Family Party Time

The kids started planning a Christmas Party for us about 3 days ago. We've been so busy these last few days that we didn't get to it until today. (Which gave Lexie & Joseph more time to make signs pointing the way to the basement so we wouldn't get lost on our way to the party.)

The kids worked really hard & set up games for us to play. The first one was a ball toss.

Then they had a bowling game where the pins were about 20 different toys they had set up.

They had food prepared for us to eat (this is the after we'd eaten shot, it was much neater).

And then, what's a party without dancing? It was awesome watching them rock out to the music produced by the sit-n-spin!

Good times! We are so grateful that our kiddos love to have so much fun with each other & with us. We sure love them!

Merry Christmas!

We really enjoyed Christmas together! We missed seeing more of our extended family, but we had a great time here at home!

We loved finding more cute little presents Lexie & Joseph made. These ones are for Jesus.

We opened our stockings then had breakfast before opening the presents under the tree.
Here are Lexie & Joseph with the 4 flashlights in their stockings.

We got some really fun presents this year. Joseph wanted to line out all of his favorite presents (all of them). He loves the science kit he got. He can already tell you all about the different clouds in the sky. It was funny on our way down to dinner with my sister, I asked him what kind of clouds were in the sky right now & he said cirrus ("serious") ones. And he said they looked a little like ghosts or dragons in the sky. Then he said, "I think they're probably called serious clouds because dragons are pretty serious."

Andrew was in snowman pajamas until he opened these. Immediately he started taking off the ones he was wearing so he could wear these instead.

Our cute 11 yr old niece made this adorable hat for Eliza. She loves it already! She also got a beautiful dress from one of her aunts that we can't wait for her to wear.

A big thank you to our family who gave us some really fun gifts! They were all really great & we enjoy them all! It was really funny though to open the same present I got in 1995, only this time it was a hardcover book instead of paperback. My brother wrote a fun book, "Dating: A Pre-Mission Perspective" & gave us the second edition this year. It's been fun to read it again & have some good laughs. So if anyone needs dating advice...

We are truly blessed by all of the thoughtful, fun, helpful, & entertaining gifts that we received. And we are especially blessed by the gift of our Savior! We are grateful for this season celebrating His birth. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Tonight we read & acted out the Nativity. Lexie was super excited to play Mary. For some odd reason, Joseph wanted to be Joseph.

Andrew really wanted to be Baby Jesus until he found out that the Shepherd gets to carry a shepherd's crook. He's now only answering to the name 'Shepherd'. We'll see how long that lasts.

Mommy got to be the Angel, which left Rick being the Donkey.

It went very well & afterwards we sang all of the Christmas songs in the Hymnbook (& some during the reading that go with the story).

Lexie & Joseph prepared a treat for Santa: cupcakes & root beer (left on a Halloween napkin). We think he'll love them.

Lexie was very excited about the snack but then asked said to me, "Mom, I'm wondering if Santa really eats the snack or if the parents do. What do you think?" My reply, "Well, I guess we'll have to see."
Here's seeing: Ho! Ho! Ho!

A Broken Comb

About a week ago I broke my comb while combing my hair. Lexie saw my broken comb & the next day, this was under the Christmas tree.

This morning, I broke another comb. (I'm really strong I guess.) When Lexie saw it she said, "Alright, I'll fix this one too, but you're not getting a bow this time!"

Oh, how I love that little girl!

Caught Red er Green-Handed

For the last few days, every time the kids get the markers out to color, Andrew has colored on his hands. Today I asked him, "Andrew, are you paper?" He was a little stumped & said no. But, his hands seem to tell a different story.

Temple Nativity

We decided to take the kids to see the Nativity at the Denver Temple. We didn't tell them where we were going & it was awesome to hear how excited they got once they saw we were going to the Temple. They were so excited to see the Temple, the Nativity, the fountain, & the Angel Moroni. Lexie, however, was disappointed that there weren't any flowers.

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.