4th of July

Happy 4th of July! This was Ben's patriotic breakfast. 

 

 

It was a pretty low-key holiday this year.  Jillian was at EFY and we missed her!  July 4th is one of her favorite holidays.  I wonder if it's because she was born two days later and somehow remembers the excitement on the July 4th right before she was born.  We were living in Palatine, IL and went to a friend's house to celebrate.  I was technically on bed-rest, and wasn't due for three more weeks, but got up to watch the fireworks and was nervous that I might go into labor, but kind of hoping I would, too! I didn't, and she was born two days later on her scheduled C-section day.  I'm sure she heard the fireworks, though, and was wondering what was going on out there!

 

We went to the parade and enjoyed sitting with several friends.

 

Afterwards we went to a BBQ at a friend's house, but we got rained out and went home early.  Later in the evening it cleared up and we got to see the fireworks over Eagle Harbor. 

 

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was pretty special this year!  In Mexico, Mother's Day is always May 10, so Nate got to call on Saturday.  We were expecting just a phone call, like at Christmas, but when he called he said that some wonderful members of the Puerto Penasco Branch had offered to let him and his companion use their computer so they could Skype!  That was the best Mother's Day present, ever! It was so good to see his face! We got to talk for about an hour and it was so hard to say goodbye when the time was up.

 

On Sunday we got together with family and had a nice dinner.  I love these wonderful women!  I'm so glad I am their daughter, sister, or mother!

Easter

Just in time for Easter, the Spring flowers are bursting in our yard! 

 

 

 

 We had an Easter Egg hunt with my sister and Brad's sister's kids.  It was a lot of fun trying to find creative places to hide the eggs!

 

Ben went for it and didn't get stung!

 

Happy hunters!

 

 

Happy Easter!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Our tribute to all things green, celebrated this year with the Olivers. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve at Grandma Vikki's:

Sorry, Caleb, you're just a little bit bigger than you were last year! 

 Our annual "Chinese Christmas" with all the cousins--there were 35 of us this year!

And this isn't even all of us...

Sisters!  Jingle-bell Jillian and Kandy Kane Kylie!

and more sisters! Christmas themed names are so tricky...ummm...

Christmas Cookie Kaylin, Apple Cider Alexis, and Christmas Tree T. 

OK, that's enough!

Brad, Mom & Dad, Dylan, Dax and Collin Hansen, and Jonathan

James, Haley, Roya, Amanda, Aliyah, Andrew, Brad & Dad

Christmas Morning at home:

Yay!  Christmas is finally here!

I told them I wanted a picture of them in front of the tree and this is what I got...

Jillian had a very One-D Christmas!  I found some One Direction wrapping paper at the grocery store and wrapped all her presents in it.  I forgot to take a picture of them, though!  Here she is opening a One Direction calendar.

Ben got the whole set of Ender's Games books.

 Kylie sporting her new Adidas slides.

Brad bought an Atari for the family.  It was so much fun to show the kids all the video games that were popular when we were kids!

We had a fairly low-key Christmas gift wise.  One of my favorite gifts was getting to talk to Nathan.  He is slowly adjusting to life in Mexico and fortunately has a very kind, patient, native-Mexican companion.  He says understanding people is challenging and he's trying very hard to stay positive.  He's only been there one week, so he knows it will continue to improve. 

My parents, Corey and her family, and Brad's mom came over for Christmas dinner. Brad cooked a delicious New York strip roast, a change-up from our traditional prime rib.  After dinner, we opened gifts and played Telestrations, the new game that Grandma Susan and Grandpa Tom gave to Ben.  A great evening:  delicious food, great company, and lots of laughs!

Cookie Exchange

Fun times at the Van Aken house!

Getting ready for the cookie exchange:

the cookies are all decorated,

the table is set,

the guests arrive,

and socialize,

Let the eating begin!

Thanksgiving!

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving if we didn't start with the Turkey Trot at Battlepoint Park! This year's turkeys included:

Me and Brooke

 

add in Kylie ad Ben

 

and Nathan Russell

 

After all that running, we came home and started cooking!

Jillian made the chocolate pies, and a pumpkin pie the night before.

 

Ben made the apple pie

 

and it was even more delicious than it looks!

Brad's sisters and their kids joined us 

as did Kylie's good friend, Justeen

and both Grandmas

and Grandpa! 

Ben was a sport to keep the little ones entertained!

It was a smaller group than we're used to, but still a lot of fun!  Ashley is taking the picture (imagine her standing behind Jillian), and there's a nice blank spot between Brad and Alicia where we can photo shop in Nate!