Happy Birthday, Sadie Beth!

Anyone who has a birthday close to Christmas knows how hard it is to plan a party this time of year. Sadie is one of those unfortunate souls.  Last year we managed to throw together a family party at the last minute, and it was fine.  But since school started, Sadie has been planning her birthday party with her friends, so I knew we weren't getting off the hook easy this year.  Our December was super busy, and before I knew it, her birthday was here and there was no party in sight. :(  Mother of the year, I'm not.  That's when I asked Sadie what kind of party she wanted to have, and a small miracle happened.  That sweet child said she wanted to have her party at Chuck E. Cheese. 

Do you know how easy it is to plan a party at Chuck E. Cheese?  Super. Easy.  Within 30 minutes, I had the party reserved online and invitations sent. I ordered a cookie cake and relaxed.

 Sadie was so excited the day of the party!  She had some great buddies join her.

 I love this picture on so many levels!  You might be wondering where her little girl friends are.  Apparently she prefers to hang out with the boys.  And what sweet little boys they are!

 We were so excited to have PeeWee Herman Ryan be our host at Chuck E. Cheese.  He was really nice to the kids and super attentive.

 I like this picture primarily because the last time we were at Chuck E.'s both my children wouldn't get within 50 feet of him.  Jackson is still not a fan of large costumed animals, but Sadie figured since he was throwing a party for her, she might need to show him some love.

The last great party moment was the Ticket Blaster...Sadie let Jackson join her in this wind tunnel full of tickets.  Let's just say they didn't quite get the memo about grabbing the tickets while you were inside.  They thought it was super cool, though, and PeeWee Ryan helped them out in the end.

It was a great day, and baby girl got exactly the party that she wanted, which was all that mattered anyway.

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas this year. 

 The hardest part was getting three kids to smile at the same time.

 It's getting easier to get two kids to look like they like each other, though.

 We got out money's worth out of Annabelle's Santa outfit...it was so stinkin' cute on her we wore it everywhere!

 This is my nephew Josh.  He's "the cool nephew."  Annabelle likes him already.

 The thing I love most about Christmas is how excited my kids get about every single gift.

 The celebration ran a little long for my dad... ;)

...and to all a good night.

Angel Fire 2010

After Christmas last year, Kevin and I were talking about how we really wanted to spend Christmas somewhere in the mountains, surrounded by lots of snow.  We started looking around the internet for potential cabins that we could rent during Christmas break the following year.  We went to http://www.vrbo.com/ and entered the words "Angel Fire Cabin" and this is what came up:

To say a cabin like this would be our dream home would be an understatement.  It was awesome.  But it slept 22...a tad on the big side for our little family of four.  That's when we got the idea of rounding up the whole Peden gang for a family vacation...once we sold Mom and Dad on the idea (which took very little selling since vacationing in the mountains is one of their very favorite things), the rest is history.

Of course, the year brought about a few changes...Annabelle came along, and then Jones.  Annabelle was old enough to travel, but since Jones was only a few weeks old, Kim, Jed, Cody, Karen and Josh stayed in Oklahoma...which made us really sad, but we totally understood.  And then Mark got a new job the week before we left, so he couldn't go either.  But the rest of the crew made the trek, and boy was it worth it!

 Sadie was not a fan of skiing, but playing in the snow around the cabin was right up her alley!

 Jackson loved skiing!  Okay, maybe loved is a strong word.  He did great.  Sometimes the wind was a little too strong for him, and sometimes it was a little too cold, but he was a trooper and had a great time!

 Just like the rest of the Carter clan, Eli picked up skiing right away!  I think Jackson was inspired by his cousin's enthusiasm!

I wish I had more pictures on my computer, but we loaded the rest on Kevin's laptop, and it's at work with him.    If you're ever looking for a wonderful place to house a large group, this cabin is for you.  It's ski in, ski out, has tons of room and the owner is very easy to work with. It was a great vacation.  One we hope to do again soon.