Ringin in 2016

I must say, that Miss Taryn and I can throw together a pretty darn good party! A New Years Eve party for kids to be specific. We may just be rockin this single mom thing in 2016!

Tons of yummy food, several minute to win it games, New Years bingo, ugly sweater cookie decorating contest, the best seran wrap prize game, karaoke and then topping it off with fireworks! How could all of that not be a great way to end 2015? 

I seriously had a fantastic time and so did Keags and Rys! They made it all the way to 11:40 because Riley had a nap today in Kellie's comfy bed! The surprise of the night was that so many of my neighbors were doing phenomenal fireworks that we got quite a show without paying for it! And the icing on the festive cake was that the kids all had a fantastic night! Success!

Peace out 2016. Now here comes a serious amount of pics!

Mean Mommy

Today was a rough one my friends! With a capital R! We've all been there. Keagan didn't listen to a single! word! I said. Not one. And oh the whining!! It really does me in.

So what did I do? Straight out of a Super Nanny "not to do list" I barked at her ALL day! I whined and complained to too many listeners and I was ON her. No wonder she couldn't turn it around! I didn't give her the chance! 

Mommy fail for sure. 

My only shot at this mommy stuff is in prayer! Serious prayers tonight that we can all end 2015 on a great note! Tomorrow is a new day and prayers will be answered! 

Oh and PS, just to show what a crazy mom I am. She never let's me clean out her ears and I think about it way more then I'm willing to admit. She wouldn't today after she had a little something on her ear so I waited til she was deep asleep and used my ninja skills to clean her ears out without her waking up! Again I'm really not willing to admit just how satisfying that was. Yes, I'm insane AND a mean mom! Now bring on New Years Eve. 

Christmas Round 2

After a busy day we went over to the French's tonight for Christmas Round 2. Since Hudson and Reagan were at their dad's until yesterday, today was their Christmas Day. And they were so thoughtful to invite us over for their Christmas dinner. I'm really thankful they did because it was a fantastic night! Taryn's all made from scratch dinner was seriously delicious including the best apple pie I've ever had! The three girls put on several amazing singing/dancing performances. And we laughed so hard all night that my stomach and cheeks still ache! 

It must be noted that Keagan's performance skills have been kicked up another notch! The girl loves a stage and she showed it tonight, once again. She may have taken over the whole show at least at one point and when she pinched my cheek playfully while singing Miss Taryn and I lost it! I can neither confirm or deny that I peed my pants a little bit! 

Tonight and every night, all three Kikuchi girls are incredibly thankful for the three French's! They weren't born family but are now family forever! We have so many incredible memories together and I'm sure many, many more to be made. But hopefully there won't be anymore where I pee my pants! 

The Farewell

That Sami can sing! That Sami can speak with the spirit and bear her testimony so beautifully! That Sami can SING! 

And man did all of that make me cry today at Sami's mission farewell! And I do mean cry! 

She's going to be such an amazing missionary and she's going to learn and grow so much! The people of Santa Rosa, Calofornia are so lucky for the next 18 months! And there are people there waiting for her! So all these tears are going to totally be worth it! At least that's what I keep telling Sa, but today I had to tell myself! 

Disney Live!

One of the girls Christmas gifts was tickets to Disney Live today! It's a simpler version of Disney on Ice that's actually on stage. Mickey, Minnie and the gang were there and they told the story of three of our favorite princesses: Snow White, Cinderella and Belle! 

Both girls were in complete star struck awe! It was so fun to see! We were in the Groupon cheap seats, literally the second to last row, but they didn't care. They sat still in amazement for almost two hours! Awesome! 

I may or may not have gotten suckered into a souvenir for each of them. I Cinderella spinny light up wand that Riley had a death grip on all afternoon and Mickey Mouse binoculars that Keagan watched half the show through. My souvenir was the great return on my Christmas gift!  

A Very Merry Christmas

There is nothing like the magic of Christmas in your child's eyes! I saw those flashes over and over today and it's left me feeling so thankful! 

I saw it after I woke Riley up at 7:30 because her sister had been nicely waiting and let us all sleep since 6:45. Unfortunately while Keags waited she played on my phone and saw the pictures I took after Santa had been here last night! 

On a funny side note, that Santa sure is silly every year when he comes to our house! Once he gets everything out of his sleigh that he has been collecting since August, he always realizes he just has too much stuff for two little girls. So every year he ends up donating some stuff to the Easter Bunny!

I saw that magic of Christmas again when the girls anxiously waited on the stairs to see if Santa came. My greatest gift today was their excitement and Keagan's hugs and kisses for her sister and the sweetest whispers of "Merry Christmas Riley!" I also LOVED my homemade ornaments the girls gave me. They did so after they had opened a few gifts and I saw the worry for me cross Keagan's   face. They still had lots to open but they paused to really make sure I had something and was happy! Best Christmas gifts ever! 

I also saw the magic of Christmas in their eyes as they opened gifts and were sincerely thankful for each one! The big ones came from Santa; a knock off American Girl diner, car and wheelchair set! Keagan knew Riley really wanted the wheelchair and it's the first thing Keagan ran to so she could show Riley! From me they loved their Lego sets, first maxi skirts that Keagan's been begging for and new umbrellas. They loved their mermaid tail blankets from Grandma Debbie and their chop sticks, books and things from their Dad. 

After our yummy, traditional Pakka breakfast at Sa's house, I saw the magic in their eyes again as they had a ball playing with their gifts! Keags was maticulous about setting up her diner with it's many darling little pieces and features and Riley is obsessed with the doll wheelchair and brought it everywhere with her today! We also took over an hour to build one of the Lego sets and of course it was Elsa's castle! 

I saw the magic again when we visited Gamas. The girls had a blast playing there, cuddling with her and redecorating her living room while Keags sang all the wrong words of lullabies to a "tired" Riley. And also when we went to Miss Taryn's where she gifted them the most gorgeous Elsa and Anna outfits for their AG dolls, a mop for their dolls that Keags has been hounding Miss Taryn about for days and me a calendar with prescheduled babysitting days! Fantastic gifts! 

After dinner we drove around and looked at lights for the 100th time this season but that magic in their eyes was still there! And it stayed there while they played with their toys until they couldn't put off bed time any longer and Christmas Day came to a close.

How truly blessed we are! I was so blessed to see the magic of Christmas so many times today and hope it lingers with us. It reminds me that we are so blessed with abundance, in so many ways! We are so blessed to have each other! And blessed that so long ago an angel declared "For unto you is born this day...which is Christ the Lord." For that is the true magic of Christmas! And I hope and pray it stays with us all year long!