A date with Prince Charming

In front of the huge tree

Me and my date in front of Small World

The amazing castle 

I had the best date I have had in a long time and I wasn't even with my Husband... sorry honey. I went with my little prince to Disneyland tonight. I don't think he has ever been there at night when the lights were all on, and at Christmas time it cant be missed. So I allowed him to stay up past bedtime(6:30) and be my special date.
We had such a wonderful time. Luke just lights up at Disneyland and becomes his best self. I enjoy him so much and just cant stop hugging him and telling him how much I love him. He makes me feel like the luckiest Mom on his good days.
After Small World he said," just one more ride ok Mommy? We'll go on Peter Pan and that will just bo our last ride. I'm sort of tired and its been dark out for a long time." The people behind us started laughing. I really wanted him to enjoy our "late"night out and tried to convince him how cool the fireworks would be and that there were still lots of rides we hadn't gone on yet. To which he replied, "thats OK Mommy, lets just go home after Peter Pan." I couldn't argue with him so I just smiled, kissed his perfectly round cheeks and said OK.
On our way to the car, without prompting he said quietly, "Thank you so much for taking me to Disneyland on our date." I love this boy so much I almost cant stand it.

Our composer

Luke took a great nap yesterday and as a reward, yes we love bribery, he asked to go to Nana's house. It was really nice to be there, just he and I. Typically Ella shoves herself into center stage and Luke is content to just hangout in the background, therefore not getting a lot of attention. This was just Luke and I sitting with his Nana and Papa, whom he adores. I could tell he was enjoying all their attention and I think it was nice for my Mom and Dad to be able to just focus on 1.
So Luke noticed the stereo on their pier bed and asked if he could turn it on. It just so happened that it was on a classical music station, my Dad's favorite. Luke lit up and started to wave his hands around like he was conducting... in perfect rhythm. Then he started to "play the piano" with is fingers. He kept saying how much he loved the music and asked what the songs were called. My Dad stated that one song was called "ducks in space" With my Dad everything is related somehow to ducks. Luke was satisfied with that answer and kept repeating, "ok... ducks in space." After a few minutes as the songs tempo got faster he stated, "This song is about some ducks flying around. And then there is a monster that comes and tries to catch them." He continued to tell parts of the story of the song, he even acted out some of it.
It was a fun evening with just the 4 of us. And I think that we may have a little composer among us. He now only wants to listen to classical music in the car and has been asking for "ducks in space" all morning. Now I just need to figure out what that song really was. O' and he made me promise that when he's bigger he can play the piano... just like the music at Nana's house.

Ward Christmas Party

Dave and I went to our Ward's Christmas party tonight. It was a last minute decision. We did not plan on going, Dave in particular. But we decided to support our Ward and attend, even though our friends... the few we have... were not going to be there. Sure enough we walked in and there were no "young" people to sit with. So we walked to the back and took a seat all by ourselves. On the way to the party Dave made a joke about ending up sitting with the Bishop. Well, what should happen but the Bishop asked us to join them at their table. I was glad to accept though. I felt so anti-social sitting all alone... though I know Dave was fine with it. We ended up having a fantastic conversation with the people at our table, eating great food, listening to the amazing Troubadour Choir from FVHS and I even got a slow dance in with my Husband. We left early, I promised Dave only 1 slow song. But I was so happy to have gone and had such a nice time with my Husband. He was the star of the conversation. Everyone was asking him all sorts of questions regarding literature, theory and other such things. I loved watching him be the social, conversational one... it was a lot of fun. I am so proud to be his Wife.

Big girl? Little girl?

On Tuesday Ella surprised us all by going potty like a big girl... in her potty. I was so proud of her and she was excited as well. I called my Mom to tell her the big news. We spoke excitedly about how grown up she is. All the big girl things she is doing and saying. We spoke for about 5 minutes in this fashion. I got off the phone to see my "big girl" had found a crayon and decided to color all over the white tile floor. A big girl? Well, maybe we still have a ways to go. 

Don't worry Grammie... I finally got all the crayon off your floor :)

Sweet Henry is here!

This sort of feels like a Family event. One of my closest friends, Vanessa, had her baby yesterday. After going 6 days past her due date, Henry Parkin Tingey made his debut weighing in at 9 lbs. 9 oz. Can you believe it was only like a 5 hour labor? She deserved to have everything go perfectly and I am so glad it did. My kids have been so happy that "Henry 's out!" as Luke says, and can't wait to meet him.

A new tradition begins

I had a friend who made gingerbread houses every year at Christmas time. I loved the way she spoke of it and the fond memories she had about her family's tradition so when I saw this great kit I knew I had to add it to my cart.
The kids were so excited about making this cute gingerbread house. We pulled it out today and Luke just couldn't wait to get going. Ella on the other hand, couldn't wait to start eating. Each time Luke noticed that Ella had snuck a treat he would exclaim the since Ella had one it was only fair that he got one as well. Luckily Luke didn't see even a half of the times that Ella snagged herself a goodie... or we'd have had 2 hyped up kid's at bed time. The best was that when Luke asked for a candy to taste he followed with " You and Mommy talk about it." and then said "my tummy is asking for it." He's a funny boy.
So here's to the first year of a new tradition. It was such a fun family activity. The kids really did end up doing a lot of the decorating.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. I am still so amazed that it's already over and that we are now in December! It was a quite Holiday with some of the best food eve. I must say that Dave's turkey was the best we had all ever had. It was so juicy and so flavorful. The glaze was a mixture of Coca-cola and maple syrup and it made the best gravy I have ever had... hands down. We all ate until we had stomach aches, I finally asked Dave's Aunt to take my plate away from me. 

The kids had fun with their cousins and spending the morning skateboarding with their Dad. I will post those photo's soon. 

I have so many things to be thankful for and I don't acknowledge them all enough. 

I have been blessed with the most supportive and family oriented Husband I could ever imagine. He is always helping and playing both roles of Mom and Dad. I guess that's the blessing and the curse of being home so often. My kids are so kind and sweet. My days are filled with their hugs, kisses, silliness and compliments. A bit of screaming and crying too but I'll even take that. 

I have the great blessing of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. All of my greatest joys and happiness' come from that one blessing. I know where I came from, my purpose in this life and where I am going after I depart this life. That knowledge brings me such peace and also gives me the confidence I need to dace the challenges in this life.

I could go on and on about what I am grateful for. The best friends who share so much with me and who inspire me to be a better person, Wife and Mother. Wonderful Parents and In-Law's who sacrifice much for me and my family, talents and hobbies to give me satisfaction and joy. 

I have been given much indeed.