Balmforth Christmas Party

It has been a family tradition as long as I can remember to have our annual Balmforth family Christmas party on Christmas Eve. As we all have gotten older, and our families have grown, we have moved the date to at least SOMETIME in December. It is truly one of my favorite events. I have been blessed with such wonderful relatives. They have been such strong examples, supporters, and friends in my life. The great thing is...that we ALL know what we mean to each other. We ALL know how important maintaining our connection is. And we ALL know that we WILL do it. Santa visited our party and even brought the kids presents! We had a WONDERFUL traditional dinner and even got to decorate gingerbread cookies. As we went around the room and each were able to share what we were thankful for, many memories of times past were also shared. A DVD was shared of our old Christmas parties. It was so fun to see how much each of us has grown and changed. I LOVE my family!

Here Comes SANTA ClauSe!

Santa made his yearly visit to Shelley this past Monday. Jake was busy watching a football game, so Lys, LUke, and I headed over to give him our lists. It was a lovely evening...a little cold, but we didn't have to wait in line hardly at all. We even got some hot chocolate! Luke would not let go of Allysa. As she giggled over the GRASP he had on her, she tried to maneuver enough to sit on Santa's lap without slipping or dropping Luke. What a great sister she is. I think she'll get bonus points from Santa for that!

Thanksgiving in Island Park

For Thanksgiving, my entire family spent time up in Island Park at our cabins. I took my kids up Friday for some fun-filled activities! Luckily, there was enough snow to enjoy some tubing! How lucky we are to have such a great family, great cousins, such a great location to visit, and somewhere to crash while we are there. There is nothing like escaping to the TREES! We love it up here!

DisNeYLanD!!!

Allysa and Jake had such a fun opportunity to FINALLY go to Disneyland. Their dad surprised them with a trip. And they even got to go with some of their favorite cousins, Kennedy and Baey! They also had their first plane ride. I am sure it was a quick weekend for them, but they packed in two fun days at Disneyland and even a trip to the beach. I'm so HaPPy that they were able to experience the fun that they did. Allysa took the camera and captured quite a few fun memories. WE are hoping to make it SOUTH again SOON!