A Christmas Tree!

You should buy me because I'm the strongest tree and the tallest tree.

I'm the most sweet smelling tree.

I never leak sap.

I brighten up the room with my sparkling lights.

I will protect your presents.

I'm as fresh as raw meat.

That is why I should be your tree.

By: Nathan

Nathan had done this in school and came home with a plus on it.  I thought it was too cute not to record.

Christmas Morning...

I was awake most of the night.  Christmas Eve since I was little was always hard to get a good nights sleep.  I got a Christmas text at 5 am and laid there until 6:45.  I decided it was time to wake everyone up and go check to see if Santa came!

Sure enough!  Stocking were full of puzzles, games, toothbrushes, woopie cushions, markers, matchbox cars, gum, Flintstones vitamins, and a quarter!

Kendall got a Lighting McQueen bike, a BYU hat, the Lorax, Operation, jammies, balls, a curious George set, and socks!  He loved that Santa surprised him but said his favorite thing about Christmas was doing secret things for people!

Nathan got a race car, a scooter, a tub of markers, the games: Telestrations, charades and story cubes, jammies, some movies and a BYU hat and basketball shorts! His said favorite thing this Christmas was being an Elf and surprising a few people.

Christmas morning went fast!  We ate creme brulee french toast and turkey bacon and returned back to the Christmas tree to open gifts.

I was extremely surprised when I opened a ticket to the shooting range with Justin.  I'm looking forward to a date so I think I will take anything!

Justin got books, clothes, these earphone thingys,  movie tickets, and stuff for camping.

Mammy loved her new set of knives, pedicure gift card, new bag, and fire pit.  Papa loved his book, chocolates, and portfolio of over 60 letters!  So awesome! That was a Christmas highlight.  That and some amazing pics Doug and Sara got of his study he built.

It was fun to watch everyone open their presents and give hugs.  Justin loved his elf hat from Kendall and wore it all day.... until Nathan stole it.

Christmas Eve 2012....

 To say there was excitement in the air would be an understatement.  Violent blots of lightening ripping through the house would be more like it.

The boys opened their Christmas Eve packages from Mammy and got cozy in their new jammies.  Mammy read The Three Trees and then we had a white elephant gift exchange.  Thank goodness for my sister in law Sara, I have stole her traditions and we love every minute of it!

We had cinnamon rolls caked with white whipped frosting and Martha's yummy homemade hot chocolate while Justin read The Night Before Christmas and Papa read Luke 2 out of the Bible.

It was time to settle down and start dreaming of sugar plums.  This was hard to do for the boys.  We got them cozy in our room and Justin read a couple chapters of Harry Potter to help them unwind.

After they fell asleep, the adults played a game and drank more hot chocolate while a soft blanket of snow quietly coated the house and neighborhood.

After everyone left, I looked at the soft twinkling lights and basked in the magic.  I sat there overwhelmed thinking of a sweet, perfect baby that came into this world and gave us a recipe for eternal happiness.  I'm so grateful for this recipe and want to try to follow it to a "T" so that I can return to His presence someday with all my family.

Magic Reindeer food

The boys look forward to sprinkling magic reindeer food on the lawn almost as much as I do.

This year we added some big juicy carrots.  The next morning they were gobbled up and Santa left a note saying his reindeer LOVED the carrots he enjoyed his shrimp and cocktail sauce!

Who is EXCITED for CHRISTMAS?!?

That Darn Tree!

It was a treat this year to play games by the Christmas tree. The soft light created such a whimsical mood.  Half of the tree was shorting out all month.  Sometimes it would just click on and we would all cheer! 

The Jimmy Express

 When I saw THIS, I knew I had to do it this year.  One of our favorite things to do in December, is go in our old Jimmy and see the lights this cute town has to offer.

We went in the Jimmy express a few different times.  It has a calming effect and puts little ones to sleep in minutes while relaxing and putting the adults in a Christmas spirit trance.

We now have our favorites that we go see and it is always a must to drag the streets of downtown Littleton with Christmas music cranked up and Mammy and Papa crammed in the car with us.

Sugar Cookie Stars

Christmas is not complete in my opinion, without a cookie night with Mammy. Sour cream sugar cookies.

She was a trooper.  She had a really bad earache but that didn't slow her down.  

There were tons of little hands going full blast rolling out the dough, cutting them out, and then decorating.  Oh, the decorating.  I turn my head and let them go at it while I dream of the nutritious juice I will make them in the morning.  

It's fun to watch them with their creations. A little more frosting, a lot more sprinkles, and tons of finger licking in between.

 A big glass of milk and a cookie covered in drippy frosting and sprinkles ends the night.

Chritmas Tree Sleepover

The boys look forward to this tradition all year.

The objective:

To stay up as late as possible watching Christmas movies and snacking, while trying to catch Frizz (our elf), leave to go to the North Pole.

