Christmas #3 in Ventura

Since we were already in Nevada, we couldn't turn down an opportunity to travel to Ventura, California to visit Mauri's parents on their mission.  The drive going down and coming back made me remember why I am glad I don't live in Southern California.  Mauri got a Garmin GPS for Christmas and it came in handy for our trip.  We loved spending time with Grammy and Grampy and they were so good to us while we were there.  We got super spoiled by them also!  Here are a few pictures of our time in California.  

As you can see, it was a long drive.  

All three kids out a few times along the way made for a quiet, peaceful drive.  

We made it to Grammy and Grampy's place and the kids were spoiled with Christmas presents!

We started our first day at the mission office.  We also got to meet Elder and Sister Blue who are serving with Mom and Dad.  They are actually in our Stake here in Clearfield, and they used to live in our ward so it was fun to visit and chat with them.  

We went to "The Cross" which is a nice little park that overlooks Ventura and the ocean.  It was a beautiful place.  Tanzi liked it.  

Overlooking the coast.  

 It was a little chilly and Tanzi just wanted to run around. 

Kyri posing for an awesome shot. 

Graysen wanted in on the action, but wasn't as photogenic.  

Really close to Mom and Dad's place, there is a nice marina with lots of boats and close to the ocean.   It was a really nice place and we had some good Mexican food at Yolanda's while we were there.  

The second day we were there, Kyri wasn't feeling very well, so we decided to go to a nice oceanside park and go play on the beach.  We had a delicious picnic lunch, and then played on the beach.  We flew kites, played in the sand, and some of us (Tanzi) even went swimming in the ocean.  I love the beach and it was so fun to go there and play.  

Cool looking clouds.  

The kids had sand from head to toe, but they had so much fun.  

This was shortly before Tanzi got swallowed up by a wave that came up on her a lot faster than she expected.  

Tanzi had some chocolate and had it everywhere.  She looked like a little animal with it on her nose.  

Kicking back with crazy hair. 

Not sure what Gray was doing, but it was a cute picture.  

We had such an amazing time in California.  It was a great to get away and visit family and truly enjoy the holidays.  Thanks Grammy and Grampy for making us feel special and taking care of us while we were in California, WE LOVE YOU!

Christmas #2 in Bunkerville

After our Christmas at home, we packed up the car and headed south to much warmer weather.   We spent a few days in Bunkerville with my parents and got spoiled rotten.  It was really fun to just relax and reflect on the holiday and the real meaning of Christmas.  We were there for Christmas Day and the kids had a super fun time with Grandma and Grandpa.  

One of the kids favorite things to do at Grandma and Grandpa's......watch movies with them in bed.  

My dad has become a modern day Betty Crocker.  He got Mom a new wheat grinder and a Bosch mixer for Christmas.  He has been taking advantage of his two toys more than Mom!

I never thought my dad would enjoy baking bread so much.  It was cool to see how much fun he was having.  Another one of his hidden talents I guess!

Tanzi found a funny puppy mask and was sportin' it around.  

A Bunkerville tradition is have Santa ride around through town on the firetruck.  The kids were anxiously awaiting his arrival.  

Mom and Tanzi enjoying some warm Bunkerville sun. 

There he is...Santa on the firetruck.  They hand out treats for the kids.  I love it!

Enjoying the peanuts in their bags.  

The kids love Grandma's and Grandpa's jetted tub.  It makes lots of fun bubbles to play in!

Santa even came to the house to bring a surprise for the kids.  Lucky kids!

My Mom made some new stockings for us and we love them!  Thanks Mom!

Christmas morning started with diggin' through stockings. 

Opening their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa....new shoes and pajama's, the perfect gift.  

Christmas shirts and happy kids.

We had such a great Christmas in Bunkerville.  We don't get down there often enough, but truly enjoy our time with Grandma and Grandpa when we are there.  Thank's Mom and Dad for making our stay so awesome.  

Christmas #1 at Home

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  I had almost two weeks off of work for the holidays so we actually got to have a couple of Christmas's.  We went down to my parent in Nevada and then went to visit Mauri's parents on their mission in Ventura, California.  Before we left, we opened family gifts, which is the bulk of Christmas for us.  The kids wrote letters to Santa to tell him that we would be in Bunkerville at Grandma and Grandpa's to make sure they got their Santa gifts delivered there.  We opened gifts at home and then left on our trip.  The kids had a great time opening gifts and were happy with everything they got.  

 The tree and gifts before the kids ransacked everything.  

One of the new ornaments from a set of snowman ornaments she got.  

One of the Santa and Bell ornaments she got as well.  

We had to wake up Tanzi because we couldn't wait any longer.  She looks really excited about Christmas!

Crazy hair.

Waiting patiently.

The whole family ready to open presents!

They would open a gift and want to play with it.  They didn't care about opening more of their presents.  

Tanzi was sure happy with the piece of candy she had!

Happy with my new Aggie hoodie and sweats.  

More presents. 

Mauri got some nice new stainless steel cookware. 

RSV and New Winter Clothes

This season has been a killer for our family with sicknesses.  All of us have had the flu at least once, colds have been very present at our house, and even the little "Miss" got RSV a few weeks ago.  She had to have breathing treatments and seemed to recover pretty quickly, but it hasn't been fun living in Allen house the last couple months with all the coughing, sneezing, nose-blowing, puking, headaches, sore throats, and achy bodies.  

Tanzi at the hospital with mommy getting diagnosed with RSV.

One of the many treatments for RSV Tanzi had.  She actually did really well and kept her mask on.     She even started to hold it and would keep it on.  It seemed to work though and she was back to healthy breathing in no time.  

We have been debating on when to give the kids their new winter clothes.  We had a couple of snow storms we though we would get them out for, but we didn't.  We finally decided to give them their coats, pants, boots, gloves, and hats.  The are really warm and nice and the kids love them.  Tanzi really liked hers and always goes to get hers when we say we are going outside for anything.  

The three with their new coats.

We went to Temple Square an their warm winter clothes came in really handy.  

Tanzi just looks so cute and tiny in her new coat.