Dec 23 - 29 minus Christmas Day

So Bubba Flew in on Sunday, he will spend Christmas and New Years with us. We are so happy he his here. I think he is enjoying Cali. He has already made some new friends and is enjoying time with his dad and his brothers. Every night after G would go to bed the boys would spend some time trying to beat Super Mario Brothers. It is fun to watch them hang out. Of course Eli had to join in the action. I;m sure I was busy baking, sewing, or wrapping presents. Oh, yes, Marcus is wearing shorts, they just got scrunched up in the couch, hahaha!

Just a little random of my baby boy. Notice the age appropriate toys...(can you sense my sarcasm?) So I'm not winning mom of the year in this particular moment. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get a hot shower. I love how much he is growing and I think he is getting cuter with every day. Maybe that is just his little personality starting to come through, but either way he is adorable :)
 
SO for the last couple of years we have done a Christmas Eve shin dig with some of our close friends. This year was no different. We met in the early afternoon so everyone had plenty of time to do their own Christmas Eve traditions. We have chosen appetizers to be our meal of choice for the last couple of years. This year I did my normal Christmas treats: Spritz, turtles & almond roca, plus a seven layer dip, veggies and crackers with hummus, cheese ball, stuffed mushrooms, pecan pie, and a key lime pie. Everyone who came also brought an appetizer and can I just tell you, we had quite the feast. It was just the right amount of food and fun. Since I cannot be close to my family over the holidays, good friends are a great stand in.
On The 27th we packed up for the day and headed out to Sea World. I had been before, but it had been a long time. No one else had been and since military can go to the park free once per year, this was our choice of entertainment for the day. I have to say it was way better than I remembered. The shows were awesome and the boys loved them. Even Marcus jr liked the shows and he is at that age where only cool rides are fun. Of course we saw Shamu, but we also loved the dolphin show and the sea lions were so funny. The boys got to touch star fish and sting rays. I can't wait to go back again this year.
 Just a random before bed picture of my Garrett. This kid is either driving me to the crazy house before bed or he is sweet as pie. On this night he as being such a little love. I just wanted to capture this moment as they feel like they are fleeting as of late.
I spent Friday evening planning out what we were wearing for family pictures on Saturday. Man, the bigger the family gets the harder it is to style everyone and now that I have an older one who is very picky about what he wears it is even harder. I narrowed it down to four looks. I guess you will have to wait till the final pics come out to see what we all wore. I actually really loved laying it all out. It was fun to take pics, send them to people, and get their opinions.
 
While I was out picking up a few items for pictures I cam across the perfect aqua bed spread. I had been keeping my eye out for something I liked in just the right colors. Once I saw the bed spread and the price of it, I put together the look I wanted with pillows. Thanks to Marshalls and Target this is what I came up with. Marcus liked it and he had some opinions himself. This is not the final product, but it is in the right direction. I love the new look. Now I just have to get the courage to paint my night stands. The red is clashing a bit.
 
So living in Southern California where it only rains like 30 days out of the whole year, you would be able to plan an outdoor photo shoot and not have to worry about rain. It was just our luck that it rained on our photo shoot. We got some family ones and a few of the boys, but we didn't get to do our outfit change. I was a little bummed. hopefully we got something we can use for the family shot. Our photographers have graciously said they would take a few more in a couple of days in their home studio. I am so grateful to have such amazing friends who can help capture our family in the moment. Since I was a little bummed, Daddy took us all out for Yogurtland to get some tasty treats.