Christmas Afternoon

After we had our finished our gifts, and had showered, we headed over to Eric's parent's for more fun (and leftovers for lunch).

Of course the boys got more Legos-this time from the Hobbit

But the biggest surprise- scooters for everyone

And yes, Maddie wore here Little Red Ridding Hood outfit the entire day-good call Santa!

Eme's scooter matches her helmet perfectly!  The kids spent the entire wither break outside on either their bikes or their scooters.

Christmas Morning

Just before the kids came down, everything looks so soft and serene...

They are so excited to see what's waiting for them, and yet three of them only woke up at just before 7 and Eme we had to wake-up at 7:15.  We could hear Davin's sweet voice telling the others to "let's just be quiet still, they'll come get us when they're ready"  Sometimes he can be so sweet and good, love him.

PURE JOY-makes me so happy!!

There were a couple of Lego/Halo sets, and one of them was the Hobbit game for the boys to share-it only took an instant for them to be captivated.

Ah, Cabbage Patch Kids! My favorite part was asking Eme what them smelled like (baby powder), her response: "Cabbage?"  But they were so thrilled with their baby dolls, they haven't left their sides for all of vacation!

FINAL GIFTS:

The boys got Nerf disk guns-Dad really wanted them to have Nerf guns, so I picked up these guns from Costco.  Dad is the ultimate HERO this year, disks have been flying left and right.  Eric's only regret: not buying himself one too-he got his a week later.  We have almost nightly Nerf gun battles in the front room-that second floor landing makes for a great perch to shoot over into the living room!

And the girls are loving their bunk-bed cribs/high chairs and double strollers.  Those babies are well loved.

I was able to surprise Eric with the Blu-Ray of Lord of the Rings, extended version (because BR is better than the DVD version we already own, right?); a new watch-we'll see how long this one lasts, he has a propensity to "kill" his watches; a new r/c helicopter (his just barely died); and family tickets to go up to Meteor Crater-so excited about this one!!

And He surprised me-he had already bought me my Christmas gift early so I could enjoy it all month long-a beautiful new Jim Shore nativity set.  So I wasn't expecting anything on Christmas morning (especially after buying a new washer/dryer on the 5th), but after all was said and done, there was one small box left, and it was for me!  He bought me a Sapphire necklace, a total shocker!  I'm just glad I had done some nice things for him for Christmas this year

I forgot to take a pic of mine before I packed it up, but here's the pick from the site.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has rolled around once more, and rather all too quickly this year if you ask me.  But that is the hazard of school getting out on Friday and Christmas Eve falling on a Monday, it just happens without any precursor of vacation.  It's both a good thing and a bad thing, it means that all of our pre-Christmas activities (ie: cleaning of bedrooms to make room for new toys, baking of cookies, general tidying of the house) must be squeezed into Saturday and Monday (baking can happen on Sunday of course, but that's it).

Monday, Christmas Eve came, and with it a day off for Eric.  By lunch-time the kids had finished up some of their activities (chores) and it was time for the family game to get them the rest of the way through the day.  I had been dropping hints all day: No, it was not a board game.  No, it was not a card game.  No, it was not a video game.  No, it was not a Lego game.  I know, I'm so helpful.

Angry Birds Star Wars-neither a card game, nor a video game, nor a board game, nor a Lego game. HA!  But it was a game that all four of them could play together without any assistance from us, for an hour or so. 

Nana opted to do a Nativity play this year instead of a talent display.  It went rather well-until someone (Davin) pulled out a toy knife at the end and told us how Herod wanted to slay all the babies "like this..." 

Back at home it was time for Christmas pajamas!! The girls were thrilled with theirs: pinks and gray/black.

And I even had a surprise pair for Eric! So all three boys got new pairs tonight: more red and black.

Now it's off to bed for the kids while Eric and I put together projects that we should have done a few nights ago (oops), get breakfast ready for tomorrow morning, and watch "Silent Night" on KBYU.com (so so good, we'll have to buy our own copy!).

'Twas the Week Before Christmas...

And on Sunday the boys were playing Risk, both the regular and Lord of the Rings versions

On Monday, I picked the very first orange from our tree! (Also on Monday, the battery on my car was dead-boo)

Tuesday morning, after we charged the battery all night long, I drove the car to the store for food, only to have it die-for good.  Thankfully I have jumper cables in the car and a sister-in-law who was 5 min away, unfortunately, the cables were the smaller size (why??) so they wouldn't jump the van.  But my dear sil drove me and Maddie back home with all of my groceries.  Eric and his dad were able to get the car jumped and home later that night.

