Homeward Bound

So, we left Utah yesterday and spent about 9 hours in the car driving to Las Vegas. Kensley is a trooper and travels pretty well. I bought a little dvd player and she watched "The Incredibles" most of the way and "Signing Time". Thankfully, it was dry roads and sunny skies the entire way. A welcome change from the drive up. When we arrived in Las Vegas, my in-laws decided that they wanted to go to Applebee's for dinner. We were all happily eating our meals and Kensley was sitting on her Grandma's lap. All of the sudden she stopped eating and had a funny look on her face and said she wanted me to hold her. So, we made the transfer and she promptly threw up all over the table not once, not twice, but three times! I am sure the other patrons at the restaraunt weren't happy about it. I ran her to the bathroom while they paid the bill and boxed our food as fast as possible. What a pleasant end to the evening!!

Makeup Artist

Thank you Aunt Sarah for the makeup kit for Christmas!

Santa Pinata

It has been a tradition in my family to have a Santa Pinata every Christmas Eve and it has been something we always look forward to. The Santa was painted by my mom and we would help curl strips of paper to glue on for his beard and hair. The pinata was always full of candy and one present for each family member to open on Christmas Eve. I have tried to carry on the tradition with my own family, but my mom's painting puts mine to shame. Obviously, this Santa was made by my mom! Kensley is posing with her cousin, Kaliana.

Let It Snow!

I decided to make the trek to my mom's house for Christmas through the driving rain and snow and wind. It was a scary 16 hours, but I finally made it and here we are! This is Kensley all bundled up and in the snow for I think the first time in her life.

Beals Family

Early Christmas

Since Stephen will be in Kuwait for Christmas, we celebrated early this year. We didn't want to miss being together as a family for Christmas, so we created our own Christmas while he was home. We did everything we would have done if it were actually December 25. We are sad to have Stephen gone again, but are looking forward to him coming home for good in April.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Breakfast

Our first traditional breakfast of orange sweet rolls and hot chocolate. Never mind that it was still in the 70s outside and I was clad in my new fuzzy and so warm pj's (thank Lois! I love them and they are so comfy) and had to change because the combo made me so hot! Typical Christmas in Arizona!

Mock Christmas Eve

Since Stephen is leaving for Kuwait on Tuesday, we are celebrating Christmas before he leaves. Tonight was our Christmas Eve and we decided to have our traditional Santa pinata. I cheated a little and bought a bag with Santa's face on it instead of painting a Santa. It was a project I knew would end in tears if I tried to tackle it.

After the pinata we went to the Mesa Temple to look at the lights. Kensley fell asleep about 30 seconds after we got in the car. Once we got there, she woke up and loved all the lights and wouldn't stop running everywhere.


Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Beals for the new nightgown!

Look What the Cat Dragged in

The other day Kensley went down for a long nap and almost three hours later she was still asleep! Just as I was wondering whether I should wake her up or not, I heard a noise behind me and this is what I found!

Song Practice

Turkey Cookies

We spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with Stephen's family and for a Thanksgiving activity for the kids, I brought stuff to make sugar cookies so they could decorate them to look like turkeys. Kensley loved decorating cookies with her cousins and was very proud of the end result!