Christmas 2011

Christmas with Friends

That is what a day spent with your best friends looks like:

a doorbell ring~smiles~hugs~pure excitement~helping set up

glazed donuts~hot chocolate~marshmallows~chocolate dipped spoons

Santa bingo~m&m's~helping each other find wins~calling out Santa~Christmas music

choosing a package~angry birds~trading presents~ almost everyone happy

Mr. Popper's Penguins~snuggling with friends~bean bags~blankets~candy canes

Mario Party~jumping and dancing around~screaming and laughing

 

 

 

 

 Could it get any better than that?

a story

When Ryan and I showed up at our local grocery store this weekend, we had no idea that we would run into Santa there.  Ryan immediately told him that he wasn't the real Santa but just one of Santa's helpers.  Santa told him to come and sit on his lap and give a good pull on his beard to see if it was real.  Ryan grabbed onto it with two hands and I encouraged him to be really careful and not pull too hard. Ryan seemed impressed that it was real and then wanted to take a peek under his hat to see if his hair was real.  Santa didn't mind so he took off his hat and showed Ryan his hair and then put his hat on Ryan's head, which Ryan quickly yanked off.  Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas and when Ryan told him Skylanders, Santa looked at me for help.  I said, "You know Santa it's that new video game that you are making." Santa then told Ryan a story about how Rudolph got his red nose which was from playing with the cleaners that were under his workbench and he got some on his nose which turned it red.  Really Santa?  As we were standing there saying our good byes and making our promises to be good I looked down at Ryan and saw something all over in his hair.  It didn't take but a second to figure it out that it was dandruff flakes from the dear sweet unhygienic Santa who tried to put his hat on Ryan.  The good news is though that Ryan insists that he was the real Santa because his beard and hair were real.

 Sunday at church the boys and all the youth in church sang a song for us.  The boys looked so handsome all dressed up and not one complained about going up to sing so I was very impressed.  They sang the song  "The World Needs Love" so it was a very sweet way to start our day.  As soon as we got home from church our annual candy exchange day was starting.  We used to get together each year to actually make the candy but as the family grew and we made more and more candies it was just too much, so that is how the candy exchange came to be.  Everybody brought their candies and cookies.  Mom made her fudge, peanut brittle and caramel corn.  Nicole made her toffee bars, chocolate peanut butter balls, chocolate covered peanut butter ritz, and rocky road.  I made crock pot candy, ten dozen sugar cookies, and another recipe that failed, Summer made her cherry dipped cookies and peppermint bark.  Brooke made her chocolate covered pretzels.  It's just a huge sugar fest!

After we ate an assortment of yummy food but no bread (since the person assigned the bread forgot) most of us sat around to decorate the sugar cookies. Matt gets the award for the best cookie decorator. Ryan and him worked as a team to decorate some of the best looking cookies ever! It's no secret that we get our love for food from my mom, she can't resist any leftover frosting to be thrown away.

We then played our new dancing game on the Kinect where Brooke rules as the dancing champion in the family, she knows how to bust some moves.  After that most of us loaded up and headed to the theater to watch the movie Chipwrecked.  It was a fun way to end our very full day! 

my fellas

It was time once again for our annual Christmas card picture

and the family couldn't be more excited. ha!

Since it's dark outside by the time Heath gets home from work and our weekends have been too busy,

I knew that this year it would have to be just the boys for our Christmas card picture.

I was a little disappointed that it wouldn't be all of us only because I love how all of our new Christmas outfits would match and knew that we would make a cute family.

I told the boys at the beginning of the week that one day after school we would be doing pictures.

They insisted only if the girls could come too.

I figured having the girls there would be more of a distraction for them but if it meant no complaining then I was good with it.

The boys did try complaining anyway when they saw that they would be wearing fancy clothes

but that didn't matter because everything was going to be just the way that I wanted it.

The weather was decent, the sun was shining and the boys were all healthy again so the time had come.

I called Amanda that afternoon when I decided to do pictures.

I told her that we were meeting at 3:30

that she would need to bring her camera

and that she would be the one taking the pictures

while I would be the one posing the kids.

She said okay because that's just what friends do.

The pictures took about twenty minutes to take

with little complaining from the boys

and little distractions from the girls

and little stress from me

and the boys could hardly believe their ears when they heard me say

Perfect, we got it!

I can't show you the group picture, you will just have to wait until you get your Christmas card

but here are their individual shots and I love, love, love them.

Thanks my friend!

Take a look at my handsome little fellas.

 

 

the program

So I've been to Melton the Warm Hearted Snowman Christmas Program before,

I don't remember how many times that I've seen it but I've seen it enough.

It's put on by the Kindergartners and First Graders so next year might finally be my last time.

I feel bad that I wasn't too excited about it this year until I saw how excited Ryan was for me to watch him sing.  He would be my first kid to show any kind of excitement for either a program or for me being there to watch. Ryan even happily waved and smiled at me each time he saw me in the front row, I loved every second of that.  So the program started out and there was a lot of excitement and energy from the kids.

Ryan did his hand movements and sang along.

He then started getting a little bored, I didn't blame him I did too.

 Then he started playing with his tie.

When that wasn't enough, he started wrapping his tie around his neck. 

He then quit singing all together and just started making faces.

Totally not appropriate but he was so entertaining to me! 

 After the program I wanted to get a picture of Ryan and Ashlynn. They both looked so cute dressed up for their big day. Another little girl even told Ryan that she wanted him to be her husband and he said, no way!

I then took a picture of Amanda and Ashlynn. Girls are so different than boys for pictures, Ashlynn walked right up, stood next to her mom and smiled for the picture.

Ryan on the other hand, first started by being silly

and walked right up to the camera for a close up

he then turned around and ran to me jumping into my arms when I wasn't expecting it 

he of course doesn't let go

 and he pulls me over with him

 until I let go and he drops

and then finally we get our picture together.

That's a lot of work for one picture,

but I guess he's worth it.

naughty or nice

My kids (mostly Luke and Ryan) better be thankful that they still have three weeks until

Christmas because they have been a whole lot more naughty than they have been nice!

Even with getting to see one of Santa's 'helpers' this weekend and writing their

letters to Santa it didn't seem to help get them into the Christmas spirit.

Saturday morning we headed to the school for the Christmas bazaar and to see Santa.

I don't know that this Santa helper has been helping out for very long because

1.  look at the way he is sitting and

2.  he never asked the boys what they wanted for Christmas

Ryan ran up there right away and told Santa that he wanted Skylanders for Christmas,

the other two weren't for sure about going up to see Santa but we made them anyway and

then Santa didn't ask them anything.

We managed to stay busy all weekend

visiting Santa, signing Cody up for basketball, shopping for new basketball shoes, visiting with neigbors,

Christmas shopping, lunch at TGIFriday's, Costco shopping, church and going to watch Arthur's Christmas.

All in all a good weekend.