Guitar Hero 3 Part 1

I caught Ryan on tape playing Guitar Hero 3 and making up his own words.

Ryan rocking out to Guitar Hero 3 Part 2

The Christmas Story

My niece, Meghan, decided that she wanted to be responsible for the story of the Savior's birth this year. She dressed all of the kids and then was the narrator for the whole production. She even had musical numbers throughout the program.
Lizzie, Maddy(both angels), Logan (wise man)
Ryan, Benny, Ammon (the shepherds)
Trevor, Logan, Jacob (the wise men)
The whole cast!
Tyler was supposed to be a sheep, but he was not very cooperative...he did love acting like a monkey though.

Christmas Fun

All of the cousins getting together for a Christmas Eve pajama shot.
Christmas morning.
Ryan checking out his new bike.
The boys playing with their new little people garage.
Jumping on for a ride with Daddy on his new Longboard.

You Better Watch Out...You Better Not Cry

Tyler got his most personal encounter with Santa Claus today. Aimee's (my sister-in-law) uncle came over and surprised the kids with a little visit. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to allow the boys to sit on his lap without feeling rushed because 20 other people are in line behind you awaiting their turn. As you can see Tyler was not a big fan. He warmed up to him later when he was a safe distance away.

Ryan would sit on his lap, but didn't want to stay for long. I knew my chances of getting both of them together at the same time was pretty slim. It was very sweet of him to come by and give the kids such an intimate visit. Thanks Santa Claus! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Ryan's Christmas Program

Ryan had a Christmas program last night at his preschool. He was very excited about singing in front of a lot of people. There were so many people there that it was standing room only.

Before there performance
Ryan was so focused on the song until....
the little girl next to him bumped him. Then of course he had to bump her back. She promptly returned the favor and this continued for a minute or two until they both focused again on singing their song.
Finishing strong! At least he was back in swing for the second part and he even did a little bow at the end. Never a dull moment with children. Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Rudolph Cupcakes

So I signed up to bring the Christmas treats for Ryan's preschool class. I couldn't just bring some boring cookies or heaven forbid a store bought item...so I decided that I was going to make cupcakes resembling Rudolph. I have been in the kitchen baking like crazy this week, so needless to say I was beginning to run out of steam after baking and creating 10 gift baskets, making dinner for a work party, dessert for a get together for Doug's family, 3 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange, 3 dozen cookies for Ryan's preschool program, goodies for our neighbors, and now cupcakes. I needed some reinforcements. Doug graciously offered to create the antlers for me...I am not sure he realized how challenging that would be...2 cuts later he was done. Thanks for your help babe!

It was 11:30 at night at this point and my bed was really calling to me.
The finished product. The kids in his class loved the cupcakes and so it was all worth it.

More Vocal Stylings by Ryan Reid

Sorry, I couldn't resist adding this one too.

Vocal Stylings of Ryan Reid

Ryan's preschool is having a Christmas program on Friday night...this is a little preview of what his class will be singing.

Christmas at Disneyland

One of my friends was telling me how wonderful the fireworks show was at Disneyland for Christmas, so I decided to brave it on a night when Doug was gone at Young Men's. It was a ton of fun. Both the boys were mesmerized by the show and I really enjoyed the Christmas music that accompanied it. You have to give it to Disney they definitely don't do things half way. The only nightmare part of the whole evening was navigating through hundreds of people that were trying to leave the park at the same time.
The boys taking their turn on the sleigh.
The boys enjoying the show! The highlight of the whole night was the pretend snow. Ryan LOVED that part...he has been asking me for weeks when it is going to snow for Christmas. It occurred to me last week that every book we read and every show we see about Christmas has snow in it. I have had to explain to him that it doesn't snow where we live because it is too warm. Needless to say, the whole fake snow thing really put a kink in my explanation, so we had to revise that statement...it doesn't snow anywhere by our house but Disneyland.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!!!

