It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

And that's why I haven't been on my blog in so long! My goodness we've been busy! The week after we got back from Austin, we were so glad to welcome Jeremy & JaeLyn to Texas! Kent came down with them and you know Ben was in HEAVEN! We had a great weekend - wish we didn't have to send Kent back home, but we thought his wife and kids might miss him if we didn't! :) But we're glad that the J's are here to stay, it's been fun to have them around. We don't see them tons, but enough to keep up with niece demand! We had a great Thanksgiving and then I had a marathon shopping day on Black Friday. I've never been out the day after Thanksgiving but it really wasn't too bad and I got a lot done, it was good! I would like to have it be known that I pulled off another surprise! Not as good as surprising my sister in Utah, but I surprised her with 'Riverdance' instead and it was GREAT! Riverdance is so her...it was amazing. I was feeling a bit like Chandler Bing in his thinking that it's kinda freaky how 'their legs flail about as if independent from their bodies'!!! Those people can seriously move, very impressive. What was more impressive to me was the music - I can't identify much with the dancers but I sure can with the musicians and the music was crazy fast, it was beyond amazing. So yes, it was a fun night - girls night with my mom and sister - and I even pulled off the surprise. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Bandaid! Love you!!! Then this past weekend, Sydney and I went to see the Nutcracker ballet with my mom and sister. The highlight of my evening was when I took Syd to the restroom during intermission - I was asking her what her favorite part was so far and she said something (that I don't remember because the next part was so memorable) and then followed that with "But Mom, why wasn't that guy wearing any pants?" We were in the restroom and I laughed out loud and wondered how many other moms heard it. It was HILARIOUS! I tried to explain that he was wearing tights and that seemed to satisfy her but I can see why she thought that - those tights don't leave much to the imagination! Anyway, it was funny.
Last week we also go to put on our little Joy School play for a sweet friend of mine from Church. Her name is Marilyn and I love her dearly. I've gotten to know her a lot over the past couple of years and she LOVES kids. We were so glad to get to see her and I think she felt the same. It was really fun to bring a smile to her face. Here are the kids with Marilyn.
At some point we also got to watch Sydney do her dances that she has been learning over the past couple months in my sister's dance class. They did a cute job, we're looking forward to the next class that will start back up in January.
And lastly, tell me this isn't so stinkin' cute! My girls are so fun, I love them! This is their Christmas picture - Mallory and her 'cheese face' kinda complicate things but this is just her right now so it will be fun to look back on this!

Adventures in Austin...

We had such a great weekend visiting with Heath & Adrienne! It was nice to get away from home for a couple days and enjoy the company of those we love and miss so much! The trip down really wasn't bad considering that we purposely traveled during Malla's nap time but she only slept the first 20 minutes! That's right, we weren't even out of Fort Worth yet when she woke up, nice! Sydney cried about the first hour of our trip home about how much she misses her Halla and Xhaxhi - we tried explaining to her that they only live 3 hours away so we can go back down again sometime and also that they will be up here for Thanksgiving next week - but alas, when you are 4, it seems as though the world is ending! Anyway, here are some pics from our weekend! Thx for a great time guys, we had a blast! (and hopefully we didn't drive you too nuts!!!)
Keeping the girls happy on the way down - we haven't driven anywhere further than the airport since we had Sydney so I didn't know what to expect with this trip. Luckily the girls were pretty good - but I brought popcorn just in case!!!

Look who we ran into once we got to Austin!!!! The Mathis's! OK, we didn't just 'run into' them, we knew they were there too! They were headed down to San Antonio for the weekend so they stopped in Austin and had dinner with all of us! It was so fun - as you can see, Sydney and Audrey had a blast!! :)

The girls' favorite place at the apartment is, and always has been, wherever Heath's guitars are. Friday night when we got home from eating, the girls had a little jam session with their Xhaxhi!!

Saturday mid-morning we headed downtown to see the UT campus where Heath goes to school. It was so fun! Of course Adrienne had to buy the girls a t-shirt so they'd fit in! Is this the perfect Sydney shirt or what! :)

Takin' a walk to the UT Tower. This is the girls with Heath & Adrienne, so cute!!!

The UT Tower...Adrienne assured us that it would be lit up burnt orange later that day because they were going to stomp Baylor, and they did!

Hook 'em Horns! Such a cute picture, my little Longhorn!

The UT crew...

Saturday night we took our traditional Breinholt trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Every time we've taken Sydney there, Heath & Adrienne have come with us so now it's just tradition that we go with them! They had given us a bunch of ticket vouchers from when they had gone a couple months ago and then we ended up with tons of tickets on this trip again - so Sydney made a haul! Here she is with her loot! So got a cool prize this time because we had 3800 tickets! :) So she picked this cool little Tinkerbell toy (that I now don't have to get her for Christmas, wahoo!) and of course Adrienne & I got cotton candy. She is so excited about this Tink thing, she's been playing with it non-stop since we walked in the door last night!

