December 31, 2008 - New Year's Eve

For our New Year's party this year, we didn't do much. We were busy trying to recover from our drive home from our two day trip to Disneyland. We got back around 5:30PM and although we had a babysitter, Nana, we only managed to go to dinner at Claim Jumper and grab some fireworks and dessert from Target. The food was good and so was the cake we ate while watching War of the Worlds right before midnight. We turned the movie off to watch the ball drop and then Kyle, Melanie, Jacob, Kaitlin and Nana did some fireworks while I went to bed. It was super low-key yet still way fun!

Disneyland Trip

Since we were going to save so much money by driving to Arizona, we decided to spend that money on a trip to Disneyland. Originally it was going to be just us and the kids, but last minute Nana wanted to come along with Melanie and Matt. Well, a day later that changed again due to some last minute surgery. Matt and Melanie came with us and witnessed the least happy
children at the happiest place on Earth.

After a 6 hour drive, we were all ready to get out, unfortunately the first ride we went on, Finding Nemo, was fairly new and had a lengthy line allowing us tons of time to eat Cotton Candy and get pumped up about our trip.

Within hours of our arriving, though, Ava and I spent 45 minutes in a bathroom stall having a total meltdown, it was gross on so many levels. After the tantrum, we had the best time in Bug's Land on all the little kid rides. We thought the kids would get a kick out of the 3-D Movie, "It's Tough To Be A Bug," but almost immediately Jack was in my arms burying his head in my neck.

Despite the kids' first serving of straight-up hot chocolate, all the excitement and drive made for a Jack so exhausted he literally fell asleep on the floor of some Movie House in between my legs!

I haven't decided whether or not my expectations were just entirely too high, or the kids were too young, too sick, too tired, too overstimulated or a combination. We tried really hard to give them the sleep they needed so much, but with the cramped hotel room and the time change, we were up at 6AM the next morning and hating life.

We got to the park right as it opened and ran to get in line for It's A Small World and Pirates. The kids loved the first one, but were more than ready to get off the second one. The rest of the day we tried to take it slow and let the kids pick the rides they wanted to go on, like climbing the tree house and the Dumbo ride. That seemed to help, we got some smiles and no bathroom tantrums!

Later on after watching the Disney Princess show while Jack took a much needed nap, we met up with Matt and Melanie again for some Space Mountain, to which Ava responded with cowering into Kyle's side while muttering, "Too dark, too fast, Daddy shouldn't have taken me!" Next up was Buzz Lightyear which Jack loved although the whole time we stood in line we were pumping the kids with cookies and eventually he just started sucking his thumb, which is never a good sign.

We tried our hardest to stay as long as we thought we could that night to take in as much as we possibly could, but the kids still didn't get to bed before 9:30PM and with Kyle's stomach ache and Melanie and my blisters, no one ever walked back to the park that night. It was a memorable trip, one we won't be making for a very long time!

December 26, 2008 - Bass Pro Shop

A newer addition to the Phoenix area is a Bass Pro Shop just off the 202 on the way home from the airport. Our family are not big outdoor types, but it is one of Papa's favorite places to visit and receive gift cards for.

We usually go with him when we are visiting, and this time was no exception. The kids love seeing "the other side of water" from the elevator and all the "stuffed animals" as well as trying their luck at the indoor shooting range.

This time we even played on the boats and got some gummie worms on our way out to help Jack make home for his muck-needed nap!

December 25, 2008 - Christmas Morning

We all waited as long as we could to wake to up any sleeping kids, unfortunately some of them stayed up past 11PM, though. After all the early risers were load enough, everyone was awake and able to go downstairs to see if Santa had come in the night.

The kids were so excited to see so many gifts. It was amazing how many stockings were placed around the sectionals and on the tables and floor anywhere there was space. 21 people equals a LOT of presents!

Our kids didn't know what was going on, but after seeing their cousins dig right in, they joined in the groove! Ava and Jack got slippers to match their new pj's among other stuff, but the sweetest part was how much they loved everything they got, pausing to play before even thinking about moving onto opening another gift.

The candy was my favorite part and watching the kids enter a state of pure enjoyment!

After presents, presents and more presents, the day continued with a great Christmas feast of prime rib that was done 2 hours early causing us to miss out on seeing the McCrackens, but tasty nonetheless.

December 24, 2008 - Christmas Eve

Also a tradition in the Komenda household is opening all your gifts on Christmas Eve and opening Santa gifts Christmas morning. When Kyle was growing up the tradition was only opening one gift Christmas Eve, something we have carried into our marriage. Since most people don't do something crazy like opening all their Christmas gifts right before bedtime without a minute to play with them, the family as a whole decided to only open one gift after the Nativity.

