Christmas Day

Christmas Day the kids woke up to find that Santa had not only left a Wii but also had left a bell from his sleigh for each child. They have watched The Polar Express so many times that they were very excited about their bells. The Wii was a huge hit. Matt got it hooked up as soon as we were done opening gifts and the kids have enjoyed playing it numerous times throughout each day. Taylor is really getting good and has moved to "pro" level on quite a few games. They especially love the bowling and carnival games. Taylor and Caleb also received their own electric throws! These were a huge hit too as they are always wanting to use mine. They also each got a new Christmas themed singing animal to add to our collection.

Looking at their bells. Santa even left red pouches to keep the bells in. Each bell has "Believe" painted on it.


Checking out the Wii and the extra game Santa left.


Taylor with her sledding polar bear


Madison got some domino's.


Caleb got walkie-talkies. He was so excited and he and Taylor have used them daily.


Caleb got a snowman that sings "Let It Snow" and hardly put it down all day :)


Madison got a new soft blanket and was thrilled that it was "pokey nots"!

Christmas Stockings

After we opened the big presents and ate we got back to the serious work of more opening. Each person ends up with 8 "stocking stuffers" to open so it takes a little time. Some of us are more refined in our opening (Taylor and Madison) while some (Caleb) just like to rip the packages open as quickly as possible and see what is inside. Madison also has to inspect each gift carefully and thank the giver of the gift :)

A few of Madison's gifts...play money, her favorite candy and some body wash.






Caleb's gifts included a root beer mug of his own and a new t-shirt.




Funky knee-socks, digital camera and new purse were some of Taylor's stocking gifts.






Chris's stocking consisted of gifts cards and socks :)




NaNa got quite a few snowman accessories....she loves snowmen. Caleb picked out this ornament for her all by himself, he was so proud.


Sadly, there were no pictures taken of me, Matt, Hope or Pops opening our stockings...I believe the photographer took a break.

Christmas Eve Celebrations Part 1

We celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve at Hope and Chris's house. We decided to do a low key meal this year. Everyone contributed a couple of appetizers to the meal...it was a huge hit and a new tradition. We enjoyed red-neck salsa (sometimes called red-neck caviar), bacon wrapped scallops, potato skins, a parmesan and ranch cheese ball, crab dip with french bread, mini ham and swiss cheese sandwiches, sausage balls and for dessert strawberries, pineapple, bananas and marshmallows with chocolate fondue :) It was all so yummy and we were stuffed when it was all over and the best part was that nobody had to slave away in the kitchen for hours! We started the evening with present opening then moved on to eating before opening our stockings. We ended the evening with yummy desserts.

The tree with all presents!


The kids before the chaos of opening presents began!


Caleb wanted to use this plastic knife to assist him in opening presents..silly boy!


Caleb got a remote controlled helicopter and he was thrilled!


Madison had been asking for this baby since we went to Disney in October so she was thrilled.


Taylor got a huge art kit with all kinds of materials to work with..she was so excited!


Caleb loved this orange puffy vest!


Madison loved her furry boots they are just like Taylor's :)


Matt got a Cool Water gift set!


Nana got a beautiful blue sweater.


Hope got the cutest chip and dip set...I will be borrowing this in the future.


Pops got a blue sweater...him and Nana can match according to Madison!


After we ate we opened all of our stockings. We have a tradition in our family that we all buy a gift for everyone's stocking. The gift must be no more than $10. It is a nice to have 8 small gifts to open. I get more excited about buying for the stockings than anything...I sometimes purchase these gifts months and months in advance.

Mommy/Daughter Date

Yesterday I took Madison to see The Princess and the Frog. She has been asking to go and see it and while we were at Disney in October we were given a free child's pass. It expired on December 31st so I knew we needed to go. Taylor wasn't interested in seeing and neither was Caleb. Taylor was going to Aunt Hope's to spend the night so we thought it would be a good opportunity. Matt decided to take Caleb to see Astro Boy.

Madison loved getting some mommy time (she can't get enough mommy time). She loved having the popcorn and coke all to herself....well except for sharing with mommy :)

The movie was good for the most part. There were a couple of scary parts where Madison climbed into my lap and covered her eyes. It was a typical Disney princess movie, there is always a scary part..Snow White/wicked stepmother, Cinderella/wicked stepmother, Belle/Beast, Ariel/Ursula. There were definitely some cute parts....when she is a frog and the prince is a frog there are some funny scenes :) I would recommend it but would warn that there are few parts which might scare younger children.