Thanks for so much fun guys, we had a blast! Can't wait to do it again!!!

Checking in....

Not much going on here, just the usual rat race! :) We have been keeping busy with...well...all kinds of stuff and yet not much at all! We are heading down to Austin next weekend to see Heath & Adrienne and it's going to be a BLAST! Plus Jeremy & JaeLyn are moving down here in a couple weeks so we're super excited about that too...I would like to point out that their move will tip the balance in favor of the Texas Breinholts once again! We're back, baby!!!! There will be 3 in Texas, 2 in Utah (only 1 after the new year because Kami will head back up to Idaho), and 1 in Kentucky (until February). If we could just get Kent and his family down here we might have a shot at getting Mom & Dad B. back!!!! Well, maybe not, they love Utah and rightly so, all of their family is there - but TX would have all the grandkids...hmm, it would definitely be a close race I think! We miss them..... :( Alright well off to check everyone else's blogs. Have a GREAT week!

Fall Fun

We've been busy beavers the past week or two...here are some pics to catch y'all up!

This was a couple weeks ago I think - tell me you don't wish you could have cleaned up this mess!!!! :) Note to self: don't give little ones tortilla soup and applesauce all at the same time, it makes a ROYAL mess!!!

Our Church had a Fall Festival last weekend (I think! Time is kindof running together for me!) and Sydney (and Malla too) had a blast on the bounce houses!!! She loves to jump!

Earlier this week Syd's Joy School class (and some smaller siblings) did a quick Halloween parade to show off their costumes! She had SO much fun!!! (Yes, she is TinkerBell)

Friday night we carved our pumpkins. We used to do this every year with Heath & Adrienne but sadly they are not here this year...they're down in Austin now. So we pulled in some new recruits! My Mom and my sister hard at work on the pumpkins!

The finished products (thanks to patterns that came with the cutting kits) and our traditional group picture, less my Mom (she had homework so went home before we were done). Our pumpkin was much cuter this year than in years past; however, I missed the Breinholt ears that Ben usually gives it! Normally he cuts out little half-circles on the sides and then flips them out to make ears and it's so cute...not this year :(

We didn't have Trunk-or-Treat this year at our Church so we just went up our street and back. Here is my pretty ballerina! This kid is a garbage gut! The whole time we were trick-or-treating she always had some piece of candy in her mouth trying to chew through the wrapper to get what goodie was on the inside! She succeeded on a Crunch bar and it was MESS! Little stinker!!!

Isn't she the cutest Tink ever! The best part was that we already had this dress-up outfit so her costume this year was FREE! Well, technically not free, we got it for her for her bday, but it was free at Halloween time. We went trick-or-treating with Crysta, Graycie Lou, and Bubby and Syd was in heaven! She and Grayce held hands the whole time and had a blast...thx for going with us y'all, it was way more fun than going on our own! Same time, same place next year!?!?!?

Every year I've taken the girls down to my parents' house after we get done trick-or-treating so they can impress Grandpa and Pippin with their costumes and get a little more candy! My sister was having a Halloween party there so we got to see her all dressed up too - every year she is something way cool (she's been a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, an Incredible, and all sorts of other lovely and creative things!) and she was Princess Leia this year. Don't you love her buns - even though you can't see them very well - she is so creative! (And no, I'm not talking about her buns buns, I'm talking about the ones in her hair!!!)

We had a fun night out but I'm glad it's over...all that much closer to my favorite time of year, Christmas!!! Happy Halloween y'all!!!

Blue Angels, baby!

The Alliance Airshow was this weekend and we got Blue Angels this year! I look forward to this every Fall - we live just a mile or two from Alliance airport and so we get to watch these guys practice for almost a week before the show itself. We can see a good chunk of their show from our house but then on Saturday we go sit off this little side road by our neighborhood that has a perfectly clear view to see EVERYTHING! I love it! I just get chills when these jets fly over, there's something so cool and patriotic about it. They literally fly right over our house and they are so low that it rattles the windows - it's so fun! They put on a great show every year - well they switch off with the Thunderbirds - but whoever we get is always amazing and this weekend was no exception! Someday I want to actually go to the airport to see the entire Airshow but Sydney is afraid of the loud noises so it'll have to wait until my girls are a little older. In the meantime, I feel so lucky to get to see this every year from the comfort of my own home. It's AMAZING!!!! P.S. these are obviously not my pictures, they are so good! My Dad emailed them to us so I'm guessing they came from a buddy at his work but I'm not for sure...props to you, whoever took these, they are great! Isn't that crazy how close these four planes fly together?!?!?! Ben says they are 6 feet apart...can you imagine!

