Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at Ma and Pa's house this year. We enjoyed Ma and Pa's yummy turkey dinner (except Tessa who ate Wheels and Cheese).

 We played some fun games together. The kids played Flipped the Cup. Adam and Tessa were pretty good at this!

 Then we played a game where everyone had to try and get the pom pom on the end of their string to stick on their noses. This was hilarious to watch!

 Next came the candy cane game. Uncle Danny was determined to win this one!

 Our last game was to make antlers with pantyhose and balloons. 

 Tessa and Katy got to show their final products. 

 Uncle Danny wrote a new Christmas story for the kids about the North Pole Trolls. We have been waiting to hear this story for weeks. It did not disappoint! We laughed and laughed!

 Then Pa read the Polar Express and the Christmas Story from the Bible. 

 The kids were anxious to get home and open their Christmas Eve presents. Gwen was so excited to open something...finally!!

 Caleb was first!

 Gwen drove everyone crazy by ripping tiny pieces of paper at a time. She eventually got to her book. 

 They left Santa some treats and went to bed as fast as they could!

 Mommy got to peak at Santa's work. The kids must have been good this year!

Christmas Is Almost Here!!

The Sunday before Christmas, we went to Ma and Pa's house for the last Advent. We love this tradition and Adam asks every Sunday in December if we are going to Advent.

I had to sneak a picture of my cute boys during church. 

Adam and Tessa attempted to sleep under the tree. They didn't last cause Tessa thought it was too bright and Adam didn't want to be alone. Maybe next year.

 We were busy preparing lots of yummy treats for our friends and neighbors. I told myself I had to scale things back this year. I think someone needs to teach me how to do that. 

(Some of our favorite holiday treats to make-Christmas Crack, Peanut Butter Bon Bons, Poppyseed bread, Sugar cookies, Raspberry Butter cookies and we also made fudge. There are about 4 other things I usually make and didn't. They will have to wait until next year...)

These Kids.....

Adam: Yesterday, Adam was watching the BYU Bowl game and I was in the kitchen baking. He cheered over a Cougar touchdown and then said, "And there goes Stewart to call his mom." I was confused and asked him what he meant. Adam then said they had just showed the Quarterback on the phone. I laughed and told him who Stewart was really talking to-the Offensive Coordinator. Adam was confused, so I explained again who he was talking to and why he called him on the phone after the offense was done on the field. To which Adam replied, "Oh! I always thought he was calling his mom after each play to make sure she was watching." As he should, Adam. As he should!

(I hope for my sake, that mom's are always this important to Adam!) This will always be one of my favorite Adam stories! So adorable!!

Tessa: Tessa's prayers this holiday season have been very sweet. She has been sure to remember those who are less fortunate and for some reason she has been very concerned about people not having stars for their trees. One of her morning prayers went like this....

"Please bless everyone who doesn't have a star for their Christmas tree, that they will get one. Bless everyone to remember the reason for the season and that everyone will feel the spirit of Christmas. And please bless everyone to have a happy Christmas (even the people who get coal)."

Gwen: Poor little Gwen is just dying for some snow! She practices her snow angels almost daily. (And she pretty much lives in her Elsa dress.)

 Caleb: This little boy is just as sweet and happy as can be! We got the best video of him laughing last night!

Christmas Activities

We have had another busy week with lots of fun things going on. Adam and Tessa are finally out of school and now the real countdown for the big day begins!

 Tuesday, we made our favorite reindeer cookies. The older 2 are getting really good at making these. Gwen just wanted to lick everything. 

 Wednesday they kids got all dolled up and we went to see Santa. I love this picture because it shows each of their personalities so well. They were all so excited to see Santa. We were the only people there to see him, so we got a little bit of extra time with him. Tessa told him she wanted a TV for her room, Adam asked for a phone, and Gwen asked for a dolly. Two of them might have a disappointing Christmas. But we had lots of fun seeing Santa!

 Santa gave them suckers and reindeer hats. 

 After our visit to Santa at the mall, we headed to the Springville Art Museum for a fun Christmas craft activity. And look who showed up! Gwen was so happy to see him again.

 They made ornaments for our tree.

 They made some fun wreaths. 

 Caleb wasn't so sure about Santa.

 And they made Elf hats

 Before we left, we got to have milk and cookies. 

 Adam made his Elf hat a little too small, so he gave it to Caleb.

Thursday afternoon, we spent a lot of time writing Christmas notes and preparing gifts for school teachers, primary teachers, scout leaders, Bishopric, and home and visiting teaching families.

 Friday night the 3 oldest kids got to have a sleepover at Ma and Pa's house and Caleb hung out with Mamma and Bampa while Mommy and Daddy got to go see a movie.

Saturday we spent the afternoon and evening with the Halvorson side of the family. These kids are lucky to have such good Aunts and Uncles who love them so much!

Zeke, Uncle Matt and Gwen

 Briette and Caleb

 Uncle Matt and Tessa Boo

 After a very long drive home and dealing with kids throwing up, we made a quick stop to boost our spirits and saw the Tree of Life in Draper. This picture was taken from the car, so it doesn't do the tree justice. It was truly beautiful!!

 Sunday before church....Gwen was protecting her dog Max from the Grinch.

What's Been Happening

We are busy with normal life as always. Adam and Tessa are working so hard in school and Gwen and Caleb keep things busy at home during the days.
Here's a quick glance at what's been going on at our house lately. 

Adam won his class Geography Bee. He was so thrilled to get a certificate and ribbon for his achievement. I totally forgot to study with him (I won't be winning Mother of the Year) but thankfully, he's a smarty pants and did a great job on his own. 

I will never get tired of seeing him sleep with his Santa hat. 

 This was our new decoration for this year. I made a Santa wreath. Someone in my ward wanted to know how I was going to wear it. Uh....it's a wreath. The door wears it, not me. 

 We have all been sick at some point the last 3 weeks and it's been miserable. Poor Caleb was just a sad, sick little thing. For some reason, being sick made him forget how to eat, so we are fighting the food battle all over again. 

 The girls love their red, sparkly Christmas dresses. When we leave Sacrament meeting, our bench is covered in glitter. 

Mommy's drug of choice after a long day. Mint Hot Chocolate!

 Keeping it real....this is what some mornings look like so Mommy can get a quick workout in.

 No matter how many times I fix the nativity sets we have, the kids always set them back up with all the "characters" surrounding the Savior. An important lesson that the kids didn't even know they were teaching us. We should all be wanting to surround and face the Savior. 

 We have the craziest sleepers. Seriously... I have no idea how Gwen slept with Adam on her guts.

 Mommy and Daddy tried to have a much needed date night. We went to the movies and took Caleb. We have always taken our babies to the movies around this age without any problems. Well, we made 2 mistakes. We went to see a space movie, so it was silent throughout parts of the movie as they floated through space, and it was the longest possible movie we could have picked. Caleb was Mr. Jabber Jaws and just wanted to "talk", babble, and laugh through the whole thing. That resulted in he and I sitting in the theater hallway for about 2 1/2 hours while Daddy watched the movie.

Sorry, Caleb. That was your last movie for a long time.