last week of 2010

After Christmas, we had a busy week.

First, we went shopping so the kids could pick out their gifts from their grandparents who sent gift cards.  Miriam debated a long time before choosing foam curlers.  She was patient when I put them in her hair, but sleeping on the curlers was not comfortable.  In the morning, she had curls Shirley Temple would be proud of, but they really bothered Miriam.  We fixed it by taming the volume into cute pigtails.

My dad came to visit us, bringing really fun toys.
One of them is a toy every little boy needs.
You can get your own at http://www.blutrack.com/

Have you ever wondered what will happen to your walls if you send lots of cars down the stairs?

Michael's parents sent us money for Christmas that we used to have a play day with the kids.
This year, we started out at:

which made the kids really really happy.  We got there at 11:00 and had the play area to ourselves for a half an hour before more kids arrived.  After we ate, we drove to the movie theater to watch:

We were second in line to see the movie and had to wait 20 minutes before entering the theater.  We got seats without chairs in front of us, so the kids could see more easily.  Before the previews even started, every child was required to make a mandatory bathroom trip to get rid of all that soda they drank at McDonalds.

Everyone loved the first 30 minutes.  Joshua especially loved the Cars 2 preview.  Emily and Miriam laughed and giggled throughout the whole show.  Adam sat quietly and stared.  Olivia was good as long as she could sit on her daddy's lap.  Joshua was a tornado.  He started in his chair, but when the candy ran out, he climbed into my lap.  Then, after an hour, he collapsed in a moaning heap on the floor.  Yes, you read right.  The theater floor.  It wasn't sticky yet, because it was early afternoon, but still the thought of my child rolling on the floor of the movie theater is awful.  Joshua had had enough of the "girly show" to last the entire day.  I tried tickling his back to calm him down, but it didn't help.  At one point, near the end of the movie, Joshua stood up and started chanting, "I hate this movie, I hate this movie!" And then my hand was clamped over his mouth.  He stopped his noise, and we endured the rest of a great movie.  I recommend it to everyone - except 4 year old boys named Joshua.

On New Year's Eve we went sledding.

It was below freezing outside, so we bundled the little kids in snow pants in addition to coats, hats, cloves, and boots.  Everyone had fun except Olivia.  She got too cold.

Michael and I took turns sitting in the van with her and watching the kids slide down the hill.  Olivia loved watching from the van where there was no wind.  You can hear her cheer her sisters on in this video:

The parent who wasn't in the van with Olivia took turns helping the boys go down the hill, and climb back up.  On the last run, our big inflatable tube, that holds more than one person got a 6" gash that instantly deflated the whole ride.  That's why it was the last run.

I think the boys need to ask Santa for their own sleds next year.

We put the boys and Olivia to bed at the normal time on New Year's eve, and let Emily and Miriam stay up as late as they wanted - until midnight.  We ate dip, had pie, played our new Christmas games, and watched a scary movie.  (The Sorcerer's Apprentice)  After an afternoon sledding, I'm surprised they were able to stay awake until midnight.

More visitors and another nativity

We have been so blessed this month with countless visits from many friends.  Some of them handed me boxes, bags, and cute treats.  Some of them were secret friends who rang the doorbell and then ran, leaving surprises on our porch.  I'm sure none of them will ever know how much they have blessed our lives through their thoughtfulness.  Those simple, secret, and inspired acts of kindness were an amazing miracle and answer to prayers.  I sometimes wish I could thank each and every person who brought something to our home, but I don't know who they are.  I am confident that Heavenly Father will reward them openly.

One of the secret friends brought us 6 days of Christmas.  For 6 days before Christmas, a small package appeared on our doorstep.  Inside we would find a nativity character and a scripture or quote about that character, and rolled up paper money.

Thank you, thank you.  You know who you are - even if I don't know.

