Our Thanksgiving trip was a great one!  When we arrived, Daynarae was waiting for us.  Can you tell she missed her cousins?

Tradition!




We watched lots of 3D movies this trip.  I was skeptical at first because they've always given me headaches and nausea, but the technology has advanced so much since 2010 (the last time I saw one).  It sounds lame, but the Tinkerbell movie we watched was so beautiful in 3D!




We watched some nail-biters! :)




Since we were to miss Daynarae's birthday by a week, we celebrated early.  Gotta make the cake!







We all know Alaina's motivation to help!




Uncle Ryan planned a fun birthday party for the three of them!







Connor absolutely loves pinatas!  An excuse to hit something with a lightsaber?  Right up his alley!




The little girls looked like they meant business, but missed the pinata entirely more often than not.







Let's finish this thing off...







This is what your treat bag looks like when there's only three children to share the candy.  Good thing the candy was kind of gross!




Once I explained what the Fireballs were, this is what the ground looked like.  They'd picked up everything else and left the Fireballs for the trash, which is honestly where they belong. :)




I have pictured of Papa circa 2006 with his lap inundated with dogs.  Now it's full of kids!




Buddy the Elf (Nana and Papa's elf) made his appearance.




Cake time!




Connor can't stand it when someone else is the center of attention.  He looks so grown up and handsome here.







When we started singing "Happy Birthday", Daynarae had a look like, "This is all for me?!"







Uncle Ryan shoves some sort of food in his mouth every visit.  The kids love it. :)







Table manners run in the family.




All hopped up on sugar!




Thanksgiving morning was spent in feast-preparation mode.




Nana's tablescapes are always gorgeous.  I'm loving the addition of sippy cups!  Up until now, we have waited to have our holiday meals until after the kids are in bed, but my kids are old enough now to understand the meaning and tradition of Thanksgiving!  They did well at the table, loving the Jell-o most, but dinner WAS memorably shorter. :)

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All of us.




Dig in!




Connor told us that he didn't believe in Christmas magic, so it was intervention time.  We planned a trip up to the mountains to take a narrow-gauge train ride on the Georgetown Loop.




Waiting for the train.







To kill some time, we went on a little hike.  Alaina wanted to cut down this tree for our Christmas tree.







Here it comes!




When Connor saw through the window that Santa was onboard, he was so excited!  Even though there's some motion blur in this photo, I still love that it shows his genuine smile and excitement.




This is the crazy face I usually capture.




In awe.







Cookies on the train.










"I've had to live my whole life with people telling me I'm photogenic."  Tough life, Ray.




I love this picture, because on this side of the family, it's Nana that bonds with Connor over trains.




Out the window.




Santa and Mrs. Claus hung out with us for most of the ride!  She looked eerily similar to Grandma Gessel to me.













Santa gave the kids bells from his sleigh.













The bell will always ring for Nana!  Our Christmas magic intervention was a success.  How can you not believe after that experience?!




As we were exiting the train, we told Santa what we would like him to bring us on Christmas Eve.  Alaina got some stage fright, so I told her that we would write him a letter.  I found this letter to him on her nightstand that night.  That last moment on the train also gave me a chance to tell Santa that what I wanted for Christmas was our very own Elf on the Shelf.







Little cutie.  Our trip to visit the Dietrichs in Colorado was so nice!  We all came home relaxed and rejuvenated!




When we walked in the door from our long drive home (the kids didn't sleep at all, and fought/cried/screamed most of the way), an elf was waiting for us on top of the pantry!  Alaina spotted him first.  As the book says, we quickly gave him a name of his own, Tinsel.




That night, Tinsel brought the kids their Christmas pajamas to wear throughout the season.




We went to pick out our first live Christmas tree as a family.  It's a beautiful frasier fir and it smells soooo good!




Let the Christmas season begin!