2011 Holiday Letter

Our year has been truly amazing.  As we look to next year we are excited for the new adventures and achievements to have and make! 

A Final Voyage!!

Our trip has come to an end, but not quite yet!  Grandma and Grandpa had one more adventure for us right before they dropped us off at the airport.  After mailing three boxes home and loading the 5 suitcases and wheelchair into Uncle Jared's and Aunt Ashley's car we headed to Baltimore to the USS Constellation.  The USS Constellation is a Civil War Battle Ship that we toured and played pirates on!  Alex had a fantastic time on all four floors of the ship.  I do think however that being on the upper deck was his favorite place to be and play.  

After finding our inner pirates we enjoyed a yummy fresh fish lunch before our flight home.  We had such an amazing few weeks in the DC area.  I loved getting to spend so much time with so much family.  What a truly amazing Christmas holiday and blessing :)   

One on One Time

Gaylord National Harbor was a fun place to drive through and visit with Grandma and Grandpa.  All of our Aunt, Uncles and Cousins had returned home and so it was just our family hanging out with the two of them.  While we were at the National Harbor we popped into a Peeps store.  Did you even know they had those?  I was surprised and just had to visit.  Dadam enjoyed the Hot Tamales :)

Dadam and I hopped out of the car to visit the new Martin Luther King Jr Monument.  The monument is truly beautiful and very moving.  I enjoyed walking through the monument and reading a few of his quotes.  I am standing next to my favorite!

Grandma and Grandpa dropped Dadam and I off in Georgetown to enjoy a Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3!  The rest of the crew headed to Great Falls Park to see the Potomac Falls.  Grandpa and the kids are standing in front of one of the boats that was used in the canal system.

Grandpa said that Alex ran into a few men with skulls on their shirts and bandannas on.  One of the guys even noticed Alex's sword and said ARGGG as he walked past Alex.  Grandpa said that gave him the extra pep he needed to finish the hike :)

Eternal Friends

 I love when my kids get the opportunity to hang out with their cousins.  The amazing friendships and bonds that they share is truly wonderful.  This trip just reminded me once again how important eternal families and relationships are. 

We headed to a few Smithsonians while it was raining in DC.  We started at the American History Museum and then walked through the rain to the Natural History Museum.  We had a fun time getting to look at what we wanted to!  Dumbo was in the American History Museum along with Dorthy's Ruby Slippers and the Muppet's.  We also enjoyed seeing the dresses of the First Ladies of the US and the tour of the President.  As you can see they have a pulpit where you can look like your the President of the United States.

The National Zoo is always a fun place to visit.  The weather was chilly and a lot of the animals were up and moving to keep warm! 

Uncle Jon brought his FBI vest for the kids to take pictures with.  Alex didn't stay in it long enough to get a picture and Amelia just stood inside with the same results.  I love Emily's face, she looks tough.  Addison's guns will get ya though :)

Horseback Riding with Pumpkin

 Grandma & Grandpa took the kids to a county park to ride horses!  The kids were filled with emotions of excitement & nerves, but they all rode Pumpkin and had a fantastic time!

 Safety First!

Addison was very serious while riding Pumpkin.  We didn't see her smile a lot until she was off of Pumpkin. 

Adam was extremely nervous about riding Pumpkin.  He was very adamant that he wasn't going to ride the horse.  A few tears even rolled down his cheeks.  Mom and Dadam walked to the horse with him and helped him get on.  Adam rode Pumpkin and was very quiet, but as you can see there is a hint of a grin!!

Alex couldn't wait to get on Pumpkin!!  He LOVED every minute of his ride and getting to feed Pumpkin at the end of his work day!!

Amelia was the last rider of the day and I walked around with her.  We don't have any videos from her ride...sorry, but she had a wonderful time and is still talking about Pumpkin!

Emily riding Pumpkin!

Jacob riding Pumpkin!

A Splashing Good Time

Grandma & Grandpa surprised everyone with a hotel for three nights.  They wanted the kids to have a place to swim.  Each of the kids got water toys in their stockings and swim suits under the tree.  The kids were of course up for the task and enjoyed the swimming pool and hot tub.  Moms and Dads were able to take turns sleeping in and getting a little quiet time :)

Amelia wasn't very excited about swimming though!  She sat out with the big people that weren't swimming each night.

Janet Helen Lund's Baby Blessing

 A quick wardrobe change and Jane was ready to be blessed by her Dad. 

Jane was able to be blessed by her Dad and assisted by both Grandpa's, and her Uncles Jon, Jared & Adam.  I can't tell you how thrilled I was to be able to attend.  Jane has such a sweet spirit and was both quiet and sweet during her blessing.  What an amazing way to celebrate Christmas!

