Cubs & Chess

It seems like December went by in a flash because we had so much going on. Despite the parties, we still had pack meeting and cub scouts. The boys all got to paint an ornament at pack meeting. (Should I be so happy that most of them broke before they made it on the tree.)
Emily should officially be a wolf and a bear. She faithfully goes to all the den meetings and pack meetings. She never misses an activity and even does all the requirements. I don't think I could ask for a better assistant. Emily even will tell the boys to settle down when they get too wild.
Our other normal activity for the month was attending chess club at the school. Emily and Tyler have joined. Megan decided to join the running club. She doesn't have the patience the other 2 have. We're excited that Tyler is trying something a little social---well, that is if chess is considered a social event?.
Emily is just learning, but almost has the moves down. There are about 40 kids that show up twice a month before school to play. I guess the kids come by their nerdy-ways naturally. I'm actually helping with the math club at the school. Megan is just trying to distance herself from us as much as possible. Most of the time we are all so embarrassing to her. I can't wait for teenage years.

Christmas Traditions

I think one of the best things about Christmas is all the fun traditions that are so a part of it. One of our favorites is the annual trip to Christmas Village. I love watching the kids peer in the windows just as I did when I was little.

There are now tons of little houses all decorated in every theme imaginable. Emily always loves the toy windows and Megan likes to check out the houses that have naughty and nice lists in them. She has yet to find her name on either. I guess that is both good and bad. Tyler just insists on seeing every house.

He laughed that I made him stand in front of the soldier. Tyler told me he has a thousand pictures like this. I just said it is part of the season to have pictures taken continually.

The snow on the ground made the visit extra fun for the kids. It has been a lot of years since we have had a white December.

Another fun tradition is getting together with my roommates from college each December. This year we added to the tradition by riding the Frontrunner down to Salt Lake. We caught up with Alee and family in Layton and enjoyed the ride to Temple Square.

Tyler just loves riding the train.

Tyler, Megan and Tyler along with the Roberts crew. We walked around lights and then headed into the Joseph Smith Building for dinner.

The lights were great!

This is my favorite view---this is really what Christmas is all about. A reminder that our families really are eternal.

After dinner, the kids exchanged small gifts and then the adults traded white elephants.

Riding home after enjoying another great part of Christmas.

Christmas would not be complete without the annual bowling party with all of Grandma Grace's family tree. The evening always starts with bowling. Luckily we all stink equally at the game.

Tyler and Emily were happy for the bumpers.

Megan actually did break the mold and has a pretty good game. She beat many of us---which really isn't saying much.

After bowling we always go back to a church for the white elephant game and food. This year only the kids got in on the "Little Star" story. The adults needed a break from the junk this year.

Tyler, Megan & Emily were proud of their "white elephant" treasures.

And then of course Emily had been waiting all night for a special visitor. I bet you can't guess who she had just spotted. Yes, Santa always makes an appearance.

Megan is always willing to get on his lap for the gift he brings.

Emily just loves sitting on Santa's lap.

Tyler can't decide if he is too old or not.

Santa is just too nice.

Tyler and the boys got Nerf guns from Santa this year. They had a great time playing while we cleaned everything up. I don't even remember not doing this party. This is definitely as much a part of Christmas as stockings.

We were lucky enough this year to even have Uncle Eddie make an appearance. That completed the party.

And then, finally, what is Christmas without a gingerbread house. It makes a mess, but because it is tradition we have to do it. Yes, traditions make the season great!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas....

I must say that I was so excited for the day after Thanksgiving I could barely sleep that night. (Part of that maybe was Megan throwing up at 1 am because she had eaten too much.) My cohorts in crime this year to hit the stores were Mindy and Kallie. We started at 4:15 am and headed to Target. The lines were huge, the crowds were insane, and the weather was cold, but it sure was worth it.

