I will start with our Christmas Card photos! This was a little photo shoot that we pulled together very last-minute with a friend from our ward, specifically because I didn't have any other pictures from the past year that were suitable for a card. So, our outfits and colors were only marginally coordinated...ha! Oh, well! And we *almost* got a real smile out of Trey!
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| We were giggling in this shot because Nate was on his tippy-toes. Everyone knows he isn't THIS much taller than me! Ha! |
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| Trey dressed as a shepherd boy at the ward Christmas party. His face makes me think he knew what we were in for within the next 48 hours when we all came down SICK!!!! |
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| Coco looking like a little Hebrew angel at the ward Christmas party. |
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| Oh, yes! I threw in this photo to show Trey's impressive bruising around his eye (see previous blog post where I mention the Disney on Ice incident). You really can't even see the amazing array of colors that surrounded his eye for those few weeks. He looked like he was wearing professional make-up . . . on ONE eye. Ha! |
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| So much for flu shots, essential oils, Norwex, and healthy eating! That virus took us out fast! Trey, Avery, and I were to first to go down. Mine was the absolute worst. Ugh! |
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| And this is why we bought the sectional! It housed 3 sick people for hours and hours of trying not to move and trying not to puke. Homeschool was CLOSED that day! Chase came down with the bug later in the afternoon, and Courtney got it the next day and into the night. I *shudder* with the memory! |
Once we got over the sickness, we stayed very busy wrapping up school and preparing for Christmas.
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| My Little Buddy on a pre-Christmas shopping trip with me. He begs for every single treat he sees on the shelves. Trust me; I say no to 99% of them. But I did cave on this package of yogurt covered cranberries. He said, "Oh, THANK you, Mommy! You are just the BEST person in the WHOLE world!" Haha! I'm so glad he's learned to be profuse in his gratitude! |
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| And here's one of my attempts to balance out the large quantities of treats that tend to find their way into our house at Christmas. How's this for a hearty vegetable soup? So many veggies, you can hardly see the "soup" part! Actually, it was really good. And filling! And then we ate fudge and cookies, of course! |
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| Nana's package of gifts arrived! The kids love putting all of her little packages under the tree. It seems to double the number of whatever we had there before! Our Nana is so thoughtful and generous! |
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| This kid! He loves to wear summer clothes. Every day! No amount of coaxing will convince him that in the winter he will be more comfortable in warmer clothing. In this photo you can see his problem-solving skills at work: when he got cold, he just put on Daddy's giant sweater OVER his summer clothes. Oy! |
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| Here Courtney and Trey are presenting their final essays during our last Book of Mormon lesson before the break. I have no idea what Trey said. But Coco's essay about Jesus Christ as her Savior was really good! |
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| Chase reading his final essay...in a make-shift toga. I think it made him sound more intelligent! |
One of the highlights of the season was Nate's firm Christmas party. We had so much fun and ate way too much and stayed out way too late. They had a bowling party for the whole firm! We had a private room with dining tables and 3 bowling lanes for 3 teams of bowlers. They also had a funny white elephant exchange. And, boy, let me tell you . . . this was a crazy bunch! Everyone had so much fun and the laughter was abundant. It makes me so happy to see that Nate and Suzanne have put together a firm where the camaraderie is evident and where the employees seem to genuinely enjoy each other. I must admit that Brad's departure earlier this year helped that situation a lot. BUT, this hard-working crew really deserved the little break and had a great time. And I didn't even get the lowest score! I was the second lowest! And I even got a strike in there somewhere. Geeeezzz, why am I such a terrible bowler??? And Nate, operating sans alcohol, had everyone in stitches when he was bowling for speed instead of points. His wind up was amazing! Haha!
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| This is a terrible picture, but it was, unfortunately, the best one I got! Nate looks good in his bowling shoes! |
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| This is the Santa jigsaw puzzle that Nate was given by one of his associates. The kids put it together on the first afternoon of our official Christmas break! |
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| Here, Chase was helping Trey to put together the puzzle. I loved how sweet and patient he was. Chase probably could have put the puzzle together by himself in 12 seconds flat; but he worked slowly with Trey, piece by piece to show him how to put it together. What an excellent big brother! So patient and thoughtful! |
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| Trey celebrated enthusiastically whenever he was able to fit in a piece! |
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| Cutest brothers! |
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| And finally, it was Christmas Eve! This chalkboard "countdown" plate was a gift from one of Nate's clients. I challenged the kids to write the number in as many languages as they could. I know it's totally nerdy, but it's totally our style! :) |
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| Here is the menu for our Christmas Eve dinner. We don't have the same thing every year, but we often end up with ham along with a few sides and a dessert. We also make cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve and put them in the freezer until just before bedtime so they will rise and be perfectly ready for the oven when we wake up. Anyway, with all this homemade goodness we usually spend most of the day cooking. This year we also hopped in "Santa's Sleigh" (our Envoy) and went out delivering a few goodies for neighbors and friends. Nathan was working at the office most of the day, as usual. BUT, he did host a merry ping pong tournament in their conference room for the employees that were there that day. It was a busy day! |
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| The kids are ready to EAT! |
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| Dinner! Glazed ham, roasted rosemary-garlic potatoes, butternut squash & kale, homemade famous rolls, sparkling punch. Not pictured is our lovely key lime pie with whipped cream that we had for dessert! |
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| I have to say that the combination of flavors was a really big hit this year! I think we will probably repeat this, or something close, in upcoming years. Something about those roasted potatoes and butternut squash with the ham . . . SO good! |
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| Daddy's surprise for the family was this super fun board game he loved from his childhood called, "Stop, Thief!" He actually had to buy it used online! Here he is teaching Coco to play. We all had a good time with this all day! |
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| Trey, in the middle of the giant mess we call the "Christmas Explosion," playing with a new toy truck. |
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| Avery didn't wait very long to get out his favorite gifts--LEGO's! |
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| Chase got some cool new Lego's, too. Here he is letting Trey take a look at some of his new mini-figures. |
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| You just have to love this girl! She is wearing her new Merida dress and playing with the new arrows we got for the archery set. Looking good, Coco! |
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| Trey shows off another toy. This one sends big "snowballs" made of foam all over the house. Fun! |
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| Trey playing with his new toy trumpet. Many of his gifts were musical in nature. It's in his soul! |
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| And here's handsome Daddy, sitting down to enjoy his new gift--the third movie in the Atlas Shrugged trilogy. I LOVE having him home all day on Christmas! I absolutely adore this guy! |
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| Here is where the big boys spent much of the day: setting up their new Lego sets! |
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| I FINALLY got the chance to sit and rest after all of the work which led up to this special day. It's no surprise that I fell asleep right there in the middle of the mess! However, Trey saw me there and decided that I would make the perfect throne on which to perch for enjoying his popcorn. He just plopped right down there and got cozy! The best kind of interrupted nap, don't you think? |
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| We were blessed with a white Christmas this year, too! Well, it didn't actually start snowing until the afternoon. But, it was perfect timing, because Daddy helped the little ones to build a snowman and to use the cool snowman accessories that Aunt Audrey sent for Christmas. Isn't that fun? |
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