Oh-Bla-Di

All aboard!

We’ve been here in Vegas for four years now and finally got around to riding the Santa Train in Boulder City this year.  It was so much fun and mid-way through, Matt and I wondered why we hadn’t done this before.

We got our tickets well in advance and had them mailed to the house, so we got to avoid one of the longer lines and didn’t have to stress about having a spot.  So, we headed to Boulder City on December 10 and climbed aboard the Nevada Southern Railway for our chance to enjoy the cool air and meet Santa & Mrs. Claus.

We got to sit in the open air car which meant that the kiddos didn’t have to be pinned down to their seats, so that meant we got to enjoy things a little more.  This was also the perfect way to see Santa since our “waiting in line” time was substituted with fun riding the train time.  Perfect for antsy children!

About midway into the ride, Santa and Mrs. Claus strolled into our car and they took time to meet and take photos with each family and kid.  So, so great.  I consider it to be a minor miracle that we don’t have a screaming toddler picture with Santa this year.  Noah is infinitely more chill about things like that than Ava was.  They both did great meeting the big guy.

After our ride was over, we got to go on another free train ride on a very old steam engine called the Eureka.  It was fun hearing the man who restored her tell her story and the whistle was really loud!

After our rides, we toured the model railroads in the restoration hanger and then had a super yummy dinner at a Boulder City diner.  Loving that town more and more every time we visit.

When we finally got home, we all put on jammies, cuddled up on the couch and watched The Polar Express.  It was a day full of trains!

We had a great day on the Nevada Southern Railroad and are pretty sure that Santa is clear on our Christmas wish list this year.  Not bad for a day’s adventuring!

We get to celebrate a little Christmas early in December around here with St. Nicholas Day.  It’s a fun tradition that we inherited from Matt’s side of the family and I love that it’s a little “tide us over” celebration between Thanksgiving to Christmas.

This year, since St. Nicholas Day was a Tuesday, we had to celebrate in the evening rather than first thing in the morning.  I had the kids set their slippers in front of the Christmas tree before we left for school and St. Nick had visited by the time we got home.  Didn’t get a very good shot of all the slippers and gifts lined up because we were in the “just arrived home” rush, so this was the best I could dig up.

Ava got styrofoam balls that she got to paint like planets and we’ll be hanging from the ceiling in her room.

Noah got the first installment of Matchbox cars for his burgeoning collection.

Apparently, we were all really excited about this one.

And, Matt received a tabletop air hockey game and I got the new She & Him  CD of Christmas music.  We’ve had lots of fun playing with our new toys.  We’ve played cars almost every night since then and Ava got out her paint and brushes this weekend to get those planets done.  Thanks, St. Nick, for the great treats!  See you again soon!

Noah got a plasma car for his birthday and is now turning it into an indoor indy car.  He prefers to ride it with shoes on so that his feet don’t slip when he’s turning tight corners around the kitchen island and dining room table.  While Doozers has definitely gotten to be a pro, he still gets pinned in the bathroom or in a random doorway sometimes.  Nevertheless, he’s so clearly delighted with his newfound skill that it’s hilarious to watch.

One of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while….

One of the things I love about the way we do holidays around here is that the BIG ones happen for us in the fall.  By the end of November, when we’ve packed up the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers, we slide into the holiday season with fewer commitments and more breathing room in our lives.  But, to get to that place of serenity, we have to wade all the way through November – through Noah’s birthday in August, Ava’s in November, Thanksgiving, and our anniversary.  It’s busy, but I always find myself crashing on the couch after every party thinking, “That was so worth it.”  This year, I found myself on the couch after Thanksgiving saying, “That was absolutely our best one yet.”

We were thrilled to have company for Pie Day/Enchilada Night on Wednesday and a big group of friends and family join us for dinner on Thursday.  In order to make it through both events, we needed a hero and a little organization – enter Matt & sticky notes.

Dinner for 20 was served only about 30 minutes late, which ended up being perfect for our guests and the turkey cooking.

We ended up roasting one turkey and frying two.  On Wednesday, when Matt and I were talking about it, I thought maybe the 60-some pounds of turkey we were planning might be a bit overboard.  He explained that one of the fried turkeys was more of an “appetizer turkey.”  We joked that there is probably nothing more grossly American than that idea.  “Hey, here’s this huge fried bird I’m going to eat for a snack and here’s this other huge cooked bird that I’m going to have for dinner.”  