We had to take pictures of our van when we finally finished at 12:30 pm. Yes, we were gone for 8 hours shopping. We probably would have gone longer if we had the room. We just couldn't fit anything more in the van. The 3 shop vacs and fire pits did take up a lot of room in our defense. We actually got everything we set out for and didn't even get in any fights or get hit with anything. Our longest lines were at the mall, but we didn't mind since it was warm and there were plenty of shops around. There's nothing like a huge shopping day to get the adrenaline going. I know many thought we were crazy, but we just had so much fun. I can't wait for next year. Any takers?

After shopping all morning I came home to our Christmas stuff out. Emily was dying that we didn't have our tree up. And so, the decorations flew and boxes were emptied. We did get it all cleaned and decorated before our movie party that night. We started a new tradition this year of watching "The Christmas Story" on the projector to get us all in the holiday mood.

Wendell spent all day Saturday after Thanksgiving stringing lights across our yard. Our neighbor gave us tons of lights and they couldn't go to waste in a box. He tried to make our trees look like those at Temple Square. We just need bigger trees.

Luckily our neighbors came to help with the lighting project. It kept the boys occupied almost as long as my shopping trip. Our yard does look great all lit up.

What says Christmas more than Santa coming to town in a parade. We ventured to see the holiday parade in Ogden over Thanksgiving weekend. The weather was cold, but not unbearable. The parade actually lasted 45 minutes before the big guy came.

The crew waiting for the parade to begin. We had a great spot right in the front.

And finally, Santa rolled into town in a buggy with Mrs. Claus. Christmas really is coming soon!

Our ward held it's traditional breakfast this past weekend. The visit from Santa is always the favorite. Emily asked for a giant Webkinz that is a dog. Surprise, surprise that she would want more stuffed dogs. Our basement already looks like a pound.

Tyler of course just asked for more Legos. We're going to have to build an addition to his room to house them all. He keeps them all up and actually plays with them.

Megan said she wanted a surprise. I think she didn't want to sound greedy asking for what she really wants----an iPod. At least she attempts some humility once in a while.

After breakfast, we headed to Michael's to craft away at the Santa's workshop. Mammy had told Emily about this craft day the Sunday before and all Emily could talk about was making a stocking. The kids ended up making cards, painting boxes, and making stockings.

Tyler wasn't so sure he wanted to participate, but actually made some great looking crafts.

Two hours later we finally left with all our projects and a smile on Emily's face that she had been to Santa's workshop. One more thing to cross off our list of things to do before Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving Emily helped me cook up a storm. She loved watching all the layers of Jell-o turn into a rainbow. We were in charge of the sugar rush for the dinner.
We all ate at Wendell's parent's house. They made one giant table for all of us to sit at. It was fun to see everyone all in a row.
The food was yummy! After dinner we played games and then headed to play more games with Mammy and Jeff. Fun day and night! We have many things to be thankful for including family, friends, health, and the gospel. I love Thanksgiving for the opportunity to recognize all the blessings we do have.

Oh! What do you do on a day off school....

The day before Thanksgiving school was out the kids wanted to go bowling to pass the time. I was more than happy to oblige to get them out of the house since they wanted to put up the tree.
Megan had a great game and even broke the 100 mark. Emily even got a couple of strikes. Hooray for the bowling alley!

Pilgrims and Indians

Emily had a Pilgrim party in Kindergarten just before Thanksgiving. She spent a lot of time making a hat and collar. I especially liked the bright colors and the butterfly that adorned the hat. They churned butter and helped make bread. She wore the outfit most of the day, but had to remove it the next school day for the native American costume.
Emily was quite proud of her "Native American" vest complete with papoose. I made the mistake of asking how the Indian party was and got quickly reprimanded that they weren't Indians. I guess even Kindergarten is politically correct now. They made popcorn and had lots of stories about living off the land. It was kind of funny that Tyler is learning about pioneers and came home the same day with a vest remarkably similar to the Native American vest.
I guess when there aren't stores around the pioneers learned a lot from the Native Americans, including fashion. The kids were set for Thanksgiving.