Usually, Justin and I camp out in the living room with them but this year I got a humdinger of a headache and had to leave all the fun a bit early.  Justin shortly followed when the last little sleepy eye shut.

In the morning, I was feeling much better and we all had scarfed down a yummy pancake and fruit breakfast!

Joseph...

Kendall got to be Joseph in his preschool play this year. Mary... Sara, was just as cute! He worked extra hard and learned his lines, poems, and songs.

It really is a highlight for a mom to be able to sit back and watch.  I watched his sweet little teacher orchestrate the whole thing and felt so happy to have her in our life.

 I often catch myself mouthing all his lines and words to the poems and songs.  How embarrassing if the kids knew I did that!

I started to roll the camera and about 4 minutes into it, I ran out of room on my phone so I'm going to write a little of what I remember.

He was the letter H.  And his line was, "H is for happy Christmas sights."

I loved watching him "play" Joseph.  He was sweet and kind to Mary and referred to her a lot as his wife.  Not going to lie, that will get a lot of getting used too.  He even got the rolling donkey stuck and calmly rolled it to safety.

He starred at the little baby Jesus and kept fixing His little blanket and turning it just so.  It was tender. Again...I'm the mom here.

They recited a darling poem and they were all amimals in the barn when Jesus was born.  He was the sheep.  His line was:

I said the sheep with the curly horn.
I gave you my wool to keep you warm.
He wore my coat on Christmas morn.
I said the sheep with the curly horn.

Then at the end we all had punch and cookies and SANTA showed up!  These are a little blurry but I caught some of his expressions when Santa game in.... priceless!

The Director

One evening Nathan decided to put on a play for Justin.  The next thing I knew, I had a costume, lines, and I was the sheep.  Nathan was the Shepard and Kendall was the sheepdog.

Kendall was cracking us up because he would yelp, "Ruff, Baaa!"  over and over until we explained that that a sheepdog was a type of dog.

It was a fun night being silly!

Good Ole Fashioned Therapy.

 Justin met Kendall and I at noon.  We grabbed some sandwiches and fruit and headed up to Nathan's school to pick him up.  He was so surprised to see us!

We had loaded the car with the boys' favorite blankets and stuffed animals. We had overnight bags that  included church clothes and swimming suits.  That was the only clue we gave them as we started to drive off.  It really threw them off!

Finally we I could not keep the surprise any longer.  We were going to Hannah's baptism!  We had just enough time to grab some Cafe Rio and check into the hotel and change.

It was so fun for the boys to see their cousins!  Hannah looked so pretty in her white dress.  We loved being able to see her get baptized.

The next morning, we grabbed a pancake breakfast at the Village Inn next to the hotel and set off for our final destination: Glenwood Springs!

 We had driven by the hot springs many times before but never had we stopped to swim there.  We got there and it was 30 degrees!  The boys couldn't believe we were going to swim outside in the freezing cold!

We got into our swimming suits and ran to get into the warm water.  The water felt so good!  It was 98 degrees and the hot tub pool was 104 degrees.  It was so cold outside that the pool was steaming.

We switched back and forth between the pool and hot tub and played  and relaxed for several hours.  I felt like it was so healing.  The pools have 18 different minerals and we tried to soak up all the "magical powers" it had to offer.

I loved reading all about the history.  Here is a snippet:

They set out to harness the 3.5 million gallons of naturally hot mineral water that rises from the source of the spring each day. In 1888 the world’s largest hot springs pool was born in the newly established town of Glenwood Springs. It became world-renowned as a healing wonder set in a mountain paradise. Around the turn of the century, the Golden Age of Mineral Spas, it was referred to as “Spa of the Rockies”, when "spa" was defined as hot spring bathing.

 We were laughing so hard at the boys' hands and kept calling them our little prune danishes.  By the time we were done, we were SO HUNGRY!  We found a Qudoba next to the pools and ordered what felt like the whole menu.

We drove through the historical part of the town, window shopped, and then headed back home.... in a white out blizzard!  Scary!  We prayed our way home and when we got there safely, I couldn't stop hugging and kissing Justin and telling him how grateful I was for his driving skills on this trip.

Gingerbread Cottage

We have some serious decorators in this family.  They made a tasty masterpiece that I'm sure will be tempting them all season.

I love the drippy little details and the random candies are always my favorite.

Decking the Halls

A little Christmas music was playing and the next thing I knew, we were decorating for the holiday!  I know I say this every year but I LOVE THIS AGE! 

We are in full Christmas turbo spirit! 

I want to take advantage and fill this season with things that matter the most.  Cheers!

Thanksgiving Break

Lots of hanging out on the couch this week.  Nathan and Kendall got to eat many meals on the couch which is a complete novelty.

We did a 750 piece puzzle and took lots of naps.