Christmas Eve...2011

For Christmas Eve this year we had Kevin and the kids over for dinner (Nena had to work). We enjoyed a yummy dinner that consisted of a marinated deep fried turkey (our first time ever cooking it this way), ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, cheese ball with crackers, homemade rolls, and drinks. Everything tasted so good, especially the turkey.

The kids all sat at the little table and enjoyed their own conversations. Jaedyn was being a little stinker and didn't want to turn around for a picture...

...so, I went to the other side and got one of her, she wasn't very happy about that.

After dinner we frosted sugar cookies for Santa...even Josh got in on the cookie frosting fun. He helped Jaedyn frost a snowman red and then she decided to eat it instead of saving it for Santa.

Before Jaedyn was all done eating her cookie she put it down to add a few more sprinkles. I had to take the bottle away, otherwise she would have put the rest of the sprinkles on her cookie.

Then, she devoured the rest of the cookie...

Here's a Christmas tree cookie that Jantzen decorated. I thought he was going to give it to Santa, but he decided to eat it himself.

Here's the cookies that were frosted for Santa (on his special plate). Jaron decorated the candy cane, Jantzen decorated the gingerbread man, and Josh decorated the Christmas tree for Jaedyn because she was too busy eating her cookie to help. The kids wanted to frost more for Santa, but we told them three cookies were enough because Santa doesn't want to get a tummy ache.

After the kids were all done frosting cookies they played around for a little bit before it was time to go to bed. I took a quick picture of Sadie and Jaedyn before Kevin took the kids home. Jaedyn loves Sadie so much!

It was then time for the kids to open their Christmas Eve present. Even though the boys know what's inside, they still get excited to open them.

It's pj's!! This year Jantzen got Spiderman pj's, Jaedyn got Hello Kitty pj's, and Jaron decided he's too old for character pj's, so he got some blue and black plaid pj's.

After opening their presents, the kids all took their baths and then we gathered together to read the Christmas story from the scriptures and after that we read "I Believe in Santa Claus" (we read it every year).

**No, that isn't Josh puckering up for a kiss...I caught him mid sentence.**

When our stories were all over, we took our annual picture in pj's by the Christmas tree. I had a really hard time getting all the kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time, so this is what I got...I love how Jaedyn had to put her arms around her brothers.

The kids then wrote their letter to Santa and set out the cookies they made for him along with his Diet Coke.

Here's a close-up of the letter...

We put the kids to bed and then enjoyed a little peace and quiet while Santa did his thing, or I should say, Mrs. Claus did her thing!

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family and an abundance of awesome friends in our lives. We wish all the best for all of you.

Edible Christmas Trees

Instead of decorating gingerbread houses this year, I decided to have the kids make their own Christmas tree out of ice cream cones and candy. The gingerbread house never gets eaten, and I thought a tree would have a better chance at being devoured. When I told the kids we were going to do this instead of houses this year, they were excited.

We got all the decorating items ready and starting frosting the cones. I, of course, frosted Jaedyn's tree, but I made Jaron and Jantzen frost their own...they did an awesome job at it!

Notice how Jaedyn had to taste test the candy to make sure it was okay before they could use it to decorate...

Jaron is quite the perfectionist when it comes to decorating with frosting. He seems to really enjoy it...

It was fun watching Jantzen carefully place each piece of candy on his tree, he was so focused...

Jaedyn started out decorating her tree with M&M's and she was doing a good job for about one minute, then she decided it was more fun eating the candy than sticking it on a frosted ice cream cone.

Jaedyn was also being kind of a stinker about the candy, she was VERY possessive of it. Anytime one of the boys would go to get some, she'd yell at them and grab it so they couldn't get any. She just wanted it all to herself so she had more to eat.

Here's the decorating results...

Jaron used gel frosting to make garland on his tree, then he used M&M's as ornaments and made a star on top out of chocolate chips.

Jantzen used M&M's and Smarties as ornaments and he also made a star on top out of chocolate chips.

Jaedyn's tree ended up only having M&M's on it as ornaments...only because I put most of them on it. If it were up to her, there wouldn't be any candy on it, it would all be in her tummy!

Now the Christmas trees get to sit on the counter and slowly be picked at until there's nothing left of them.

I think this tree idea turned out fun for the kids, so I think it'll be something that we'll do every year for Christmas.

Busy Girl...

Jaedyn has been quite the little stinker lately. She's starting to enjoy tormenting her brothers (more than usual) and she loves making big messes that, unfortunately for them, usually Jaron and Jantzen end up cleaning up. Her new found love is with the board games we have. When I'm not around, she'll get into the closet and get out several games, spread them all over her bedroom floor, hide some of the pieces, and then act like she's completely innocent.

This is actually a tame version of what her room usually looks like after she's invaded the closet...

Little did she know, I was going to put an end to her days of fun destruction. I had Josh put on this child proof door knob cover while she was in bed the other night...

The next morning I heard some crying and pouting. You know who found the you know what and wasn't very happy. This mom is happy now though. I don't have to hunt down pieces to games every day now...yay!

