Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas Morn

Well, Christmas has come and gone. We were hoping to be snowed in for the day, but our snowstorm arrived Christmas night. The kids were good this year, and got up when asked (7 am), although Hayley's alarm woke me up at 6:45 am. This was set so she could do her hair for the pictures! Since when did she turn 13?! Anyways, I think the kids all enjoyed their presents and hopefully forgot the ones they didn't get. Here's some pics:



The family enjoying a little Guitar Hero on Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's.



The kids at Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas Eve.


Hayley with her Dancing with the Stars PS2 game. Watch out Edyta!

Tyler with one of the only gifts from his Santa list - Batman Legos video game!

Zach with Guitar Hero III. We'll never see him again!

Justin with tissue paper?! He was across the room from me, and all I could see was the wrapping paper flying all around me from the other three kids, so this was one of a few that I actually captured of Justin.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Childhood Innocence

On Friday night, we had our Ward Christmas Party. This year, they planned a nice dinner for everyone with a short version of "The Polar Express" (which is the only way to go for this long, drawn-out movie). We were told to wear pajamas. Hayley, Justin and Tyler did for our family, and the rest of us went in our clothes. I don't know about anyone elses ward get togethers, but my kids like to hang out with friends. I have long since given up on trying to keep the kids with us. The only kid that ate dinner with our family was Justin (gotta love Justin!), the rest were scattered throughout the gym with their friends. After dinner, the movie started, and all the smaller kids sat to watch. My older two started roaming the halls with friends. Zach and his posse found a classroom to watch "Napoleon Dynamite" on his PSP. Wish I would have known, cause I like that movie a whole lot more! Hayley and a couple of friends just wandered, giggling like girls do. After the party, it took us about 20 minutes to round everyone up, and I found Zach first who (along with his friends) told me that McKay (a 7th grade neighbor) kissed Hayley! My first question was, "WHERE?!" He answered by saying, "On the head." (That better be it!) I started looking for Hayley and Whitney, along with Whitney's mom. Then, my neighbor came out and asked if I had seen McKay. This immediately sent worry. A few minutes later, I found Hayley (without McKay!), and started asking about the kissing. She confirmed that he had kissed her on the head twice, but that was all. Fortunately, Hayley found this repulsive (since she's only in the 4th grade) and had to come home and take a shower and wash her hair! I think Kris came home and felt the need to check his gun! I do not look forward to the teenage years!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

My Mud Room







This is what my mud room looked like (and still looks like) after this weekend. We received nine inches of snow over the weekend, and it didn't take long for my four kids to pull out coats, gloves, hats, boots and snow pants and head to the great outdoors for several hours of fun. They built snow forts, had snowball fights, and just enjoyed the fresh white powder.

Here in Farmington, we have a large flat yard. When we lived in Draper, we had a much smaller yard with retaining walls and small hills. The kids used to ski and sled down our backyard in Draper. At times, we all miss the hours of entertainment we had in our backyard there, but the kids seem to find fun with the snow anywhere. Oh, to be a kid again!












Monday, December 8, 2008

Let It Snow!



Last night, we decorated this...(a little messy, but worth it - I think!)




And this morning, we woke up to this...




I guess Christmas can come now.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Great Ideas to help with the Holidays

If you are like me, you look anywhere and everywhere for tips, help, and ideas to simplify the holidays. I ran across this website, and wanted to share:

www.organizedchristmas.com

Also, several years ago, my sister clued me in to a great website where your kids can write to Santa online, and as soon as they hit "Send", a message from Santa immediately appears. It is so real, that the first year we used it, Zach had just learned that Santa was not real, and after he sent his letter, he began to question whether he really was or not! It makes a believer out of any kid! Where was all this fun stuff when I was a kid?! Here's that website:

www.emailsanta.com

Check it out and enjoy the holidays!