A Merry Christmas for Us!

This is the obligatory Christmas posting. I realize that no one really cares about pictures of my kids opening presents as much as I do, but I figured I was due for some pictures and I took a bunch yesterday. So, here you go!

This is our little tree. I bought this tree 5 years ago when Dan was deployed and I had to actually purchase our first tree. It was the first Christmas that we would not be going away to spend it with family, so I had to get a tree. I couldn't make myself spend a fortune on one, so I got the cheap-o Walmart tree. And look! 5 years later, its still working. A bit saggy on the bottom, where 5 years of small children have pulled and bent the "branches" and it does lean a little. We put it on the table to make it look bigger, and to keep it a bit more out of Rylee's reach. We still ended up with random ornaments in odd places and Rylee managed to get more than I had expected. While we do have a few breakable ornaments, we do make sure they are at the top!

Here are all the kids, lined up, all ready to open their first present. I love this picture because no one looks excited, and that cracks me up! They really were excited, they were just tired of having to wait and wait. Hee hee hee, I am so my father's daughter sometimes!

Marian made this adorable "Wii Remote" for Joshua. She taped it together out of paper and the back is a real dollar bill. It was quite cute, and Marian had such a blast making presents for each family member. I love that Joshua is thrilled with it!

Marian got this snow hood and wanted to wear it the rest of the morning. Such a funny girl! My little Merry-Ninja!

Rylee thought this bike horn was the best toy ever. It was very loud and such fun for her. Not so fun for my ears.

Callie was adorable and happily posed for pictures. She was happy to get several items off her list. Of course, her list was a mile long, so she would have been delighted with anything she was given!

Joshua chose this hat for Dan for Christmas. Joshua thought it was so clever that it was a Baseball Cap. Get it?! A baseball and a cap. He found it hysterical, and Dan found it funny, so it was a great gift.

Delaney was adorable. She had such a good time and enjoyed opening her presents. She also enjoyed opening other people's presents too. If you ask her, the first thing she will tell you is that she opened her gift to Joshua. (We took the kids shopping to buy simple gifts for each other, and she chose a Christmas tie from Target's fabulous $1 section.) She was just so excited to give it to him that she couldn't wait and opened it for him. So cute!

After the festivities, we cleaned up the carnage and I made the kids put their candy and loot in zip lock bags. Callie did not monitor her stuff very well. This is Rylee, raiding Callie's stash!

And on the subject of Rylee..... Here she has pushed her chair up to the shelf so she can reach the phone. She can also reach the car keys and Dan's wallet there and this has become a problem. See, she's got the phone base in one hand, and Dan's keys in the other. Such a troublemaker!

We had a marvelous Christmas. Joshua declares it was the best ever, and I am happy to hear that because I put fewer presents under the tree this year. I decided we didn't need so much stuff, and even now, after opening what they did, I'm not sure they needed what they got either! Ah well. They had a great time, and are still having a lot of fun with their new loot. I did try to focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas, and they can at least parrot the words back to me, so I have high hopes that they understand we are celebrating the birth of our Saviour. Merry Christmas to you!

Christmas Traditions I Loved as a Kid

1. Reading Christmas stories every night from the book "Christmas I remember Best".

2. Getting to wake up the parents at the specifically appointed hour, and coming up with ever-increasingly innovative ways. My favorite- to the Jurassic Park soundtrack played full blast.

3. Making gingerbread houses. Trying to outdo each other for the best looking or most creative house, while sneaking candy into our mouths- good times!

4. Candy making! Okay, my mom made the candy, but it sure was yummy! I thought she was the most amazing mom ever, when she made her chocolate covered nuts and caramels and peanut butter cups. Sometimes I still get some. Now, when I make candy, I have to be careful since caramel is the only thing I can do well and I tend to eat all the fruits of my labors . (Although this year I successfully made toffee and even managed to get 75% of it bagged and given away.)

5. Delivering goodie-platters. The only problem with this tradition is that my parents made us go caroling when we delivered them. I was not a fan of caroling. I'm still not fond of it, and haven't done it without severe leaning from my folks, but I do love the platter giveaway.

We apologize in advance....

I apologize for the lack of cohesiveness or theme in the following post. I just wanted to get the pictures out there for my parents and I'm short on time and creativity this evening. And without further ado, here is what our weekend was like.

Rylee thought she was all that. She can climb up on the box Grandma and Grandpa sent and this time she brought a snack!

Okay, this one is out of order. The kids were having a blast this morning, dragging each other around the house in on the blanket. They wanted the picture taken. I love how they are all playing together and having fun.

