Christmas Spirit

It has taken me longer to get in the Christmas spirit than usual.  This is not normal for me.  It could be the self imposed ban on Christmas music until after Halloween (a big step for me, but my kids were starting to hate it).  It could be the beautiful 60 degree weather we've had for a month.  I'm not really sure what the problem is.  But it better be solved after the week of Christmasing we've had around here!
Due to the before mentioned weather, we thought we'd better get our kids to see the lights while it was still nice.

They were beautiful, as usual.  It is such a great way to get excited for the season.  We are so lucky to live so close!!
Later in the week we had the chance to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert.  They had the Muppets with them, so our whole family got to go.  It was great!  Lynnette and Jim came too, and sat with Avery and Maren while we sat with the boys.

And the next day was our ward Christmas party.  Ryan was sick that morning (can you tell in the above picture that it was coming on?), so Dustin stayed home with him.  Avery is officially too old to sit on Santa's lap. :(

When I looked through the pictures later, I found about 10 of Maren and Grant doing these kinds of faces.

I guess this is why they were so well behaved during the program part of the party.  I guess I should be grateful for electronics.

A Busy Christmas Week

We have officially started the Christmas season.  I know this because all of a sudden, we are extremely busy.  Avery has been especially busy this week.  She started out with her DARE graduation.

 The next day she had a field trip, and the day after that she went with the Student Service Council to decorate a tree (and, apparently, a door).

 Then later that night, Avery and Maren had their Choir Christmas concert.  My parents came up for the occasion.  The choir did a great job and it was a great way to get in the Christmas spirit.  Plus, it is so fun to watch my kids sing!

 No, Avery isn't kneeling down.  She is standing next to a fourth grader, though.  Someday she's going to hit a serious growth spurt and then these pictures will seem amazing.

 The singers.

 Avery's friend, Abby, came to watch.

 And G-ma and g-pa.  What great supporters!

The next morning we enjoyed our 50 degree weather by taking a little hike at a park up our street.

 I know I'm wearing a hat and scarf and I just said it was 50 degrees.  It was a little breezy, which brought the temperature down a little.  And, I'm just a cold wimp.

And there you have it!  One week down, only another couple left in my favorite season of the year.  I wish I could slow down time!!

It Was Thanksgiving And My Birthday On The Same Day

As the title says, this week was Thanksgiving.  And my birthday.  All on the same day.  We went to Delta for Thanksgiving and we spent a couple of days there to visit my Grandma.  I have no pictures of Thanksgiving dinner.  Or my birthday celebration.  But trust me, they were awesome.  I do have pictures of this though:

 

We took the kids to the Little Sahara Desert near my grandma's house.  The weather was beautiful and we got good and dirty.

We also explored my Grandma's farm a little while we were visiting.  I felt the need (I wonder why?) to get a little exercise after our Thanksgiving meal, so we jumped on the trampoline and then went on a walk.

 Wait, that one makes me look old and inflexible.  Let me try it again.

Oh yeah!  That's what I'm talking about!  Do you see the awe/fear in my sons' eyes behind me?  No 37 year old woman here! (Really, there isn't.  I just turned 36.  Next year, there is no way I'll be able to do that.  And truthfully, it kind of hurt when I did it, even at 36.)

That is the girls on the teeter totter.  I was dropped to the ground many times on that teeter totter, while growing up.

Then it was time for our walk.  I was feeling a little grumpy for some reason (Thanksgiving and birthdays are not always that fun for me), and as we were walking the most beautiful sunset of my life happened.  Here is a little known fact: one of the things I love the most about nature is a good sunset (the other two are the stars at night and the smell of rain).  So I declared it my Birthday Sunset.  And Dustin said that it was actually Heavenly Father telling me He loved me.  And I think it was.  And maybe He was telling me to stop being so grumpy, because it's my birthday, for goodness sake!

 Dustin is laughing because he just realized that the hat he took from my Grandma's closet is a girl's hat.  

 The man who taught me to love a good sunset.

Maren also loves this sunset, I think.

And so, as Thanksgiving and birthdays come to an end for this year, I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to send us little cheerful messages when we need them, like a beautiful sunset.

An Anne Frank Look Alike

This week we had an Anne Frank look alike show up at our house.

Use your imagination.

After three months of hard work, Avery, along with a bunch of other look alikes, performed their original poems about their person of Greatness in front of all the families of the other kids in their class.  She did a great job!  It was kind of funny.  The microphone was a little low (or a lot low) for all the kids in the class, and so it was a little hard to hear some of the kids.  Avery was the second to the last to do her poem, and she was the only one for whom the microphone was perfectly placed!  We could hear and understand every word!  Ahh, the benefits of being short.

Today, the kids decided that they wanted to make crayon candles.  This is what happened.

It's a good thing I had a plastic table cloth.  We had melted crayon everywhere!  That whole pile of stuff went in the garbage, including the tablecloth.  We did get a couple of candles out of it.

 And tonight we put up Christmas at our house.

Happy Thanksgiving!!