Merry Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cookies

My Favorite Holiday Tradition

A few months ago my electric hand-mixer broke and I still haven't gotten around to buying a new one.  It was such a pain to mix the cookie dough and frosting by hand, (especially the frosting) my forearms cramped up pretty bad, but for some reason I think it actually made a difference.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I think these are the best cookies I've ever made, they taste sooo good, and I think it was the old fashioned mixing by hand that did it.  So now I will have to decide next year, when I hopefully will have a new electric mixer, if it's worth it???

 

 

On thurs I got to help at Molly's class party and her teacher was nice enough to let Mitch tag a long.  He fit right in with all the 4-5 year olds. (he was even taller than a few of them)

like I said...

....we like to party.
Last night was our Ward Christmas party / Talent-show / Rock Concert.  It was awesome!!  Easily the best ward Christmas party I've ever been to.  It was so much fun, and I'm pretty sure we have the MOST talented ward out there, cause it was AWESOME!

Molly and Mitch had so much fun dancing with all their little friends. 

 

Ethan on the other hand was "too cool" to dance because none of his friends were dancing.  But if you know Ethan you will know that this was VERY VERY hard for him to not get up and bust a move.  (he is one of those kids that hears music and can't help but dance.)  He did throw out a few sweet moves from his knees, it was pretty funny watching him try so hard NOT to dance.  Scott tried to tell him to go and dance with the girls, and he got pretty embarrassed.  I sure Love that kid  

 

we like to Party

Christmas party that is.  We had two today and more to come this week.  This afternoon it was just my little buddy Mitch and me.  I love getting to spend one-on-one time with this kid, especially when he is in a good mood :)

The rec-center here had a darling little Christmas party today with Santa, games, prizes, balloons, crafts, cookies, a bouncy house, and face-painting (or in Mitch's case "arm painting" cause he was a little nervous about the whole thing.) I love going to the rec-center because it is right by the water in a darling neighborhood with lots of southern charm.  They always have fun/free holiday parties for little kids (like non school age).  It doesn't get overly crowded like most free kid things tend to be.  And it's amazing how relaxing it is to go somewhere fun with just ONE child.... I can actually enjoy it!

After the party we rushed to get the other two from school, rushed off to Basketball practice, and rushed home to get ready for the next party.

 

This is Scott and I in our holiday sweaters at Scott's work party.  We had a great time and actually got something good from the white-elephant exchange. (well good for the kids, Molly is happy with her new bath toy). 

It was a busy day with lots more partying to do this week.  I love this time of year!!

Jingle Bells

Can you tell, someone is just a little bit excited for Christmas this year.

He loves to sing Jingle Bells, but wants to be the only one singing, and gets a little mad if anyone trys to join in.  It has kinda been a problem, but he's just so cute :)

We had a Visitor

Grandma B came for a visit and we had so much fun showing her around town.

We went to Pitt St bridge one morning, which is one of our favorite places, and we saw dolphins swimming right under the bridge.  I have never seen Dolphins so close in the wild before, it was so neat.  They swam right underneath us and even though I was snapping away on my camera I couldn't get a very good picture :(
 

We went downtown to Market St. to do some Christmas shopping.  We got stopped at least 10 times by random people from Ohio because of the shirt Mitch had on.  Go Buckeyes!! (there are A LOT of people from OH here)
 

We went to the festival of lights which was AMAZING.  It was so much fun.  There was a darling carousel, the kids got to meet the real Santa, we went on a train ride through the enchanted light forest, and then roasted marshmallows to our hearts content.  And all this with no crowds and no waiting, it was FABULOUS.
 

 

We took Grandma to the aquarium.  This is Mitch with his buddy, the ring-tailed Lemur.   

On Saturday we went downtown again and took Grandma to Glazed.  They have the best Donuts I have ever tasted.  So So So Good.
 

Then we went on a carriage ride through downtown.  Mitch is still talking about the Horsey ride he went on and he has now become very obsessed with everything Horse related 

 

Pinnapple fountain in Waterfront park
 

Afternoon on the beach
 

Mt Pleasant Christmas Parade, with spectacular fireworks show.  It was even better than the forth of July.  Oh and notice how we are in Shorts with no Jackets.... It's December!  Crazy but I love it.  Although some days it does feel weird to listen to Christmas music with the AC blasting. 

Thanks for coming Grandma we had so much fun!!!

Christmas time in Charleston

There have been so many fun Christmas things to do here in Charleston.  And it doesn't hurt that the weather is so nice (most days).  I love that people are not afraid to say "Merry Christmas!" here.
The Christmas radio station here doesn't just play the same annoying Mariah Carey songs over and over again, but they play actual Christmas Hymns.  Even in the kids school, there are Christmas trees, and decorations, and they even sing Christmas songs at music time.  Now this might not seem like a big deal to you, but after being in Cleveland where you feel like you have to be SOO careful not to offend someone, it is a nice change.
  

 

Charleston "Palm" tree lighting

 

I finally broke down and gave this kid his "first" hair-cut.  I cried a little and miss his blonde curls, but he couldn't be happier with the new do.  He loves it, and I think he looks way too grown up now.

Thanksgiving

I know it's been almost a month since Thanksgiving, but I've been meaning to update so here it is. (mom this is for you)
We went to NC to visit our cousins for Thanksgiving and had such a wonderful time.  Our kids all have a cousin their age to play with, and they all get along so well, so it was actually a nice relaxing time for everyone.

Priya was my kitchen helper.  She was very fascinated with cleaning and prepping the turkey. 

All the kids at the park.  You think with this many kids it might get a little wild, but they all got along so well.  It was just fun, fun, fun all weekend long.

 

We had some nice family time too

 

Like I said it was very relaxing... I even got a few naps in :)

This week

Last week was beautiful weather and we were out everyday enjoying the sunshine. 

you can't tell in this picture but his "spots" are all over his hands, arms, and back too.  Poor little guy.

This week we have been trapped indoors with sick kids.  I am used to being trapped inside with kids, but not when the sun is shinning and the weather is nice.  It really makes it that much harder. 

Thankfully this girl has still been healthy and gone to school everyday.  Here is a picture of her Turkey that she had to disguise for school.  Meet Cinderella peacock-turkey 

 I had to post these cute school pictures.  I thought they turned out really good.

BYU vs Georgia Tech

 A few weeks ago we drove to Georgia to see my baby brother Danny.  The kids were beyond excited to see him and immediately jumped all over him, hung on tight and wouldn't let go.  When it was time for him to leave Molly burst into tears.   



Friday night at the devotional



Game Day:  Played hide-n-seek with uncle Danny at his hotel in downtown Atlanta, walked around the city, Ethan lost a tooth on the playground, got to ride the train to the game.

We were lucky to get to go to such a fun exciting game.  We had great seats, and got to watch uncle Danny get an interception.

 

Mitch and Molly are obsessed with Cosmo Cougar now.  We probably went down 10 times to give him a high five.

 

 

We had such a fun weekend in Georgia with Danny. Go Cougs!