Christmas Break

Christmas Break is full of lots of fun activities.  A 2 night slumber party with the Christensen kids.  It has been warm enough to play at the park.  We get to play lots with our new toys.  Lots of playing the new Wii games.  Playdough. And driving Mom absolutely crazy.

Showing off their new PJs Grandma Mona sewed them.  The boys are matching and Zoe is able to match her doll.

Being Playdough chefs, wearing their new aprons.
                                     

Jack Jack tries too hard to keep up with the big kids.  He often falls asleep while eating his lunch.  Today it was in between bites of chicken nuggets.

I can't believe I have another week until Noah is back in School.  Can't wait to see what fun we can have  next week.

Christmas Day

Christmas fell on a Sunday this year.  We were trying to figure out the best way to handle all the commotion of present opening and playing with toys, while also putting an emphasis on the importance of attending and paying attention at Church.  Church this year was going to be a combined Sacrament Meeting with the other Fernley Ward.  Which means things would be really crowded and in order to get a good seat you would have to go early.  Lucky for us Dan already was going early to do his Bishopric duties, so we were able to grab great seats.  Since I know he'd be on the stand the whole time and I was worried about behavior during Sacrament Meeting with the kids focused on the toys they had to leave behind.  Or the mood they would be in resulting from tearing them away from their new toys.  I decided to postpone present opening until after church.  I must admit it was a little selfish on my part.  I didn't want to get up super early to have everything done before church.  So, we agreed to let the kids look in their stockings and open one gift before church.  The rest would have to wait until after church.  I thought this would help the kids be on their best behavior.  Boy was I wrong.  They were just as squirmy knowing they had gifts to open and distracted by the anticipation.  It probably would have been better to do it the other way.  We'll have to see, when Christmas falls on a Sunday again.

We didn't get too many pictures, or good pictures of the festivities.  I wasn't feeling well at all and managed to get in a nice nap in between present opening and our Christmas feast.  Dan did a great job cooking dinner and putting out a spread of appetizers and snacks.  Santa filled all of our stockings with our favorite snacks.  Laughing Cow Cheese, Gardenia Mix, Smoked Oysters, Pickled Herring, Cheese Logs, crackers, and Smoked Sausage.

Here is Zoe opening her package from Santa....

Tea Cup Piggies

Noah opening his present from Santa Clause...

A Crayola Cars 2 Glow Board

Jack Jack opening his present.  It took a lot of convincing and coaching.

A Shake and Go Car.  Fin McMissle from Cars 2

Christmas Eve

Can you believe Christmas is tomorrow?  We had a few more things to check off our list.  It wouldn't be Christmas without visiting the life size Nativity at the Egberts' home.  This wasn't that hard to do.  Zoe and I had the privilege of attending a special Birthday Tea Party for Suelen Egbert.  We got to taste so many yummy Brazilian treats.  She made this amazing chocolate cake that is to die for.  I hope she's around to make it for my birthday. The boys kindly dropped us off for the event and did a few last minute holiday errands.  When they picked us up we did a quick photo shoot before heading home.

Jack didn't know what to make of the giant camel, nor did he really want to be sitting on its back.  The older two had a blast playing and posing with the different figures.  There were way to many photos to post.  Some will make good blackmail material some day.  You would think with the way they acted that they owned the place.  We are so blessed to have the Egberts in our lives.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Christensens.  We ate lots of snacks, watched "The Polar Express," drank Hot Chocolate, and had a visit from one of Santa's Elves.  We found a package of Christmas Pajamas on their doorstep.  How did he know we'd be there?  We made sure to wrap things up pretty early since Christmas Morning would also be Sunday Morning.  Plus we needed to leave Santa plenty of time to visit our house.

Here is Jack and I enjoying the movie on the couch.

Kysha, Zoe, Noah, and Erik all cozy on the floor.

Our Family Picture.  Notice Mom & Dad match each other and the kids match each other (the same print, different colors).  I wonder if we can keep up this tradition?  Will the elf find our house next year?