Last night was our Ward Christmas Party. We had good food, a Talent Show and Santa. It was a lot of fun, and look! Delaney found a friend! She was so enthralled with this kid, who is a month older than Rylee.

Dinner was yummy, and these rolls were quite popular, as were the desserts. There was an amazing spread of deserts!

Then Joshua played his trumpet in the Talent Show and did a great job. He is not a shy boy!

Rylee entertained herself during the activity and had a marvelous time.

Of course, there was Santa. A slightly questionably attired Santa, but the kids didn't care. Rylee really didn't care, since it was late and she was 2 breaths away from being completely sacked out when I made Dan plop her on the lap of this stranger just so I could get her picture.

Delaney was so excited, she totally cut in line and barged to the front. Look at that face. She is such a funny girl!

Callie was more excited right up till she got to the front of the line. Now she's not so sure.

Santa asked Marian if she had been good. She was honest and said a little bit. She was cute.

And this next set of pictures needs a preface. I really wanted a family picture. This morning I got all the kids bathed, dressed and ready early so I could get a picture. Delaney had about 5 screaming meltdowns (something to do with a party last night and 2 parents who had to stay after, resulting in an after 10pm bedtime), and ultimately it didn't happen. So after church, I asked my fabulous friend, the Primary President, if she would take a family picture for me after church. She did a great job, given what she had to work with. Here are the results of her efforts:

To my surprise, Rylee was very consistent in the pictures. Actually, Marian and Joshua were too. Callie's Diva look kinda tanked this shot, but I fear this is the picture where we all looked um, mostly the best.

This was good, except for Delaney. I do NOT know what she is doing! Oh yeah, and it gets better.

This shot had me busting a gut, once I saw Delaney. This will be my new need-a-laugh shot! I can't look at it without cracking up!

And the promised silly shot.

I guess I should just be happy that we have a picture with the entire family in it.

What Happens.....

*** What happens when you are in charge of the goody bags for the Ward Activity and need 80 of them done?

You put the kids to work in an assembly line and let them think it is FUN! They were awesome and cranked out all 80 in the time it took me to get dinner ready.

***What happens when you miss "Survivor" so you can attend Scouts with your son?

You get to see him make a tool chest!

And when he notices you have the camera, you get shots like this!

*** What happens when you have a cold and it won't go away?

Your face gets covered in crusty green gunk and you look nasty. Poor Rylee. I was going to take her to the doctor, but life got in the way. Maybe tomorrow... if there is school for the big kids.

*** What happens when the weatherman is right?!

You get snow!

And little girls think they want to go out, but don't want to wear their hats.

Those little girls suddenly realize snow is not fun and being outside is not fun when snow is falling everywhere.

*** What happens when that snow keeps falling?

The school has 2 hour early release and Mom gets to sit in the Kiss & Ride line for 20 minutes. Then the kids come home and race outside to play.

The snow was just cohesive enough that Marian was able to make a snowball. And she wasn't the only one!

***What happens when you go outside to take pictures and your only son has a snowball?

You duck fast!

*** What happens when the kids play outside for hours on end?

They return to the house covered in snow and you can't figure out where it came from, until you recall this sort of thing. Callie had a marvelous time making snow angels!

And this is my favorite thing to see. I love it when they pull each other around in the sled. And I think we had all the neighborhood kids in our street for a while. Then they ran off to someone else's house. Right now, its almost dinnertime and I still have 2 outside. I know some kids who will sleep well tonight!!

***What happens when 4 children spend the afternoon coming in and out of the house to play in the snow?

No picture for that mess!!! 10 pairs of wet mittens, 5 soggy hats, 4 saturated snow pants, 6soaking jackets, 4 snow crusted boots, and a frosted partridge in a pear tree!

So proud!

I have the funniest girls. Cute ones too. Today I'm going to spotlight Callie! She is such a great girl.

Callie loves to play with her little sister. Here they are laying with their dress-ups. What lovely ballerinas! Earlier they were puppies. Ballerinas are a little quieter, but the twirling can get a little out of control.

I find Callie sleeping in the most interesting ways. Tonight she was asleep atop a huge pile of pillows and blankets. Earlier this week, she and Delaney had "Slumber Parties" and slept on the floor. This, was my favorite though. I love to read, and I love that Callie likes to read before bed too!

I am now going to brag on my little girl. She is a neat kid, and in our ward, when the children memorize all 13 Articles of Faith, our Primary President will bring them a cake. (Joshua got his cake last month.)

Callie got her cake on Sunday! She was so doggone cute!

Yep, that's my girl. She was smart enough to ask for a white cake with vanilla frosting, so I wouldn't at it all.