A week of fun and silliness!

Alright so we just got back from Utah last night and I have about 200 totally hilarious pictures! I will spare you and just put up a few (relatively speaking!)...it was such a funny trip! Kami's wedding was BEAUTIFUL, and so was her reception. I think my favorite part of her wedding was when we were in the Temple. All of the brothers and sisters sat on the front row and there were exactly enough seats for us - I looked down the row and there was ALL of us except Ron (who is in Kentucky on his mission), it was really cool. The reception was perfect, it was fun to see old TX friends who now live in Utah. So now we are home (and didn't have an 11 hour plane trip like last time, thank you very much!) and just doing the post-Utah detox thing....it's not my favorite but it's worth the fun trip! :) Here we go!!!!

The day after we got there we went to pick Bandaid up in Provo and everyone came! It was Kandace's first time to the Creamery...and yes, all 3 of us finished off those big ol' yummy double dip cones! Notice how Bandaid is eyeing mine - my scoops were bigger than hers! :)

Speaking of yummy ice cream - this is the King Kong Kone from Macy's grocery store! That's right, my friends, grocery store. If I lived in Utah I would be 40 pounds heavier because I would ALWAYS shop at Macy's and have this ice cream while I was there!!!! YUM!

This is Syd and her favorite cousin, Kaleb! They are just a couple months apart and always have so much fun together; aren't they sweet!!!

Yes, you are seeing this correctly....we went to the boys' soccer games one evening and there was a park there - so who wouldn't want to play on the toys! This is Pooh Bear, Ben, and Bandaid hanging upside down from the bars...it was WAY funny! There might have been a few people staring at them! :)

These were Mallory's two favorite people during this trip - she LOVED her some Uncle Pooh and Aunt JaeLyn...she even helped them make their famous salsa!

This is our traditional kissy-lips picture; I think I probably have about 20 of these pictures of Bandaid and I over the years!

Me and most of my favorite gals....before Kami came out of the Temple. JaeLyn, Bandaid, me, Kandace, and Adrienne.

Kami and Chapan - congrats y'all! Aren't they so cute together!!!!

Me and my sisters! Kandace, Adrienne, Kami, me, Bandaid, and JaeLyn. Love ya ladies!!!!


The original Breinholts and their new addition....

I have a really cute picture from my wedding of my Dad with Kami and Bandaid under his arms like this while he was trying to keep them warm - it was an equally cold and windy day!!!

And this was THE funniest moment of the day. Kami was showing off her pink shoes and one of the boys jokingly pulled up his pant legs to show off his shoes too! Then it all took off from there. Oh my word, we laughed so hard as you can imagine!!! These boys are so fun, what a hoot!

The girls all ready for the Reception and cheesing it up for the camera! Sydney, Mallory, and Breanne.

Kami and her neices and nephews - (on the left: Mallory & Breanne, Kaleb & Landon), (on the right: Braidon and Sydney)

Brotherly love for Kami! Don't you love the cardboard cutout of Ron!!!!

Kami being watched over by her big, bad, brothers!!!!

All the brothers holding up the Bride - Ben's mom has this picture from every single wedding but it's always been the boys holding up their newest sister. This time it was all of them (plus Chapan and his brother) holding up their own sister!

We did a sisters-holding-up-Ron picture! :)

Someone farted!!!! :) Just kidding! Adrienne said something and made me laugh and well, my laugh is pretty contagious so it just took off!!!

We miss our Ron-Dude! Sydney LOVES him and I can't wait for Mallory to meet him!

The girls with their Auntie...aren't they all beautiful!!!!

My pretty Sydney...these were Bandaid's flowers but Syd had them most of the night!

We tried to do one last picture of all the little girls with Kami before the Reception started and they were SO DONE! I love this...both babies are crying, Sydney could care less about the picture because she was looking at pretty flowers, and Kaylynn (Chapan's neice) was just chillin'!

Bandaid dancing with the girls at the Reception....

One fun thing about the reception was seeing some friends who used to live in TX but now live in Utah. Here is one of my favorite people ever....my Balissa!!!! It was so fun to see you!!!

As you can see, we had a terrific time, it was such a blast (and I left so many things out)! We miss our Utah family so much and always have such a good time when we're up there. Love y'all and thanks for the good times! Congrats Kami & Chapan, we're so happy for you!!!

And the fun begins....

Well we made it to Utah - Sydney only asked 'if we're just almost to Salt Lake yet' about 400 times so you know, it's still ringing in my ears! I can't imagine doing the car drive here...oh my, that would be a LONG two days! Malla did pretty well, she was restless and oh-so-tired from being up late last night and then up early this morning. We had a couple near meltdowns but it was Kettle Korn to the rescue! Great idea Ben!!!! Anyway, now we are here and having fun with Ben's family and it only gets better from here! Saturday is Kami's wedding! I'll post pictures when we get home! Peace out....

