Christmas Day is here again!!!!

'twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house everyone was stirring because it was the annual Beardsley family Christmas Eve party, and we all knew our cousins and Santa would be there!!!

 Chrismas was full of family, fun and treats.  as usual, the girls were spoiled by aunt Tashy!

 Santa also knew just what each girl wanted.  a new baby, and baby bed, highchair, car seat, stroller, etc. for Avery!

 blue stuff for Madeline.  oh, and a new bike and scooter.  plus, uncle Ian brought the Aquabats pilot.  what more could you want!

 and a very special little lady, for a very special little lady!

we had a great time in California, but missed Barrett and Corbynn!  we can't wait for uncle Austy's wedding when we can really party down for a whole week!!!!

party time!

we had a fun time at our ward party, where the girls we able to meet santa and give him their Christmas lists personally!

 later that night they got to go to my uncle Jack's house and guess who  showed  up?  that's right, the big guys himself! this time, he gave the girls a present off their list!  talk about an exciting day!!!

 even i got to tell Santa my wish list!  he told me he sould see i'd been both nice and a little naught (;  it's true, he really see you when you're wleeping and knows when you're awake!

temple lights

we braved the cold and headed out to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights.  the girls were enthralled wtih the beautiful lights.  and we were serenaded with beautiful carols as we strolled. 

 Avery was there too, she spent her time mostly in the stroller, otherwise engaged!

thank you Grandma!

Christmas came early for these girls, thanks to grandma.  i don't know how Santa can top all three girls getting thier favorite pillow pets!!!!

sleeping beauty

coming up the stairs i see Madeline's light is still on.  i open the door and see this:

 a familiar scene with a twist.  that's right, a little late night, covert reading under the bed. 

she was out like a light.  i had to drag her out from under there and lug back to bed.  she didn't so much as flinch.  then in the morning, i asked if she remembered being under there.  she said, "yeah, that's where i read at night."  i asked, "why under your bed."  the reply, "the light hurts my eyes."  my suggestion would be skip the late night reading and rest those precious peepers!

one tough little girl

Avery's been a little under the weather lately, waking nights, runny nose, crying, so i decided to take her in to the doctor before our holiday got into full swing.  the good news was: nothing was wrong.  bad news: she was behind in her immunizations.  poor thing got 6 shots to catch up!  she didn't even cry until the last one, and it was really more of a whimper.  like, "are you kidding me, when is it over!"  when it was done, she happily received 2 stiickers!  she's one tough baby. 

(now before i get any more advice on how i could have split up the visits, given her 2 or 3 at a time.....i'm aware, i made the choice to do it at once.  she was already behind a year, i needed to catch up!)

our first Christmas card of the season

so, i am a little bit indecisive when it comes to Christmas card designs.  i always think everything is just so cute, and could spend hours in Photoshop designing.  this year, i could not pass up the 5 free deal at Shutterfly.  we'll have at least 3 designs going out this year!  if you want to get 5 free, hurry, the deal ends today!  and photobooks are 20% off!!!!!  (if you want to see designs i'm offering, head on over to http://www.britainearlblog.com/)

Keep Believing Christmas Card

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we tried sponge rollers!

8am church leaves me a little pressed for time in the morning, so i tried this age old method. 

here are the results:

i think this is worth doing again!  mostly because the girls had so much fun with it, i wasn't expecting that.

field trip: the zoo!

i love the zoo!  i also love taking my kids.  something about the animals is magical. 

 this was cracking me up.  the baboons were a big attraction for the kids.  they were in awe of their "pink bottoms".  when i spotted Madeline and this guy staring longingly at each other it just melted my heart.  Maddie is such a little softy, she really loves with her whole heart. 

 i hope they don't ever consider trying this with a real komodo dragon!

 it's great that the phoenix zoo has all these little play areas.  the kids come home nice and sleepy!

 and of course, the petting zoo.  Madeline is in heaven getting up close and personal with the goats. 

 this was Avery's first time really being able to get into it. it was fun watching her mimic Anna and Maddie.  she is their constant shadow, learning the ways of the world through their behavior.  good thing their behavior is so good!

glamour girl

Avery loves shoes!  ever since she could say the word, she has woken up crying, "shoes!"  she won't stay in her pajamas for a second because she wants to get dressed and put on shoes. so of course she loves to play with my shoes!

she also likes to see the photos that i take, right after i click the shuttter she says, "me see."  when i showed her the above shots she said, "no me." so i took a pic of her face to appease her.  but seriously, who could resist taking a picture of this face:

 Madeline wanted in on the action too! 



let the good times roll

Jason has been sleeping in the guest room since his accident.  (it's win-win, he doesn't have to do stairs, and i don't have to lose sleep worries i'm going  to kick him in the leg.)  so, each morning, the girls wake up and come snuggle with me for a little while.  then they say, "okay, time to snuggle with daddy."  then they go have a little mini party.  this morning, when Avery and i woke up, we found this:

 the funny part is, he suggested this because he didn't want the girls making a mess with stickers elsewhere.  that is just so Jason!

field trip!

Andrea planned a fun field trip for preschool. we got to go to Bashas grocery store. we got to see pizza made in a real brick oven!

go into the back of a truck making a delivery,

and completely devour a plate of grapes after a tour of the produce section.  this was slightly mortifying for me as a parent, to watch my children shed their manner to shove fistfuls of grapes in their mouths.  but in the end, it was just hilarious.