Christmas

This year's Christmas Eve was my favorite Christmas Eve ever.  After a turkey dinner, and ice cream for dessert, the kids announced they had a Christmas play for us.  They wrote it themselves, and practiced all day.  We weren't allowed to watch the practices, but we heard the singing as they got ready.  They even chose their own costumes.  (Miriam, the angel, has a pink belt on her head and she is wearing a white shirt.  Emily, as Mary, has random pieces of fabric tied around her body.  Adam, playing the part of Joseph, got away with being himself.)  So after dinner, we all filed downstairs where they had the room set up.  Michael and I held Olivia and Joshua on our laps, and my sister, Jenny, sat next to us at one end of the room.  Not knowing what to expect, I pushed record on my camera anyway.  Here is a short clip of the beginning.  (scroll to the end of this post for the long version that is about 5 minutes long and includes the girls singing more Christmas songs that tell the story of the birth of Christ.)  We thought it was amazing!

Just like the story from the bible, Joseph did everything the angel told him to do.


After the play, we read the scripture version of the birth of Christ, had our own testimony meeting, and sang Christmas songs together.

Last thing before bed, the kids opened their new pajamas.  Here they are:

And finally, a Christmas Eve first!  Miriam did not have any problems with her pajamas this year!!!!!!!!   No screaming, stomping, yelling, crying.  I didn't have to sew or hem anything to fix pajamas that were too long!  Miriam loved her soft pajamas and nothing itched!  I wish I could buy about 100 of these nightgowns in every size possible.

Even Jenny got a new shirt from Lori and Michele.  I hear it was to tease my kids.

Christmas morning was a little different this year.

The kids all begged to have breakfast BEFORE opening presents.  Really?  They were all up by 6:30, and we   made the whole traditional breakfast.  Sausage ring with the mushroom sauce, orange rolls, monkey bread, scrambled eggs, oranges, juice, and milk.  Everyone ate lots.  No one complained about not opening presents, but Joshua paced the hallway during the hour it took to cook breakfast.  He was lost as to what he could do that didn't involve opening presents.  

Everyone got dressed before opening presents, so there are no cute pajama pictures except Emily, who stayed in her PJ's.

Some of our favorite gifts are:

Olivia loves her hand-me-down dress-ups from her sisters.  She can dress up all day long, and Miriam loves to help Olivia in and out of each outfit.

Joshua just loves everything.  If it is wrapped up, he HAS to open it.  Of course, if the present inside has wheels, even better.

Adam is our only child we ask to yell.  He is so quiet we can't hear him.  Santa brought him a megaphone/voice changer toy.

Adam has never made so much noise!

I never would have expected Miriam to love her hopper as much as she does.  She is on it all the time.  She would prefer to use it as a chair at the table if I let her.  

Emily has been begging and begging for something called scripture cards.  She wants to learn the stories better.  I had an extra gospel art picture kit that used to be my mothers.  We put the pictures into a binder with page protectors.  The backs of the pictures are visible so Emily can read the stories.  Her HUGE smile was worth it!  

Santa brought us two fun new games.  Qwirkle and Blokus.  Great for 8 and 10 year old kids, and fun for the parents too.

I loved this gift my sister gave the kids.  Bed sheets in their favorite colors!  The kids opened the boxes at the same time.  Each kid saw their favorite colors, reached in and grabbed their set!  I couldn't have planned it better myself.  Later, during Joshua's bath, he told me how excited he was to have his bed all orange.

It was a fun day at home playing with all the new toys.

The only reason we have pictures at all is that aunt Jenny takes pictures on Christmas morning for us.  We are in them all, but I didn't get one of Jenny, except for her new shirt.  Thanks Jenny.

So what was the favorite toy???

Here's your hint:  It only cost $1.00, was small enough to fit in Adam's stocking, and it wasn't my idea.  In fact, I tried to veto it, but I was overruled.

How about video?

Adam:

Joshua:

Olivia:

Adam discovered that when he jumped on the whoopie cushion too hard, it exploded.  It was fun while it lasted.

If you want to see the long version of the kid's Christmas play, here it is:

Gingerbread Houses

Have you ever made a gingerbread house?

If not, here are a couple of tips...
1.  Use a glue gun to join cheap (cardboard tasting) graham crackers together in the shape of a house.  Or, cut shapes out of cardboard and glue with glue gun.  For large roofs, use cardboard so it isn't too heavy once decorated.

