- Summer is full of fun traditions! Ryan and I play in a slow pitch league with my family. Our kids love coming, not to watch the game of course, but for the snackbar! It's always the highlight. Over the 4th of July we do our own fireworks in our neighborhood, have a morning breakfast at the park with the whole extended family, play in the city's slow pitch tournament with family, go to the city's parade, and watch the city's fireworks from our porch! It's always the highlight of summer.  The county fairs and rodeos have become a favorite! We never had anything like those in California so we make sure to hit all the parades, rodeo's, explore the yummy food, and of course the rides and games (where we usually end up bringing home a gold fish). 

 

- Fall traditions are becoming a new favorite! We let each kid buy one 1st day of school outfit that involves a special shopping day. Back to school pictures are always carefully thought out (more so due to Lexi and her creative mind). Pumpkin walks and corn mazes are a must every year! We go with all our cousins! We even wake up early to go watch the sheep come through town as they are getting moved for the winter (seriously who wouldn't want to see 1,000 sheep walking down the road?!). Halloween has become a very important holiday (mainly for Ryan!). He puts a lot of effort into his costume each year. Each year the kids go trick or treating to the different retirement centers in our community, and then we have a block party with dinner and a camp fire. Each Thanksgiving we try to have dinner with both my side and Ryan's side of the family (who doesn't love two Thanksgiving dinners?).     

 

- Winter brings all of our Christmas Traditions. We love decorating for Christmas and the kids love helping (they even have their own Christmas tree they can decorate how ever they want). Each year they get a new ornament to go along with something they did that year. On Christmas Eve we have dinner with my family and do a Christmas Program with all of the cousins (this past year the manager might have gotten knocked over, and the donkey definitely threw Mary off his back!). On Christmas day we go visit Ryan's family. During Christmas break we decorate sugar cookies, gingerbread houses, and do a service project where we put together hygiene kits and deliver them to local shelters. But above all we try to focus on keeping the try meaning of Christmas at the forefront.    

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- Birthdays are a HUGE deal! Like 100% all about that person. Streamers, Balloons, cake, birthday dinner, new outfit, calls from extended family are all things that happen on birthdays. Ryan even went as for as decoration my car with streamers and window chalk - the kids loved it!