Lights of the Ozarks

Last night we drove down to Fayetteville for "Lights of the Ozarks". It was so beautiful. They cover Fayetteville square in half a million lights and its just gorgeous. 

The first thing we did was go get in line for the carriage ride. 

Here is Bailey, so excited to ride in the carriage.

Love these two.

This year we rode in the "Cinderella" carriage. It was completely adorable and Bailey was in HEAVEN!

Here are the carriages pulling around the corner. 

Climbing in- aren't they cute?

All aboard for a dream come true. Bailey loved it soooo much. 

My boys

Bailey and I aboard the carriage. She couldn't stop squirming to look all around her. 

Our view from the carriage. 

After our ride was over Bailey said "That was my most favorite game ever. Let's do it again!!!"

We didn't do it again, though, so we had to cheer her up by getting up close and personal with the lights. 

There were so many beautiful light displays. I love this tradition. 

I hope we can continue to go back. It's so awesome and if you don't do the carriage ride, its completely free! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Fun with Mimi

Mimi was able to fly over for a quick visit on Monday. She got in around bedtime on Monday night, but the kids were too excited to go to sleep. So we all stayed up and waited for Mimi to come and they were so happy to see her. 

The next day was our crazy day. We had swim in the morning, lunch at chick-fil-a and then home for naps.After short naps, we went to ballet, hobby lobby and then tumbling. I had started a crockpot dinner, so when we got home at 6:40 pm it was time to eat, then baths and bed. I think we may have worn Mimi out. 

The next day Tanner went to preschool and Mimi and the kids and I hung out around the house. We picked up Christmas lights and worked really hard to get them all up. The house looked great when we finally finished. And I only thought I was going to fall and die a couple of times. Those roof lines are steeper than they look. 

Wednesday night Chris took his last final for his masters degree. He's now a proud graduate with a Masters in Business. We celebrated after his final with a delicious dessert Mimi made for us- bread pudding- and we watched a movie together. So proud of my hubby and all his hard work. 

Thursday morning we made sugar cookies with Mimi. She has an amazing recipe and the kids loved getting to use the cookie cutters. 

They weren't the prettiest cookies, but they were delicious. 

And little Tucker chilled in his high chair with a cookie cutter, happy as he could be. 

We sure love that Mimi. 

After the cookies baked, we loaded up in the car and drove over to Branson to go to Silver Dollar City. Some friends invited us with their buddy passes and we had so much fun. 

Friday we decorated the cookies we had baked the day before. Tanner declared himself the "best cookie decorator ever" and we had to agree. 

He was so proud of his creations. 

Bailey was declared "the best cookie eater ever" because she couldn't finish decorating a single cookie without taking a bite out of it. She loved it. 

Here are the few that I got decorated. I wasn't nearly as fast and efficient as Tanner, but together we got the job done. 

Mimi had to leave early because her mom, Grandma Bertie, wasn't doing well. I am lucky enough to know a wonderful woman who works for our local airport. She was able to give Mimi one of her guest passes and got her booked on a late flight Friday night that got her home around 10 pm into Eugene, Oregon. It was such a miracle. The flight was super cheap and she rode first class. 

It was such a relief for her to get home to see her momma. She was able to spend a few days with her before Grandma Bertie passed away. It was a hard loss, but the relief we feel for her makes it easier. She was miserable and now she's been reunited with her loved ones. 

We are grateful Mimi was able to come visit even if it only last a few days. We sure love her and can't wait to see our Oregon family again. 

Breakfast with Santa & Christmas Parade

Tanner's preschool hosted a "Breakfast with Santa" fundraiser this morning. It was pretty cute. It was a pancake breakfast with sausage and juice. The first thing we did though was see Santa. 

The kids were beyond excited to see him. They couldn't wait to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. This Santa was awesome, complete with a real beard. At first Tanner wasn't sure how he felt about the short beard. But he warmed up and ended up loving him.
He ran up to sit with him at least 3 times. 

Here is one of all three kids with Santa. 

I love the candids of Tucker checking out Santa's beard and the kids talking to him. 

Then here are the individual shots with Santa. 

Tucker's first time meeting Santa and he wasn't worried at all. He just smiled the whole time. 

Bailey and Santa. She was so funny with him. She talked and talked. 

And Tanner, who is a pro at sitting on Santa's lap. He also told Santa, in very specific terms, what he wanted. 

After breakfast we walked over to Bentonville square for the Christmas parade. The weather was in the low 60's and beautiful ( this time last year we were covered in snow)

We enjoyed watching the parade together. This little guy enjoyed dancing to the live band that played while the parade set up

Anxiously awaiting the floats' arrival. 

It was a cute parade with some really cool floats. Of course, when I put my camera down to hold Tucker, all the really awesome floats passed by. Oh well, Tucker fell asleep in my arms so that was a bonus. I love me some Tucker snuggles. 

We had so much fun and really enjoyed the amazing weather!