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.

Happy Birthday to Emily!

We finally made it to November 8th. Our weekend of parties left me a little exhausted before her actual day arrived. Emily insisted on making her own cake just like Megan did. She did require a little more help, but did very well picking the colors, mixing the frosting, and spreading on the ice cream colors. I will admit I did the cone, but Emily pretty much did the rest.
The finished product. Quite a cute cake for a 6-year-old.
This is the Birthday girl. If you look close you will see the glitter and make-up in all it's glory. She looked like this, minus the crown, for church and told people she didn't even know that it was her Birthday. After church, she planned her dinner of taco ring and had Mammy, Grandma Grace, and Jeff over to enjoy it with her. To say she was excited is a huge understatement. The dinner didn't take as long to eat and clean up as we thought so we had to play games to entertain her before the other guests arrived. In fact, she was more wound up than most at the party had ever seen. When the cousins came she started by singing for everyone and then dancing. As Tyler said, "It was so embarrassing!"
She loved being in the spotlight and milked it for all it was worth. She was especially excited to get her Nintendo DS and the tinkerbell accessories for it. At least we have a year to recover before she plans her 7th Birthday. I love that Emily was so excited for her big day. Happy big 6, we are so grateful Emily is part of our family!

Emily's Birthday---Part 2

Even after the stealing incident of last year, (Lucky the Dog was taken from our table) Emily still wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese for her "family" party. We didn't take any presents this year and only left food on our table.
The kids played and played. Emily wanted to ride this horse the entire night and when she did finally get on, she wanted off within seconds. A little too fast for her blood.
This is a picture of the party-goers. Tyler brought a friend and Emily brought her cousin Anna. She was a little disappointed more people didn't come, but then again this isn't even her actual Birthday. She still had plans for another "family" party with more people. I must say she could easily be a wedding planner.
We didn't pay to have the "official" birthday, but as luck would have it another Emily was celebrating the same day. Every time they announced that it was Emily's birthday and they were going to sing to her, our Emily thought it was just for her. She didn't want to hug the giant Chuckie, but did enjoy dancing while the Birthday song was played. We had a great time and even left with everything we came with. The restaurant has redeemed itself in Emily's eyes.

Happy Birthday Emily--Part I

We've officially hit a milestone. Emily wanted an all-girls party for the first time ever. She planned the entire party. She wanted dinner (gourmet chicken nuggets and tator tots), cupcakes, a snack bar, and a movie on the projector. The movie was Tinkerbell which may explain the lack of boys at the party. She invited 7 girls from her kindergarten class and the ward.
Her cupcakes had tinkerbell papers on them and had to be funfetti. I must say she knows what she wants. I like that she is still in her school uniform. All the other girls came dressed up and Emily didn't even think about changing. I hope her choice of clothing stays so easy.
Apparently when a girl turns 6, all the other girls pick out what they would actually want. This meant she got lots of stuffed animals and even more make-up. Yes, make-up. Emily was in heaven. Eyeshadow, lipgloss, and of course the ever popular blush and glitter all in convenient cases. Can I just say Emily has gone to town? She wears blush and eyeshadow to school and church. I guess I'm hoping if she uses enough of it, it will be gone soon.
The girls earned tickets throwing rings on soda bottles and then used the tickets to buy popcorn, drinks, and candy. After the purchasing, they all settled in to watch the movie. It really was an easy party and Tinkerbell was a hit! Happy Birthday Emily!