Caroline is 3...

Oh my goodness...how can it be?  My baby is 3!  
She is growing up way too fast.

Caroline wanted to have a princess party, so we invited a few of her friends over for our first girl party. 

Crazy!  Girl parties are awesome.  Did you know you can give girls a bunch of foam stickers and they will just sit there for like 15 minutes decorating a placemat?  Never in my 8 years of boy parties have I seen anything like it.  The girls actually watched each other play "pin the crown on Caroline".  I had to tell them to stop eating their lunches so we could get on to the next activity.  Caroline was so cute greeting each friend as they came to the door and told them "thanks for coming to my party"!

What a sweet girl.  We are so lucky to have you in our family.

  

 My first Princess Cake!  

It was pink velvet inside...so yummy!

Pin the crown on Caroline.

 See this wild bunch?

 Time for a little freeze dance.  

 My helpers.  They helped make the girls lunches and served them to each girl.

Such good brothers.

 This girls got a good arm.  Princess crown and all.

 Loves her baby doll.

Finally got her own suitcase.

Christmas Vacation

Christmas was wonderful...I can say that because I am choosing to forget the 8 hours of traveling from Dallas to San Francisco only to miss our connection and sleep without luggage on Christmas night at a random San Francisco hotel...hoping and praying that we could make it the next day to Boise.  Other then that experience (that I can't remember anymore) we had a wonderful Christmas trip to Boise.  We were even lucky enough to have a skiff of snow.  The kids were in heaven.

 Church party Santa!

 Christmas morning!  

Notice Santa brought sleds to my kids...it actually snowed in Dallas that day...which is the reason our flight was late!  We sat in the airport and watched it snow...maybe our sleds will get used next year :)  

 Papa Howard faithfully pulling the kids on the sleds with the red scooter.

 Grandma making sure everyone stays warm.

 Family bowling!  Cole beat all the kids!

 Meet Minnie. 

 Grandma and Papa's new dog and Caroline's best friend...actually everyone's best friend.

 The bowling league.

 Minnie.  Where is your silly face?

 Getting ready for the new year party!

New Year party festivities.  Musical chairs.

One of our favorite activities...tubing!  We went to a place that pulls your tube up the hill and you have a choice of 6 different courses to go down.  It was so fun, despite being 20*!

Soak it up girl. 

 Cole was serious about his tubing.

Pretty sure no one can feel their face anymore.  Am I smiling?