It Finally Looks Like Christmas Around Here!

I finally got the rest of my Christmas decorations up this weekend. I know, it's almost Christmas and I should have been done a couple weeks ago, but I've been so busy with other things that I haven't had time to get it all done until now. I'm really hoping next year isn't so crazy so I can have decorations all done by the first of December.

Anyway, here's some pictures of some of our Christmas decor. I've added a few new things this year, like this advent calendar. I was a totally awesome mom this year and waited until the last minute to go buy the chocolate advent calendars at the store, like we get every year, and when I got there (I went to 5 different stores) they were all sold out! That happens to me all the time. So, I decided to make my kids a homemade chocolate advent calendar. I got this poem from YW's when I was a teen and I loved it, so I typed it up and mounted it on some wood that I painted, then I added the Hershey Kisses. Each of the kids have their own color...Jaedyn-red, Jaron-silver, and Jantzen-green. The kids love it and they get so excited every day when it's time to have their chocolate...especially Jaedyn.

I added some new things to the tree this year too. I left off the bows and added ribbon, poinsettias, some red Christmas spray picks, and two new Coca-Cola ornaments. Josh and I have been collecting these ornaments for our tree since our very first Christmas. It's only taken us 14 years to get enough to cover the tree (they aren't cheap)...

Here's a close-up of my bears...

These are just a small handful of the bears on the tree, I just love them!

"The stockings were hung on the stair rail with care"...

Here's our entertainment center and the shelf above our pictures...

Here's my favorite Santa (I've had him for 13 years), keeping our thermostat company, along with our dining room table complete with an updated Santa picture (with yours truly in with the kids), and my new gingerbread boy and girl (my friend Amy made for me) that are keeping my phone company...

The kids even have their own Christmas trees in their rooms. Jaron and Jantzen have a "Spiderman" themed tree with a few extra ornaments that they've made over the years. Yes, the tree is wearing a hat ornament that Jaron made...

Jaedyn's Christmas tree is pink and girly, just the way she likes it...

And, you can't have Christmas decorations without the nativity. I put this nativity up every year and this time I added some decor around it. It also holds all the Christmas cards we get from our family and friends...

I made these glass holders with stuff from the dollar store, they were so easy...

Now, I just need to get my baking done!

"Jaedyn-isms", "Jantzen-isms", and "Something Funny Jaron Said"...

My kids can really make me laugh sometimes. I've been keeping a record of their "isms" so I can always remember them. I've already posted some things that Jantzen has said before, but there's more that they've all been saying. Here's what I've recorded so far...

"Jaedyn-isms"...

* I was changing her poopy diaper at church one Sunday and after I was done, we headed back to class. As we walked down the hall, Jaedyn had to tell everyone, very enthusiastically, "Poop gone!".

* One day while I was changing her poopy diaper, I told her she was stinky. She then said, as she waved her hand in front of her nose, "No, daddy stinky!".

* One night as she was bathing she farted in the tub, and said, "Stinky baby!".

* Jaron was in the bathroom and Jaedyn went in there to brush her teeth. She quickly said, "Honey, you stinky!". Jaron turned red and just smiled.

* When she finally got rid of her binky, we made her throw it away. When she did that, she said, "Yay! Binky's yucky!".

* One day while she was napping, or supposed to be napping, I heard her calling out, "Kati, Kati, are you?".

* One day Jaedyn decided to help me out with the laundry. As I was sorting it into different piles, Jaedyn pointed out the boys' underwear and said, "Jantzen's stinky's and Honey's stinky's!". It was so funny how serious she was being.

* She was poopy one day and I told her she was stinky. She replied with, "It's my bum!". I'm glad she clarified to me that it was her bum and not herself as a whole.

* She wanted to say the blessing on dinner one night, so I helped her out. At the end, instead of her saying "amen", she said, "Can I eat this now?".

* We were at Walmart one day and we walked past the big mirrors they have. Jaedyn decided to look in the mirror and she pulled up her shirt. Josh told her to put her shirt down and not do that, but she said, "NO!" and kept doing it. I told him we need to move out of this town and his response was, "At least she'll be able to make a good living here". I DON'T THINK SO!!!

* I was in the bathroom one day and Jaedyn walked in and asked me if I was poopy. I told her "No, I'm not". Then she asked me, "You have a stinky bum?", I replied, "No". The last thing she asked me was, "You okay?", I told her yes. I'm so glad she's concerned about me in the bathroom.

* Her new favorite saying is, "Oh geez!".

* The other day the boys were laying down in the toy room watching a movie and Jaedyn came over to them and started jumping over them one at a time. However, she didn't always make it all the way over them and sometimes would land on their backs, legs, etc. When she'd do this I'd hear the boys yell, "Owie!". In her sweet little voice, Jaedyn would say, "Sorry", but then she'd continue to do it all the while saying, "I did it!". I bet she loves having her own personal jungle gyms at home.

