Holiday Tidbits

These were some of our highlights from the fabulous Christmas we had.

Nicholas' note to Santa

Loving the morning with presents and jammies

Ryker's new sleeping bag was an instant hit

New Year's Eve party survivor game, lipstick challenge was hilarious.

Being with the people we love, loving our kids too :)

Silly string fight!

Nicholas' first big boy New Year, staying up all night and loving every second.

 I love these handsome boys!

Feeling Grateful for Goofy

This year for Thanksgiving we tried something new- not doing the typical Thanksgiving. Let me tell you, it was awesome! No slaving for hours in the kitchen (while the men watch TV) just for a meal that lasts 30 minutes! I fully agree the holiday should revolve around family time, togetherness and feeling grateful for all we have. What a better place for all of those things than Disneyland?

One might wonder why we would chose somewhere we've been a hundred times, and its exactly because we have been there so much.  We knew exactly what we wanted to do, where we wanted to eat, and how to get around.  Despite having a big group, the whole Cordon clan, we had a relatively easy time getting out and about each day.  

We spent three days at the park, the last being Thanksgiving.  The boys loved being back in our favorite spot, and were also good sports about waiting while we rode some of the bigger rides.

The big boys and the little boys

Minnie loves Nicholas

Keke being a daddy's boy

We watched the Christmas parade one night, World of Color another, and the Fireworks the last night.

Two mornings I had some quiet time with just the two little guys!

Keke loved driving the bumper cars, despite barely seeing over the steering wheel

A cute spot in New Orleans- I have a great shot in the exact spot of my brother and I from years ago

On the third day he became Nemo- he was a celebrity, with kids and parents everywhere saying hi to him.

Our Thanksgiving dinner at Goofy's kitchen

We ate all together. (And no, I'm not pregnant, just looking it!)

Nicholas loved being with his little cousin, Everett.

During the dinner different characters would come up and say hello.

The last morning we woke up, the girls went shopping, then we exchanged our Christmas gifts.

 We had so much fun!  Now I have to figure out if I want to renew my Disney pass.... 

Fan-atics!

What kind of people get all geeked up about a re-release of disney movies?

These people!!

(Note the amazing Lion King glasses, just for being there opening day :) )

Trip Up North

Last week we went back up to the old stomping grounds in Danville for an old friend's wedding. Jared's friend from high school was getting married to an awesome girl and we didn't want to miss the party. Grandma was excited we had a reason to come visit and stay for a while :)

We made and impromptu stop at an old train in town while walking in the sunshine.

Keke got his first haircut at a real salon. I gained new respect for those women while watching the kids squirm and complain non-stop. I couldn't believe a successful haircut came out of all that.

The boys favorite was a place called Habitot, with all kinds of fun pretend play items, set up like miniature places. The ambulance was the group spot.

Ryker loved the water station, naturally soaking himself through.

We fortunately managed to sneak in a visit with our favorite people as well, Dyan and Logan. Those little guys were having a blast playing and causing trouble.

The last day there we hit the mall, and every boy got his own car cart.

We had a fun busy weekend and were happy to return home to Jared, who had left early. The boys were so excited to be able to fly Southwest and get their very own beverages as well.

The Perfect Family

From the moment you get married the question everyone inevitably asks is how many kids we want to have. I have such a hard time with this question. Is it so bad that I can't commit to any one number?

Some days I think I would love to have a big family (to me that means 6-7 kids) where we can all just be close to one another and have fun spending time with only us. My kids aren't going to have a lot of cousins, or at least many around their ages, so its pretty much just us all the time anyway. I would love to have us all be best friends and play games together all the time.

Then I have rough days, and I think 3 would be good! I can't even envision having the third at this point, but I know I will eventually. But what if 3 is another boy? Could I settle with 3 boys? Also, being young, would I be done before I'm 30 with having kids? The greatest appeal to having 3 is retaining my sanity. I don't know how to have a quality, deep relationship with so many kids at once. Do moms of 6-7 or even more kids really know what is going on in their children's lives? Don't the kids just run around unsupervised most of the time?

