Holiday family time

So, Thanksgiving has has helped remind me of all the things I'm thankful for (which I think should happen every month, not because it has now made me look 12mo. pregnant, but because I LOVE the family time). Right up at the top of my thankful list is my Savior, the Gospel, and of course, my family. I could have never imagined that being a mom and wife would be so fulfilling. Don't get me wrong, I tell my kids weekly that they belong in a zoo that's where I'm going to drop them off, but those moments don't last forever. The snuggles, laughs and playtime, however, do last a lifetime. Instead of shopping on Friday, we headed to the Sacramento Zoo (as a field trip only) and Fairy Tale Town. The girls loved the zoo. Now that Kara can identify most of the animals, she had a blast yelling at them, and telling them what they were. After, we hurried through Fairytale Town because of the crowds, and all the invisible snot and germs covering the toys (not my favorite place), we headed home to put up decorations. As we put up the tree and the decorations, I could see the magic of Chrismas in their little faces. It was just as it should have been.

Kate's favorite animals are the monkeys and the Giraffes. Kara likes anything that moves.

Fun at Fairytale Town.

It's fun when the Christmas decorations are bigger than your kid.

Making room for baby sister

Last week we found out that we are having a girl. Both Mike and I are very excited, while words can't express how ecstatic Kate is. I'm sure Mike would like a boy somewhere down the line, but we both feel extremely blessed just to have what looks like a perfectly healthy baby (especially with our history of miscarriages). Our little girls have brought more joy to our lives that we thought imaginable and are so excited to welcome in another one (red headed or not...we still don't know where the red comes from). Kara has decided so graciously to give up her crib. While I would like to keep her in there until she is three (those of you who know Kara know exactly why), she has proven that she will not be held hostage any longer. We figure we need to transition before she breaks her neck.

She says she's "riding the horsie."

Halloween

Kate with her little friends at her halloween party.

Kate and Kara ready for the festivities.


Lily, Henry, Kate and Kara. Once we actually got outside to trick-or-treat, Kate wouldn't let go of my hands.
Oh, the treasures!

Kara's just happy to be part of it all.

So the girls had a fun filled week full of halloween festivities. Besides wearing their costumes around the house all week long, Kate had a little halloween party/parade with her joy school and then on Friday night we joined with some friends Henry and Lily for trick-or-treating. Good thing for Henry and Lily who were all pumped up and ran to every house. Without their enthusiasm I think Mike and I would have had to hold the girls' treat baskets for them. After about two houses, Kara got the jist of it. In fact, she even decided she didn't just want candy, but wanted to stay with them for the night. We had to pry her out of a few houses. Needless to say, they had a great time. Kate came home, dumped out her treasures and started organizing her goods (that's thanks to her daddy's DNA). Kate wanted to savor everything and Kara just wanted the blue suckers, which she had about ten of (who invented blue suckers anyway?).