Chani's Christmas Dress

I picked the pattern for Chani's Christmas dress in September. I bought the fabric in October. I didn't start sewing until December 24*. I spent most of the day in the basement sewing. It was a bear. I gathered fabric 5 times (and gathering tulle is a nightmare....especially when your string breaks). It's really not "finished" as it needs a little of the ribbon trim at the neck line, but it may never happen. I am pleased with how it turned out. The ribbon and the sash are really the same shade in person, I don't know why the camera shows so much disparity.

*My only resolution for next year is to have all of my Christmas projects completed by the time Emery and Chani are out of school for the holiday.

Merry Christmas Day!

(I apologize now for the picture overload.)

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! The kids are the perfect ages to see and feel the magic.

Look at all those presents!

It's so bright! 

Checking out the Santa loot.  Emery got 2 Lego Sets (the City airplane and the Pharaohs Quest snake).  He built both of them yesterday, without help.

Stocking stuff

This might be the story of the day.  (back story) When we moved into the house, one day we went somewhere and the kids left the garage door open.  Molly came in and chewed up some things.  One of the things she chewed on was Chani's doll, Ella.  Ella lost her fingers in the incident, and she's also been pretty grungy looking.  Because she's hauled everywhere, her face was pretty marked up.  Well loved, but looking sad.  On Emery's birthday when we were driving in Denver, Emery and Chani were talking about Ella.  Chani was saying how she wanted Ella's fingers fixed.  Emery said we should take her to the magician, because they use magic and they could fix her.  (back story over)  Santa fixed Ella.  Her fingers are repaired, she's clean and looks brand new!  Chani can't believe it.  She also got an Aquadoodle pad.

We got a whole bunch of Phineas and Ferb paraphernalia. 

Saya's new trick.  Yes, folks, she's holding the candy cane all by herself. 

Chani's stocking loot.

Saya got this ball popper.  The older kids love it and have already lost a ball, but Saya just stares at it.  She doesn't smile, no crying, just staring.  If it turns on somewhere where she's not, she cranes her head to try and find where it is.

Sibling love.  Saya and Emery got Chani Guess Who (which she was telling me in the car the other day--after it had been purchased and wrapped--that she really wanted to have Guess Who to play at her house).

Genuine surprise.  I've needed new winter shoes (no flip flops here in December) for a while.  I got some, but they were too small and gave me a blister so I had to take them back.  I've been non-commital on what I wanted, and I never have time to check out the shoe store by myself without kids.  Santa brought me a gift card to the shoe store. 

Chani and Saya got Emery a bigger hex bug.  He loves it!

Saya loves the sock monkey Emery picked for her.  Chani got her bath toys and she will love those too, when she can sit up in the bath.

150 crayons from Mom and Dad.

My very own digital camera. 

A fun new game from Grandma and Grandpa (thanks!)

This is where I apologize that there are no pictures of Clint.  He was behind the camera and I didn't ever take it from him.  He got some good stuff.  Santa brought a box of Big Hunks (24).  He got a new aquarium for some of these.  He also picked some new insects for his office (they came last week when it was a bit warmer for overnight shipping).  They are a vinegaroon and two centipedes.  He's really happy, and I'm glad they get to live at his office. 

I got some kitchen and sewing stuff (a new kitchen scale and a good magnetic pin cushion).  We all got too much! 

We had some friends over for sour dough waffles and sausage ring, and then headed off to a very nice tri-ward sacrament meeting.  Then it was home to play with toys and prime rib for dinner.  Yum! 

We saw Santa

We're so glad that the Lopez Family got us an in with Santa this year.

Bottoms up

I was doling out the mucinex tonight and when Emery got done slurping down his dose (in the little plastic medicine cup)  he said, "Blech!  It's like a yucky sacrament."

Material girl

I am working on Chani's Christmas dress this morning, and Saya is loving the tulle.

Pay thithings

We were singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" with the kids and after the first verse I was done, but Emery said, "What about the pay tithings one, Mom?"