Christmas Best

 The Christmas tree was a great backdrop for photos as little ones finished getting dressed!

 The more official pictures took place in the front of Grandma's & Grandpa's home.  As you can see there wasn't a white Christmas for us this year!  The kids did get a few snow flurries a few day after Christmas though!!

 Joel & Emily with Emily's Dad at the church before Jane's Blessing.

Jon and Micaela's family at the church.  We weren't able to get any family photos in, Alex was having a ruff morning and needed some time to prepare for church.  He ended up falling asleep and Amelia took over the having a ruff day routine!!

Christmas Morning

Smiles were shared by all as we waited in anticipation for the stockings to be passed out and Christmas gift opening officially to begin!

Toothbrushes, crayons, markers & tons of other fun stuff were found in the kids stockings!  Dadam received a fun new body spray and cheese dip!  Mommy got fun new toiletries and make-up to try!

Santa brought the kids fun new projects to work on.  Adam received an Erector set, Addison got a jewelry box and a jewelry making kit to create her own jewelry with.  Alex was thrilled to get pirate and car Lego's.  Amelia got a few alphabet learning toys that she is enjoying and sharing with her siblings!

Breakfast Casserole was the perfect way to top off Christmas morning.  Emily's Dad arrived early in the morning after taking the red eye flight from California to DC.  He was able to meet Jane for the first time and be there for her baby blessing!  

The kids enjoyed playing with their gifts and sharing them with their cousins.  Above you can see Jacob and Adam playing a game of chess on Jacob's new chess/checkers board.  Grandma and Grandpa had church at 1:00 pm so we were able to enjoy the morning and not feel to rushed :)

Christmas Eve Festivities

 Opening a gift on Christmas Eve is tradition...the gift being PJ's is also a tradition!  All of the cousins opened their gifts and tried on their pj's as soon as they opened them!! 

We always read the story of Christ's birth found in Luke.  This year Grandma made each family a Nativity packet with the stable and all of the animals, wise men, Mary, Joseph & Jesus for the kids to have a hands on experience while the story was being read.

After the reading of the first Christmas story Uncle Joel and Brinly started a dance/singing party with the cousins.  As you can see from the pictures above all of the Dad's got to dance too!!

Before bed time Jacob read The Night Before Christmas to all of the cousins.  Cookies and carrots were left out of Santa and then everyone quickly fell asleep :)

Gingerbread & Bathtime Fun

 Grandma took Addison, Adam & Brinly on an outing yesterday morning.  Grandma was helping a friend out and while she was helping the kids were able to build a gingerbread house and Santa's Sleigh.  As you can see each of them did their parts to create the masterpiece :)  When they brought it home Alex and Amelia inspected and taste tested their work, I believe it passed with flying colors!  We had to move it so it wouldn't be destroyed :)

Brinly and Amelia enjoyed bath time in Grandma's tub!  They both had cups and dumping the water and building train tracks seemed to be the highlight of the bath :)

A Very Busy Tuesday/36th Anniversary!!

 

We began our day rising early and heading to Walmart with Grandma & Aunt Debbie in preparation for our arrivals (Dadam, Joel, Emily, Brinly & Jane) later that day!!  My parents weren't mentioning it, but we all knew that it was not only a big day of arrivals, but their Anniversary as well.  Great Aunt Debbie had story time with the kids.  She read The Grinch That Stole Christmas.  Alex did pretty well while listening to the story!  Aunt Debbie taught  Addison how to make a pineapple upside down cake for dessert and meatloaf and all the fixings were on the menu.  Due to flight delays the gage arrived later than expected, but dinner was yummy and getting to see everyone including Jane (5 weeks old) was fabulous.

Once dinner was finished we packed up the cars and left Joel and Emily with Jane to relax (wash dishes) from their travels!!!

Grandma and Grandpa took us to the LDS Temple to see the lights and Nativities from all over the world.  We had a great time and I have to say that the above group photo is pretty darn good!!  The pictures of Grandpa and Aunt Debbie are nice too :)

The lights were amazing and the trees that were decorated inside the visitors center were truly beautiful. 

We all returned home and the kids got to open their gifts from Great Aunt Debbie.  Each of the girls got purses filled with treasures and the big boys received wallets.  Alex is the proud owner of a Billy Bowlegs t-shirt and pirate pack complete with a sword!!

Jon and Micaela headed home late that night so that Jacob and Emily could finish up school that week!  We had a late night, but it sure was fun :)  I was grateful to have Dadam back with us & visit with the family!!

Memorials & Chocolate!!

