Santa

The girls were able to visit with Santa at our ward Christmas party.
Claire always asks if the Santa is real or not. We tell her that it is one of Santa's helpers, that Santa is very busy and needs many helpers to find out what all the children want.
You can't really blame her, those darn beards just scream fake!

Claire's swim lessons

Claire took swim lessons from June-November & absolutely loved it!
We decided to spend a little extra and put her in private lessons with her good friend Rylie.
Her teacher was awesome, and Claire learned so much. Before her private lessons, Claire was always afraid to put her face in the water, let alone jump in from the side of the pool.
Now she is so comfortable in the water, she's a fish!

Stella was content to just chill on the steps and watch, occasionally dipping the side of her head in the water.

Girls weekend get away

In November, we (my Mom, sisters & niece, Riley) went to SLC for our annual girls weekend get away. We had a blast shopping, eating yummy food, going to the movies & just being silly. This is what we did in Target.... modeled hats and fur coats/shrugs. I know, a little weird, but it was nice to just have fun & be a little crazy when you don't have kids whining and rushing you through the store.

Halloween

The vampiress.
I kept the red eye for special effect (Stephenie Meyer style).

She looks intimidating, eh?

The witch.
Scary.
You can almost hear her cackle.

That's one wicked team!

All seriousness aside, they know how to have fun too.

Autumn in beautiful Cache valley

These pics are taken in our front yard.
I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place, where we get to enjoy four distinct seasons.

final CA post: Tanzman wedding

So, here are the wedding pics. Laura and Drew were married in Encinitas, at a park overlooking the ocean at Sundown. It was a beautiful night. Laura looked beautiful in her wedding dress, reminding me of a Greek goddess. We had a wonderful time celebrating their union.

The bride with the flower girls.
The little ladies dropped rose petals on the sidewalk in front of Laura as she made her entrance. Stella didn't want to go ahead of Laura, she wanted to walk by her side instead, it was sweet.

Stella with cousin, Nathan.

Sister and Mother of the bride

Poor Nathan was a little overwhelmed being forced to pose with a bunch of girls.

Families unite.

Part 3: Pre-wedding

So, the main reason we took our wonderful vacation to California was for Adam's sister, Laura's wedding. Other than the usual bachelor/bachelorette parties that take place before a wedding, the flower girls had a pre-wedding prep of their own.... yoga! Being a flower girl can be stressful! This is how they coped with the building tension. Great form on the downward & upward dog, don't you think?