Boxing Day in Australia

Emery had to do a research project and an oral report for kindergarten this week.  The assignment was to pick a country or culture and do a presentation in his class on a tradition from that country or culture.  Emery is loving all things Australia right now, so of course that's what we picked.  We had an Australian Sister Missionary in our ward, so when she came for dinner, Emery had his list of questions.  We asked if her family would be willing to video skype Emery's class, and she said sure.  That weekend, she was transferred.  It was bad news.  We did some scrambling and my sister helped me find a contact in Australia (her son is serving his mission there) and the mission secretary found us a willing family.  It was pretty awesome and we're glad that Emery's dad is such a smartie!

Here's what he said:

My name is Emery and today I'll be teaching you about Boxing Day, a holiday in Australia. No one knows how Boxing Day started, but there's a legend. A good king wanted to give his poor servants and village-towns-people a gift so he filled a box with food and gifts and that was the first Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is on December 26 when it's cold here. Everyone celebrates Boxing Day and most people have the day off of work.

(Imagine the smart screen and a cute little Australian boy and his dad) These are my friends Mr. Bailey and his son Brennan. Brennan is almost 5 and will start kindergarten in January.
What day is it in Australia? (It was the next day, at 7 in the morning, when it was 2 PM at our house)
What do you do on Boxing Day? (go shopping, to the beach or stay home and play with our new toys)
What do you eat on Boxing Day? (fresh mangos, peaches, and other fruit, sometimes a Sausage Sizzle which is a BBQ with hot dogs or bangers)
What is the weather like there on Boxing Day (100 degrees, that's in the red)

Class, say goodbye. My mom made you some *ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Biscuits. In Australia they call cookies biscuits, so they are really cookies.

Thanks again, Bailey Family, it was so fun to get to meet you and so kind of you to help us!!!

*ANZAC Biscuits:

1 cup flour
1/4 c coconut
1 stick melted butter
2 Tbs water
1 cup sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 Tbs golden syrup
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix flour, sugar, coconut, and rolled oats. Melt butter, add golden syrup, water and baking soda. When it has foamed up, add to the dry ingredients. Spoon drop cookies onto baking tray. Cook 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

(I only baked them for 8 minutes, which I'm sure is wrong, but I like a soft cookie)

The bathroom mirror

We have an old school bathroom mirror.  The doors open to reveal the medicine cabinet.  The other day Emery was taking a long time to brush his teeth.  I went in to check on him and he was leaning in close to the mirror making kissy lips.  He said, "Mom, when I lean like this, it looks like I'm kissing myself."  And then he dissolved into a fit of giggles.  I sure love this boy!

Saya's tricks

There's something wrong with my camera so some videos are sideways. Sorry about that. The second video is being recorded by Emery.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving. It was just the 5 of us and it was so nice. In the morning, Clint and Emery went to play in the ward Turkey Bowl and then went out to shoot guns with a friend. They had a great time! Instead of turkey we ate these (chicken broth instead of wine) and yams with apples and cinnamon butter sauce. We also had stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, and fresh rolls. For dessert we had jello popcorn. It was a great day.

On Saturday, we went to the Snowy Range with some friends to harvest a Christmas tree. It was super fun, and even Saya was a good sport. Chani left her coat at McDonalds, which is why she looks like a lumberjack (thanks Linnaea for the sweatshirt and jacket). She would have had to sit in the car otherwise. Emery needs new snow pants, the ones we have for him were like snow shorts, so Linnaea came to the rescue again with some wool socks that kept the snow off his legs. (Side note, of course, when I went to Target to get some that match is coat, they are out. Must order some online, soon!)

Molly loves snow and loved the mountains. She was able to run and play and have so much fun. She even got to see some deer. We weren't able to get very far up the mountain (it's Clint's case for "bigger" tires) but we found a lot of very nice trees. Ours fits perfectly in our space and despite a poor light job (by me) it looks pretty good. Now, if I can just remember to water it for the next 3 weeks.

Neglected

I've been neglecting the blog. It's been a busy few weeks, plus there was a holiday and more holiday madness followed plus December is out of control with things and appointments and parties. Oh my!

