Today Cayden and I went to Storytime at Barnes & Noble. Cayden loves trains right now especially Thomas the Train! He has 2 Thomas DVD's because we were so tired of watching Polar Express after about the 30th time!!:) He eats and sleeps with those movies! So when I found out it was Thomas the Train for storytime I had to take him:) He has been so excited and couldn't wait to just go with Mommy and see Thomas! 
We just got back from a 5 night cruise to the Western Caribbean! It was a fun, warm and sunny (most of the time) vacation! We started off the vacation a little rough but once we got on the ship we had a great time. We sat on the runway in Chicago for 1 1/2 hours while they de-iced the planes!! It wasn't even snowing (I wouldn't want to be there if it was)!! While sitting there we missed our connection. We luckily got on the last flight to Miami but it was delayed! So instead of arriving in Florida at 10:30 P.M. on Saturday night we arrived at 4:00 A.M. Sunday morning!! Not so much fun but note to self, never fly anywhere near Chicago in January!!:) I was a little worried starting off what was supposed to be a fun relaxing vacation in such a way but luckily things weren't like this the whole time!
We went to Grand Caymen on Tuesday. You have to ride a ferry from the boat to land because they can't port there because of the low water levels. They drive on the opposite side of the car and the opposite side of the road so it was a little interesting being driven around!! We enjoyed the 7 Mile Beach that day! It started out warm but eventually got cloudy and rained a little bit! We sure know how to pick the warm cruises!!:) I do have to say though that it was warmer the whole trip than here, it just doesn't take much for me to be cold!! We had wanted to go shopping after (I guess I 
should say I wanted to go shopping):) the beach but the water had been so rough that morning when we ported that we had to port in Sportsbay instead of Georgetown (where all of the shops are located) so we didn't have time to do any shopping after because of the distance we would have had to travel but it sounded like there was some amazing deals there if you ever get the chance to go!:)
excursion if we would have known what it would take to get there!! They don't tell you that you have a 30 minute ferry ride from the port of Cozumel to the mainland of Mexico. You then have a 10 minute walk through the city to get to the tour bus where 
It is a good thing neither one of us get sick on cruises! The water was really rough much of the trip. One night we had 12 foot waves all night which is high!! Most of the cruise we just had moderate waves (which are 4 1/2 to 7 ft. waves)! You can definately feel the difference. We chose not to have a window in our room this time and I don't recommend it!! You have no idea what time it is so you could easily sleep in until noon and miss everything that is going on (especially with a 2 hour time difference):) 
Tonight Carlie and I had a much needed girls night out and went to a Mommy and Me Sugar Cookie Making Class. We learned how to make perfect sugar cookies and paint them. It was lots of fun and we learned some new things we didn't know already so that we can make perfect looking cookies just in time for Valentines Day!!:)
This was at 11:00 last night when Cayden finally stopped playing with his toys and decided to lay down on his own and go to bed!! Of course he couldn't go to bed without all of his favorite toys! I think he would glue those slippers to his feet if he could:)
Lance and I went on our first cruise to Baja, Mexico and loved it!!! We are already planning another trip:)
Cayden turned 2 years old!!
Went to the "Happiest Place on Earth" aka Disneyland:) 
Went to the taping of GTU and Won a 7 DAY HOUSEBOAT VACATION AT LAKE POWELL!!
We spent the 4th of July in Tridell, Utah with Lance's cousins and the kids made 2 new friends!!
Spent 7 amazing days on a houseboat with 11 wonderful friends!!
Carlie turned 6 years old!!
Now when we tell Cayden it is time to go to bed he replies with "5 more minutes"?? Since when does a 2 year old negotiate his bedtime? I can't wait to see what he tries to negotiate when he is 5!!!
Waiting anxiously to see if Santa came!!
Santa came through once again and we have two very happy kids!!!
I was hoping there would be snow for Christmas but I didn't think we would be digging ourselves out all day long!! We got over a foot of snow where we live and they are predicting another 12 inches during the night which I can't even imagine after what we had today! It has felt like we shoveled all day long! Lance couldn't have gotten his snowblower any sooner (and we were worried now that we finally had one that he wouldn't need to use it)!!!
Every year we have a Christmas party with Lance's side of the family where we eat real Italian food (his mom is italian) and Santa comes. Real Italian food is not the Olive Garden!! It is things that after 10 years I still cannot remember the names of but all I know is I still cannot eat food that has fish in it!! The best part of course is when Santa comes! The kids get so excited and can't wait for him to call there name so they can sit on his lap. They get to sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas and then they get a treat bag and a card with a $2 bill in it!! There are getting to be so many kids now that sometimes it is a long time before your name gets called. Cayden kept trying to go up and would say "my turn"! Cayden asked for the Wall-E DVD and Carlie asked for Hannah Montana slippers and Hannah Montana socks!! At least my kids have been consistant:) There are a couple of cousins who have decided they aren't sure if there is really a Santa Claus anymore and are testing it out by whispering there requests to Santa only to see if he really comes through!! There parents are a little worried about Christmas morning!! We know they won't be disappointed though because at our house there are no doubts about Santa Claus, he is coming in only 3 more days and the kids can't wait!!:) 
The parties never seem to end this time of year for Carlie!!! Last night we had both of our families over for the big celebration! It's a little chaotic having both families at our house at the same time but it is better than having to do everything twice (especially this time of year). When it started snowing yesterday Carlie was worried no one would come. Everyone made it through the snow and Carlie had a great birthday party!! It is one of those things that will never change having a birthday in December, you never know what the weather is going to be like so you just hope for the best!! Carlie picked out her own cake and I know what you are thinking, it's not a BIRTHDAY cake but it's the one she wanted and I figure if that's what she wants then that is what she gets!! It was actually really nice not having to deal with cutting a cake and everyone thought it was cute. We have once again made it through a Christmastime birthday and we will take a sigh of relief until next year!! I do learn each year how to make this time of year less stressful and more enjoyable, so maybe by the time Carlie is 18 I will have it all figured out and I will look back and wonder why I made everything so difficult for myself!!!:)
Carlie wanted to go to Build-A-Bear for her birthday this year so we invited a couple of friends. The kids had so much fun making there own bears! The best part was not having to do anything but sit back and take pictures!! They have party planners that take care of everything for you and keep the kids entertained the whole time!!!! I could not believe how many people take there kids to that place a week before Christmas! That is the last place we would have been if it wasn't for Carlie's birthday!! Thankfully we got the special treatment and didn't have to wait in the long long line of people! Thanks to everyone (from Carlie especially) for coming and celebrating Carlie's birthday with her!!
Carlie was the spotlight today in her kindergarten class! To the 5 year olds in her class this is the biggest day of there lives!! She got to fill out a paper that hangs in the classroom telling about herself. Then she got to sit in front of the class (in the teacher chair) and answer questions about her from the other kids in the class. The most common question was "what is your favorite toy"! For the rest of the day she gets to be the teachers helper too!! Each kid gets to pick an activity to do with the class, she wanted to play with the parachutes (you have to look at the pictures to know what I am talking about, I didn't think they even had those anymore)!! The kids loved it even though they couldn't go in the gym and use the huge one they had a great time with the little ones they could use in the classroom. Carlie got to be in charge and tell everyone what to do (which is every 5 year olds dream come true)!!! You can't forget the treat, Carlie picked donuts! What a fun day for Carlie:)