Since there were so many gifts from so many people, the adults opened one gift while the kids opened two from Nana and Papa. The girls all got sweet little princess gown pajamas and princess dolls to match while the boys got superhero pj's and action figures to match. Everyone looked adorable and our kids did not want to go to bed with everyone sitting right outside their door playing with all their new toys. It was a rough night for us!

December 24, 2008 - Komenda Nativity

Every year in the Komenda household a Nativity is reenacted with Dad Komenda as the narrator and Mom Komenda as the camera woman. This year was no different, except there were finally enough cast members and then some. We usually just act it out with our Nativity set and the scriptures, but with real people, it is totally different.

Kyle and I were cast as Joseph and Mary, because we're pregnant. Kaitlin, Melanie, Jennica and Kristine were angels with all the little girls and the little boys were shepherds with Eric and Holly. Matt was Pilate with Jacob, Chuck and Michael were the three wise men.

Eric's outfit was the best with the German hat and a stuffed sheepdog under his arm, with Matt's bright red inside out swim jacket and giant rings taking a close second. My get up didn't fit and the hole was covered with an awful towel, while Kyle donned a graduation gown and towel-head. Jack had his shepherd costume on for about five seconds while the little angels were simply adorable.

The whole production was laughable, but memorable. The kids spent most of set-up chasing each other around and the actual Nativity was probably only 5 minutes despite the hour it took to prepare. It was fun and something that will probably not happen again at that caliber for a long time.

December 24, 2008 - Little Frousins

Nana had set up a picnic table in the kitchen in hopes of accommodating the small eaters at a separate table. The kids all loved the small bench, but unfortunately Jack and Ava were not used to anything but chairs and never really got used to sitting and eating for any length of time. Most of the time Jack would be walking around eating and Ava would be laying down on the bench. It was no fun constantly reminding them, but we did our best.

The smallest grandkids, Claire, Megan and Jack were at the table eating an earlier breakfast than everybody else and we had to get a picture of the youngest frousins together!

December 23, 2008 - Temple Lights

After family pictures, we all headed to Mangoes Cafe for some awesome Mexican food before making our way back to the Temple to see the lights. Kyle's Aunt Julie and her husband Steve had come up for Christmas and were there enjoying everyone as well.

Ava and Jack were thrilled with the light and all the cousins, but the chilliness of the night made for some interesting expressions.

Uncle Matt was sweet to volunteer to walk with Ava and Rachel in hopes of keeping at least two of the grandkids together with everyone else. Ava was so excited to be with Rachel she didn't care whose hand she was holding!

We got Steve to take this picture of the whole family at the Temple. It was amazing that we all fit in the frame, and thank goodness everyone is looking at the camera, because it was the only we got the whole time we were visiting of all of us!

While we were in picture mode, Kyle and I posed for this "wide-eyed" shot together, it turned out better than expected.

After we could take the cold no longer, we all went inside to look at the Christus and warm up. The kids were so impressed by the statue's size and that it looked Jesus that they just stood in awe at it's feet for some time. Quickly afterward, though, they started chasing each other around the statue and we had to make a quick exit before our irreverence became too offensive.

December 23, 2008 - Family Picture

Because it had been over five years since all the kids had been together, it had been even longer since a family portrait had been done. The last one I remember taking was never printed, so it doesn't count anyway, but it was over 6 years ago. We were all warned about the pictures and the dress code, but for some reason we ended up with some bad information, making it harder on the pregnant lady than necessary, but in the end our kids looked adorable and we didn't look half bad either.

Neither of our kids own much black or red, so we opted for purchasing some new duds the day before we left Texas. Originally we were under the impression that it was to be more of a formal picture, allowing Ava the shear joy of owning a new dress that she was to wear for pictures. When we finally found out it was casual and that everyone was supposed to wear jeans, Ava was devastated and settled for a jean skirt and new sweater.

Jeans were better for me than a skirt because it was chilly and somehow with good angling, I don't even look pregnant most of the pics, making for some great photos for our wall of fame in Texas. Due to the cold or some other unknown reason, Jack was less than himself, needing to be constantly held or chased after. But despite all setbacks, the proofs turned out pretty good and we can't wait to put our pictures up at home.

When I finally took Jack from Kyle for the first time all day, Ava flocked to his side and the two walked hand in hand to the car!

December 22, 2008 - Couch Time

When we are at home, the kids and I watch about one 20 minute show a day, and it is always the same show, Little Bear. It has no commercials, and no hidden agendas. It is actually a show that seems like a book we would all read at bedtime, only animated on TV. Other than this and special occasions like Saturday afternoon while Jack is sleeping, we are big TV parents. It is great, but because TV is pretty scarce in our house, the kids will become zombies if it is on unexpectedly.