One of the biggest distractions has been this. We haven't had a cell phone since we left Chadron in 2008. Most plans cost a lot. We've talked about getting a cell plan, but couldn't justify the cost in our budget. Until Republic. I knew this was the plan for us. I told Clint it was all I wanted for Christmas, and it came early! I'm slowly figuring out my new "smart phone". It's a good thing that Clint has one of these so he can help me with the learning curve. I'm quickly learning that "there's an app for ______" I've sent my first few texts and I'm glad that Emery's school (and carpool friends) can reach me if I'm not at home.

Thanks, Love. I really like my new phone....even if it is smarter than me!

Big mouth baby

This is Saya's new trick.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our three little turkeys

Chani, Saya, & Emery

Do you like my hat?

Do you like my party hat?

Saya has an excellent car seat snuggler (Thanks Shelly!) but unless the flannel is over her face, then her head is exposed. *I found this tutorial, and I have to say I'm pleased with how well it turned out. We like that party hat!

*The tutorial was super easy, and can be made for babies, kids, or adults.

Clint had a birthday too!

I'm a slacker.  Clint had a birthday on November 13.  It was a Sunday and it's harder to celebrate on Sunday (at least if all you do is go out to dinner like us).  So, we were able to sneak away for lunch on Monday, and on Saturday he had most of the day to relax and do whatever he wanted (except that it was too windy to go out shooting).  He's gotten several new toys this year (a big Angus pad, a couple of new guns, and a puppy) so he didn't really get a present.  But if anyone has some great ideas for him for Christmas, please send them my way, I'm hoping for a true surprise for the first time in 11 years!

The Bumbo

Saya has started to love the bumbo seat! It helps me get some things done. Tonight I planted her on the table so that I could do the dishes while the kids were eating dinner. I turned my back and when I turned back around she was decorated. Chani added a little bling. Love it! And, I'm so in love with those tiny piggy toes.

Emery turned 6!

On Friday, November 18, Emery turned 6. We had planned to take him out of school for his birthday, so I planned on taking birthday cupcakes to school on Thursday. I was just finishing up the frosting when the school called. Emery had a cruddy cough and a slight fever, and could I come get him. Ugh! Poor kid. We dropped the cupcakes off for his class and headed home to nurse his sickness with chicken pot pie and rest. The cupcakes turned out pretty cute from our favorite show), and everyone had one after dinner.

Iron Man costume, Atlantis Lego Set, coolest Lego box, and remember the sand box.

Friday was the main event. After presents and pancakes, we went to Denver and our first stop was the Lego Store. Emery picked out a new Lego set (the dinos are pretty cool) and wandered around with his mouth open for at least an hour.

After that, we ate lunch at Emery's favorite place. Can I just say that offering apples and a little tiny french fry in the Happy Meal made my kids so very happy!

After lunch we headed to Dinosaur Ridge. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful (60 degrees) day. We didn't even wear jackets. We first went on a bus tour of the ridge. 100 million years ago it was the edge of an ocean. Now it's a mountain, and as the layers of rock come away, they are finding cool things like dinosaur footprints.

We were also able to see large boulders that break away from the mountain and roll down. They are FULL of fossils. They can take years to excavate, so they just leave them there for people to see.

We also saw where a brontosaurus was walking, and left a bulge in the layer of mud. It's now a fossilized layer that hangs down. Because of the shape, they can tell which way the dinosaur was walking. Emery was so quiet and listened so well to the guide. She was so good with him, and the other people on the tour just gushed about how great our kids were. Moments like this make me feel like I might be doing something right.

There was a geologist who was taking the tour with us (he works there), and he gave Emery the coolest birthday present. I can't find it tonight to take a picture of it, but it's awesome. It's a gastrolith. It can also be called a gizzard stone or a stomach stone. Birds, like chickens, eat rocks to help grind up the grains and other foods they eat since they have no teeth. Some dinosaurs did the same thing. When they find fossils, they sometimes find these gastroliths with them. It's about the size of Emery's fist and beautifully polished. We need to write Mr. Morrison a thank you note.

A few random shots at the end of the day. On the way home we stopped for dinner. It was a great day and so much fun!