Day 23

On day 23 of the 24 days of Christmas we were suppose to have a cousin party with the Cardon family. We were going to make gingerbread houses, decorate sugar cookies, and eat pizza together. Instead we were stuck at home with Hailey throwing up, Peyton complaining that her stomach hurt, and Alexis falling off a chair and cutting her lip open. We had a great time. I was so sad that we couldn't go (probably more sad than the girls). I am hoping they all recover by tomorrow so we can enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas. What a bummer.

Day 22

On day 22 of the 24 days of Christmas we celebrated Christmas with Ryan's family. We use to do this on Christmas Eve but last year we did it on a different day because Ryan's brother was in town so we decided to do it early again this year. It was wonderful. We started the night off with the kids present game and the girls were so excited for this. As you can tell they are really in to the game and concentrating on which presents to choose.
We then had a delicious dinner of homemade soup and rolls, fruit salad, green salad, and 3 delicious appetizers. After dinner the kids performed the nativity. They did such a great job this year and I was really happy with how well behaved they all were (although Alexis was not really happy to be dressed up).

Peyton was Mary this year and Hailey and Alexis were both angels.

Here are all the cute cousins.

After the nativity we played Aunt Tricia's bells while singing Christmas songs. It was so much fun and sounded great most of the time!

After the bells we ate dessert. Grandma Ferrell's yummy cheesecake and brownies with ice cream. Then we put on a movie for the kids and played the adult present game. Ryan and I came away with some great gifts and had a fun time stealing and trading gifts.

At the end of the night the kids got to do Grandpa's money grab. Now they can't wait to count their change and see how much they ended up with.

We had such a wonderful evening and are so grateful to have so many family members to spend the holidays with. Thanks to all the Ferrell family members who made the night so special. We love all of you.

Day 21

On day 21 of the 24 days of Christmas we went to Aunt Amber's house and decorated sugar cookies. The kids really enjoyed frosting the cookies and using the many fun decorations Aunt Amber had to make their cookies look great. Here they all are just starting the fun.

Here is poor Lexi who couldn't be part of the fun because of her egg allergy. I really just need to look up an egg free sugar cookie recipe. She did have fun playing outside and going down their slide.
Here is one of Peyton's creations.

Here is Hailey's creation.

After they decorated the cookies they went outside to eat one and to play. It was a great morning full of lots of fun.

Day 20

On day 20 of the 24 days of Christmas we went to the park and had a picnic lunch. One of the great things about Arizona is that we have such wonderful weather during the winter so we decided to take advantage of this. We picked up Taco Bell and then headed to the park near my mom's house. They girls didn't sit for long and eat their food because what they really wanted to do was play.

Peyton enjoyed climbing on top of the monkey bars.

Hailey enjoyed going across the monkey bars until her hands were too soar to do it anymore.
Alexis really enjoyed swinging, petting a dog, and picking up the sand. But what she mostly enjoyed was getting a few drinks of soda from her sister's cup.

We were lucky enough to have Aunt Ashley and Jaxon join us in the fun. We stayed and played for 2 hours. It was so much fun.

Day 19

On day 19 of the 24 days of Christmas we went to look at the lights at the Mesa, Arizona Temple. I love doing this every year and every year they seem to get new light features that are even more beautiful. The girls were excited to see the lights but they were really looking forward to seeing this huge nativity.

They love to look at it and listen to the music that plays in the background. Here we are in front of the 3 Wise men display. I love to look at this one because it is a huge open grass area with the wise men in the middle of it.

We invited my parents to come along and join us in this activity. My dad wasn't paying attention so he didn't make it into this picture. We enjoyed having my parents walk around with us.

And just one more cute picture to get you in the Christmas spirit. Here are my 3 favorite girls in their Christmas dresses Grandma Ferrell bought for them. They sure are cute.

Day 18

On Day 18 of the 24 days of Christmas we had dinner with Ryan's family and then went and looked at Christmas lights on houses. The kids sat in the back of Grandpa's truck and drove around his neighborhood. The kids had a great time and it was a nice relaxing evening.

Day 17

On day 17 of the 24 days of Christmas the girls finally got to watch their Christmas movie and eat popcorn. Ryan and I were on a date so Aunt Ashley was nice enough to watch the kids and put the movie on for them. I think cousin Jaxon enjoyed spending time with the girls and I was told that no one complained about the movie choice this time! Thanks Aunt Ashley for taking this cute picture for me.

Day 16

On day 16 of the 24 days of Christmas the girls dipped pretzels in chocolate and decorated them for their teachers. They had so much fun doing this and I really didn't have to help them very much. They loved putting sprinkles on them and enjoyed licking the chocolate off their hands.
We even invited a friend to help out. Just look at the smiles on their faces .

Day 15

On Day 15 of the 24 days of Christmas we delivered treats to a few people. We sang "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and spent time talking with some of our favorite people. It was a lot of fun.

