Making Gifts

This year the kids have really gotten into making gifts for each other. It has been so delightful to watch them & hear them getting all excited about what they are doing. They've worked so hard on different ones.

Lexie made an angel for Mom. It's really cute. It took her a very long time to make. She collected different things at school, home, & the store floor to make the angel. Mom thinks it's beautiful!

Joseph really wanted to make a snowman for baby Eliza. He says, "I did it a lot well. But I had some trouble. And I did collect a lot. It took me like an hour to make the snowman for baby Eliza. I hope she likes it." I think she will love it!

Bass Pro Shop Excursion

We heard that the Bass Pro Shop is really fun at Christmastime, so this year we went to check it out. We weren't disappointed.

We were able to see Santa,

have a "snowbrawl" fight,

look at the fish, do some target shooting, and play with trains.

It was great fun, and the kids liked it, too.

Winter Solstice

We told the kids that there was going to be an eclipse last night around mid-day. From that point on, about every hour (or more), Joseph would ask, "Is it midnight yet?" He was extremely excited about seeing the eclipse. We got him up around 1:30 to see it. Our skies were perfectly clear & bright. It was awesome to see all of the stars! Joseph did think it was pretty cool. Unfortunately, we failed to realize that Lexie wanted us to get her up as well. Gratefully she was forgiving & settled for watching the news segment about the eclipse. Here is what we were able to capture though. (Not the best of pics, but it was really pretty & awesome to see.)

Lexie-ness

Today in Primary, the kids got new CDs with next year's program songs. When we got home, Lexie & Joseph were reading over the list & Lexie saw that "I Love to See the Temple" was on it & excitedly said, "I love that song. I used to sing it in the bathroom like almost everyday!" It made me smile & remember months back (I can't remember how long ago) that one of my friends at Church came out of the bathroom & said something to the effect of, " I just had the pleasure of being in the bathroom with your daughter & got to listen to her singing. It was wonderful. When do we stop being free like that?" Anyway, I know I didn't quote it exactly, but I realized, Lexie doesn't sing in the bathroom like that anymore (at least not that I've noticed). She is growing up & gratefully into a wonderful girl who is very caring & sweet.

Several months ago Lexie drew this picture & it's been hanging on the wall ever since.

We're so happy that she wants to be a missionary & love that she thinks about ways that she can be a good example to others. We sure love our Lexie Lou.

Ward Christmas Party

This morning we had a fun ward party & a visit to Santa. It really was fun hearing the kids talk to Santa & tell him what they wanted. With Joseph it was funny because Santa asked him what his name was & he said Joseph. Then Santa asked him if he knew anyone else special named Joseph & he started listing people: Joseph Smith, Grandpa, my Uncle, Joseph of Egypt, Joseph with Mary...it was funny because the man playing Santa this year is named Joseph but our Joseph didn't know that.

And what did they ask for?

Lexie wants a barbie.

Joseph wants more fun pictures of his family for his room. (When Santa asked if there was anything else he said, "No, I just really love my family."

And Andrew wants trains & cars.

So many fun Christmastime activities. It's really fun to watch the kids & see what they do & say.

Joseph's VIP

This week Joseph is the class VIP.

He got to bring Corduroy home & share him with the family for the week (infact, there wasn't even any fighting over him).

It's been so much fun watching him share & show Corduroy around. He's colored with him, taken him on a "rollercoaster", & he has even made him a booster seat & buckles him in the car so he can be safe when we go places.

Kindergarten is so much fun.

What is it?

Andrew likes to draw lots of pictures while I help in Joseph's class. Last Friday he drew these & asked me what it was. I guessed a banana.

Nope, a happy shark.

Then he drew this one. Can you tell what it is?

A mad shark. Of course. (And a happy "A", too.)

Preschool Party

The theme for the last month in Andrew's class was baking. We had the fun field trip to make pizzas & they've made cookies in their class room. Tonight they had a "Cookie Night" & each of the classes performed a little song. This was Andrew's.

We sure love this little boy & his personality. We are grateful he loves his class & his teachers. Now if only he could get his hat to fit right...

Who's Who Take Two Answers

And the answers are:
A. Lexie
B. Andrew
C. Joseph
D. Eliza
E. Your guess is as good as mine.
Thanks to all who played.

A Fun Cake

We were so excited to make this cake for our wonderful friends. It's a baby cake telling them if they are having a boy or a girl. So last night we made a blue cake & a pink cake. (I didn't want to mess up baking it in all of the excitement of today, better to just have them ready.) Then they called me from the doctors office, handed the phone over to the ultrasound tech & left the room so they wouldn't hear when she told me the baby's gender & then off to decorating. They've been calling the baby "Jellybean" so we decided to decorate the cake with jellybeans.

Fun idea, huh? We'd never heard of it before, but are so glad they let us in on the surprise!

Who's Who Take Two

It's time again to play "Who's Who?" Below are pictures of Lexie, Joseph, Andrew, & Eliza. Try to match each child with their picture. Answers will be posted on Wednesday, so go ahead & make a guess. As with last time, not all pictures will be used.

A:

B:

C:

D:

E:

Santa Visit

Today was the annual Breakfast with Santa at Rick's work. We enjoyed the little breakfast, listening to the nice music from the quintet of a local symphony, seeing Santa, & picking out toys.

There was a big difference in how Andrew reacted to Santa this year from last year. Instead of being scared of him, this year he gladly jumped right on his lap, liked his fuzzy suit, & really enjoyed pulling on his beard (we found out it's the non-removable kind).