It's the Most Wonderful {Busiest} Time of the Year!

Brian took some pics of the girls a couple of weeks ago- we were having beautiful weather and the leaves had just fallen...it was perfect. If I was really on top of things, these would be my Christmas cards.

Life is so busy right now...getting ready for Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, school breaks (someone has to fill those hours that school used to take up, or every hour is drama hour at our house), getting presents shipped off, and remembering why we celebrate this season. If there is one thing that I know and that certainly keeps life in perspective at this crazy time, it is that my Savior lives, He was born in a lowly stable, lived a perfect life, and died so that our lives today may be made better. I'm grateful for that knowledge and for the awesome responsibility I have to be a mother- it is and always will be my greatest accomplishment.

Click here for a great Christmas message!

Soccer Is Over?

No, not really. We are moving the game indoors! Both Kate and Taylor had such fun outdoor seasons...they loved playing and I loved watching. Kate has improved so much- its really exciting to watch her use her moves...she is turning into a great player. Because this was Taylor's first season, her games are more fun-ny to watch...8 little girls running around in a large group. Taylor would get so frustrated if she couldn't hear me cheering for her, so I would have to yell at the top of my lungs whenever she was in...crazy soccer mom. Speaking of soccer mom- our women's indoor team just started back up. Three games every week between us and I'm looking forward to all of it.

Happy Halloween '10

Alright, now I have time to write. Brian posted the pictures and now I get to tell you all about them. :)

Taylor dressed up 4 different times for different events, Kate and Lauren three. Each time there was a different costume used and all of them came from our very own dress-up box. I don't know if that speaks to how deep our costume box reaches, or how lazy I am. Most of them were/have been used at least three times. Ah, the perks of having three girls.

These pictures were taken at Nana and Papa's ward trunk-or-treat. For the record, Kate and Taylor think that the trunk of a car is actually called a trunker because of these "trunker treats"- you get treats from all of the trunkers.

Lauren was a lamb. Well, dressed as one at least. Obviously, she has the personality of a little lion these days- those terrible two's are looming nearer! Can't wait. Taylor was a soccer-playing unicorn. That was a last-minute "soccer" add when I arrived late after Kate's soccer game and realized that Brian had forgotten to bring shoes (shoes?!) for Taylor so she got to wear Kate's cleats. Kate, after dressing up for the 80's last week at school, decided she loved it so much that she wanted a re-peat. Is it sad that most of her outfit came from her own closet of everyday clothes? Hmmm.

Sea World Trippin'

To see more pictures, click here: San Antonio

We took a quick trip to San Antonio last week with the Dardanos. We stayed at a really fun resort with a lazy river, slides, and a sandy beach. The kids had SO much fun. On Wednesday, we took our posse over to Sea World for the better half of the day- the weather was a little ominous (sprinkling with a few downpours mixed in) so we weren't too optimistic. But, it turned out to be a perfect day with temps near 75 degrees (in Texas, in July...I know, crazy.) It was my first time going to Sea World as well as the girls' first time. We loved the shows- Shamu and her three whale friends did not disappoint. We were soaking wet after it was all over, despite sitting about 12 rows up. We got to pet the dolphins and see alot of other sea creatures (obviously I don't remember what they were or I would write it out). Very fun.

We even stopped at the San Marcos outlets on the way home (AKA the 3rd best shopping place in the world!!) and made out with our three children still in one piece and a new bed from Restoration Hardware. Check, check.

Good trips + Good friends = Priceless.

Spring is Here ...

I know I'm a lame poster lately and we've been so busy and had seriously so much happen in the last couple of months. I wish blogging was easier- no wait, I wish the days didn't pass so quickly so I had time (energy) to record whats been going on.

Anyhow, we've had a fun couple of weeks so I'll just start there. On Easter morning, we took the girls out on a morning Easter egg hunt in their pretty dresses. They loved chasing the eggs around and Daddy loved chasing them around with a camera...

Last weekend, we drove to Brenham, Texas for the Bluebonnet Festival. We stayed at a hotel in the teeny little town, which happened to be Kate and Taylor's favorite part- they were up until 10 PM watching Shrek...whats not to love? The bluebonnets were so gorgeous and driving through the country was beautiful. So glad that we took this last-minute trip.

To see more pictures, click here: briancrofts.com/blog





To see more pictures, click here: briancrofts.com/blog




To see more pictures, click here: Sessions | Easter Egg Hunt '10

You KNOW better, you DO better...

