On Thursday, we went to the Ostrich Farm with Hayden's preschool group. The girls had so much fun there! We went last year too with Avery's group and it was a really great experience for the kids. We didn't spend a lot of time with the ostrich this year because both Avery and Hayden got bitten by them last time. They are pretty vicious - especially when you are trying to feed them.
These are the deer that the kids got to feed. Hayden actually did all the feeding and Kiley was content just sticking her fingers in each of the animals' mouths. They are definitely not scared of animals!
This Hole in the Wall was a new exhibit this year. There are a bunch of holes in the wall where the goats stick their heads out for you to feed and pet them. It is really fun. All the goats have bells on their necks too so you can hear them when they poke their heads through.
For some reason Kiley wouldn't stand up next to the goats. She would just sit or lay down and stick her fingers in their mouths. Thankfully they didn't bite!
This is Hayden's friend Kaitlyn. She is a friend from our neighborhood and is in Hayden's preschool group.
The donkeys were fun to feed also. Hayden was in love with the baby donkey.
Once again, Kiley was getting up close and personal in their mouths. I'm really surprised she didn't get bitten by any of them!
My baby :)
The lorikeet aviary is a lot of fun too. They will land just about anywhere - especially if you have nectar to feed them. The guy who worked there put one of them on Hayden's head and she was so excited. Kiley was running around chasing the birds wherever they went. She said, "Birdie! Birdie!" about a thousand times. It was cute.
As soon as I opened the lid to the nectar, there were four or five lorikeets that landed on me all trying to get some. It was really funny. One of the moms in there had birds going all the way up here arms and on her head. I think Hayden got the idea to have one on her head from her.
We had such a great time at the Ostrich Farm. In case any of you are wondering, it is located about 10 miles south of Casa Grande. Kids and adults over 5 years old cost $5 which includes the animal & bird feed and kids 5 and under are FREE. So it is very inexpensive and the kids will definitely have a great time :) You can look at their website here for directions and information about their monster truck tours as well.
On the Monday night before Christmas, I found out that Santa would be at the Dillard's here, so the girls got to take pictures with Santa again. They are kinda blurry because I just copied and pasted from the website that they were uploaded to instead of purchasing the photos for a fortune.
Avery and Hayden had a great time, but Kiley was not digging the whole Santa thing..bmp)
The Sunday night before Christmas, we had dinner and a nice evening at Brandon's dad's house. They got all of us fleece sweatshirts, which have been worn almost every day since then. Christmas Eve was spent at my parents' house. We had Mexican food, had a white elephant gift exchange, and hung out with cousins and family. My parents got us a new vacuum (hooray) and a Best Buy gift card for Brandon, as well as lots of fun toys for the girls. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera at both houses :( but we had a great time.
Christmas morning was so much fun this year! I think it gets better every year as our kids get older. Santa brought Avery a new Barbie scooter, Hayden a collection of Littlest Pet Shops, and a Sit-and-Spin toy for Kiley.
Kiley and Ginger hanging out with all the wrapping paper.
Avery also got a new toy guitar which plays five different songs just by strumming your fingers on it. It's pretty fun actually. After opening presents, we had our usual fried mush, sausage, and orange julius breakfast. We invited the missionaries to partake in the feast with us and it was fun to have them over. I wish we had taken a picture with them, but the cameras were resting for a few hours that day.
After breakfast, we got dressed and went up to Grandma Dorothy's house (Brandon's mom) and had lunch, opened gifts, and played at the park. The girls got a Littlest Pet Shop Adoption Center playhouse, which they love, and tons of new Littlest Pet Shops to add to their collection. Brandon and I got the Beatles Rock Band game and a beautiful clock from his sister Erin.
Grandma Dorothy with Avery.
Grandma and Hayden.
Grandma and Kiley.
Grandma and Eliza (cousin).
Mommy & Kiley.
Avery testing out the new scooter. She LOVES that thing!
Kiley running around. The park is a great place for her :)
Of course, since we never see snow, we did not have any gloves or boots or any winter attire, so we layered the best we could and got our fingers cold playing in the snow with our hands. Avery didn't seem to mind.
l
Even I got in on the action. It was actually really fun. I felt like a little kid making snowballs and chasing the girls and watching our footprints in the snow behind us.
Brandon had to capture these "plumber" shots of Hayden & Avery :)
Avery writing her name in the snow.
Kiley did not like walking in the snow at first, but after a little while she was running around with the other two having a great time. She did fall right on her face once, which she did not like, but she got over it quickly.
Hayden actually didn't want to get out of the car when we first got there. (Who knows why?) But after seeing her sisters run around and have fun outside, she finally agreed to come out and play too. I'm so glad she didn't miss out on this experience. She loved playing in the snow!
Last night was momentous in our house. Avery lost her first tooth, which had been loose for several weeks, but just started getting close within the last couple of days. The permanent tooth had actually already started growing in behind it, so it was time for this one to go. She let Brandon pull it out and was so brave. 
We put her tooth in a plastic bag and she carried it around all night and kept looking at her smile in the mirror. It was pretty funny. She was so excited this morning to find the $ that the tooth fairy left under her pillow last night. 
