Princess Clone Trooper!

This little girl seriously cracks us all up!   She came downstairs tonight in Jaron's Clone Trooper helmet and gun to "fight the bad guys"...

  I love the shoe ensemble she has going on here...Hello Kitty socks and Cinderella shoes.  I guess that gives her more "Girl Power".         I love it that Jaedyn can play "boy" games, but yet still be so girly!  It's the best of both worlds with her!

Anderson Dairy Field Trip

Today was another fun field trip for Jaedyn and her friends from preschool. They got to go to Anderson Dairy.

When we first got there, the kids got to listen to Bessie the cow talk about the dairy products and the "Barnyard Buddies Tour" that they were going to go on...

  A few of her friends stopped by to talk to the kids too...     Then the kids headed out on the tour.  They got to see how ice cream and milk are packaged, among a few other things...         Jaedyn was begging for some chocolate milk here...      Jaedyn and Brody checked out all the yummy products that are made here, wishing they could have some...     The kids also got to go see the freezer part of Anderson Dairy, with a little fog along the way.  Jaedyn loved that part...      Jaedyn stopped to see the penguins with Molly and Katelyn...     ...then all the kids went back to the room where Bessie is to watch a movie about the dairy.  Don't they all look so excited?!?!     Well, when they got some cookies and cream ice cream to eat while they watched the movie they were really happy.  I think they all thought this was the best part of the field trip.  I'll admit, the ice cream was really good!      After the movie was over, Jaedyn got a book mark, then we headed out the door.      We couldn't leave without getting a picture of the kids with Bubba the hound dog.  Getting a bunch of kids to all smile at the same time is such a chore, this was the best I could get...     Then, it was time to leave.     Jaedyn had a good time on her field trip and keeps telling me she wants to come back so she can have more yummy ice cream.  Yay for yummy field trips!!

Spirit Week!

This week is spirit week at Jaron's school. He's kind of a party pooper when it comes to these things because he doesn't like to dress up or do anything crazy with his hair (even though it's the perfect length). The only part of spirit week he'd participate in was "Tie Day". He wore a tie and that was as much spirit as they were going to get out of him. 

I had to take a picture of him when I dropped him off because he looked really handsome... 

   Now, if I could just get him to let me color and spike his hair...

Cold Stone Field Trip!

Today Jaedyn had another field trip for preschool. This time it was at Cold Stone Creamery. The kids were all excited to get to eat ice cream before lunch.

Before they got to eat ice cream, they got a tour around.  First, they went to the freezer to see where the ingredients are stored...

  ...then they got to see the machine make the ice cream...     Jaedyn even got to help make some of the ice cream, she thought that was really cool!      After the tour, the kids got to choose their flavor of ice cream and the candy to mix in it...      ...decisions, decisions!      Jaedyn ended up choosing strawberry ice cream with nothing else.  I thought for sure she'd want some gummy bears in there, but she didn't.  I think the only reason she picked it was because it's pink...silly girl!  She really enjoyed her plain strawberry ice cream.       It tasted even better because she was with her friends.     Her last words before we left were, "I love ice cream!".  I think she liked this field trip.

Ward Christmas Party...2012

Tonight was the annual Christmas party for our ward. The kids were excited to hang out with their friends and run around the gym and I was excited to not have to make dinner. 

Jaedyn insisted on wearing her Santa hat, I thought she looked adorable in it...

 
    We got to enjoy a yummy dinner that the youth in the ward served to us.  It was kind of nice not having to stand in line and hold multiple plates for the kids while trying to dish food up.
I made Jantzen and Jaron smile for a picture during dinner.  They really don't like their pictures taken, they just wanted to eat their food.      After dinner, the kids found their friends and played until the talent show started.  I don't know where the boys ended up, but Jaedyn had fun playing with Maddie's hair...       Jaron was the only one in my family that agreed to be in the talent show.  He decided to play "Jingle Bells" on his guitar.  He downloaded the sheet music for the song this morning and practiced it a few times before the party started.  He did AWESOME!!  He got a lot of compliments on how good he played. 
(This picture is a clip from the video of him playing)     After the talent show was over, some of the youth in the ward put on the Nativity story.  Again, Jaron was the only one of my kids that agreed to be a part of it, Jantzen backed out at the last minute.  Jaron was one of the three wisemen.  We didn't have much notice about him being a part of the program, so this is what we came up with at the last minute for a costume...        ...some crafting jewels, part of his Anakin Skywalker costume, some fabric I had laying around, and one of my scarves and necklaces.  I think it turned out okay.
Jaron didn't have to do much as one of the wisemen, he just had to stand and act out a little while one of the Elders in our ward narrated the story.  He looked a little nervous up there.  I think he was more relaxed while playing his guitar than he was just standing there in his costume.     I'm happy that Jaron participated in the Christmas party this year, it makes for some fun memories.  Maybe next year I can get Jantzen and Jaedyn to participate more. 

New Christmas Decor...

I added some new Christmas decor to our house this year. I got this new console table and mirror for my entry way as an early Christmas present from Josh... 

   I love it and it was fun to decorate. I made the wreath on the mirror with the same picks as I have on our Christmas tree. The rest of the decor I got at TaiPan, Home Goods, Walmart, and Dollar Tree. Next year I think I'll change it up a little, but for now it's a nice addition to my once empty entry way.    Since we now have a piano in the house, I thought I'd decorate that too. I made the sleigh full of poinsettias and all of the cone trees, which took a long time, but I love how they turned out. The Santa picture is of Josh's great great grandpa when he played Santa.      This "JOY" saying I've had for several years, but this year I gave it a makeover. This is what it looked like before...      ...and this is what it looks like now...      I found a big ornament at the dollar store that I used for the "O" and then I repainted the other letters green and added some gold glitter dots to them. I think it looks a lot better now.    I love having my house all decorated for Christmas!!

Santa Night 2012

Tonight was the annual "Santa Night" at Jantzen's school. I was in charge of it this year and it was quite the chore to put together all by myself, but it all turned out good...thank goodness!! 

I had a few helpers getting things set up for the night. Jantzen and his best friend, JoseAlfredo, helped me get Santa's seat all ready for pictures... 

       ...I loved all their expressions and the excitement they were showing me.
Jaron agreed to be Santa's elf for the night.  He even wore a cute hat that I found for him at the dollar store...           He made such a cute little elf!!
After a couple hours of getting things set up the fun, and craziness, finally began.  Jantzen, Jaedyn, and Josh enjoyed some cookies and hot chocolate before they did anything else.  That was a good idea because the line got really long really fast!           Mrs. Clause was there to read stories to the kids.  My kids, minus Jaron, really enjoyed this.      After story time, Josh and the kids went to the art room to make some candy cane reindeer...      Jaedyn was so proud of how her reindeer turned out.  (Ignore the crazy messy hair!)       Jaron took a little break from handing out candy canes to enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies...
   Jantzen and JoseAlfredo made some reindeer puppets.  They have a lot of fun doing artsy stuff.      The line for pictures with Santa was so crazy long, but since I'm the PTO president and I was in charge of this whole thing, I snuck my kids in for a picture so Josh could go put them to bed.  Jaedyn still isn't too sure about Santa yet, but she'll come around.         Santa Night was a huge success again.  The kids all had fun, but I'm exhausted!  It's a good thing I love my kids so much, otherwise I wouldn't do stuff like this for them.

"Tiger of the Month"

Jantzen was selected as "Tiger of the Month" by his teacher for "Academic Excellence and Citizenship". He's been doing so good again this year.  He has maintained straight A's and is nice to everyone. 

   I'm so proud of you Jantz, keep up the good work!!