. Not too shabby. Lunch was over at the Disneyland Hotel. It was a buffet and a nice break from walking around the park. The food was excellent (yes, I did go back for seconds, and thirds if we are being completely honest), and it was fun to see and talk to some of Brett's coworkers (ok, I do see a lot of them on a weekly basis, but that is besides the point). Brett's boss, Tyson, gave a little presentation, and then it was back to the park. We really thought about going home at that point, since we had already hit most of the rides we wanted to go on, but we still hadn't gone on It's a Small World, so we headed back to the park.

After It's a Small World we headed to Toon Town. The kids favorite part of Toon Town: meeting Mickey Mouse. Somehow we missed Spencer's HUGE hug with Mickey.


After Toon Town we decided to go over to Tom Sawyers Island. Brett and I couldn't remember ever going over there, and it was a pleasant surprise to find all the little caves to walk through. Somehow we missed pictures of it. The best was seeing Brett going through all the little areas, a tight fit for such a big boy.

It was a fun day, and somehow it never rained on us. As we drove home, the drops started coming and by the time we arrived home it was pouring. We couldn't have planned it better. Thank you Advent (Brett's Company) for a great day at Disneyland! We had a blast!

O Christmas Tree

Crazy that it is already Christmas time. I have been waiting and waiting for Christmas to come, and now the season feels like it is pasting too quickly. It has to be my favorite time of year! Last Friday we FINALLY got out to buy our Christmas Tree (yes, it felt like "finally" even though it was only the 4th). I was able to get the lights on that afternoon, but because of a ward party we had to wait on the ornaments until the following day. The kids were troopers in helping me decorate (Brett faded quickly and left decorating to the kids and me) and although the kids are young, they did a great job of spreading the ornaments out. I wish that I could capture in a picture how fun the tree looks, but this is the best your going to get!

Spencer

Bailey

Tanner

Natalie

This Icicle ornament is my favorite new addition this year.

Fun with Grandma Bruschke

We often get Grandpa Bruschke to come stay with us because of business, but it is not very often that we get to see Grandma Bruschke. She decided to come down with Grandpa on his most recent trip, so Brett took the day off on Tuesday so that we could spend the day with her.

We started the day off driving out to Corona to look at a home. It was big and beautiful, on nearly 1/3 of an acre of land AND within our price range and we all fell in love with it, especially Grandma (I think for a couple of minutes she was thinking about moving back down here.) Unfortunately, it would mean a 50 minute commute for Brett WITHOUT traffic, so as of right now it really isn't an option. But oh, we can dream, can't we?

After going out to Corona, we picked Spencer up from school and then headed out to Laguna Beach. It was a gorgeous day with perfect weather. The kids had so much fun running along the beach, scaring the birds, and looking for sea shells, while all of us boring adults took in the beauty of everything around us.

After the beach, we met up with Grandpa for dinner at In-n-out, a perfect meal to end a perfect day. Thanks Grandma Bruschke for spending the day with us. We had a blast!

Outstanding Citizenship

Spencer received an award for "Outstanding Citizenship" this past week and we are so proud of him and the good boy that he is.
Mrs. Peterson, Spencer's teacher, is the one in the black tank top. She is a new teacher at Spencer's school this year (although she has been teaching for 8 years), and so far we love her, and more importantly, Spencer does too.

After we sent Spencer to class, Natalie needed to go to the restroom, so we played with the camera for a little while we waited for her. I thought these pictures turned out cute.

We must be crazy. . .

Brett got home a little early on Friday night and we wanted to do something fun with the kids before it got dark. When we asked the kids what they wanted to do they immediately said go to the pool. Brett somehow decided this was a good idea in the 67 degree weather, so he sent the kids to get their swimsuits on and off to the pool we went. On the way out the door I grabbed my jacket because I knew I would be cold. When we got the the pool the kids jumped right in and had so much fun. Luckily the pool is heated! I thought that they would complain about the cold while swimming, but they swam for a good hour without any complaints. The only complaints came when they had to get out. There was a nice cool breeze just waiting for them and they were cold. . .but they had fun and who knows when we will brave the cold again.

Happy Halloween

Every year Halloween gets better and better. The kids are more excited and more involved in all the festivities. And as a mom, there is nothing better than seeing their faces light up as they see themselves in their costumes. I think that the smiles on their faces are better than words in telling you how much fun our Halloween was this year.

Poor Tanner Boy

About a week ago Natalie, Bailey and Tanner were all sitting at the piano when Bailey decided that she was a little crowded, so she pushed Tanner off the bench. Unfortunately his two front teeth took the grunt of the fall, dislocating one of them (did you know that you could dislocate a tooth? Yeah, me either). Luckily we know our dentist well and were able to get him in right away and she was able to put it back into its socket. This picture is him about an hour after he hit it.

Poor boy wouldn't drink anything and was drooling all over the place. Now, a week later, he is back to his old self, eating fine and letting us brush his teeth without any hesitation. Unfortunately, both top front teeth are turning black. So far the gums look great around the teeth, so mostly like he won't have to get them pulled, but we will definitely be keeping an eye on him and his teeth for the next little while.

Carving Pumpkins

On Tuesday night we had the chance to carve pumpkins as a family. Even more fun was that Grandpa Bruce was able to join us for the event. Earlier in the day I had Spencer, Natalie and Bailey each draw on a sheet of paper what they wanted their Jack-o-lantern to look like, so when it came time for carving we were all ready to go. Dad and Spencer worked together, Grandpa and Natalie worked together, and Bailey and Mom worked together, with Tanner helping anyone that would let him.

We had the kids do the "dirty" work of cleaning out the pumpkins, which I think in the end they really enjoyed, although each of them was not too sure about it in the beginning. I really wish I had captured their faces at the first touch of the "guts", although I think Spencer's face is pretty good.

(Don't you love the difference between Natalie's and Bailey's techniques: Natalie getting the biggest handful she can while Bailey uses the pinching between two fingers technique!)

I was impressed with the different faces that the kids came up with, even if they all look a little bit alike. We had fun and can't wait until next year to carve pumpkins again (Spencer was telling me today exactly what he wanted his pumpkin to look like next year, cute boy).

Spencer's, Bailey's, then Natalie's pumpkins