Anyway, it worked out and we had more than enough food, dishes and chairs to go around when it was time to finally get to the main event of the day.

I love Thanksgiving, and especially Thanksgiving in the military, because it really is a “more the merrier” kind of thing.  With no gifts like other holidays, it’s so easy just to ask others to join you and have a good time.  This was probably our most hodge-podge group of guests so far in Vegas, with folks from Matt’s work, my work, TPS, and Hoffman and Lee Families.  But, the upside to that is that everyone just pitched in and made the day fun.

The kiddos spent nearly 8 hours tearing the playroom to shreds, we got treated to magic tricks from Audrey’s grandpa, and the pie and homebrew supplies both took major hits.

The party broke up at about 10:30pm and by 11:30pm, our house was set completely to rights and Matt and I had our feet up on the coffee table toasting “the best Thanksgiving EVER”!

h/t to Sarah’s dad, Tony Lee, from whose Facebook page I stole several of these photos since I kept forgetting to take pictures all day.  

This weekend, we invited some friends and family to come over the rainbow with us and celebrate Ava’s fourth birthday.  It’s been quite the extravaganza ever since Thursday, with something new and fun every day to help celebrate.

We kicked off the celebrating with a little birthday fun at Ava’s school.  If the birthday boy or girl brings in a cake mix and some frosting, the kiddos will whip up the cake in the morning and then they get to eat it for snack time in the afternoon.  All mommies and daddies have to do is come witness the fun.

This was the look on her face while her friends sang “Happy Birthday”….

this kid LOVES to have people sing her “Happy Birthday.”

Friday is our day at home (and was my prep day for our big party on Saturday), but we had a fun treat delivered late Thursday night for Ava to play with on Friday.

We imported a 5-year-old from California to come play with us for the birthday fun and it was awesome.  Thanks to the Traynors for letting us borrow your kid!  Ava and Lauren played so nicely together that it made it easy for me to get ready for the party.  After all, this was on my task list for the day….

After we had a pizza party on Friday night, Matt and I tucked all three kiddos into bed and then got the house decorated for Saturday’s party.  We were able to re-use some of the puffs from Noah’s party and hung a few extras.  And, the giant balloons were such a big hit last time, I figured they’d be a perfect fit for a rainbow party also.

Turns out, six 36″ balloons is a lot of balloons and a lot of helium.  They’ll really take off on you in the Albertson’s parking lot on a windy Friday night!

Saturday morning, Ava woke up to fun birthday decorations and grandparents!  We started her celebration with a (now traditional) donut and breakfast casserole breakfast.

Then, after sending the kiddos outside with Grammie & Granddad, Matt and I rolled up our birthday sleeves and got her birthday present all set up for the big reveal.

The bed Matt built for her (and I painted) was pretty much a hit.  Ava said, “It’s just like a hotel!  With boards and everything!”  She’s been sleeping quite soundly in it every night, but it’s amazing how high off the ground she seems now!

After the big gift, it was basically party time.  We got the food set out and the music on and our friends started to join us.  The party started with a craft…sweet sun catchers made by each of the little girls (with a little help).

We had fancy (cut into stars, hearts, & butterflies) PBJ sandwiches, chips, fruit, and veggies for lunch and then did some running around to make room for cake while the sun catchers baked in the oven.

When it was finally time for cake and ice cream, Ava loved (again) to hear “Happy Birthday” and blow out her candle.  And, then, she wanted to see her rainbow birthday cake!

After some more running around to get rid of some of that excess sugar (hooray for nice weather so the kids could be outside!), we got around to opening some birthday gifts.  Ava received such thoughtful presents this year, and it’s clear that her friends know her very well – a fancy tea set, a book with a picture of her on every page, a Tiana doll, a book about everyday princesses, a unicorn backpack (as promised by CrayCray), and a follow-the-directions game – have all been oooh’d and aaaah’d and played with to death already.

Even though the real day isn’t until tomorrow (with another whole day of fun planned with just Daddy & Mommy), I think it’s safe to say that Whoozers has indeed had a very happy birthday.  We love you, big girl!