 Yesterday we loaded up the car and headed to the D.C. Mall via the Metro!  Aunt Debbie enjoyed riding with the kids and getting a run down of the metro rules from Adam and Addison.  Grandpa picked up us at Union Station.  We drove around the mall to see the Capital, White House and other memorials and monuments.  Aunt Debbie wanted to visit the Vietnam Memorial to visit a soldier James W. Widdis Jr.  She has worn a bracelet with his name on it.  She chose him because the date he went missing was the year she was born and close to her birthday.

We finished our evening with dinner at Jon and Micaela's home in Virgina.  The dinner was yummy, but dessert was something else.  At the Costco right outside of DC they have a chocolate area in the bakery.  They create molded chocolates of the monuments and Pentagon.  At Christmas they add Santa's to the mix.  The cousins had a great time eating Santa :)  

Baltimore National Aquarium & Dolphin Show

After Grandpa finished up work and Grandma returned from her meeting at the White House Executive Building we loaded up and headed to Baltimore.  The National Aquarium has a Friday night special and boy is it worth it if you are around that area of the world!  Strollers had to be checked and that excited Amelia!  Grandpa stuck with Alex and saw the sea life at his pace, but the rest of us were able to enjoy ourselves.  I think that seeing the sea turtle with one front fin and the octopus that used to crawl over his glass and eat his neighbors were the kids favorites, until we sat down for the Dolphin Show!

Adam and Addison were asked to participate in the show and they had a great time giving signals to the dolphin and having it obey their commands.  I was very proud of them for participating, they did a great job!

Over The River & Through The Snow

To Grandma's & Grandpa's We Go!!!  

Yesterday the kids and I headed for the airport.  That's right...just the kids and I!  I must admit I was nervous, but the kids were great :)  Amelia slept about 45 minutes on the first flight and Alex joined her for 2 hours.  We had a layover in Atlanta and Alex had a hard time with that part of the trip!  We boarded our flight and the kids once again did a great job.  

Grandma Lund was waiting for us at the gate and walked with us to baggage claim where Grandpa was waiting for us.  I must give a special thanks to the flight attendants and pilot that were just traveling and leaned me a hand with the car seats and kids getting on and off the plane.  I was very grateful for their help and it was my saving grace.

The large picture is of the kids after returning to Phoenix and waiting for luggage.  They were so tired, it was 1:30 am D.C. time when we landed.  Dadam was able to fly home with us and he was getting the van.  We were able to watch the New Year's fireworks as we drove home!!

Fun Filled Weekend

 Uncle Jared Berniger came to town this weekend!  Dadam had a few finals to work on over the weekend so we took Uncle Jared to the Phoenix Children's Museum and baked cookies all day!  The kids had a wonderful time going from room to room working on different activities and projects. 

 Amelia liked getting out of the stroller and participating along side the big kids!!

 Shopping was the highlight of the museum for the kids.  They were able to participate in each part of the grocery store from shopping to restocking the shelves :)  After we finished playing at the museum Uncle Jared bought the kids an treat and we went and replaced Alex's shoes that broke at the museum!!

 Sunday Best

We had our final Sunday of the year here in Arizona!  The kids dressed up for the occasion! 

Uncle Jared and Dadam took a break from studying and finals to attend the Cardinals vs 49ers football game at the University of Phoenix Stadium.  The game was a fundraiser for Aspergers and they had a tailgate party inside the stadium before the game.  The game was great fun and the guys enjoyed themselves immensely!!

 Alex's habilitation worker Ms. Lacey brought Alex a gift on Friday to say Merry Christmas.  They gift was also a project for them to work on together.  They built and colored a wooden boat.  Alex was over the moon excited when he saw that Ms. Lacey had finished the boat and he could now play with his ship!

 Nanee sent her Christmas gifts with Uncle Jared.  Once the football fans returned from the game the kids were able to open their presents.  Amelia went first and she really didn't understand the concept of opening the package.  She was just fine with getting her candy off of the package.  Once the kids gave her a little help she was all for participating.  She received a puppy from Nanee that barks and moves his head and tail.  The best part was that she was excited to have a dog, but once it started moving and making noise she became extremely scared.  She will only let it me on for a few minutes and she lectures it about being nice!!

 Alex opened his gift second and was over the moon excited to get a Pirates of the Caribbean boat with characters.  He has been engrossed for the past three days playing with it :)

 Addison was worried about her package being so small until she opened her gift and saw that she had been given her very own IPod Touch!  She has been given the list of rules and expectations and it enjoying her gift a lot.

Adam waited for everyone else and then quickly hopped in the chair to open his gift.  Legos were the theme this year and he has been building his new Star Wars ships the past few days.  

The kids had a fun time and by the end of the weekend Mommy was beat :)