2.  Use royal icing.  It dries hard.  Put it in a pastry bag, or zip-lock bag and clip the corner.  Pipe frosting where you need it - instead of using a knife.

3.  Only put out as much candy as you want the kids to eat.  They will anyway.

4.  Feel free to throw finished houses away when the kids aren't looking - as long as Dad has seen them and said his obligatory "good job!".  Otherwise, candy will disappear like magic until only the walls and extra frosting are left.  eeeewww.  (wonder how I learned this one?)

Here are some pictures from our fun decorating event:


Joshua eating more candy than he is putting on the house.

Adam is proud to show me how his candy-corn are standing up on the top of the roof.

Emily shows off (her house.)

Miriam's house kept falling apart because we hadn't yet learned the trick of using a glue gun.  To hold it together, we tied a green ribbon around the outside and it did the trick.    

It was so much fun, I did it with Joshua's preschool group.  One little girl was convinced most of her candy was "messed up" and had to eat the non-perfect pieces.  Another child complained every time I tried to stick a piece of candy to her house.  She would snatch it out of my hand and pop it into her mouth.

If I ever do this project with preschool kids again, I will
buy sugar ice cream cones,
turn them upside down,
and let them decorate TREES.

concerts, LONG concerts, and more concerts

Why must every organization feel the need to hold a Christmas concert?  It's the busiest month of the year, plus everyone invents all sorts of extra projects that must be done before that magical December 24th deadline.  (for example, my homemade Christmas presents!)

This year, we were treated to two orchestra concerts and one long Christmas sing at the elementary school.

It started out on a Tuesday morning when Emily's orchestra did a concert for the school...
Emily played so well!  She was nervous, but once it was over, she was all smiles.

The morning concert lasted only 40 minutes or so.  Then Michael left to fly out of town to teach a seminar and I got to wrestle the kids during the night concert.  They played more songs and had solos when they performed for the parents.  Emily didn't want to try out for a solo this time, but she was proud to play with a group.

I expected it would be about an hour.  It went on for over 1 1/2 hours!  Joshua couldn't stay in his seat.  Olivia kept jumping on me, and then off.  Miriam couldn't stop poking anyone sitting next to her.  Adam was an angel and sat still the whole time.  The rest of the kids were threatened with near death to be quiet.


Michael flew home in time to attend the Christmas sing during school just two days later.  Each class took a turn singing 2 annoying holiday songs.  Lucky for us, they mixed up the grades, and Miriam's class was last.  We got to see the entire program! (instead of sneaking out after our kids were done.)  I guess you could say it was a good thing the girls were last.  By the time it was their turn, enough parents had left that we could move up closer to the front and see our kids better.

Adam in his coat and reindeer hat.

Emily (middle) singing and trying not to look at us.

Miriam (in green) when she wasn't hiding behind the girl in blue.

What a relief when the concert week ended!

Visitors and the nativity

The first week of December brought visitors and the start of a busy hectic schedule.

Lori, Amaleki, and Jared made a quick trip with a truck loaded with a donation to DI.  OK, it wasn't that quick, because they had vehicle problems and were delayed a few hours coming.  They stayed overnight and we had fun while they were here.

It was only a couple of days past Lori's 35th birthday.  Since she admitted they had been too busy to properly celebrate, we made cake and sang to her.

Kids will sit still as long as they know cake and ice cream is coming.

After dinner, the girls and I joined the rest of the Activity Day girls in the ward for a trip to the Live Nativity. These pictures were taken by another leader who attended.  

Upon returning home, we were surprised to find that another visitor left a basket on our doorstep filled with cookie ingredients, a recipe, and a very thoughtful card.  We want to say thanks to our anonymous friends for their generous gift.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at Grandpa's house!!!!!!!

While the food cooked, the kids were put to work making a list of things they were thankful for.  They wrote them down on slips of paper, and used push-pins to attach them to a tree drawn on poster board.  I think they ended up with over 100 unique items.

