Christmas Rundown...

Here's a quick recap of our Christmas...

Trent's light & music display he worked so hard on :)

The tree...

My Willow Tree Nativity Set. I love setting it up every year and slowly adding pieces to my collection each year!

The mantel with my NEW card display Trent made me! He made me the frame with his new tools he got from his birthday back in June, then we attached wire and used mini clothespins to hang the cards. I LOVE getting holiday cards... especially the picture ones!

I need suggestions on the frame though. Trent likes the "rustic" look of the cedar boards. I however am not so sure... our house isn't really the rustic-y type. Should I paint, stain, leave how it is, etc for next year? I need some ideas!!

The centerpiece for the table...

Ashley came up with the awesome idea a few years back of giving us ladies in the family a set of Christmas china each year so that eventually we'll have all sorts of various Christmas sets to set a table with. I thought it was the coolest idea and love that someday our kids will get to pick the set they want to use each year from all of them I'll have gotten over the years! This was my set from last year.

My dish set from 2008... my first Christmas as an Olivier!

The Oliviers on Christmas Eve before heading to church

We always spend Christmas Eve here in Gardner with my family. Sadly, I forgot my camera on the charging dock so I only took two pictures with my camera phone at the McMillan family Christmas. I was so disappointed with myself! My mom always decorates her dining room so pretty for our family dinners!

I loved the little pears hanging off her glittery branches.

Christmas morning is spent at our house with these two cuties... I'll spare you the pics of Trent and I on Christmas morning. I'm especially attractive in the mornings.

On Christmas morning we make a breakfast and use my fancy Christmas china... then we make the drive to get to Great Bend a little after lunchtime.

The fur babies are already worn out from waking up so early for Santa haha.

Starting Christmas in Great Bend...

Somebody already needing a nap haha

Bentley really liked Jeryn's new chair

Jordan and Joshua opening presents

Jeryn's rocking horse from Abuelo Bob and Abuela Lora.

Everyone admiring Bob's handiwork... it was incredible!

Bob with his picture frame that Trent built for him to hang on his "Wall of Fame" in his shop.

Lora with her picture frame that Bob built her

I think Jeryn liked the packages more than the presents this year!

Santa's little helper

Jeryn and her toy we got her- it starts as a walker to help her learn how to walk and then it also converts into a rider toy.

J-Fe chillaxin' in her new chair from Santa :)

Jeryn's Santa Claus beard during bathtime

Haha... little Country Mouth Junior. I have now passed that nickname on to this loudmouth!

This is the outfit we got her for Christmas... how stinking cute is she?!? I can't wait to have a girl someday to dress up!!!! You're doomed Trenton ;)

Annnnddd... that's a wrap! We had a wonderful holiday season with both sides of our families. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas as well!!!

November Date Night

Have I mentioned how much I love these monthly surprise date nights?!? It's become what we look forward to every month. November was my month to plan out and I knew exactly what was in store for Trenton! (**Sidenote: we didn't have any open weekends in November so this date was done in early December. Just a technicality my picky husband likes to point out. Whatev.)

We started the afternoon down at Crown Center to eat at Fritz's!!!! It's the coolest place where you get to call in your order on a phone and then a real train delivers your food. And by real train I mean like a toy train on a track. Obviously ;)

And to embarrass my homeboy even further I made him wear the hat throughout the lunch. Because who doesn't want to wear a train conductor hat at lunch??

Fatty cheeseburger with hashbrowns on it and onion rings... say hello to my clogged arteries.

Straight up gangsta.

See! How cool is it? I have video of one actually delivering our food but couldn't get it to work. Sad face :(

The food was super, super delicious and it's amazingly cheap too! And being the only people there without kids didn't make us stick out at all ;) We got extra cool points for that one.

Part 2 of the surprise date was then walking over to Union Station for Trent to experience Science City!!! We also got to see how beautifully decorated Union Station is for the holidays. I picked Science City because my chemist husband was super jealous a couple years ago when my 5th graders went there on a field trip. We had so much fun and I did a lot of storytelling about our spectacular day so Trent has always wanted to go see it for himself. So enjoy Trent and Kala's field trip via pictures......

Trent + me + random 10 year old= this masterpiece

Use those guns big boy!

I was really mad at this exhibit. It was about balance and Trent had me beat! I was so ticked off at the machine. I mean come on... for years and years in cheerleading I was lifted into the air, held up by one leg, and then I would lift the other leg clear above my head. That takes amazing balance. What kind of balance do football players need? This former cheerleader= not happy one bit.

Remember those clogged arteries from my fatty lunch?? Ya now I'm sitting in an artery ;)

Romance while in the circulatory system. Cause that's how we roll.

Haha... what kind of 27 year old dude plays with scarves?? My husband. Sorry ladies but he's taken.

A view of the 3 level Science City. Trent the science geek totally thought it was awesome!

Playing around in the tree house.

My favorite room is the optical illusion room. You lay on this bed and stare at like 3 different dots which make your eyes play crazy tricks on you.

If this was Top Gun, he'd be the Maverick to my Goose.

