Happy New Year!

SANTA CAME!!!

We started a tradition with our kids a long time ago, that Christmas Eve dinner is pancakes. Usually Santa pancakes.

With whipped cream and cherry pie filling and M&Ms for the eyes and mouth. They look forward to it every year now. Good tradition--easy for Mom and Dad!

This is our Christmas tree that the kids so lovingly decorated... and redecorated. You can just make out the cookies and milk. Santa's favorite cookies are Mint Oreos.

Santa brought new bikes for the kids. They are still trying to figure out how santa got those bikes down the chimney.

(You can see on the couch behind the bikes---new pillows for everyone!)

Santa also brought Jingle for our family. Jill would see that little dog everytime we went to the store and want to stop and pet it and listen to it bark. Good job Santa!

Then, of course they had to go outside and try out their new bikes. Squirt still needs to figure out pedaling, but she loves just sitting on it too.

They are all so excited to have bikes that fit them. Their old ones were getting way too small!!

All in all it was a pretty good Christmas. And after Christmas, we were able to visit with family. My sister who lives in the middle of nowhere came to visit. We hadn't seen her family in 2 years. My parents came down as well. It was fun to see everyone. Then, once they left, we went up to Preston to see hubby's brother and his family. We haven't seen them in almost 2 years too. Now it's new years and we are back to just hanging out!

Gettin' Ready for Christmas

This year, the kids all agreed on one shirt for their Christmas shirt. And, although it did involve sewing on 8 buttons (which I loathe!), I love my children and did it anyway. The kids wore them to the Church Christmas party, and again to pick a Christmas tree.

You can't really see the boy's but his reindeer has a bowtie instead of a hair (antler?) bow. And yes, they are all Rudolph. I wasn't about to start that fight!

We went to the Tree Lot in town that had Mater. It was pretty cool, but I couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a tree for only 2 weeks. Maybe if we'd gotten in 2 weeks ago, but not for just 2 weeks. But the kids loved Mater.

Do you like Squirt's new 'camera smile?' We brought our Rite Aid tree home and, after hubby put the lights on, we let the kids go at it. They did pretty well. It's nice that the boy can reach to top part. And there is only one glass ornament on it, so I am okay with it being in the TV room downstairs.

Happily Playing

First of all, who knew we had so many penguins?!!

Secondly, thank goodness we do, since it kept Squirt busy for 30 minutes while I made dinner.

Line 'em up...

Lay 'em down...

It's not a penguin massacre. It's a penguin slumber party.

Getting Ready For Christmas

Last year, we had this glass built in showcase thing where we put our advent calendar. Since we moved, I had to get creative. A trip to the dollar store, where I bought 2 spools of ribbon and a pack of clothespins and we were set. Then, I stayed up until midnight trying to get it all in the order I wanted and stuffing the bags full of candy. But, it's done and the kids are loving it!

(Munchkin helped me pin all the bags up multiple times as they kept falling!)

The kids wanted Christmas shirts again this year. Since I had to redeem myself from the reindeer craft fail of 2010, I went with reindeer again. The boy was surprisingly excited about it. Even begging to sew the button eyes on. However, since most of my crafting is done while my children sleep, his sewing career will have to start later.

(they all picked out their own ribbon for the bows and fabric for the bowtie)

I am in the Primary Presidency at church and this year we are doing a little program at the Ward Christmas dinner. The boy was chosen to be a wiseman. He asked me if I could make him a beard. I thought it would be so funny for the wisemen to have these beards, so I made three. I was kind of afraid to tell the Primary president for fear she wouldn't want the beards, but she found out and asked me to make one more for the innkeeper.

(Munchkin modeling the innkeeper beard)

The boy insisted on a black scraggly one. I had fun coming up with the shapes of the bottoms of the beards.

So far this December we have:

1. written letters to Santa on a cute printable--I had them write their top 5 wants

2. Made paper countdown chains

3. Cut out about a million snowflakes

4. Make a gingerbread man craft while eating gingerbread marshmallows

5. Watched a Rudolph movie while coloring Rudolph pictures

6. Had hot chocolate with marshmallows through red and white striped straws

7. Read a Christmas story and got 4 new Christmas books. One of them is a Mickey Mouse one but I guess it still counts.

In other news, I had my crown on my tooth replaced this week. I got it on our 5 year anniversary (5.5 years ago) and it has been hurting me for about 3 years. In the two days I have had the temp. crown, it feels so much better already! It's not cold sensitive anymore. Can I just say I love my dentist?! And I love that we have a Flex spending card to pay for it all with! This year a crown, next year Lasik for hubby.