Countdown to Christmas

The Christmas Season is upon us.  I don't feel ready for it at all, but I am ready for this year to end.  It has been a very eventful one at our house and not always in a good way.  I sometimes feel I have had more than my fair share of trials.  I have learned a lot from them and have come to realize my Heavenly Father's hand in my life.  When I was faced with something that seemed impossible to handle or deal with, there was some one right there encouraging me and helping me out.  It's funny how things work out that way.

We decorated the tree the other night.

I wonder how many more years Dan can get away with re-decorating it after the kids have gone to bed.  They don't seem to notice how drastically different it looks when they wake up in the morning.  I think it would be fun to leave it as is.  The kids always have a favorite branch, where all their ornaments end up.  So only half of the tree looks decorated.  This drives Dan crazy, he wants his tree to look perfect.  This is our attempt to keep a one year old from destroying the tree, tuck it in the corner and block most of it with the couches.  We shall see how it works.

Last night was the Ward Christmas Party and Talent Show.  I was so busy making sure that the food was ready to serve and everything was running smoothly that I missed out on a bunch of things.  Thanks to the Foist family my kids got to visit with Santa.  Too bad I never figured out where the pictures were posted.  Zoe was eager to ask Santa for a baby sister, I don't think she knows how things work.  Noah was yet again
terrified to sit on Santa's lap and really didn't know what to ask him for.  It took a lot of bribing and convincing him to do it.  I'm not sure how Jack did.  Next year he should be more aware of things.

The kids participated in the Talent Show.  They sang, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," with a bunch of kids from the ward.  Janie was kind enough to take a few pictures for me.  In all the craziness of getting out of the house on time and all my responsibilities I forgot the camera.

Dan Participated in the "12 Days of Christmas," with a lot of the priesthood brethren.  He was number 2 this year.  He created his own costume, fashioning it after Napoleon Dynamite.  He was really creative and came up with 12 different ways of saying, "Two Turtle Doves."

Unfortunately, Noah missed his Winter Concert this year.  He had the misfortune of coming down with a stomach bug the morning of the performance.  He was particularly bummed since he had a solo part.  The countdown to Christmas Break has officially begun.

Peek a Boo and Other Tricks

Where is Jack Jack?
There he is!
Where is Jackson?
Peek a Boo!
Jack has figured out how much fun it is to hide behind curtains and play peek a boo. He thinks he is so funny and it keeps him entertained for a while. That is as long as someone is willing to notice him.

Jack is getting very good at being aware of what is going on around him. The other night Dan began making kettle corn. Jack caught on quickly. He went to the draw pulled out a bowl and handed it to Dan. He then proceeded to stand there watching and pointing to the popcorn popper. He could hardly wait for the tasty treat to be ready.

Here he is enjoying his own bowl...

I am Thankfull for...

Zoe had a homework assignment the week before Thanksgiving to write down a thing or two she was thankful for. Her initial response was the Prophet. This made me smile, but I thought we should do something a little different since she attends a community based program. In an effort to achieve this we made the following lists. One for Noah and one for Zoe. I find their answers and reasoning very comical.

Zoe (in the order she gave me)

1. The Prophet - he leads the church
2. light switches - to turn lights on and off with
3. light bulbs - they light the rooms
4. TV - to watch shows on
5. houses - to keep us warm
6. Heavenly Father
7. Jesus - he's our savior
8. brothers - they help me
9. Mom & Dad - they make us food
10. baby brother - because he's my baby brother
11. jackets - because they keep you warm
12. coloring books - to color
13. crayons, pencils, paints - to draw with
14. toys - just to play with
15. chairs - just to sit in
16. attics - so you can get air
17. friends - they help us
18. cars - to go places in
19. diapers - because they're for babies
20. fans - they keep you cool
21. clothes - because they keep you warm
22. pets - so you can train them
23. cups & straws - to drink
24. refrigerator - to get water
25. shelves - because you can put stuff on them
26. wallets - to put you license plate and money in
27. phones - so you can call people
28. vacuum - you can clean your house
29. baby sitters - they can watch your kids while you're gone
30. cd's - to listen to songs and watch movies
31. cousins - to play with
32. homework - so we can learn
    

Noah (in the order he gave me)