Look at that bag of popcorn :)




She had to get her picture made with Alvin and The Chipmunks :)

Holiday Lights

Last night we went over to a Kym and Dorian's for some appetizers at their house and then went and walked through the Holiday Lights at The Cove. It was fun to just sit around and talk without having to be all dressed up and making sure the kids were behaved....it was just our family and their family! Kym had some yummy food....quiches, baby potato skins, fruit with chocolate foundu :)

After eating we rode over to The Cove and walked through their holiday light display. They also had some vendors set up inside selling different things and a guy making balloon objects. The kids all got balloon things....Caleb got a gun and a Christmas tree while Madison and Taylor got crazy hats.







The lights were very pretty. They even had some bonfires burning that you could stop and get warm at and even roast marshmallows.







Madison warming up next to the bonfire.


Kaleigh got a puppy for Christmas and her parents surprised her with it while we were at the Holiday Lights. It is the cutest little long haired chiwawa that only weighs 3 lbs. All the kids went crazy over it and Madison informed us that she "wanted a little dog just like that!"

Dear Santa

Caleb brought home the cutest poem this week from school and I just had to share it! I believe this describes just about all children out there!



Dear Santa

I really didn't mean to lock my sister out last night.
Though I forgot to feed the dog, I'm always real polite.

I try to say, "Excuse me" and "Thank you," "Sir," and "Please"
Except sometimes when I'm at school and cough or burp or sneeze.

And Santa, please remember all the books that I have read,
Especially if you should see what's underneath my bed.

I only wanted you to know how good I've been this year,
"Cause if you ask my family, I don't know what you'll hear.

All about Caleb

This post is all about my sweet baby boy. Now don't get me wrong, this sweet little boy has a "naughty" side to him. He knows my buttons and pushes them on a regular basis. But his good side, well at least the last few weeks, has been more visible than his naughty side. He has "stayed on green" all month at school. This is a huge accomplishment as he normally has to be corrected occasionally for talking when he isn't supposed to be :)

He has been so helpful around the house. We have been so busy getting all the Christmas decorations out and up and he was always willing to help. Here he is putting ornaments on the tree.....


With all the warm days we have had in between the cold days, Caleb found time to blow the leaves that fell from the trees finally. He loves getting to use the leaf blower even though he can barely hold the thing :)


He enjoyed his first trip to Fantasy of Trees, well at least that he remembers. He decorated a mini tree to add to our Winter Wonderland scene on our mantel.


He sat on Santa's lap twice. He even got kissed by Santa :)


He lost his 1st tooth on Sunday 12-13-09 (this isn't the best pic but the only one I actually took on the day he lost the tooth).


Today at school he had his Christmas party. They wore their pj's, watched The Polar Express and decorated gingerbread houses. He did a great job on his house. The house even made it home intact. though once home he and his sisters made a slight dent in it :)

Twilight Obsession Continues....

Well I finally jumped on the band wagon and read the Twilight Saga. I waited a long time but finally caved to the peer pressure...actually I was curious as to what all the fuss was about :)

I wish I hadn't waited as long. Those 4 books were great. Twilight was good but they got better with each book. I read all 4 in 5 days. The 1st three took about 4-5 hours a piece and the 4th took about 9 hours which I had to split into 2 days. I sacrifced sleep big time b/c I couldn't put the books down.

I also watched Twilight. I still didn't understand what all the fuss over Edward and Jacob was. Twilight didn't impress me too much but everyone kept telling me that New Moon was a hundred times better. I got a Regal gift card for my birthday so I treated myself to a movie matinee today. There was a total of 10 women in the theater for the 12:20 showing. I LOVED New Moon!!!! It was a great movie, though the book was still better. I think I understand the whole infatuation! I am Switzerland though....I can't pick just one team b/c I like Jacob and Edward :) I will be seeing this movie again before it leaves the theater. I can't wait until the 3rd movie comes out in June 2010!

H2H Christmas Party 2009

Tonight we had our H2H Christmas Party. We have a rather large group, 24 kids and parents to be exact at our party. Some of our bunch wasn't able to be there tonight. We enjoyed some yummy food, great fellowship and a gift exchange where each couple ended up with one "Ho Ho" gift and one "Ha Ha" gift! We had such a great time!

Here is the whole gang...not bad considering how many kids we had in the picture.


Aaron and Coy playing


Mike's "haha" gift was a Potty Monkey which Aaron promptly stole from him!


Cindy's "ho ho" gift of yummy chocolate!


Caleb, Mackenzie and Will getting ready for their gift exchange


Caleb got a toy gun that he was thrilled about!


Sweet Clara


Anna Caroline and Abbie checking out what Abbie got


Mackenzie, April and Coy playing with Josiah's target board!