Such was the case nearly all day long at Nana and Papa's with 7 grandkids four and under with their various show schedules. Whenever something was on Ava was gauranteed to be on the couch or close to it staring blankly at the screen. Most of the time Rachel was by her side, by Grace was there too and these pictures illustrate my point perfectly!

December 21, 2008 - Church Clothes

The day after we arrived in Arizona was Sunday, and thankfully, church wasn't until 1PM, although our kids had both been up since 6:18AM or something crazy early like that. We had a restless night in our snug sleeping accommodations and after such a restless day before, our kids were totally messed up.

We all got ready and took the cutest picture of all the grandkids before church, assuming none of them would look this darling afterward, and much to our surprise, Ava was the messiest of all.

Before church started, the kids ate lunch hurriedly and once we were all seated, Ava started saying her tummy was hurting. Usually this means, I am bored during Sacrament and can't wait until it's over so I can have my beloved fruit snacks. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary I told her to wait until the Young Men sat down and then we could have our snack. If only she had made it half that long before snuggling up to me and proceeding to vomit over and over into our hands and all over our laps and the seats.

It must have been quite the sight to see for any onlookers, but for Ava and I, it was mortifying. I wanted her to get it all out before moving out of our seats, in hopes of mildly containing the mess. When she had finally stopped, we rushed her out to the car and back to Nana and Papa's for a bath and cuddle session.

She was feeling well enough on the way home to let me know that she had told me her tummy was hurting! I felt even more gross at that point and tried to make the best out of the next two days of vomiting and durchfalls for our sweet three year old princess.

None of the other kids or adults got sick, so we still aren't sure what caused the epidemic, but at least is was over after two short days.

December 20, 2008 - Christmas Vacation

For Christmas this year, we decided to go to Arizona and meet up with all of Kyle's brothers and sisters for the first time in five years. When we were planning things out, gas prices were astronomical making us think driving would be cheaper than flying, despite the amount of miles we'd be putting on the Armada. 1000 miles each way seemed daunting to our family of four, but we thought it would best to save the money and put it toward a mini vacation to Disneyland while we were on the west coast.

Since our kids need their sleep and we had heard it was easier for kids to fall back asleep in the car in the early morning than to fall asleep late at night, we decided to leave at 3AM. Our intentions were so good, getting to bed by 9PM and waking up on time, but we fell short on accomplishments when the kids got in the car, realized where we were going and never went back to sleep. Jack took two mini naps, but nothing substantial making our trip feel longer than anticipated.

The early hour of the drive gave Kyle and I second winds around breakfast time, and traveling to west allowed us an extra hour of daylight, making for a bearable arrival time of 8:30PM Texas time.

We hugged everyone hello and set-up for the night. All 21 of us were so excited to be there it took some coaxing to get to bed, but it was worth it when Michael and Jennica went with us to Costa Vida after the kids were in bed!

December 15, 2008 - Homemade Goodness

Every year for Christmas, we send out Christmas cards I make and bake up some goodies for nearby friends and neighbors. It has been so much fun to have this tradition and this year has been my favorite finished product in both categories by far.

The card was done on a whim after taking some family pictures with Kristine during her Thanksgiving visit. The pictures turned out so well, I couldn't decide which ones to use and ended up using a whole bunch. Kyle helped me with the design and even thought of the red border around the edge. I love the picture of Ava at the bottom, she is so precious!

Our goodie boxes looked so good in the end, but we weren't sure if they tasted as good, because we didn't make more than we needed to fill each box! This year we made fudge, candy-coated pretzels, peanut blossoms, variously coated truffles and jam thumbprint cookies. The presentation was beautiful and the boxes were just from Wal-mart. Christmas time is so fun!

December 7. 2008 -Gingerbread House

We have been making Gingerbread houses since before we were married, so this year was no exception! The kids loved it last year, but this year, maturity brought a new found respect for what Gingerbread houses are all about-CANDY!!

We started off with a store bought house that we assembled before decorating.

Next we made some people and snowmen to live at the house.

Jack watched Ava do most of the decorating, while he ate piece after piece of candy. It didn't even matter if the candy was already on the house, he would just pick what he wanted and gobble it up.

After Jack's tummy was full to the brim with sugar and the candy was almost gone, he switched gears and instead of eating candy he spent the rest of the evening moving the it from cup to cup one by one!

The finished product was pretty amazing, we were all so proud of individual efforts!