Christmas 2011

After going to church we came home and let the kids open their presents.  Aria was more interested in opening packages than actually playing with what was inside, while Zade wasn't interested in opening anything, and was more than happy to just play with the first two toys he got.  Thus, we let Aria open Zade's presents and then she was happy to start playing with her toys too.  It was cute. 

Here a few pics of the kids favorite toys.  Zade got a basketball hoop, since he's always asking to "dunk" whenever he sees a hoop.  

We also got him some more balls, since he loves them.

Aria also got 3 Disney Princess barbies, which kept her entertained for hours.  

Since Aria and Zade both love playing with little coins, we got them a toy cash register.  

Family Party

We got together with Tara's family at her brother Ryan's house and had a party where we celebrated Jerry's birthday.  The kids had a great time chasing each other around his couch.

Everyone had fun hanging out.

On a different day Tara and Shara took the kids to a jungle gym playland.

They also went shopping at Costco and had a great time. 

Tara's dad also took the crew to Olive Garden for lunch.

Family Pics in Reid Park

We decided it was time to get another family picture taken, so Tara called up Alma Lopez (who she knows through Young Womens) and she was kind enough to come with us to Reid Park and take some family pictures for us.  Aria wasn't feeling well and all Zade wanted to do was go run off and play on the playground.  Thus, we're lucky we got any pictures that turned out at all.  Here are a few that we liked.

Christmas fun in Tucson

We went to see Zoo Lights last week as a family.  It was all lit up and even Santa Claus was there.  Unfortunately, it just so happened we went on a night that was raining, which is pretty rare for Tucson.  As we stood in the rain for 20 minutes waiting for Aria and Zade's turn to see him, we began to wonder what in the world we were doing.  Oh well, it made the kids happy.

A few days later we went to our ward's Christmas party and enjoyed the various delicious soups everyone brought.  (They were way better than what you can get at Sweet Tomatoes).  :)  Here's the crew making ginderbread houses at the end.  I'm sure more toppings made it into our tummies than onto the house.

Yesterday we went to Winterhaven again and enjoyed looking at the Christmas lights.  We ran into Ben Hoffman and his family and had fun wandering around the area with them.  Below is a pic of how the kids bundled up to stay warm (although it was only 50 degrees).  :)  We loved the get up that Zade put on:

Below is a short video clip of our favorite house in Winterhaven, which we refer to as the Bellagio.