Saying Good-Bye

It was inevitable!
All good things must end!
We had to send Jie back to London!

But we are so glad that she could come for a visit. Hopefully, it doesn't take us 12 years to see her again! Eric is talking about a trip to London.... but we will see.
Eric and I are dressed up because after saying our "good-byes" we were going to go to the temple. Aila had other things in mind, because seconds after this picture was taken she vomited all over Eric's suit. The only article of clothing he had at the house was his swimming suit. We didn't think the temple presidency would let him in the temple... so we stayed home with our little Aila. Poor girl, she does look miserable!

Bowling

The day after Christmas, Eric's brother, Josh & family, came into town. We ate yummy fajitas and enjoyed spending time together. Kinsley immediately attached (literally) herself to her cousin Logan and made him carry her around like this the majority of the evening.

Later that evening, we took Jie bowling with my family. Our scores need vast improvement.
The kids did good bowling for the first 5 frames but then they got bored taking turns so they headed over to the arcades.

Aila was on cloud nine... do you see the hardwood floor? It must me a bum scooters dream because she had a BLAST scooting on it!!! We had to stop her, multiple times, from going down the lane after the bowling ball.

Christmas Day 2011

Santa found us at Eric's parents house this year, which is surprising because there were moments where I was POSITIVE Kinsley was on the naughty list this year. I guess the man in the big red suit knows best. On Christmas morning we had to wake up both girls. Apparently, all of the partying was starting to wear them out. Kinsley was groggy then suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head and she said, "Santa came last night maybe he left me a present." And we all proceeded her downstairs.

For Christmas Santa brought Kinsley an easle and Dora slippers. In her stocking he put candy, a recorder, a princess flashlight, a Veggie Tale movie, and a movie about Nephi. Eric and I got her a Christmas dress, some clothes, church shoes, pajamas, a book about a fairy princess named Kinsley, and a dry erase school/quiet book made by me. Aila got her a bubble gum machine.

For Christmas Santa brought Aila Violet (the dog), and little people bus. In her stocking there was a movie (The Fox and the Hound), candy, socks, and a recorder. Eric and I got her a Christmas dress, boots, an outfit, pajamas, and a book. From Kinsley, she got a little dog that you pull around on the floor. If you can't tell, Aila LOVES dogs!

Eric made me this cute picture and put it in a frame. Everyday he writes a reason he loves me. He also gave me a piggy bank with a note that said he was going to start selling his plasma and he will put the money in the bank. I tell people he gave me blood for Christmas. =) We got Eric some much needed jeans, a watch, and a personal trainer/nutritionist (me... we'll see how that works out!).We set a record time and had everyone ready for church in 30 mins! Church was wonderful. I loved all of the musical numbers. It was great to be reminded that Christ is the reason for the season. After church we went to my Grandpa and Grandma Joneses to have our traditional Christmas dinner. Sadly, attendance was a little low this year (only about 50 people). I think it would be awesome if we could ALLLLL make it one of these years. Kinsley was in heaven with her cousins and new found cousins.

Christmas Eve

Since it is an "off year" but we were all in town, my mom had us all over on Christmas Eve for lunch. My mom is amazing and she really outdid herself this year. The food was so yummy! After lunch we drew parts for the Christmas pageant: Kinsley and I were shepherds, Eric was a wiseman, and Aila was taking a much needed nap. My dad read the nativity story from the bible and we acted out our parts.
Kinsley was SO excited to get a "Tangled" doll (that is what she calls it). When she noticed she also got princess jammies she immediately stripped, put them on, and refused to take them off for the rest of the day.

Already in love with her baby Cinderella doll.

Decorating cookies for Santa.

My mom got a bounce house for Christmas. The kids think it if the funnest thing e-ver. Kinsley asked my dad to blow it up so she could jump in it everyday. The parents loved it because it made the house less noisy.

That evening we went to Eric's parent's house where Brent told the Christmas story and let Kinsley put the felt pictures where they belonged.

A Christmas surprise... Aila took her first steps.... albeit a lot of those are as she is falling, but we are recording it as her first steps.

Lights @ Rock Creek

For three years, Eric's family hosted exchange students. Jie was their first one and my personal favorite. She spent her early years in China, then moved to Germany, came to Burley for a few months, and now lives in London, working at a bank. When my family went to Germany, she met us at the airport and invited us to stay with her family for a day. After being gone for 11 years, Jie decided to come spend Christmas in Burley! When she told an airline worker where she was going, he said, "Burley, Idaho!?!?! Why on earth would you want to go there!?!?!?!" Apparently, he has never been to Burley. =) Who wouldn't want to go there?!?
One evening we took Jie to see the lights at Rock Creek. Of course, we picked the COLDEST evening to go. Eric and I literally ran through the lights. By the time we got back to our car our poor kids were frozen.But they had fun seeing Santa Clause, eating candy canes, and seeing the camel.