Pretty sure we were the only people there without kids too. We should've brought Jeryn along to pretend we are part of this "baby club" everyone seems to be joining ;)

After a fun afternoon at Union Station we headed back over to Crown Center for some window-shopping and people watching. Right at the entrance they had this ginormous Hallmark ornament. Usually I wouldn't make my husband stand by a lifesize ornament... EXCEPT... that this was the ornament I bought for us this year!!!! Back story time: Trent and I both had really cool moms that bought us a Hallmark ornament a year while growing up as kids. We now have both of those collections. Trent's collection consists of alot of motorcycles, cars, and sports. My collection consists of Barbies, a few more Barbies, and... did I mention maybe some Barbies? Now that we are married we are continuing the Hallmark-ornament-a-year tradition. This year I picked this ornament for us because Trent is the biggest Christmas coutdown-er person I know. He will literally start sending out texts to me and his family that say things like "100 days to Christmas!!!" or "Only 60 holiday shopping days left!" Yeah. He's crazy like that. So when we saw this and my eyes lit up poor Trenton knew exactly what was in store for him. Picture time!! ;)

Crown Center is gorgeous during the holidays. I would love to go ice skating there sometime at the holidays. Hint, hint ;)

And one last super-cheesy-I-can't-believe-my-wife-is-making-me-do-this type pic :) What can I say I just love the holidays... they make me all warm and lovey inside :)

Milkaholic

About a month ago Ashley and Jerad went to the Chiefs game with Jerad's family. They spent the whole day at Arrowhead for the tailgating which meant we got all day with Jeryn Fe! She was the easiest baby!

We got to witness firsthand what a milkaholic she is!

She was out cold. Yet still had a firm grasp on her bottle.

So I picked her up to go put her in the pack and play and she would NOT release her bottle. She started to eat again...

Only to pass out once more :)

Turkey Day Rundown

Yes you are seeing this right. It's almost Christmas and I'm just NOW blogging Thanksgiving. Wow. I need to face the facts. Working full time + grad school + house projects + trying to have a social life + holidays = Kala not blogging a whole lot. But man do I have lots of pictures to use! I'm coming to terms with the fact that not everything from the last month is going to be blogged. Oh well... what can ya do!

For the second year in a row Trent and I were blessed to enjoy the company of both our families. It's really nice that we don't have to pick and choose what side to spend Thanksgiving with. Instead we can celebrate all together! All of us (even me, shocker I know!) make a few things and eat up potluck style. It's awesome.

More of the spread...

Last food shot.

Can't tell if my brother is overjoyed about the food or just hates my picture taking.

The McMillan men, my grandpa, dad, and brother, starting the buffet.

Jeryn's first Thanksgiving feast!

Ashley tried giving her some mashed potatoes and just like her strange mother ;) Jeryn didn't like them. Who doesn't love mashed potatoes?!


This holiday is all about the F's: Food. Family. Football. Fun.

Jeryn finishing off the night with a nightcapper with Great Grandma Geneva.

When I married into the Olivier family and we started hosting Thanksgiving here in Gardner, I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled that they were all about the Black Friday shopping! Growing up in KC my family avoided Black Friday like the plague. I did not share this opinion but there's no way I could ever get anyone to go with me. Until... I got married :) We all form our game plan and gather our ads on Thursday night, we'll break into teams, get up at 3-4 a.m. and then hit the stores! I love the madness! This year we did 12+ hours of shopping. Us girls got home about 5 o'clock... to then turn around and go look at the lights at Longview Lake. It was a very successful day :)

Jeryn on Black Friday morning: If you're not laughing out loud at her hat there's something wrong with you.

Her outfit was from me and Uncle Trenton for Halloween :) I loved it!

Her cute little ruffle butt!

I think she's pretty awesome too :)

Hook Me UP!

As if getting 50 FREE photocards this year (just for being a blogger!) wasn't enough... Shutterfly decided that if I embedded my project on this here blog they would give me a $25 gift certificate to use too!!!! Say WHAT?!? Please tell me I've peer pressured you enough that you have decided to:
a. Start using Shutterfly
b. Start your own blog ;)

Those 25 big ones could get quite a few pictures printed out so I can actually start the honeymoon scrapbook before our three year anniversary rolls around this summer. Yikes.

Seriously Shutterfly... if I wasn't already happily married to this smokin' hot boy named Trenton, I'm pretty sure I'd be head over heels for you :)

ChristmasCard 2010

Seasonal Chic Noir Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for unique, personalized Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Hook Up from Shutterfly!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! One example why I'm celebrating this holiday season... 50 free photo cards from Shutterfly. Yes, you read that right. 50 FREEBIES if you are a blogger... woop woop!!! I've been a Shutterfly gal for years now. They store all my photos on their website, they do all my holiday cards, and I LOVE their photo books. And that's coming from a scrapbooker who normally looks down on those kind of books cause I'd rather do my own haha. I have done 3 photobooks now. I first made one right after our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta. I knew it'd be years before I had time to scrapbook that wonderful week (I was right... it'll be 3 years this summer) and I wanted to have something that was easy to tote around to show to friends and at work. Then I made my parents a wedding photobook for a gift, and I did another photo book after our one year anniversary hot air balloon ride and other anniversary celebrations. Call it good luck or fate... but two of those books have been FREE. Around the end of July I always seem to get emails from them with a coupon for a free photobook. Shutterfly... I heart you.

Here's some links you can use if you're wanting to check them out yourself.
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

And be looking for the Olivier Family Holiday Card... coming soon to a mailbox near you!