1. water - because it's good for you and good calories
2. bathrooms - because they help you in an emergency
3. Heavenly Father
4. Jesus - he's our savior
5. rain - because it gives you water
6. exercise - it gets you energy
7. food - so we don't starve
8. outside - because it gives you fresh air
9. veggies - because they're healthy
10. plants - they help us grow
11. beds - they help you get sleep
12. families - because they help you learn
13. clocks - because they tell time
14. books - so you can read
15. fans - because they keep you cool
16. bags - because you can put stuff in them
17. airplanes - so you can get somewhere fast
18. brothers & sisters - because they can help you do stuff
19. grandparents - so you can visit them
20. Mom & Dad - because they can help you

It was so hard to hold in the laughter with a few of their responses. However, it was nice to see all the things we have to be thankful for.

I wasn't feeling so thankful at the time. I was having a little trouble seeing the blessings around me. I was more frustrated with our continual furnace problems. The money it was costing us to get it fixed. Them not fixing it right the first time. The hassle of flipping the breaker to get it to work in the mean time. How long it was taking to get it fixed. Finding out that the builder installed it wrong and that it shouldn't have passed code. And that it still might not be fixed completely and that we should consider replacing a third piece or buying a completely new furnace. Basically I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.

I'm glad I have my kids to remind me of the good things around me.

Thanksgiving 2011

I didn't get any pictures of our Thanksgiving Celebration. I guess I was too busy visiting. We had a fun filled Thanksgiving weekend. We got up early Thursday morning and headed over the hill to Roseville, California. We were lucky enough to make it over the pass before the snow started sticking to the roads. Our destination was Aunt Charlynn's. We were the first ones to arrive and were able to help with the many preparations going on. I got to help cut up vegetables for the stuffing and scoop out the corn fritters. Dan got to help with the gravy and other side dishes. The kids got to help gather eggs from the chickens.

Zoe was spoiled rotten by Lindsey. She got her hair styled several times. She got her fingernails and toenails painted. Along with other girly things. Noah got to rough house with his Uncles: Matt, Jason, and Cameron (all 3 of Dan's brothers were there) Tommy.

Dinner consisted of two types of turkey. One oven baked and one smoked. We also had mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes with and without marshmallows, broccoli, stuffing, rolls, two jello salads, corn fritters. It was good, but dessert was amazing. Uncle John brought the yummiest pies ever. He brought the best Pecan Pie ever. I am not a big fan of pecan pie as it usually just taste like super sweet sugar to me. However he made one that actually tasted like pecans. He also made a marscapone pie in a chocolate cookie crust with chocolate chips and homemade carmel to drizzle on top. It was heavenly. There was also a chocolate cream pie, a coconut cream pie, a berry pie, and a pumpkin pie.

After dinner we headed up the hill to Grandma Sandi's house. Papa Tim was kind enough to watch Noah and Zoe while the rest of us went Black Friday Shopping. Walmart was crazy, but we had a pretty good system. We almost got everything on our list. Dan waited in line for the electronics that went on sale at midnight. He also held Jack most of the time. My mom and I took turns watching carts and scouting out merchandise. We'd grab the right sizes and then meet back together and decided what to keep and what to keep back. We helped a few fortunate people by letting them pick out of our carts. Checkout was kind of a nightmare but we all survived. Dan and I splurged and got us a nice gift that I'll talk about later. Most of the stuff we picked up for the kids was very unexciting. We found a Rio blue-ray combo pack for $10 that we gave them early as an incentive for good behavior. I was also able to grab a few long sleeved plain colored tees at a cheap price.

The next day (Friday) Auntie Tiffany was willing to watch the 3 kids while my mom, dad, Dan, and I headed down the hill to check out the deals at Kohl's. We then made our way to Burlington Coat Factory. On the way home we had fish tacos at Rubio's. It was a nice kid free day. We made it home in time to make dinner for a big crew. My brother Trevor happened to be in town with his 5 kids, visiting his in-laws. My nieces also decided to come home early from their Thanksgiving celebrations when they heard so many cousins were in town. By the end of the evening we had a grand total of 10 kids running around the house creating noise and chaos.

We were pretty lazy Saturday and didn't head back over the hill as early as we would have liked to. But we made it home in time to get everyone ready for bed so we could go to church the next morning.