Day 14

On Day 14 of the 24 days of Christmas we had hot chocolate and read Christmas books.
Alexis enjoyed playing with Santa nesting dolls while Ryan read the story.

I made a delicious mint and dark chocolate hot chocolate but of course the girls just wanted regular Swiss Miss. I also made homemade whipped cream. Yummy.

We read "The Gingerbread Man" and "The Night Before Christmas". We had a great time.

Day 13

On day 13 of the 24 days of Christmas we got out the old Christmas home videos from the last 3 years and watched them. We watched our Cardon Christmas Eve nativities and it was so much fun to see how the kids have changed. It was also great to see the girls reactions when they opened their Christmas presents. The girls loved seeing themselves on camera. It was great to reminisce and enjoy a quiet evening.

Day 12

On the 12th day of the 24 days of Christmas we made little Christmas pom pom crafts. It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be and they didn't turn out as great as I would have liked but the girls enjoyed themselves.

Day 11

On day 11 of the 24 days of Christmas I had planned on watching a movie in our pajamas and eating popcorn. After a long day of traveling the girls were not on their best behavior. They were fighting and were in a bad mood. After telling them what movie we were going to watch I did not get a positive reaction so I decided to cancel it. The girls were upset and my feelings were hurt. I guess no one was in top form that night.

Day 10

On Day 10 of the 24 days of Christmas the girls made Thank You cards for Grandpa Ferrell. He is so great and we are so grateful for him and his generosity. Thanks for this wonderful trip Grandpa Ferrell.

On our last day at Disneyland we left Alexis and Ryan at the hotel and went with the rest of the family to Disneyland and California Adventure. I didn't take as many pictures the second day but here we are on "It's A Small World". I love this ride when it is decorated for Christmas and I love singing along to the Christmas songs they play. We went on lots of rides and were tired by the end of the night. I think the girls could have kept on going but I was definitely done especially since it started to get crowded. I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel to relax.

Day 9

On the 9th day of the 24 days of Christmas the girls got Christmas socks to wear to Disneyland.
And thanks to Grandma Ferrell they also had matching Christmas shirts to wear. They looked so cute.

Disneyland was a lot of fun and Alexis did okay. She didn't love not being able to walk around whenever she wanted but she did like some of the rides. Here she is on the tea cups with Peyton.

Here we are on Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not sure Alexis liked this one very much.

She did love Casey Jr. Circus Train. She was smiling the whole time.

Peyton enjoyed it too.

Of course Alexis' favorite thing at Disneyland was feeding the ducks. She would have stayed here for hours.

Peyton loved hanging out with her cousins Aurora and Makenna. She doesn't get to see them very often so she was happy to have a little time with them.

What great posers they are.

The carousel was not their favorite ride but it filled in the time they were waiting for the rest of the family to be done with their ride.

At the end of the night Peyton made me go on California Screamin 2 times in a row and it made me sick. Then Hailey insisted that I go on the Tower of Terror with her because she had never gone on it (neither had I). I reluctantly agreed and I closed my eyes the whole time. That is definitely not my kind of ride. I was ready for bed after that.

Day 8

On the 8th day of the 24 Days of Christmas the girls got Christmas travel bags for our trip to California. We are leaving today to go to Disneyland with Ryan's family. The girls are so excited and I am just praying Alexis does well on the car ride and doesn't try to run away too many times at Disneyland. Wish us luck at the "Happiest Place on Earth".

Day 7

On the 7th day of the 24 Days of Christmas the girls made Christmas cards for our family members who won't be with us for Christmas this year. I bought a Christmas card kit for $3 at Walmart and it had everything they needed to make cute cards. The girls had a lot of fun doing this.

Day 6

On Day 6 we went to visit "Holiday Mountain" at the Val Vista Lakes Clubhouse. We have driven past this for many years but have never stopped to see the whole thing. So I decided this was the year to do it. The girls enjoyed looking at all the lights and it was so pretty to see the lights reflecting off the pool and lake. Alexis enjoyed running around the whole time since we were the only family there to see the lights at that time.

My cute little family.

Day 5

On day 5 we had a few extra surprises that weren't planned but they sure added to the fun. After church on Sunday my mom called and asked us if now was a good time to help put up her Christmas tree and decorate it (we do it for her every year and we look forward to it). Of course we said yes and drove right over to her house. The girls love putting up my mom's ornaments and they were so excited because my mom let them go in the attic to look around.

Here is the finished product (we did not invite Alexis to help this time).

After we finished decorating the tree Peyton invited my parents to come over to our house for our special candlelight dinner that was planned for Day 5 of the 24 days of Christmas. They accepted and drove on over. Here we are about to start our delicious meal.

It was fun to have my parents there to enjoy some of our traditions with us. After we ate my dad took the girls to see the Christmas lights down the street while my mom helped me clean up. Then they came back and played "Go Fish" with Grandpa. They had a great time. Alexis had a great time dancing with my mom to her favorite Christmas song "Jingle Bell Rock".

What a perfect ending to a fun day.