Sunday, October 21, 2007

Santa Claus, Indiana (Yes, there is such a place)


Ok, so we pretty much had a BLAST this last weekend with our neighbors and friends. In the little town of Santa Claus (three hours away from home) there is a Lake Rudolph campground and R.V. resort. For a very reasonable price you can rent an R.V. or cabin (there is also a Holiday Word theme park right next to the R.V. resort).


I had no idea what to expect other than we were going to get away and have fun. Although the girls both had fevers on the way there we decided to tough it out. We actually stayed at a hotel called Santa's Lodge but hung out at the R.V. all day with our friends.


They had what they called "Hallo Days" while we were there. There were so many fun activities including, hay rides, trick or treating, movies shown on a projector, dances and a carnival. That doesn't even include how fun it was to see all the camp sites that were decorated with Halloween stuff. These people didn't mess around!! We went on long walks all the time to check out all of the sites around us. The weather was so beautiful and I love when the leaves change colors. Although we didn't reserve one in time you can also rent golf carts to drive around the entire R.V. park. It felt like we were in a little gated community where everyone was just having a good time!


We are already to plan the same trip for next year! We are even considering another trip in the summer because there is a pool!







Amy, Ben and Little Kate






Gracie and Hailey hangin' out feeling sick together




Kate loved her (I mean the Mendenhall's) little baby seat




The little four wheeler was her fave

John and I had been trying all afternoon to get Hailey to sleep. One minute on Jason's lap and she was OUT! THANK YOU Jason!



Can you tell my girls love the whole Mendenhall FAMILY!


Taylor, Kate's little babysitter





Having fun at the carnival fishing pond





Decorating pumpkins at the carnival



Hailey was nice for about 3 minutes and then wanted Kate off



Getting ready to trick or treat




The whole crowd Taylor (Hannah Montana), Kate (butterfly), Gracie (Cinderella), Hailey (Belle), Ben (Dumbo), Nolan (Mummy)








I have to thank the Mendenhall's for letting us use their camera. I totally forgot our camera and they let us snap away. I wish I would have taken some more pictures of the things people did to decorate their sites. This picture is nothing compared to some of them! People even decorated their golf carts.




Katelyn turns ONE!!!

We had fun celebrating Kate's birthday on our trip. We bought one of those cheap, tacky cakes at the grocery store and she loved it! It's hard to believe last year at this same time John was in Indiana, I was in Utah and he was flying out for the delivery of our sweet baby Kate!





Totally forgot a picture of the cake before we cut it!


Kate eating her entire piece of birthday cake!
Andrew, Heather and cute little Nolan


T-Mobile myFaves Animals

We were watching this a couple of nights ago and couldn't stop laughing! ENJOY.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Another Daddy Update!!!




Kate and Hailey dipping fries in fry sauce at a place called the Backyard....yummy!

Kate eating her first taste of ice cream, she turns one on the 20th!





Uncle Ryan, We LOVE YOU!!!



Nana, decked Hailey out in princess jewelry...oh yeah, she took a nap with all of this on!
My mom held up two shirts a blue and a pink and asked her which one Nana should wear. Hailey pointed to the blue one and said, "That one, MATCH!!!" (hence they both match in this picture).








Aunt Li Li we love you TOO!!














We had a snow storm just a few days ago (typical) and this was the remains of a snowman that Hailey is standing on.


Every morning we wake up Hailey runs to Nana and asks, "Nana, you have horsies?" Nana obviously couldn't go a day longer without satisfying her granddaughters wishes so she called up a neighbor and we had our own personal zoo within minutes. Our neighbor had rabbits, pigs, horses and a dog that kept dropping a stick at our feet so we would play fetch. (just a few of the benefits of living in Idaho! Hailey was running after the horses in this picture.




Sunday, October 7, 2007

"Cousins Just Want to Have Fun"
Dancing to the 80's Home Video
(I can't believe I'm posting this, I just couldn't resist after my brother helped me copy and download it.) Melissa, can you believe how dorky we were?


Saturday, October 6, 2007

Daddy Update
Yes, We're in Idaho Again.... LOVIN' Every Minute of It!!!!

This was just one of those classic moments. We rolled around the corner after three flights...(ugh) Hailey dropped everything and took off running towards Nana, Grandpa, Annie and Emily.

Man were we glad to see them!









Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Sparks for coming to visit. Just a funny little story...Grandma brought her delicious, famous chocolate cake and we loved it! That night Nana layed by Hailey who was having a hard time sleeping. Nana asked Hailey, "Do you want a cracker or a glass of milk?" Half asleep the only words that left Hailey's little mouth were, "Chocolate Cake." Grandma compromised and gave her a little chocolate cake and some milk. Needless to say Grandma the cake was yummy!









Hailey loving playdough!


Watching Pride and Prejudice!



We have all decided Kate loves Grandpa a lot!

Our little prodigy in training!


Dinner at Sizzler with Lisa!







Hailey putting Bailey to bed




Nana putting Katelyn to bed


All of the Aunts' pooled their money together because they wanted to buy this Belle dress for Hailey. Doesn't she look like a little Belle?



This was hilarious! Hailey trying to feed herself ice cream while trying to pacify Kate with her sucker.