GOOD Morning Birthday Boy

My Alex is 3!! I can't believe it!! This is how my sweet boy started off his day! He was way excited to see a scooter in the living room.

ALEXS BIRTHDAY HOTEL

We have a birthday tradition in our family and that is to go to a Birthday hotel. The boys really like this tradition and are always really excited to go, and I love it because I just get to snuggle and play with the birthday boys! This year Alex said he wanted to go to Universal and then head to the hotel, so that's just what we did! We had a great time there and played until dinner time then we packed up and headed to the Birthday Hotel. When we arrived at the birthday hotel we kicked it off with a room service dinner party, complete with hats and noise makers! After dinner we headed downstairs to grab a slice of chocolate cake to go, and went outside to play and do our party poppers. The boys had a blast playing on the playground and splashing around the kiddie pool in their underwear!(Daddy was a little embarrassed but hey we are from the Lake County;)) We sang to Alex and he made a wish, we all ate every last crumb of the cake and then popped the poppers! No one made it to the firework show because they all fell asleep. But I did catch the show by the window and it was amazing! Happy Birthday my little guy!! I love you so much!! You so special to us!!

time to party!!

our birthday dinner

make a wish Alex!

This is when Geoffrey was embarrassed but hey if the birthday wants to swim in his underwear(at the Ritz Carlton) than who is to say no?!

FIREWORKS

Since the boys didn't make it to the fireworks show we had daddy do one at our house when we got home. Alex likes the small ones, but Jayden and Landon love the big (almost illegal ones). Daddy does a good job and we love our front row seats!! Happy New Year!

FHE snow days

For FHE tonight we made snowmen with some faux snow that the boys got in their stockings. The snow was really cool, it really felt like real snow and was reusable. The boys loved playing in it and thought it was neat to make a snow man. They were both amazed at how much work it is to make even a little snowman. I guess when Cailou makes one on TV its much faster.

Landon tried it one time and hated how cold it was so he played cars and watched instead..

Rollerskating(falling)

The boys got roller skates for Christmas and it has been an adventure trying to get them used to skating. Here are a couple of snapshots of the first time they tried them...

I really like this one, how he's clinging on for dear life...

Christmas Morning

"He's here... He's here... !!! MOM, DAD GET UP!!" This is how we wake up on Christmas morning. Our boys so excited to see what Santa has left them. Geoffrey and I roll out of bed still half asleep since we just got to sleep about 2am and then slept with the older two in our bed so we wouldn't miss their smiley faces when they saw their treasures. The chaos and excitement of Christmas morning is something I look forward to since Black friday. This year was a bit more stressful because we had Church to get to. So we opened our gifts from Santa and then headed off to Church. I had brunch waiting for us after Church and my parents came to eat with us. We played for a while and then I made dinner and had Grandma, Pa pa, and Natalie over for treats. It was a fun family Christmas Day!

Baby Landon's

Jayden and Alex's Santa surprises

Landon really loved the broom that Santa left him, he's a practical kinda guy;)

another of his favorites, his new piano

we might be starting a boy band this year...

the boys gave Daddy a UFC belt, now the winner of the wrestling matches actually can get something

off to Church we go...

brunch and gifts

a quiet family dinner, the perfect way to end our Christmas

What Christmas is all about...

I am always trying to find things for us to do as a family that helps teach the boys about being kind to others and doing service for people, but with my little boys it is sometimes harder to do. It needed to be a short activity and something that they would like doing so I decided to ask our Bishop for a family who is in need this season. He gave us a name and a wish-list and the boys and I were excited to get busy shopping. We bought a pretty princess bike, a pink helmet, a pretty dress, a baby doll to put in the basket of the bike. The boys were really helpful and liked picking out all the cute girly things. When it was time to drop off the presents the boys were very excited to sneak them to the family. As I was pulling out all the gifts for the family, the Grandma started to cry. It really made me remember what Christmas is all about and seeing the smiles on my boys made my heart melt. This will definitely be another Wise family tradition!

christmas eve night

After the Wise Family Brunch this year we headed to Grandma and Papa's house to keep the Holiday parties going. The kids really enjoy spending time here and love to play with all their cousins. We jumped, played, and ate lots of yummy food. And of course we opened presents!! I love all the family time this day brings, it so nice to be with those you love.

What an impressive Christmas spread huh? Remember we have 7 kids and 1 teenager, and let's just say they are a little loved.

getting ready to open the gifts

Landon's not really in to opening gifts yet, he'd rather be throwing the football with Daddy.

Alex really loved this scooter he got from Grandma/Papa, he let out the loudest scream when he opened it!

Jayden's been obsessing over these dinosaurs, Papa can't open them fast enough..

Daddy got a BB gun, thanks Missy and Jonathan! I think they forgot about the last gun he fired!!

This is my favorite part of Christmas eve!! I love putting everyone in their PJ's and taking these pictures. I love seeing how excited they are knowing that Santa is coming really soon. We always come home and rush and get Santas' treats and the reindeer treats' together. It's at this point in my day that I can really take a minute and look and think how grateful I am that my Heavenly loves me and blesses me with my beautiful family. It's when I really remember what Christmas is all about.