On Wednesday Maddie had her class program, they did the play: The Mitten, and Maddie got to be the little mouse at the end.  We were able to get the car battery replace since it was under warranty (they always are in AZ), and I was good to go again later that night.

On Thursday, I finally took the training wheels off of Eme's bike (it's not like she needed them, I just didn't have the energy to do it before, poor girl).  The good news is, she only needed one push, and then there was no stopping her!

On Friday, Eric needed to make a few more of his "special" ornaments.  And boy were they special!  Glittered, spray painted, macaroni-ball ornaments, with the additional bonus of the macaroni spelling out BSD (for Benefit Services Division).  It's all part of a white elephant gift exchange they do each year-and Eric is not one to be out-done when it comes to a white elephant.

And Friday we had a half day so I took the kids to the park for a bike ride and a picnic lunch.  We had great weather and just enjoyed the time outside, until it was time to go of course :)

12-12-12: Project Completed

I have loved having this project to keep me going through some of my rougher times, it has been a true blessing for our whole family.

It's hard to wake them up when it's cold and dark outside-but still, it must be done: Aidan is up at 6:30 for a shower, than at 6:50 we start waking everyone else up. 

Of all the kids, Maddie is actually the easiest to wake up, and she wakes up happy 99% of the time.

It's the 12th! The only rules of the advent calendar: the holy family and angels go up nicely, no moving pieces once they're put up.  So, yes, we have a spider-man shepherd this year.

My Nutcracker that I got way back in 4th grade, from the first time I saw the Nutcracker, has apparently gained magical abilities this year, and can move about in the night.  The kids find him in a different location every morning (usually a very difficult location); at least one of those kids has been having as much fun as Eric and I at this game late at night too!

We do feel sorry for our neighbors, you can often hear Davin yelling after Eme to "wait up".  Why? I don't know, as he can ride a great deal faster then she can.

The first of three stores I have to shop at in the next two days, thankfully I got here before all of the old people-horray!!!

Time to update one of the wreathes-back to red & green with a touch of white and crystal.  Now to just get my mother-in-law to make me a bow...

Maddie wanted in on the fun of dishes while helping water "plants" outside.

Finally, I found enough energy to teach Maddie how to ride a bike.  She took to it so much better after the bigger kids got home from school, so we spent another 45 min outside riding bikes before homework.

Davin's Rx changed, so time for new glasses! 

My tree, all lit up for the season.  I love the trees at night, I put them up after Thanksgiving, and keep them up until New Years!

I surprised Eric with a replacement hot chocolate maker-the other one took an unexpected, and fatal, fall into the sink full of water.  A very happy ending to our day.

Happy 9th Birthday!!

Woo Hoo!! 9 is the NEW half-way to a mission mark!!! Happy Birthday dear Davin boy!

Yes, the boy's bday fell on a fast Sunday, and we have 8 am church-double bad luck! No bday breakfast, but there wouldn't have been any time for it anyway.  So he got his breakfast yesterday (sort of) at the Ward Christmas party. 

But when church was over, Eric got a text from Nana and Papa saying they were at our house with some gifts for the bday boy (it was also the First Presidency Christmas Devotional night).  So we rushed back home, the whole block and a half, to meet them and see what wonders they brought.  A book, some clothes, a cool Lego Lord of the Rings set, and the Lego LOTR Wii game was what awaited Davin.  Happy Birthday indeed!

After Aidan and Eric went on their fast-offering routes, the kids had their sibling gifts for Davin.  And was he ever happy-HALO dudes!!

Of course the boy wanted Bandito's for dinner, what else is his favorite meal?  Camo cupcakes for dessert for the boy who is obsessed with the armed forces/miltary.  They were super easy, although a bit messy.  Thank you pinterest!

Davin supplied the army men and the cupcake toppers, he was so excited to make them-and spent just as much time building Legos as he did drawing these out.

making a wish...

for more HALOs

and more HALOs, 

And more HALOs!!

Happy birthday to a boy who always keeps us on our toes, but who is so full of love and kindness that it just blows me away at times.