Tis' the Season to be Jolly!

I just love this time of year!! We did a lot of fun things this December to help celebrate Christmas. From parties, to parades, to concerts, to gift exchanges, to baking, to decorating gingerbread houses, to parades, to visiting Santa's work shop, to caroling, to buying presents, to decorating, to hanging up lights and decorating the tree we had a very busy and fun December!! Hard to believe that Christmas has now come and gone but luckily the fun is not over yet. We are enjoying time with Matt and Camie's family, Andy home from work for more than a week, playing lots of games with the kids, going to museums, sledding and trying to keep a little order in our house. This is a great time of year!!



We had Matt and Camie's family over for Christmas Eve along with the missionaries who were darling with the kids. They were good sports to join in all the activities we had planned. We had a great dinner, a talent show, the kids had fun doing chimes, acting out the Nativity, opening PJ's from grandma and grandpa, reading christams stories and singing. The kids were sooooo excited and we found Lydia and Lucy tracking Santa's every move on the computer. It was a fun night and is the best night for putting kids to bed. They are so willing to go to bed!! Ha!






We were up by 7:00 and off to church by 9:40. It turned out to be a great day. The kids opened Santa gifts and stockings. Then we enjoyed a yummy breakfast and played with some of the new toys and after church came home to finish opening presents. This year Santa brought Lucy and Ethan bikes, Lucas got a tool box and tools, and Jane got a kitchen set. Santa also brought a basketball hoop to us. They were really excited! Matt and Camie came back for dinner and stayed the night! We had a wonderful day!! And if you can believe it, we didn't have a white Christmas!!!


Our guests for the weekend!! This picture is funny because Camie really wanted a picture of their family but Clayton really wanted to get in his PJ's once he got to our house Christmas night. So he came to his picture with his sweater vest over his PJ's.

Good Night

We put the boys to bed at night in their BEDS. When we went to check on them later this is how we found them. Apparently a sleepover on the floor seemed much more fun than the beds!

Ice Skating Lessons

We figured since we are living in Minnesota the kids would have to learn how to ice skate. I've never lived in a place where people know how to ice skate and play hockey as well and often as they might ride a bike. It's crazy!! There are ponds all over for skating and apparently they flood parks in the winter for ice skating (but as it's turned out it's been too warm so far - but I won't complain!!) The kids loved learning how to ice skate. OK, so Ethan didn't love it but that is because he was trying to be the BEST in his class even though the kids he was skating with had clearly taken many years of lessons and this was his first. So, being as competitive as he is it was frustrating to him. However, in the end all the kids were good skaters and I was amazed how quickly they picked it up!

Puzzles Puzzles and more Puzzles!

One Sunday afternoon the boys entertained themselves for hours putting all these puzzles together. They were pretty proud of their work!!

Now that's Love!

Anyone who knows me knows I don't like feet. I don't like to touch other peoples feet and I don't even like to touch my own. When I rub lotion on my feet I squirt the lotion on and rub my feet together just so i don't have to touch my feet. So, Andy was quite surprised when he saw me giving a full on pedicure to Lucy!! Yes, I touched her feet but yes we had fun together!!

Goodbye Teeth!

Ethan has been losing teeth like crazy lately. He lost his two front teeth and was pretty excited about it!!
E

The great big forrest!

Here is jane going into the great big forest!

This is funny because this is what our culdasac looks like. As you can see it's a small circle with some trees in the middle. Well, sometime this fall Jane discovered these trees and it's a magical forest to her. She thinks it's a great big forrest and to someone her size I suppoes it is. I also love that she is playing with her water floatie on. It's like she is in complete denial of the cold that was setting in. Summer was over and she wasn't ready to accept that fact!

When will winter arrive?

I am not going to complain but our winter has NOT been what we were expecting when we moved here. We had one snow fall in November and I think the snow might have lasted a week but I'm not sure. I am shocked! I really thought we would be sick of the snow by now but we are still waiting for it to come. It's been a rather warm winter. So, for all of you who thought we were going to die of the cold we have been pleasantly surprised with the weather here ...... so far!! These are pictures of our one and only snow fall this year. Right now there is no snow on the ground!

Halloween Fun

We had a great October celebrating Halloween throughout the month. Each party Jane seemed to have a new costume on. (that's what happens when you are the 4th child - your costume isn't planned - it's just grabbed from the costume box!)

We had a fun Halloween Party at Matt and Camie's house with our cousins. The kids had a great time playing some games, making crafts, and eating food!

Nice costume Ryan!!
Ethan and Lydia
The kids always love carving pumpkins and designing their faces.


We went trick-or-treating with some of the neighbors. It was really fun. Jane didn't last too long but the rest of the kids were out pretty late and came home with tons of candy.