Jingle Jammies!

We had a special delivery tonight from a special elf - JINGLE JAMMIES! Here is a copy of the letter that came with our package (it was doorbell ditched on our front porch :)

Jacob, Hailey, Bryce, Caleb, Mom, and Dad,

Santa wanted to send you a little gift before the ‘big night’ so he sent out his most special and sneaky elf to deliver it to you. I hope you didn’t see me, but if you look closely you can find some sure signs that I was here: Is there golden glitter left on the snow, or treats near the fire aglow . . . was there a gift for each child left at the door with a reminder to be nice to see what else is in store?

So here is a list of Christmas ABCs, read it together as I escape on the breeze . .

A is for Angels, glorious and bright

Surrounding the Christ child on that first Christmas night

B is for building, a snowman at that

With eyes and a nose and a warm winter hat

C is for cookies and cookie making

Remember to have fun while the cookies are baking!

D is for decorations that Deck the Halls

The lights on the tree and the stockings on the walls

E is for elves, those jolly little guys

They help to get Santa up in the skies

F is for firsts – like the first Christmas night

When Jesus was born under the star so bright

G is for gold – a gift for a king

our gifts to him we daily bring

H is for holly, bright green and red

Don’t forget to be early to bed!

I is for icicles that glimmer with light

So cold and frosty when they are in sight

J is for jingle jammies, an early surprise

Everyone hopes they are the right size!

K is for kitchen where mom cooks the feast

Cookies and stuffing and even ‘roast beast’

L is for Luke , and in chapter 2

We read of the Savior, born for me and you

M is for music and carols for singing

Carolers abound with cheer and fun bringing

N is for nice, and naughty to

Make sure to be nice for You-Know-Who!

O is special, for O HOLY NIGHT

A gift to the world came into our sight

P is for Prancer, a jolly holly flyer

He takes Santa sleigh higher and higher

Q is for a quilt, a quilt made for giving

A quilt made with family started on Thanksgiving

R is for remember, remember, remember the reason

Always remember the reason for the season

S is for sledding, fast and free

We smile, and we laugh, and with giggle with glee

T is for the Temple Square lights

A fun family outing on a chilly December night

U is for under, under the tree or mistletoe

Always have fun even under the falling snow

V is for view – looking up to the sky

A new star appeared, telling that Jesus was nigh

W is for wise men, who found the king

Traveling far, the gifts they did bring

X is for Christ – it’s X in the Greek

Anointed Messiah – mighty and meek

Y is for Yule Log – a special Christmas treat

Covered in frosting and lots of candy sweet

ZZZZZZZZZ is for sleeping all through the night

Sleeping sound and still as Santa makes his flight!

Hillarious

Here is Caleb falling asleep in his high chair after eating dinner - so funny!

The PERFECT solution

Matt has come up with the perfect solution! Our kitchen chairs were getting pretty gross looking what with all of the small people running around my house. Additionally, every time we sit down to a meal someone ends up fighting over where to sit. BUT NOT MORE! For a mere $3 per chair my problems have been solved. We steam cleaned the existing chair cushion/fabric, dried them, popped out the seat from the chair frame, covered the existing fabric with a fabric of choice per child, covered that with really thin and flexible plastic, stapled around the back of the cushion, screwed the seat back into the frame, and VOILA - chairs with plastic cover for the spills and drips and each child has their own individualized chair so no more fights about who sits where!

What a procrastinator I am :)

Well, I FINALLY took Bryce's birthday picture for this year! I am having a hard time deciding which one I like the most - I think I have an idea, but I wanted to know what ya'll thought! Leave a comment and let me know which one you like please - thanks :)

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Where did October go?

Well, we have officially survived 'birthday season' around our house with Jacob FINALLY (according to him) turning 6!

Jacob contemplating on the notion that he should feel older now . . .

Jacob decided to have his party at breakfast before school so we had waffles, eggs, OJ, and presents . . .
Apparently I am a cool mom now because I know what Bakugons are - just ask Jacob and he would be happy to tell you alllllllllllllllllll about them :)
His new hoodie for school (that he now zips up over his face and calls his ninja outfit . . .?)
We saved the birthday cake for after dinner - no chocolate for this boy . .yellow cake with white frosting and colored sprinkles!
I can't believe it has been 6 years!
The same day as Jacob's birthday was Hailey's preschool Halloween program. She knew the songs the were to sing, the actions to go with the songs, the whole bit . . . . . .so it starts with Teacher Nisha introducing all of the little characters - which went fine . . . . .she seems cooperative . . . . .

The little class gets into line and she doesn't seem quite sure that she wants to have the hood on for her costume, which is fine, but she is still smiling pleasantly . . . . . . .
WAIT FOR IT

WAIT FOR IT

WAIT FOR IT

Now you get the chubby cheeks of death look . . . . . . .probably thinking "you want me to do what, wearing what exactly?"
Now returns the nice little girls, minus the hood, with a bit of a tease to her mom - something like, "ya sure, I'll play this game . . . ."
And . . . . .now we are back to "wow, you guys really are idiots! I think I will just sit here and let the rest of the class sing and dance!"
Moral of that story - do not judge your parenting skills by the amount of participation in school productions by your 4 year old!

Anways, so onto Halloween . . .here are some pictures from carving the pumpkins.

Remember the excitement for carving the pumpkin (notice the pumpkin has not been opened yet)on this little face . . . . just remember . . . . .

Hailey was a trooper, digging right in (he Doireann, do you recognize the shirt?)
Nice belly shirt Jacob!
Remember that excitement from before . . . .yeah, now we have "I ain't touchin' anything that looks like that . . . "
What a brave older brother I have to reach right into that big scary pumpkin!

Halloween night the ward meets at the park right across from my house for potluck soup and to let all the kids do a little costume parade around the playground. . . .





What a cute zebra :)

Articles of Faith of the Mormon Culture

1. We believe in SUVs and minivans as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in multi-level marketing. 2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression. 3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl. 4. We believe that the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it. 5. We believe that a Mormon should have a distinguished or a cute name, that it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or a historical figure including an ancestor, that alternative spellings and French prefixes only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof. 6. We believe in the same wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes, namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth. 7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family photos, baked goods, emergency supply kits, and so forth. 8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties. 9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and important things pertaining to our family, friends, pets, and vacations. 10. We believe in the literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that the Mormons will enjoy reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory. 11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same privilege. Let them name drop the names of the famous and general authorities how, where, or whenever they may. 12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses, and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings for professional schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck. 13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and in being ten to fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free, sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these things.

Makes me proud to be an American!