Bear with me while I step on a soapbox for a minute...I watched Oprah today- it was on using cell phones while driving. This show was a total eye-opener... I cannot help but post this. If you have the time, please watch THIS. Its very well-done and definitely worth your time.

Then, take the pledge here.

Give, Give, Giveaway...

If you are interested in the easiest giveaway in the blogosphere...click here. The girls in my family- there are 9 of us- started a cooking blog a few months ago where we share what we are cooking for our families, pretty much real-time. So, these recipes are tried-and-true and absolutely delicious. If you're struggling with what to cook for your family, check it out. Easy, peazy stuff. Whats better than that is that right now my sister is giving away a Demarle Silpat- very cool. Go check it out...for both reasons.

The 100th Day...

Isn't that the cutest/ugliest shirt you've ever seen? :) We love our Kate and this past week in school, they celebrated the 100th day of school- it was a holiday of sorts. The students were asked to decorate a t-shirt with 100 items and we (Kate) chose an assortment of craft pieces that we had around the house...add a glue gun to the mix and this is what you get. She got up Wednesday with Christmas-morning-excitement, barely swallowed a few bites of cereal, and was off for the day.

She wore the shirt again today, after we got home from church. And, yes, I've explained to her the importance of not getting the shirt dirty- there is no way that thing would make it through the wash intact.

Lauren is One ...

Our sweet little lady turned one on January 5th. And, she earned herself about 3 teeth during the week of her birthday. That morning we got Lauren's favorite for breakfast- doughnut holes. Obviously, she devoured them. She might be a petite little one, but she can hang with the best in a doughnut-hole-eating-contest, usually topping off around six. Impressive, I know.

That night we had pizza and cake with our family here at home. We tried to get her to dig into the huge piece of cake we put in front of her, but like her sisters at this age, her affinity for frosting hasn't developed quite yet- we'll give it another six months.

We sure love our little Lauren...she's started to super-crawl (crawling at a quicker pace than most people are able to walk) and standing up on her own, all the time. She even takes a few steps by herself here and there. But, she falls down when she starts to mimick everyone's congratulatory applause. We'll have to keep working on that. But, for now, I'm content with her staying a baby and quite possibly never growing up...please? This year has gone by way too fast.

Christmas 2009!

To see more pictures, click HERE.

Where to start...we had such a busy, fun, awesome Christmas here.

Brian's sister, Nicole, and her family were in town from California so we all spent almost every night together during the week of Christmas. On Wednesday, Santa paid us a visit at Nana and Papa's and he even brought each of the kids a small gift...pre-Christmas spoiler! :) They all sat on his lap and told the big man what they wanted. It was really cute- the kids were so excited...except for Lauren, who gave her sweet little lungs a nice workout after being placed on Santa's knee.

I worked with the girls a little during the week to learn an easy (silly) dance to Feliz Navidad and Jingle Bells, which they wanted to perform for everyone that night so we sort of had an impromptu talent show before the night ended. It was really cute and the girls loved having all of the attention for a minute. Later, Brian and I (but mostly Brian!) spent 5 1/2 hours putting together the Ikea furniture we got for the girls craft room, their gift from Santa (see last picture).

On Christmas Eve we woke up to snow! It was so exciting because that just doesn't happen here. It was magical- a real "white Christmas". That night, the cousins re-enacted the Nativity story and sang some Christmas songs and then each of them received a pair of new pajamas for Christmas. We came back to our home later and the girls decorated sugar cookies for Santa, watched a Christmas movie, and ate popcorn and cookies. They stayed up way too late! Brian and I then wrapped their gifts and set everything up for the next morning. The kids woke up around 7:30 AM and were so excited to see if Santa had come. We took them upstairs first after leaving a note downstairs explaining that their gift was too big to fit under the tree (from Santa, of course!). They didn't really get it at first...Kate saw the craft room and said "Oh, my gosh its a new...kitchen?". So funny. Afterwards, they were so excited to open their presents...every gift they opened, they would say, "Its just what I wanted". Halfway through the gifts, they got all decked out in their snow gear and went outside to play in the snow. The all-time favorite gift might be their LeapFrog train (which was given to Lauren, mind you) which they spend no less than 6 of their waking hours on during the day. Lauren kept getting into the kids paint and biting/chewing/licking it- hence the green paint all over her face in the picture. Brian and I laughed so hard when we saw her covered in paint because she was acting all nonchalant and had no idea that she had been goobed. We ate dinner as a big family that night at the Crofts.

What a perfect Christmas...why can't it just last longer?? :)