A New Christmas Tradition

This year we started a new tradition, inspired by some Albuquerque friends, and let our kids sleep out by the Christmas tree the night before Christmas eve.  They were really excited and had a hard time calming down to fall asleep.  After some time they all drifted off to sweet dream land and I couldn't help but peek at them several times before going to bed myself.  Their faces were so peaceful and innocent, illuminated by the lights.  This is a tradition I look forward to continuing in years to come. 

Christmas 2013

Christmas this year was magical.  Maybe it was because we were at our own home with our own tree, or maybe it was that our kids are little older and were more excited, or maybe it was that we were able to skype with family and have them be a part of our day, or it could have been that our own attitudes and expectations of Christmas have changed.  Whatever the reason, it was a special time for us.  Our Christmas began the night before as we gathered around the tree and talked about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  After we talked about how the wise men brought gifts to Jesus we then gave our own gifts to each other.  This year we had each picked a name of someone in our family to get a gift for.  It was touching to see the boys so excited to give their gift to someone.  They kept saying, "When do I get to give my gift to the person I picked?"  Not once did I hear them say, "When do I get to open my present?"  We also let them open their traditional Christmas pj's.  This year Daddy had picked out some super cool Ninja Turtle jammies.  The boys loved them!  Emily was equally delighted to have her own pink and purple pair.  The next morning the kids woke up shortly before 6:30 and could hardly contain their excitement.  They were thrilled to find stockings full of treasures and an electric train from Santa.  After opening presents we ate Dave's childhood Christmas breakfast of conference rolls and "real" bacon.  We spent rest of the day playing and enjoying a very relaxed and lazy day together.  Daddy spent most of his day fixing broken toys and keeping smiles on the kids faces.  He's amazing!  We topped the day off with our Christmas dinner and homemade apple pie.  We feel very blessed this Christmas and know that our greatest joys come from our knowledge that families can be together forever because of our Savior Jesus Christ, who's birth we reverence this time of year.  Merry Christmas!

Candy Houses

Making candy houses this year was so enjoyable.  We did them on Christmas eve and it really helped bring the Christmas spirit into our home.  The boys are getting older now and it was fun to watch them design their houses, build and decorate them and add little details.  Thomas was especially particular about how he wanted his house to look.  As the years go by I have come to realize that making candy houses is not about ending up with a perfectly built little house decorated with candy pieces uniformly placed; rather, it's about creativity and personality.  I love how each house was so unique.  This was Emily's first real experience with candy houses and she loved it.  She did what all the boys did at her age, she just sat and ate all the frosting. When the night was done we had four fun houses and four sugar loaded kiddos.  Good times!

 

Polar Express Party

Thursday was Hyrum and William's last day of school before winter break, and as luck would have it Hyrum woke up sick that morning and had to stay home from school.  He was so sad to have to miss the school spelling bee (he won his class bee and was so excited for the school bee) and his class pajama polar express party.  I felt so bad for him and wanted to help him feel special and happy so I planned our own polar express party.  I printed polar express tickets and had the kids find them at the breakfast table Friday morning.  I told them the train would depart after dinner.  We ate homemade pizza for dinner and then I sent the kids upstairs to get on their pajamas.  While they were upstairs I strung up some extra Christmas lights, started the fire and pushed the couches together so they kind of resembled a train car.  As the kids came downstairs I punched the first letter of their name in their ticket and they excitedly jumped on the couch...er...I mean train!  I served them kettle corn and hot chocolate, complete with chocolate chips, marshmallows and a candy cane.  They were in heaven and had chocolate all over their faces by the time they were done.  It was so fun snuggle on the couch together as a family enjoying the spirit of Christmas.  Oh how I love Christmas and our family!

William's 6th Birthday

Another year has gone by in William's life and he still has just as much energy as ever.  This boy is such an animated and fun-loving kid.  Everything he does is done in style and with lots of drama.  His facial expressions and body movements are one of a kind.  There is never a dull moment with him around.  Here are some things about him at this stage of life:

-  He had no problem adjusting to life in kindergarten.  He loves being social with his friends during recess and has excelled academically in math and reading. 

-  Since starting school his relationship with his big brother, Hyrum, has really taken root.  Those two are best buds. 

-  He continues to be very athletic and loves to play any and all sports.  He can often be found shooting hoops, playing catch or dangling from his bunk bed as he does acrobatic stunts. :)

-  Though crazy and busy most of the time, he does take a break every now and then to sit on the couch and read books.  

-  He loves to build and create things with legos, trio blocks, cardboard boxes, paper...basically anything he can get his hands on.

-  He loves candy, treats and ice cream, especially when they are made of chocolate

-  He is easy to please and finds joy in simple things

-  He makes up his mind quickly and doesn't look back to re-evaluate his options (ie. when picking a candy from his Halloween bucket he see's what he wants, picks it, eats it and is completely happy)

- He really enjoys "screen time" and tries really hard to earn it during the week.

-  He's an all around, fun and easy going guy!

Since we were in Reno on his birthday and I had promised him a friend party, he got to celebrate twice. While in Reno he requested a castle cake which we threw together using parts from a princess castle.  He helped decorate it and loved how it turned out!  It was fun to celebrate with cousins.  Once we returned home we quickly put together a pirate party complete with a pirate ship cake, oragami pirate boats, pin the eye patch of the pirate, a friendly game of cannon ball attack and, of course, a treasure hunt.  It was crazy with 13 pirates running around, but Will had a great time!  Here are some pictures of the birthday fun followed by his annual birthday video.  We sure love this boy!