"It's Christmas Eve-Eve!"

That is what my kids have been shouting all day! The noise level in our house has been high enough to warrant ear plugs for most of the day...nothing is more fun than having a house full of kids at Christmas time though! Even my big kids get into the excitement of things, which adds to the fun. I think they have all realized that we only have ONE more Christmas left with all of us at home together before Alex leaves the nest.....don't get me started on that. I have cried enough already.

Not to let that put a damper on things though....we are truly in the Christmas spirit at our house. We are looking forward to the long trek to Utah with 7 people and a dog in the car for 12 hours!! Don't be too jealous of all the cozy family time we are going to have. It is always a miracle when we pull in without anyone being severely injured by another sibling. Those last few hours are pure joy!

Well, I have a few more presents to wrap and maybe a few more goodies to bake for Santa...he has a hearty appetite this year, and then I think Pa and I can look forward to at least 5 hours of sleep before the gang comes in to wake us bright and early!
I am so excited to see our family and spend the week playing games and eating and laughing....we will miss your family Amy!! sniff....sniff...
I will look forward to reading everyone's blogs when I return.

Merry Christmas from the Martinsen gang!!

"All Aboard!!"

We had a great adventure last week when we took the family on the Polar Express! You boardthe train in a little tiny town called Williams, AZ. It is about 3 hours north of Phoenix. They have the whole town (all one street of it) decked out for Christmas and then the train depot is Christmas galore. It is a re-enactment of the movie, complete with the conductor and all.
On the train, they serve hot cocoa and cookies and they read "The Polar Express" as elves walk up and down the isles showing the kids the pictures. Then everyone sings Christmas carols together and you look out the windows at the "North Pole".....Santa boards the train and gives each child a bell.
The whole thing takes about an hour. It was so much fun. Even our big kids liked it and enjoyed watching their little sisters, who were having a blast!
It was fun to be COLD even though it didn't snow, but at least we got to get all bundled up and feel wintery! Our hotel was like a little cabin with big cozy comforters.
I would recommend this little adventure to anyone. It is something really festive and fun to do with the kids.
Of course our camera battery died after only a few pictures, so this is about all we got. Sorry about that.....I didn't even get any of the train...ugh!!

Happy Holidays ..........

I wanted to surprise my sweet sister Tara, and decorate her blog for Christmas before she had to ask me to do so....So here it is Tara, I hope you like it!