Christmas Traditions...

Christmas Eve Cook Family Dinner

My dad, his sister Debbie, my cousins Brenda and Kathy, and my sister, Monica

Great grandma with her greatgrandsons
Brenda is expecting a baby in June- we all hope it is a girl to calm down this rowdy group!

Christmas Morning: Santa Came to Town!

Tanner's favorite present this year was a microscope and Hunter kept talking about the chocolate in his stocking. Both boys were surprised by this giant ball pit that Santa brought!

Christmas Breakfast at my Mom's

Tanner testing out his new dress up costumes

Christmas Afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Hoyal's

All the cousins were there! Fun times!

Brielle in curlers- too cute!

Too much excitement for one day! We found Hunter fast asleep watching a movie on Grandma's floor!

We enjoyed spending time with all of our family and love the traditions that we are establishing with our kids. We hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas. Hopefully yours was a little more relaxing than ours!

Christmas Fun in the Rain

For Christmas, we got Disneyland passes from my mom!!! We surprised the boys yesterday with a trip to Disneyland, even though it was rainy. Thanks to Ponchos, we stayed dry and had a great time! I am usually not a big amusement park fan becuase of the long lines and tired feet and cranky kids by the end of the day. But, knowing that we can come back anytime throughout the year really helps. We don't have to fit all of it in in one day!

Hunter loved his first trip to the Happiest place on Earth!

Since we didn't have to fit in all in, we left Disneyland to head over to our friends, the Bishops, for some Caroling and Christmas lights. This has been a long tradtion and we are so happy to be a part of it! We had so much fun celebrating Christmas with old friends even though it was raining!

Sorry, not the best picture but it was raining afterall!

Kids Christmas Party!!

A few weeks ago, Tanner started planning a Christmas party for all of his friends. I wanted to do something nice for my friends too. I figured the wonderful homeschooling moms I work with could use a few hours during the day with no kids around. So, I decided to let Tanner's party idea become a reality. The kids got to have a party and my friends got a little break during the day to get a few things done before Christmas! Tanner had a very long list of things he wanted to do, we chose four things and instead of an "All Day" party like he requested, we settled on a two hour party. Here is our list of four:

1. Christmas Crafts! All the kids went home with a snowflake ornament but the girls were the ones who really got crafty!

2. Lunch. We made Star Shaped sandwiches before the guests arrived. I read the kids a Christmas book while they were eating even though that did not make Tanner's list!

3. Decorating Gingerbread Men. All the kids were very creative and wanted to save their creations rather than eat them which I am sure made for a messy car ride home. Sorry about that...


4. Free Play! Tanner made it very clear that he wanted plenty of time for "Free Play" with his friends. Of course, all the boys ended up on the hill and this picture pretty much sums up what they enjoyed best about the party...

It was a fun two hours for all!

Advent Calendar Fun!

A few years ago my mom gave us a darling advent calendar that has little drawers you open each day and find a little treasure. Tanner looks forward to it each year and now Hunter has caught on to the thrill of the advent calendar. After reading the blog of my extremely creative friend, Sarah Hull, I got some new ideas for the calendar! (Thanks Sarah!) Instead of a treasure (candy, random miniature toy) the boys open a little note that tells them what kind of Christmas activity they will experience that day. This makes for a real family treasure of memories, much better than the toys that end up in the trash! Here are a few examples:

"Make super yummy fudge and deliver it to your teachers!"

"Snow Day! Go play in the snow!"
It just happened that our library was having a "Snowflake Festival" that day where they brought in snow, had snow themed crafts, and even a fake ice skating rink! The boys loved the snow and I did not love how I forgot my camera!

"Today, you get to go to Santa's Workshop!"
We planned a "Santa's Workshop" for all the Junior Explorer's. Boy, did they stay busy:

Nativity Play (Tanner was a shepherd)

Making Gingerbread Houses
Look at all that Loot!

Making Christmas cards that we will deliver to Elderly Care Center later in the week

What a fun day!

"Make gingerbread cookies with mom and decorate them!"
I thought Tanner would be excited about this one, but when he read it, a look of concern came over him. "Last year our gingerbread men ran away. What if they run away again and we can't find them?"
I assured him they would stay put, but he took extra precautions just in case!

He said the giant turkey would scare the gingerbread so they wouldn't escape and if they did get out, the bread pans would make noise so we could catch them before they ran away. Tanner also made sure someone was keeping watch while the gingerbread men were in the oven. This kid has such an imagination!

Luckily, they did not run away this year. The boys enjoyed decorating and eating their gingerbread men!
Notice the turkey guarding the gingerbread men cooling in the background:

Crazy Kid!

Merry Christmas!

Deciding to skimp out on sending the family photo and Christmas card took a load off. It is not that we don't think of all of you often, but with Ladd's schedule it was pretty much impossible to find a time to get a professional (yes, Stacey, you are a professional!) photograph of our family. So here are the boys on the couch in their matching sweaters. I really tried to get a picture in front of the tree, but the smallest Hoyal refused to cooperate. And it was one of those "pick your battles" moment. He won!

Next semester (yes, Ladd is STILL in school - MBA) Ladd will not have class on Saturdays, so we should be able to actually see him long enough to take his picture. So you can all look forward to a holiday card (if I have your current address), including a family picture and update letter, that will come during some holiday other than Christmas. So even though you may not get a card from us in the mail this Christmas, we still want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!