We met some friends down at Fashion Island this last Monday for Family Home Evening. The boys had their first opportunity to sit on Santa's lap this year...I think this was Tyler's first time ever. They thought it was pretty neat, but their favorite part was getting the coloring book.
After sitting on Santa's lap we headed down to the giant 75 foot Christmas tree that they have. You had to practically bend over backwards to take it all in. We had a great evening!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I love this time of year! We haven't put up a Christmas tree in two years, because we always seem to be gone for Christmas. We are going to be gone again this year, but I was adamant about putting one up this year for the boys. I found this tree at Lowe's for $12. It was a little sparse through the middle, but with a little doctoring, it turned out really nice. I mean we couldn't even buy a real one for that cheap so I thought it was a pretty good find.
My beautiful Nativity that my mom gave me a few years ago.
Ryan keeps asking me if Santa is coming tomorrow. I told him he had 24 more days to go. I am not sure his young little mind can wrap itself around that, but it seems to at least keep the questions at bay.

Our Advent calendar. The boys love pulling step stools over and checking it out everyday. So many fun doors to open. Tyler Bug getting into the Christmas spirit.
Enjoying some quality time under the tree.

Decorating the Christmas Tree. Tyler would grab ornaments and put them all on the same branch. He thought the whole thing was a lot of fun.
Ryan is so into Christmas this year. I come down stairs in the morning and he has already plugged in the lights on the mantle and Christmas tree. I could hardly keep up with him decorating the Christmas tree. He did a great job too, only a few ornaments ended up on the same branch. I can't wait for Christmas!!!!

Utah for Thanksgiving

We decided to head up to Utah this year for Thanksgiving. Doug has been planning to go hunting in Montana for months and I didn't want to stay home by myself, so he dropped me off in Utah to spend time with our friends, the McCune's and Grandma Reid. I had a great time spending time with everyone. Doug had a great time shooting a deer, and then hitting one with the car. Glad I wasn't there for that! :)
Ryan making Carmel pops with Grandma Reid. We had a lot of fun spending a few days with Grandma Reid and Aunt Darcy. Ryan got such a kick out of Grandma and all her silly songs.
Thanksgiving Dinner with Shelby, Becki, and the kids. The food turned out great and it was a fun and relaxing day.
Ryan and Jacob making their Gingerbread house. They had a great time decorating and an even better time eating the candy.
The finished project!

Tyler and Kegan at the farm in Thanksgiving Point.
Ryan and Jake enjoying the toys.
Tyler loved the farm. He was really excited about seeing this guy until he got a little too close...this picture is of him flinching.
Ryan and Jacob spending some quality time in jail.
The highlight of the trip to the farm was the pony ride. Tyler was a little timid at first, but he really warmed up to it. Maybe he will love horses as much as his Mommy does.

Happy Halloween!!!

We have had a great Halloween season around our house. Since I know this is probably the last year that Ryan is going to let me pick his costume, I carried on the duo theme. Last year the boys were Batman and Robin. This year I was racking me brain trying to come up with a good costume for the two of them, and then it came to me...a cowboy and his pony.
I don't think these pictures even do their little outfits justice. In fact, they even won one of the best costume awards at our ward party. My mom and I made Ryan's little costume (less me, more my mom). I found Tyler's costume in a pretty obscure catalog, so I knew there would not be another pony like him.
The boys at a pumpkin patch.
Ryan trying to corral his pony.
Ryan was so excited this year to go trick or treating. He asked me everyday for two weeks if it was Halloween yet.
Tyler liked walking up to the house and knocking on the door, but he would bolt before the people opened their door. This usually left Doug standing at the door with one child and two baskets. I think Tyler knew Doug was planning on eating all of his candy, so he might as well make him work for it. :) We had a few friends over later on that night and enjoyed some good food and a scary movie. What a great Halloween! Hmmm...now what am I going to have the boys be next year???

Disneyland With The Cousins!