* I came out of the bathroom yesterday and Jaedyn asked me all about my experience. She asked if I was poopy, I told her "no". She asked if I had a stinky bum, again I told her "no". Then she asked if I was "okay", I said yes. She then said, "Good job mom". I'm sensing a bit of a "stinky" pattern with her. She seems to very concerned with bathroom talk. I'm not sure where that's coming from.

* As I'm typing this right now, Jaedyn's harassing Jantzen while eating lunch. They're sitting at the little table and Jaedyn keeps kicking him. He tells her to stop because it hurts and she says, "Sorry", but keeps doing it while she smiles! What a little stinker she is!

"Jantzen-isms"...

* One day while I was doing his hair I told him it was getting darker and that it might get as dark as the rest of ours soon (he's always had blond hair). Then he said, "Black hair is only for brown people, so mine won't go black. It would be creepy if brown people had blond hair like mine". He was so serious about it, it was funny.

* I was giving myself a pedicure and I waited a little while before I repainted my toes. That night as I was getting Jaedyn dressed for bed Jantz came in and said, "Do you know why some girls' feet are creepy looking?". I said, "No, why?". He said, "Because they don't have them painted!". I said, "So, do mine look creepy right now because I haven't repainted them yet?". He said, "Yes!". I guess I should be happy knowing he's so honest.

* A couple weeks ago at school, Jantzen's class was learning about gravity. His teacher gave them an example of how gravity works. She told them that if they were to jump off a building with their dad that they'd both land on the ground at the same time, and then she asked them what that was called. Some of the kids yelled out "gravity", and she said yes because your different weights wouldn't matter. My little Jantzen raised his hand and proceeded to tell his teacher, "That's not gravity, that's suicide!". His teacher told me she couldn't stop laughing.

"Something funny Jaron said"...

* I took my kids to Michael's with me to get some things for our Christmas tree and Jantzen was playing with some of the glittery Christmas picks for the trees while we were there. When we got back to the car I heard Jaron tell Jantzen, "You look like a vampire because your face is so sparkly". Apparently Jantzen got some of the glitter on his face. I thought it was funny, it's not like anyone in our house likes "sparkly vampires"!

I had to throw these pictures of Jaedyn in here because she looks so darn cute! She has an obsession with my reading glasses and one day she decided to try them on. She came up to me and said, "I'm cute!". Yes, she is cute!

Ugly Sweater Party!

Last night Josh and I went to an ugly sweater party with a bunch of our friends. Earlier that day I went to the DI to see if I could find some sweaters for us to wear and I was kind of successful. I found a couple that weren't the cutest, I was hoping to find some uglier ones...maybe next year. I tried to get Josh to let me bedazzle his sweater a little bit, but he wouldn't let me...party pooper!

At the party we enjoyed some yummy food and a ton of fun conversations. After we ate we took couples pictures just like we did in high school at the dances, only these ones were supposed to be funnier. As couples we had to pick our own props and poses. I stuck this snow hat on Josh and then we tried to figure out how we were going to pose.

Here's how it went down...

First picture...me: "How should we pose?"; Josh: "I don't know"
Second picture...me: "I'll dip you"; Josh: "Fine!"
Third picture...me: laughing; Josh: "You're going to drop me!"; me: "No I'm not"
Fourth picture...me: "Pucker up!"; Josh: laughing

Fifth picture...Yeah, I dropped him and it was funny!

Sixth picture..."Let's just get a semi-normal picture this time".

Here are the rest of our friends that partied with us...

(Top: Rikki and Todd, Calie and Cody; Bottom: Melissa and Curtis, Katie and Will)

(Top: Adam and Natalie-our lovely party hosts; Bottom: Brad and Julie, Mary and Kelly)

Here's a group shot of all our lovely sweaters...

After we had some fun with pictures we did a gift exchange. We were all supposed to bring two $5 gifts that were something we loved. We each drew two names and then we gave our gifts to the person we drew. I ended up with a bracelet and some laundry detergent (I had just ran out of mine, so this was a nice gift). Josh ended up with two 12 packs of Diet Coke (it's funny because that's what he brought to give away) and some Red Vines.

After the gift exchange, we played a couple games. The first game we played was one that involved unwrapping presents. We had to take turns wearing mittens while trying to unwrap a big box full of smaller presents. What made it fun was that Natalie was rolling dice and if she rolled doubles your turn was over...she was really good at getting doubles! It was a fun, crazy game that gave us all a lot of laughs. I actually got a present unwrapped at the end of the game, it was a pack of gum. (Yeah, no pictures of me playing, just Josh and Katie)

The second game we played was a relay race. It was couples against each other. One of us would have to get a cookie from our forehead to our mouth without using our hands or dropping it. After we got the cookie in our mouth, the other person had to put on a Santa suit and then blow a cotton ball across the floor and back. I did the cookie thing and I didn't drop it at all, Josh did the Santa suit...we beat the other couple we were racing against. It was actually a really fun game.

(I didn't get any pictures of Josh and I playing this game, so I posted some of the other couples playing)

This was the first ugly sweater party Josh and I have ever been to and we had a blast! The whole night was filled with fun conversations that kept us laughing non-stop...we have some pretty awesome friends!