Wild Animals!!

We visited San Diego's Wild Animal Park on Monday for a closer look at African animals. The kids had a great time and it was the perfect day for our wild animals to take over the park. Only one other school group was there (and they were high schoolers so aside from some naughty words, we hardly noticed them) and hardly any other guests were there so we basically had the whole place to ourselves! The kids had a great time. Both the boys loved the tram ride. Hunter's favorite animal were the "gee-raffes" and Tanner liked the deer in the petting kraal. Fun Times!





Sorry for the sloppiness of my posts lately. Instead of showing the pictures after I download them unto my blog, it just gives the computer mumbo jumbo describing the picture. I don't know how to work with that so I can't move the pictures or text. I'll try to work on it. But, until then, this will have to do!

It is official!

Ladd was sworn in as a lawyer on Tuesday night. He was sworn in by two judges, whom were also his professors, with all of his fellow students who passed the Bar. It was fun to meet up with all of his friends with who he worked so hard these past three years and celebrate their success!

Next on Ladd's list: FIND A JOB as a lawyer!

'Tis the Season

We have had a busy week filled with holiday festivities- and it isn't even December yet! Just a reminder to me of how unprepared I am for Christmas! Here is a recap of our intro to the Holiday Season...

Traditional Thanksgiving Feast and Play with the Junior Explorers (or "everyone I know" as Tanner refers to this bunch!)

Christmas Tree Lighting at Victoria Gardens with my Mom and our friend Susan. When we got there Tanner asks: "Isn't this where the snow comes off the roof?" Either Victoria Gardens is trying to conserve energy this year, or the snow machines weren't working correctly, but the snow coming from the roof was not quite as magical this year. But, it was still fun to see the tree and see Santa come to town! I was feeling quite festive after this evening!

On Saturday, Monica and Brad were passing through town on their way to LAX to catch a flight to Dubai (tough life). We were able to catch up with them for lunch and a little shopping. And why not pictures with Santa?
Monica and I decided it had been way too long since we had a picture with Santa together, so we hopped in the pic too!


Reunion Time! My BYU Girls got together thanks to Kristen and her grandma's adorable home! I love, love these girls and am so grateful for the rare opportunities to get together. I didn't even get a picture of the four of us together (Kristen, Jenn, Kelly and I - we missed you Natalie, Shauna, and Carolyn!!) I was too busy dealing with a major tantrum involving a pitcher of water and a stubborn two year old! But, I did get a few of the kids before the breakdown began:

Here are a few choices Hunter has for his future bride:

Claire or Ellie. Too cute!

Of course, Thanksgiving! We celebrated with my dad's side of the family this year in Indio. My Aunt did a wonderful job and we ate so much wonderful food. Here are the kids with Great Grandma. Good thing we have a firefighter around just in case the turkey catches on fire!

We are so thankful for all of our wonderful family!

Happy Thanksgiving!
and let the Christmas Season begin (with as little stress as possible, please!)

The post you've all been waiting for...

HE PASSED!!!

Ladd's hard work paid off and he is officially an attorney!
Congratulations Ladd Hoyal, Esquire!

Exploring the Rain Forest

What a good looking group of Junior Explorers!

We visited the LA Arboretum (free every third Tuesday!!) to experience the Rain Forest. The kids had a great time and learned a lot. We were all exhausted, and filthy, afterwards!

Hunter trying to feed dead leaves to the ducks.

Tanner gave a report on the four layers of the Rain Forest. He made a layer dessert so everyone could remember what he had taught. It even included three foods that grow in the Rain Forest!


After our Rain Forest experience, our Bishop, who is also the Dad of 5 of the Junior Explorers, took us on a tour of his Police Station, which is near the Arboretum. All these boys were in Heaven. Tanner kept saying he learned soooo much at the Police Station. He was very impressed with the SWAT car he got to go in and trying on the Motorcycle Police helmet. Hunter loved the Police motorcycle lights. I learned a lot too and after hearing about what our Bishop does everyday, am very grateful Ladd is not a police officer. I don't know how Julie sleeps at night!

Hooray for Police Officers and their families!!

Welcome Makaylee!

Yesterday morning my sister in law, Chelsea, has her first baby. She was born at 4:23 am and is as sweet as can be! I am always so amazed at how small babies are when they are first born! Chelsea is doing well. Congratulations Brett and Chelsea on your adorable daughter! Makaylee Kiesha Joy Hoyal

7 pounds 2 ounces

20.5 inches

Just Perfect!

Brothers!

What I catch my two little monkeys doing when I turn my back:

Reading together (so sweet)

Jumping on the Bed

Trying to make a flood in the bathroom (notice the depth of that bath water!!)

No picture for this "caught red handed" act: The other day I caught Hunter sitting on the kitchen cupboard in his birthday suit ("nudey ka-boody" as we call it) stuffing handfuls of Halloween candy in his mouth. Of course, all this was inspired by his big brother whom I found hiding in the other room with candy corn stuck to the side of his mouth! Not such a sweet discovery for me!

These two sure do know how to have FUN! Although sometimes their idea of fun is what Mom calls mischief...