Christmas 2012 part 2

We did spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa and the family in Mass, again this year there was not much snow, but we had lots of rain and lots of fun.

Hanging out with Grandpa and using snap-circuits.

 Ice skating with Aunt Ruth and the cousins- This is one of Aunt Ruths typical expressions.  It make me smile.

 Buddy loves the ice and has picked up a lot of speed.  He loves it.

 The girls however loved skating with Mrs. Claus, this was after she handed out candy canes.

 These 2 girls had to be together the whole day.  They are a year apart in age and almost exactly the same size.  They could be twins.

 We had all 3 kids sleeping in one room, we were never sure where they would be when we checked on them.  These 2 slept together more than once.

 We did go on a short and VERY COLD hike one sunny morning.  Boots would have been better than shoes.  We turned around pretty quick.

 The ice on the canal was pretty.

 Buddy got a chance to go play hockey with Uncle Scott.  He loved it and had to put on a lot of gear.

 In this picture #87 is his 9-yr old cousin. He has been playing hockey for years.

 He shoots, He SCORES!

Thank you Uncle Scott!

Christmas 2012

We celebrated family Christmas early this year again.  My kids kind of expect it and love it. I didn't take many pictures, partly because Princess got a Kindle Fire, and pictures of a kid staring at a pad are not exciting.   Buddy got a new bow, so stay tuned for pictures if him at the range.

 

  We got Scout a tent and a table and chairs.  His tent is a little bigger than I planned, but he loves it.   It is set up permanently in his room and he hides in there a lot.

 

Of course every toddlers favorite part... the wrapping paper.

He loves his little table and chairs.  They are set up in the dining room and he loves it.

 

 Plus there is room for a brother to eat breakfast.

 

 Munchkin got Lincoln logs so now with 2 sets they build lots. - Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

Gingerbread houses

Sometimes we make gingerbread houses at home. This year one of the familys at school had a huge party and decorated houses.  There was lots of people and every kid got to decorate their own house.  Buddy had a scout event, but the girls and I had lots of fun and ate lots of sugar.

 

There were about 80 houses decorated that day.  Lots of fun for the kids and parents. The host family used it as a fundraiser for a charity that I completely can't remember the name of right now.  I thought it was a great idea.

Teacher Gifts 2012

This year the teacher (and neighbor)  gifts were bags filled with 6 different types of cookies.  I had fun making little bags.  The day spent making cookies was fun too, but not as much fun for me. The teachers loved them, I think partially because I gave them out a full week before the last day of school, so they were not overwhelmed with stuff on the last day of school before break.

 Each is different and they are fully lined, usually with the accent fabric. They can be folded over to stand up. 

 

This is the only Christmas themed bag, the print says NOEL.

Christmas baking 2012

It wouldn't be Christmas without lots of baking and cooking and little helpers licking the fork.

He climbed up by himself and picked up this fork when I was in the other room.  He is a smart little guy.

Christmas Tree 2012

The drama of finding a Christmas tree.

You must go out on the coldest day of the year.  (2 days after Thanksgiving)

 Drag the whole family through SEVERAL fields of trees, and across little bridges in valleys.

 Carry a little one on your back and try to keep him as warm as possible.

 Finally pick a few trees that will be "good enough"

 Make children stand next to the few trees we like to mark their spot se we can compare them.
Letting one child curl up on the ground under a tree in an attempt to stay warm.

 Then cut, drag, load, unload and finally DECORATE...

Not too bad in the end.

New Year of 2013

It has been a busy end of 2012 and we got lots of things done and lots of stuff just didn't happen. For those that ususally get Christmas cards, I appologize.  Merry Christmas!!

Christmas cards were never even bought or mailed. Maybe we will attempt Valentines day cards.  I will slowly update the blog with our events, but it is really for me to remember and take some time to write down all the fun stuff we have been doing.

Be prepared for breaks again though. My blogging time is normally interrupted like just now by a little boy needing his diaper changed and a little girl wanting a snack.  Or little boys getting into tight spots like this one.

Christmas 2011

We celebrated our family Christmas a little bit early this year again.  I didn't take many pictures, but we enjoyed the day and the time spent with each other. Daddy was overwhelmed by the pretty tree once we put all the presents underneath. He took pictures of that.

All the kids got new scooters, including Scout.

I also made the kids a fort kit, basically sheets with ties on the edges put in a cool bag with clothespins, rope, clamps and a flashlight.  The kids all loved it and we had to make a fort in the girls room. 

Merry Christmas 2011

From our family to yours.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas travel

We got to travel North for Christmas this year, and the kids loved spending time with their grandparents and cousins. We got some snow, and they loved to go sledding and they even like shoveling.  We only got about 8 inches, but it was plenty for the kids to play.

 We also went bowling with my sister and her kids, the pictures of the kids didn't turn out so well, but we had a lot of fun.  Of course it was candlepin, and I did not do very well.  The kids turned out to do a lot better than the adults.

 Daddy also took the 2 big kids skiing for the first time, they loved it until Princess got sick.  Buddy loved it the most, and loved to tell me about how he could go down the mountain, but he neede help to go up the tow rope.

Early Christmas

Since we were traveling for Christmas we had our family Christmas 2 days afte Munchkin's birthday.   The kids loved having some time to play with all their new toys before we left for a while and couldn't play with them. 

The boys each got a dart gun, and so it has been daily dart gun fights in our house.  Buddy has even taped a target on his door, so he can practice when Daddy is not home.