It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Keith and I all dressed up for his company's holiday party.

Madison, Payson and Hayden performing in their preschool Christmas program. So precious!

Another holiday tradition in the Melker home is visiting the Trains at Northpark. Payson, Madison and Hayden are eager to go in!

All aboard!

With the great developmental changes that the kids go through from year to year, these kinds of traditions bring a new excitement and level of understanding each time we go.

And now that the kids are 5, the puppet shows have turned from scary and a bit creepy to funny and intriguing.

Continuing with traditions, Madison, Hayden and Payson decorate gingerbread houses. Okay, yes it's true. There were four mini houses this year so I got to decorate one too!

Our little village was like a 3D Candyland!

With Christmas just two days away it was time to get baking Santa's cookies! Madison, Payson and Hayden rolled out the dough and used their favorite cookie cutter shapes.

After watching the Polar Express their sugar cookies had cooled and the kids were ready to add some icing and edible bling. And lots and lots of finger licking!

Happy 5th Birthday!

Hayden, Payson and Madison turned 5 today and boy were they ready! Here they are getting their spunk on before school. My have they grown!

For breakfast Daddy made an early morning run to the donut shop so the kids could each have their own 3-layered donut cake!

And for school I made cupcakes for their class decorated with mermaid jewels and pirate coins.

Keith even surprised the kids as the Mystery Reader for their class!

After school we headed to the mall for the girls to get their hair done...

...male-up done...

...nails done...

...and ears pierced!

Hayden has been asking to have her ears pierced since she was 3! I told her she could do it at age 5, thinking that she would forget and move on, but she remembered and held me to it! So, on her 5th birthday, she had two small pink studs put in her ears.

Madison wasn't so sure if she was going to have her ears pierced. She wanted to wait another year until she saw Hayden do it without a tear- or hardly even a flinch! Madison admittedly cried but they were both so brave and happy! And you're in for a surprise- Madison chose purple studs!

Time for presents!

During school chapel the kids received their birthday pencils and certificates and Payson received the character award for patience!

Here's our little family on the kids' last day of being 4! Happy Birthday kids! You did it!

Medieval Times and Christmas Prep

With the Melkers in town for Hayden, Payson and Madison's 5th birthday party we put together a fun evening at Medieval Times which the kids loved! Here they are in the castle "jail" prior to the start of the show.

The kids loved the show and especially got into cheering on the red and yellow knight. 

Good 'ole family fun! Thanks Grammy and GP for the wonderful evening!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the Melker house! The kids were able to help with most all of the decorating this year which was fun for us all. Of course, with three 3 1/2 foot tall children all of their ornaments were clumped together in the same place on the tree so I had to fix it up a little bit once our little elves were in bed.

Speaking of elves, Alvy came back this year and even made his way inside the doll case one day. A bit creepy? Yeah, I think so.

All of the kids helped me stuff our Christmas cards into envelopes this year and Payson put in a lot of time helping out his momma. He found his own cozy spot under the tree and stuffed away!

The kids wrote their very first letters to Santa this year. My oh my are they growing!

Madison wrote "Santa Dear" instead of "Dear Santa." Of course she was so tickled by her misprint.

Hayden proudly displaying her list.

Payson loves to cut and craft so naturally he wanted to cut out his letter to Santa.

As a Melker tradition we have Breakfast with Santa each year and this year's Santa was the real deal! His beard, smile and chuckle aligned perfectly with my own visions of Santa. As for the kids, they thought that every Santa they saw this year was St. Nick so they were easy to convince. (I foresee quite different perspectives this time next year!) They had about a 10 minute conversation with him and he had just the right answers and responses to all of their questions and curiosities.

Santa making the rounds as the we dine.

We had a great holiday party with our neighborhood playgroup. Great fun with more to come!

Mermaid Pirate Party!

For their 5th Birthday party, Madison, Payson and Hayden chose a Mermaid and Pirate party. We had it at the same play place as last year and they had a great time!

The cake looked amazing and tasted wonderful once again. Thanks Kristen!

To the kids surprise, Cinderella appeared during their party to say Happy Birthday and to tell them that they are going to Disney World! They were so excited and it was such a fun surprise for Mom and Dad to pull off!

Time for the pirates to dig in!

The mermaid party room!

The kids loved playing with their friends and were so on the go that it was hard to get any photos of them! Here is Hayden on the rockwall with a few of her good friends.

Keith and I feeling blessed to have three healthy 5-year-olds while also being relieved that the big party was going smoothly!

Hayden, Payson and Madison in the front row with almost 40 of their friends and cousins!

Party favors!

 Goodbye Cinderella! We'll see you at Magic Kingdom soon!

 The next day the girls performed in their winter recital. Here they are sporting their Hip Hop clothes.

Nunie and Pops enjoyed the show!

And Grammy and GP stayed in town to show support for their favorite ballerinas. Thanks for coming!

NASCAR Racing and Fire Station

We took the kids with us to Texas Motor Speedway so they could watch us enjoy some serious speed and adventure. For Keith's birthday this summer I bought him a pass to experience the Ultimate NASCAR racing experience and the date had finally arrived!

Real NASCAR race cars = real speed!

First, Keith and I separately rode as passengers, taking laps around the track... at 180 MPH! It is hard to explain the feeling we experienced while going around that first turn. The car was steady but our eyeballs were shaking from the adrenaline and G-force!

Next up was Keith's turn to drive by himself with just a microphone and pit crew chief assist him along the way. He pushed the car to its maximum speed of over 150 MPH!

Keith crossing the finish line!

The kids were so proud!

And so were we! Definitely the adventure of a lifetime!

The kids visited a local fire station with their friends and playgroup and learned about fire safety.

Exploring the firetruck.

The firefighters were so kind and patient and the kids enjoyed memorable times with friends.