Sam is 6!

We had a great birthday party for Sam.  He decided to have a Polar Express Christmas Party.  And anyone who knows me knows you just have to give me a theme and off I go...

so we made some really cute tickets and delivered them to all of the family.  

We then of course had to have the tracks come to our house/station so that everyone could get here! :)

Sam was very particular about his birthday shirt and loved how it turned out, except for the fact that he informed me that the Polar Express has a lot more train cars then I made.  I informed him, that he would have to be a lot "rounder" for me to fit more train cars on his shirt! :)

We had fun making the North Pole on his cake.  Thankfully there is no shortage of trains around here for us to choose from.

We made some little individual cakes for everyone to take home as party favors with a bell on them. 

We had fun transforming our eating nook into a festive "dinning car."

Our elf, Peter Pan, must have liked it too, because we found him hanging out for the party.

We of course had to have a hot chocolate bar with all the flavors and mix-ins we could think of.  It was a hit and the kids loved having free reign and loading their drinks with whatever they wanted.

We picked some Little Caesar's Pizza up the night before as per request of Sam and had a fun pizza party dinner.

Then it was on to games.  We had "Roll-a-Snowman", "Don't Eat Pete", "Bingo", and "Pin the Nose on Rudolf."  They games were all a big hit and we all had fun.

Then it was on to roasting marshmallows by our new fireplace.  Leave it to Mark to do something like this! :)

After some amazing "Happy Birthday" singing it was on to what Sam had been waiting for all day...presents!!!

 

As he exclaimed himself, he got "exactly what he's always wanted!" 

 As soon as those Legos were opened it seemed that everyone at the party disappeared because all he could think about was building them. 

He did take a break to thank everyone for coming and say good-bye.

 And that was when Chloe finally got what she had been waiting for all day...her cupcake! :)

 We actually ended up doing cake and ice cream by ourselves later that night.  It was really nice to be able to just have us singing and eating together after a house full of family.

We had such a great day and I know that Sam loved it, which is what it is all about.  I love going all out for my kids on their birthdays and letting them know how special they are and how much we love them.  They are our world after all!

 

 

Sam at 6:

 

Loves:

School, Saturdays :), Lazy Days

Trains, Legos, Video Games



Mc Donald's Nuggets, Nachos, Pink Drink, Fruit Punch
Being Tickled, Racing, Being Teased, Quoting "Charlie Brown"

Doesn't Like:
Eating Anything Healthy or Trying New Foods
When Little Kids Break his Legos
Sitting Through Church

Heber Polar Express

For Sam's Polar Express birthday, Grandma and Grandpa Miller took all of us on the Polar Express Train in Heber.  We had a great time at the station waiting to board.  It was such a cold night that we couldn't wait to get into our train car.

 Sam was very responsible and showed the elves all of our tickets so we could get on board.

 We got yummy cookies and hot chocolate and our very own mugs to keep.

 We had a great entertainer who sang fun Christmas songs for us.

 Once we reached the North Pole we were all on the look out for Santa.  Sam couldn't wait to let him know that he wanted "Hobbit" Legos, James told him he wanted "Luke's Ship" and Chloe informed him that a white puppy would be just great.

 If you thought Sam was excited to see Santa, you realized that the Conductor was ranked right up there with him.  Sam was so excited to meet the conductor and have him punch his ticket.

 On the way back to Utah out train broke down.  It was a long wait and ride back as all the kids had already had their treats and met Santa.  The workers were great and tried very hard to keep us all entertained.

 As soon as we got a new engine to pull us we could tell they were trying to make up time because we were flying.  Every time we came to a crossing the diesel let its horn blow long and loud.  The kids went crazy with giggles every time they heard it because it was so loud!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun night out!

Gardner Village Elves

This was the first time we went to Gardner Village to see the Elves.  I've wanted to go for years now, but there are just so many fun things to do at Christmas time that it always seems to get forgotten.  So I was very excited when we drove up and were actually there.

It's just like at Halloween when they have all the Witches out.  It was fun to walk around all the cute shops and look around and spot the Elves and see what they were up to.

 We even found the Naughty and Nice List.  They boys were bummed that they couldn't find their names on either list, but felt a little better when they spotted Chloe's name on the Naughty List.

 We found a cute picture spot and had fun taking turns sitting and getting our picture taken.  Sam even took the one of Seth and I and Chloe.  I was so impressed.  He's getting so big!

 We ended the night checking out the Christmas Store and admiring all the different Christmas Villages.  They were impressive.  Our favorite was the Grinch and Whoville.

Little Girl

Growing up I was called the "Bag Lady" because I was always dressing up in weird things and being characters.  They used to laugh and say that I could find anything in the trash and make it mine.  Well, Chloe seems to be taking after her mom.  She is a hoot.  She is always making me smile with all the crazy, silly, funny things she is doing.

The other day we had to walk around the house quietly because she and her dolls and puppies were sleeping.

 We are also always catching her beating up her bigger brothers now too.  She is finally learning the art of being the pesky little sister.

 For some reason this is one of her favorite outfits.  We have all the dress-up/costumes in a closet in our room and she loves this combination.  It's an Indiana Jones hat, protective glasses and a Tae Kwon Do chest protector as a back pack.

 As I was decorating for Sam's upcoming birthday party she took one of my bells and wouldn't give it back.  It was her "favorite" hat she told me and she needed it!

On Dasher, On Dancer...

My sister Joy and I were laughing so hard as the kids started playing reindeer at her house.  I love how kids have such great imaginations and so much fun doing and creating the funniest things.  They each took turns being Santa and the reindeer.  Haley even got a red ornament to use as her nose to light the way. 

I'm so glad they have cousins that live close by to play with!

Hot Chocolate Party

We planned a fun get-together with all the families Seth Home Teaches.  We were going to head up to Temple Square and have hot chocolate and cookies and see the lights, but the weather changed our plans. 

It was so super amazingly cold and snowy that we called everyone and just had them over instead.  It was a blast.  We saw a few more people before the "party" and had them over too.  It was a blast. 

We had 6 different types of hot chocolate with all the different mix-ins and toppings I could think of.  It was so yummy and the best part (besides the disposable cups) was that everyone was able to make their cocoa to their liking.

With the yummy hot cocoa and all the goodies people brought to share, it was a delicious night!

Thankfully I had made some fun Christmas games this last week that we were able to bust out for all the kids to play.  Between the games and our over stocked toy room the kids had a blast playing together.

 I love last minute get-togethers.  They always seem to turn out the best.  Thanks to all who came and made the night fun!