It would seem the happy medium for me is about 4-5, but naturally I have a hard time nailing it down. I come from a family of 4 and it always seemed small considering our large age gaps. We spent so much time with just our family when we moved that it made me wish I had more siblings often. I used to dream of two more kids between me and my sister, 7 years younger. 5 is probably my best guess, but who knows. At this point I feel very blessed to have these two guys around, and I'm not really anxious to add many more right away. Hopefully someday I can figure out my "magic number", but in the mean time I think we'll just focus on a case-by-case basis.

Vegas Trip

Me and the two boys decided to leave town for a few days. Jared was super busy with school and we had some free days so I jumped on it. I was a little nervous about the drive, only 4.5 hrs, but after surviving a 5 hr flight with vomit I figured I could handle anything. I was so glad I went considering we had a great time and the boys slept 2+ hours both ways!

We left sunday afternoon and made it in around dinner time. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house and the boys loved exploring the space many times larger than ours! They also have 3 boys mostly grown so lots of boy stuff laying around, in addition to 2 dogs, 2 birds, and a bunch of fish. The boys were in heaven. Ryker loved finding and chewing on Nerf darts, and Nicholas loved harrassing the animals and playing pretend with my aunt, Lorrie.Our first full day was monday, and we had tons of fun meeting up with Darci and her baby, Kensie. Nicholas and Ryker were enthralled with the baby right away, and Nicholas wanted to hold her hand all day.


We took the kiddos to the MGM lion habitat to see the sleeping lions, then to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Afterwards we hit up the M&M Factory.

The boys loved it! Even Rykie kept saying "Nem-an-Nem!" every time he looked up or down at the tiles on the floor. We were almost suckered into getting some souvenirs but opted for some mini M&M treats instead. We got back to the house, exhausted, and me and Ryker slept while Kiki played with more toys.
The next day we went to one of my all-time favorites, the Forum Shops. It was so fun to walk around and shop. The kids were great, but definitely had less stamina from the day before. Ryker and Kensie fell asleep in their strollers, so when we got back to Darci's that meant no naps and lots of crying!

Before we knew it, wednesday came and we got ready to go home. We spent the morning playing at Lorrie's again, and I tried to catch some sleep. The only downside to traveling and being somewhere new is the lack of sleep. I was woken up at 4:30 but the kids went back down and I was paranoid of making noise to wake them and naturally couldn't sleep. Lorrie was nice enough to watch the crazy Nicholas, aka Buzz Lightyear, and take a couple trips to the moon so I could have a nap. After Ryker and I napped we went to an awesome park near the house and by lunchtime we were all ready to go. We went to Cafe Rio for lunch then headed out.

We had such a great time, and I wish I took more pictures, but we were too busy having fun! It was so liberating to feel like I could just pack up some things and go without any stress. The boys were great all week and I'm hoping this means we can do more fun last-minute trips together in the future.

Holiday IN Arizona

Right after our fun Christmas in Danville we went to Arizona to see my family. I went by myself with the boys and was happily surprised when Ryker slept through the flight.
The Arizona trip is always a highly anticipated party-packed event full of much eating out, movie viewing, and lots of games. This year did not disappoint, but I was definitely running on empty after being away from home for over a week and not to mention without my better half. I wasn't exactly the life of the party, but I enjoyed being a part of the festivities.
Our trip wouldn't have been complete without a girl's Cheesecake Factory lunch, and shopping after. Mom was sweet enough to buy all 3 of her girls a cute dress from Anthropologie, the group fave.


As luck would have it, a Brimhall family reunion was going on that week, and we were shocked and amazed to find it so entertaining! It was my Nelson Grandma's siblings and their kids, grandkids, and, (in my case) great-grandkids. I was mostly thrilled just to see my own cousins I don't get to see very often. They are all pretty much 5-15 but they were so sweet with my kids and super cute.