Grandpa rearranged his house, creating a new toy room.  As you can see, my kids treated Grandpa's toy room just like they treat their own house.  Spread the toys as evenly as possible over the entire floor!

Jared, Lori and Amaleki's little boy, loved playing with my kids when he wasn't running behind the curtains as if it were a stage. My kids did it too, even if there are no pictures.  ;)

As usual, Jenny took the most pictures.  Later, she put some of them on my computer and I found these silly pictures.  Lori sat on Miriam!  Somehow I missed it.

  

One morning, Grandpa promised the boys they could have oatmeal for breakfast (their favorite).  The deal was that they had to roll the oats before they could cook them.  Here is Adam diligently turning the crank to make rolled oats.

The highlight of the trip was the day after Thanksgiving when my youngest sister, Michele, got to go through the temple for the first time.  All my sisters, their spouses, and my Dad were together in the temple with her for the session.  I felt Mom there too, even if we couldn't see her.  Lori was Michele's escort, and Jenny and I took turns helping Jamie.  There were a couple of traffic jams as we tried to figure out how to get a walker and a wheelchair through the small hallways, but we figured it out.  My Dad was so happy as he greeted the temple worker in the Celestial room and pointed out all his daughters and their spouses.

So who was the Saint who watched all the kids so their parents could all go to the temple - 3 hours away?
Jared's Grandma Boyer!
Thank you Darlene for all your help entertaining all 6 little kids for 10 or so hours!

(Jamie!  How did I miss getting a picture of you? - Jenny, your welcome for not posting your bed head picture.)

Fall

Fall lasted a long time.  By November, there still wasn't any snow on the ground.  What are kids to do without snow?  Play in the leaves!

Jenny came to visit, and took some cute pictures and video of the kids.  Love this shot of Olivia throwing leaves.

The kids scooped the leaves into a pile, and then took turns sliding into it.

Emily got frustrated when Adam and Miriam started throwing leaves because it messed up her pile.

And what what else could they do when they were sick of jumping on the leaves and throwing them?

leaf angels.

The last week of October, I got to spend a day with my Aunt Marjie.  We drove to Wyoming to look through some of my mother's treasures and visit her grave.  Marjie told me fun stories about Mom, her mother, and Grandma Smith.  Some stories I had heard before, but not by such an amazing story teller.  Marjie added lots of interesting details. 

My favorite story was about Grandma Smith, but if I repeat it here, she might haunt me - or Mom will.

Halloween

This year I didn't care about Halloween.  The pumpkins sat on the steps until a week after Halloween and never got carved.  (they are sitting in the middle of the garden right now rotting away.)  Halloween was on a Sunday anyway, so everyone trick-or-treated in the rain on Saturday night.  For school, the kids needed costumes for the parade, so they sorted through the Halloween box earlier in the month to find something to wear.

Adam chose the Fireman coat and hat for the third year in a row!  Made my day!

Joshua was thrilled to find a tight Spiderman outfit that matches his new backpack.  He barely squeezed into it, and I made a mental note to make sure to dress him in sweat pants under the costume - not jeans - when he went trick-or-treating.

After finding all her favorite choices were too small, (and lots of attitude,) Emily settled on the dress and wings Miriam wore last year.  It's a nice change from the series of witch costumes she has worn for who knows how many years in a row.

Olivia actually fits this princess/fairy costume!  One of her sisters wore it years ago.  A few safety pins to hold the skirt up, and it's perfect.

And... our last costume choice from Miriam is...?

VAMPIRE!

Miriam insisted on Vampire teeth.  It was the only item I would have to buy for a costume, so I decided I could afford the $5.00 for teeth.   On the way to the store, Miriam was so excited and told me all about vampires.  "Vampires are really beautiful, and wear a black or purple or red dress.  They have a cape, and pointy teeth."  She went on and on about how cool vampires are.  I wish I remembered it all.

How long did she wear the teeth?
Off and on the week before Halloween to scare her brothers and sisters.

Miriam reluctantly wore the vampire teeth for this picture, but she refused to wear them to school, or trick-or-treating.

She is cuter without the pointy teeth anyway.