Ward Christmas Party

We experienced a first at the ward Christmas party this year - we didn't have any children crying in horror at the sight of Santa Clause. When Jimmy and Ben were Luke's age they reacted to Santa in a way that would make one think that he was the devil himself. I felt like the meanest mom trying to get them to sit in Santa's lap. This year was thankfully different. Luke got a kick out of seeing Santa at the party. He had no hesitation whatsoever sitting himself right down on Santa's lap. Jimmy and Ben were pretty excited too.



We had a yummy dinner of roast beef with all of the trimmings and a great program of the nativity scene put on by the primary children. I didn't get to see the program because I was helping the kids back stage. It is really a lot of work to do a production like that with 25 kids under the age of 12. The kids did a great job and brought the true spirit of Christmas into the hearts of those who watched it.

At the end of the night as we were getting ready to leave we were looking around for Ben. Sure enough, we found him by the left over desserts. He had plopped himself right down on the gym floor and dug into his chocolate cake. He made a huge mess but we all got a laugh out of it. When you are 4 you can get away with those things without too much trouble. Sometimes I wish I was 4 again!


Since I was so busy backstage I forgot to take pictures of the boys in their costumes at the church so when we got home from the party they humored me once more and put their costumes on so I could get a couple pictures of them. Jimmy was one of the inn keepers and Ben was a camel who traveled with the wise men to see baby Jesus. They were so adorable!

A Great Thanksgiving

I would have to say that Thanksgiving was just about perfect this year. Great food, family, friends and fun! What else could you ask for? We were fortunate enough to have Jim's sister Amber visit us again this year. I am really hoping that it will become a yearly Thanksgiving tradition. My kids adore Amber! They think that she is better than sliced bread! I seriously think that she had a kid attached to her legs, arms,or hips the entire time she was here. She was very patient with them. I need to take some lessons from her! I guess teaching 1st graders for 9+ years gives you lots of experience and patience.
Dinner was great thanks to this guy! He did an awesome job with the turkey and everything else! He worked very hard in the kitchen which eliminated tons of stress and head ache for me! Thanks Jim! You're the best!
Ben REALLY liked the pumpkin pie. Here he is stuffing his face. Who needs a fork when you've got your fingers, right! I think that Jimmy and Ben would both eat pumpkin pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day if I let them!

We had our friends the Merrells over for dinner. They also have 3 boys so the kids had a fun time playing and we enjoyed their company. Maegan is an amazing baker and she did an awesome job on the rolls and desserts! I think that Luke devoured half the basket of rolls alone!

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to go to the beach. I was really hoping that Jim would be home to watch the boys so Amber and I could go shopping. She really knows how to shop and I would have loved to get out for some girl time and serious shopping without kids but it didn't happen. Jim had to study all day. So instead of fighting huge crowds, traffic and searching hours for parking spots we went where there were hardly any people at all and plenty of parking and wide open space. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the ocean!

Thanksgiving Eve Sleep Over

The boys were so excited for Thanksgiving this year because Jim's sister, Amber got to come spend the weekend with us. She also came last year and I am really hoping that this will become a Thanksgiving tradition for our us. It is so nice to have family spend holidays with us. The night before Thanksgiving they asked me like 20 times when Amber was going to be here. They decided that night that they wanted to have a "sleep over" and set up a little tent with blankets and get the sleeping bags out. It took a while to get them to settle down and actually get some sleep but eventually they did. In the morning both of them were back in their beds. Can't say I blame them. It's much more comfortable than the floor.

Pre-K Fun!

Ben is having so much fun in pre-K this year at Clover. His teachers are awesome and they do a lot of fun things for the kids. Clifford came to the book fair and read them stories. I expected Clifford to be a little taller. I think they might have recruited a 5th grader for the job. Ben and the other kids didn't care. They had a blast. I don't think Clifford was having too much fun though. He looked like he was ready to fall over.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving they had a big feast for the kids. Each family brought something to share so the kids were able to have a little taste of everything. Although I think Ben just ate the pumpkin pie and maybe a roll. He sure makes a cute pilgrim though.

A Star Wars Halloween

This year Jimmy and Ben were very insistent about dressing up in Star Wars characters. Jimmy was Darth Vader, Ben was Anakin, and of course, Luke was Yoda. They all looked really cute and loved their costumes. Sorry about the big hand in this picture - not sure what Jim was doing. I didn't get around to editing it, but Luke's smile was too cute to pass up.



Here they are with their masks on. I know, it's a little creepy - especially Anakin! The resemblance is uncanny! Darth Vader for sure needs a mask but I didn't want to get the costume with the mask for Ben but he was insistent. I'm not a big fan of masks cause I think they are gross and full of germs, but he looked kind of cute with it on - a little creepy, but cute - like a little miniature grown up.

Halloween Fun

I always have fun doing crafts with my boys. This year we did some fun ones for Halloween. One of the projects that we did was finger painting jack-o-lanterns on sandpaper. It was a cool sensory activity for them and they always enjoy it when we break out the paint. I just had to post this shot of Jimmy's jack-o-lantern. He always manages to make his projects very unique and different. Notice that his has 5 eyes. He was very proud of his creation.



They had a great time carving pumpkins this year, although, they weren't too fond of the toasted pumpkin seeds. Luke kinda liked them. He kept calling them popcorn. And once again Jimmy decided to be a little different than everyone else. He did an alien jack-o-lantern with 3 eyes and no nose. Gotta love his creativity:)

Tide Pools

For family home evening this week we decided to do something a little different. I was feeling a little bit claustrophobic because of the city so I told Jim that I just wanted to get away from people and congestion. So we decided to take a drive up to Malibu to a secluded little beach and let the kids explore the tide pools. It was such a breathtakingly beautiful place. We had such a good time and it was great therapy for me to get away from the hustle and bustle and just relax a little. We saw some amazing things - shells, sand crabs, star fish, anemone, coral, rocks, caves, tunnels, crabs, and so much more. We also saw some things that were not so amazing like a gay couple making out on the beach. Luckily the kids were oblivious to it. I could have done without that on our little outing but we had fun regardless. It is definitely a place that we will visit a lot in the future. The ocean never ceases to amaze me :)