The park we went to was called Pioneer Park and it was dedicated to the founders of Mesa, one of which was my great x's 3 Grandpa, Noah Brimhall.

The highlight of the trip, for Nicholas I'm sure, was the Train Park. If we had lived in Az I'm sure it would be a regular stop for us. It is free admission, and has amazing trains of all sizes. The boys were in awe the first couple minutes, trying to take it all in.
They had a cute station/ticket office in which we enjoyed escaping the rain.

Nicholas was loving the cut-outs, and even commissioned his own private shots, such as the lower photo.


We rounded out the trip with a tour of a real train, the steam engine FDR used during his presidential campaign. Nicholas looked on with his mouth wide open the whole tour.

We had a great holiday for two weeks and were ready to come home, do a week of double duty for our AC job (pretty much horrible), and get back in for our last 6 months!

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas vacation (wrong word- that implies relaxation) in both NorCal and AZ. More to come...

Moms

We have been blessed with two of the best Moms ever

I have always appreciated my mom for her good advice. She has always been someone I could call and hear the answer to my problems, and she says the right things. One thing I actually miss about her living in Holland is being able to call her in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep!

She has a wise way of approaching the world's problems, and has a skill of stepping outside a situation to find a solution that I try to emulate. She is a kind and thoughtful friend who often thinks of others over herself. She also strives to stay educated and is continually learning and growing. She has been the best mom to my little brother with his challenges, in being patient and constantly doing what is best for him hugely at the expense of her own time.

She also has impeccable timing when it comes to anticipating the arrival of her grandchildren! Being in Holland before made me (and I'm sure her too) nervous that she would miss their births. In both cases, though, she was there in perfect timing to help me a few days before, see their births and help me, then spend some more time before leaving again. These boys love Mimi, and wanted to be nice to her even from the beginning!

Sabrina has been the most incredible mother-in-law I could ever have wished for. I constantly marvel that we were able to live together for two years and still be talking to one another! She is so compassionate, loving, and kind. Often I look to her example of being a good mom- Love first, and discipline next. She has raised 3 wonderful kids (ok-I'm biased), and I have her to thank for my husband's sense of responsibility and also sensitivity that blesses my life on a daily basis.

She also knows how to have fun and relax. She has spoiled me with shopping, massages, you name it. I have never felt so pampered and appreciated! I learned that part of being a great mom is being a good person and strengthening your self.

This is not even part of what makes her so wonderful, and not to mention any of how fantastic of a grandma she is. My boys adore her and Nicholas calls her every single day, and often multiple times a day. She screamed with excitement when I told her Nicholas was successfully potty training, and right after Ryker pulled himself up for the first time. She was there when Kiki took his first steps, comforted me in my frustrations, and makes an effort to be there for every important or even simple milestone.

I feel like I have much to live up to, but I am truly grateful for such good examples of strong, smart, and kind women.

New Additions

Married!

Sisters (total resemblance, right?)

We (us C's plus Kenz) left early friday morning and were back by sunday afternoon, but in that time we met a new pet, reacquainted ourselves with utah family, ate a million times, drove back and forth between provo, american fork, draper, and salt lake, and got a new family member!

Kiki particularly enjoyed playing with the two dogs. The new puppy, Lady, was adorable but lots of trouble (sounds like some kids I know....).

"What? I didn't do anything...."

Kiki caught up with his friend and best babysitter, Cassidy (also featured here)

The whirlwind weekend went without disaster until saturday morning at the temple when I forgot Kiki's church pants... Poor kid. At least the microfleece "Elmo jammies" are super warm and comfy! We later stole some from one of my million cousins (thx Amy!!) for the professional shots.

We loved the beautiful reception. Rykie did great most all the time and finally just napped in my arms while my brother and his crazy friends danced.

We had a blast but totally crashed the second we got home. We all napped and are still working on making up our sleep. Congrats, Matt and Angelica!