Tis the Season 2014

Wow, this fall has truly been a busy one for us and the holiday season definitely snuck up quickly it seemed like.  Hunt has been juggling a very heavy school schedule and work load on top of his "real" work, which has also been quite demanding so I feel like we have been a little bit into survival mode to get through it all.  HG has been doing really well in her preschool room and seems to have adjusted to the busier pace and large number of kids and has also successfully mastered potty training with honestly very little stress.  We have been a little hard pressed to get much quality family time together, though, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that it has somewhat taken a toll on all of us at various times over the past few months.  But, there is an end in sight come May and I am so thankful to be looking towards that now.  In the hustle and bustle of just keeping up with normal every day life, I was a little bit luke warm about the undertaking of house decorations and getting into the holiday spirit, but I seized a quiet evening while Hunt and HG were at the beach over Thanksgiving to get the mantle done and that really helped get me into holiday mode.

Puppy relaxing by the fire

We got super lucky that the one free morning that we had to grab a tree this year was miraculously balmy.. It felt like we were back in SoCal which was awesome considering that last year we waded through slush and snow to get one.  It was crazy to pull out Harper's little mini tree and see that this year she towers over it.  She was super excited to have her very own tree, though, and it was fun to watch her get excited about putting the ornaments on.  That evening we decorated the main tree as she donned her new ballerina outfit which has become somewhat of an obsession for her.

Obsessed with this pic

Ballerina twirls

Bubbles and Twinkly lights.. my perfect idea of the holidays