Disneyland Fun!!!

We had a fabulous trip to Disneyland a few weeks ago!
We met Grandpa and Granny Kate in California
and spent 2 days with them.
We were having so much fun that
Miss Thang and I decided to extend out trip a few
days and spent 5 days at Disneyland!
Rylee's favorite ride was splash mountain.
We went on it 9 times!

Rylee L.O.V.E.D. meeting all the characters!

she especially L.O.V.E.D. meeting all the princesses
We went to a princess lunch where
Rylee was Sleeping Beauty for the day
She looked darling;)

During the day we played hard...

... and a couple of nights couldn't even make
it through dinner.

Thanks Grandpa and Granny Kate for
SUCH an awesome trip!!!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so fun this year!
I have decided
~4 is the PERFECT age child to have on Christmas morning~

Rylee tried waking up at 5:00AM
and was told to go back to bed.
We started our morning around 7:20AM
We had to wake up Grandpa and Granny.

Ry was spoiled as usual.
Grandpa and Granny got her the favorite gift this year.
*A GYMNASTICS MAT*
She practiced all afternoon.
We decided to make a surprise
visit to Grandma Great's house in Ogden Christmas evening.
Grandma was SO happy to have extra family around
to celebrate the holiday.
Rylee and Grandma Great played horse.
Grandma was the horse.
She may be 80 but doesn't act or look it!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a quiet one this year.
Paul and Missy spent Christmas at home in Chicago,
Ryan and Ryth Ann did the same in Washington,
and Spencer and Brittany got to celebrate
Christmas and the New Year in Australia!
This being said,
Dad, Kathryn, Me, Ry, Sarah, Andrew, and Josh
Went to dinner then down to see
the lights a t Temple Square.

Even though we were a small group we
enjoyed ourselves in the FREEZING cold!

Rylee and her Mama

Andrew, Sarah, and Josh Man

Dad and Kathryn

Pals

On our walk back to the car Grandpa
gave Josh and Rylee each a lucky penny
to throw into the fountain.
Ry made a wish.
It went a little something like this...
"I wish Santa will wake me up tonight
and let me meet Rudolph."
That wish didn't exactly come true...
But Santa did being her some pretty
awesome surprises.
To be continued...

Christmas book

Thank you Grandpa and Granny Kate
for this awesome Christmas book.
I love that you recorded the entire book
so I can listen to you read it to me every night!

MmmmMmmmm Amazing

1 pkg. devils food cake, German chocolate cake, or chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 c. sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
2 (8 ounce) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
3-4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix first six ingredients together with a beater. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bunt cake pan (cooking spray works best). Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 mins. Remove from oven. Let cool for 20 mins. Remove from pan. (I think it tastes best if you put it on a serving plate, wrap it well in Saran Wrap, and let it sit overnight in the fridge before frosting and serving..) In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar (start with 2 cups then keep adding more until it is nice and thick). That's it! Easy right?
I made them into cupcakes
cooked for 20 minutes;)

Our Elf Jack

This is our elf
Jack.
He is new to our family.
He showed up this morning
with a book all about what his job is
here at our house.

Jack was sent to our house straight from
Santa at the North Pole.
The book that he brought with him
explains that he is here all day
and at night he goes back to Santa
to report on how Rylee has behaved during the day.
He comes back every morning but he's
sneaky and is in a different spot each time.
He can't talk to us but he hears all we tell
him and he is sure to tell Santa everything.
Rylee has been talking to Jack all day.
She has been asking him if he misses Santa
and Rudolph. She has told Jack
special messages for him to deliver to Santa tonight.
There is one rule about Jack...
You can't touch him or he will lose all his magic.

We registered Jack tonight online.
We had to think of a name and
tell Mrs. Clause we chose Jack so she could
record it in her special registry elf book.
Above is Jack's adoption form.
It says~
On the 16th day of December 2010
The Walker family adopted their elf
Jack.
Signed & approved by Santa Clause himself

We also received a special note from Santa.
It says~

HO! HO! HO!
Thank you for taking the time to register your elf with
me here at the North Pole. Jack loves his new family.

In fact, Mrs. Clause had a huge smile on her face as she entered Jack's name in the big Elf Registry book she keeps. I'm looking forward to hearing all about you and the rest of the Walker family every evening during the holiday season. Be careful to be on your best behavior. that way, I'll be sure to get lots of good reports.

Don't forget: Every morning your North Pole scout elf will be hiding in a new place. Have fun looking for your special elf friend, and remember Jack is doing a very important job for me.

I am so glad you and your family have decided to join us in the holiday tradition by adopting one of my best helpers. I look forward to visiting you in Sandy, UT on Christmas Eve.
See you soon, Santa Clause

Preschool Christmas Program

Rylee and her cute teacher
Miss. Carli

The program this year was absolutely darling
The kids did an awesome job!
They played lots of different instruments
and sang about 13 songs.
Good job Rylee!