An update...of sorts....

Not too much to report here - I've got a bit of a head cold so I'm trying to get over it and not pass it along to my kids. I'm feeling better today than I was last night so that is great news. I just had a small moment of panic this morning about flying to Utah next week for Kami's wedding. All the people you keep hearing about on the news that die from the flu - they are people like me with 'other health complications'! Only they are probably much worse than me with my compromised immune system...but when I hear them say that I hear my name in my head! I will admit that I've turned into a bit of a germ-a-phobe over the years that I've been on Enbrel and I'm ok with that...flying kinda oogs me out anyway and flying during flu season just complicates it that much more. I had an appt with my Rheumatologist this morning and mentioned my fear to her and she said to just have my stock of Purell and sani-wipes handy and do my best! I know it will be fine, just makes me nervous. The last time we flew home from Utah was the huge swine flu outbreak earlier this year...we need to start traveling in the summer! :)

Crysta's girls are up and down. One will have a bad day, then be good; all the while the other is good and then flops to bad. It's REALLY hard on Crysta and I wish I could fix it for her. As a mom, I can't even begin to imagine. All I can do is continue to pray for the babies and for her well-being and give her a big hug when I'm lucky enough to catch her home. Please keep their family in your prayers.

I'll end this with a funny story sure to make you smile...today after I had sat in the waiting room for over an hour, then had my appt, then waited some more so I could have my bloodwork done, I was finally done and on my way out. This sweet little old man tapped me on the shoulder and said "Um, Ma'am, you have a gummy bear stuck to your behind." I have a what stuck to my what!!! So I check one side and he politely said "nope, it's on the other side!" I feel my other cheek and lo and behold, two mushy, chewed up, RED fruit snacks! LOVELY! So I'm peeling them off amid the giggles from all the other old people sitting there witnessing my plight - its always kindof funny to be a 30-year-old hanging out with the 80-year-olds but I love old people so it's ok - good times! There's nothing like having a bunch of people (especially when most of them are the age of your Grandmas) staring at you as you peel huge red fruit snacks off you butt and wondering how long you've been wearing them! It happened during one of the waiting room times, that was when Mallory was working on her pack of fruit snacks, so I'm going to hope it was the 2nd time around! :) Makes you want to come with me next time, doesn't it!

Baked potato soup for dinner today....yummy!

Only me....

I am the queen of crazy sunburns! Can you believe that it is just about October and we were at the park for no more than two hours today (most of which was very overcast) and I got a sunburn!!! Only I can go all summer with barely a burn and then pull one out right now...my sister laughed at me when she came over this afternoon. I'm tellin' ya, this one hurts! It's my face, chest, neck, back of my neck, and arms. It reminds me of when I went back to Seattle one summer to see Mel and the first day up there I got really burned...REALLY burned! All I heard from people that entire trip was "You live in Texas and came to Seattle to get a sunburn!" Seriously! The only sunny day my whole trip and I got burned...this is my life! Well laugh it up all you tanners; at least my skin won't be leather when I'm old! I may end up with skin cancer because of these lovely sun burns but at least I'll be soft and smooth! :) Can I just say that it sucks to be pasty! (and also, please disregard the freaky look on my face as well as the huge nose...some angles are better than others for us Andersons!!!!)

Crysta's Baby Shower

This Saturday was pretty crazy but super fun! We got to head up to the hospital on Saturday morning and celebrate with Crysta! It was awesome to be there and spoil her a little; especially after how hard the past few weeks have been. Congrats again on your beautiful girls, they are precious! And thanks to everyone for helping out, it was only a hit because of all of you! We had all Crysta-friendly food so it was a bit of a hodge podge - I knew my list of Crysta foods would come in handy one day! But it did put my theory to rest that if it tastes good she can't eat it - it was all edible Crysta food and it was all super yummy! Good food, good friends, good times....and good gifts, she got lots of way cute baby stuff!

Welcome cute little twins!!! We're glad you are safely here.....

Silly Crysta! I love the balloons on her wheel chair!!!

This is her cake. She is allergic to most yummy things - cake included - so I made her a gluten free Boston Cream Pie (the square cake in the middle) and the rest of us had cute little pink cupcakes! Thx for the polka dot (chocolate chips) idea, Christi, they turned out way cute!

About to dig in to her first bite of cake in YEARS!!!! And no, she didn't eat the whole thing - I sent most of it home with Chris to put in the freezer for future consumption!!!

Moms and daughters - Chris' mom, me, Crysta, my mom. And can I just point out how amazing Crysta looks! You'd never know she had been on bed rest and just had babies....you look beautiful dear friend!!!! Thanks for partying with us, it was a fun way to end your hospital stay I think! :)