Boxes

When my kids were little and it was Christmas, they used to have just as much fun playing with the boxes as they did with the presents that were in them. I thought those days were behind us until....I saw this:

Ethan had duct taped a box around him and then taped a Lego box as a holster to his side. It was hilarious!!!

The funniest part was when he needed to pick up a bullet. He couldn't bend down because the box at his waist wouldn't bend. So he would ask someone to pick it up for him. Bryan picked one up and then, just as he was handing it to Ethan, Bryan would drop the bullet and said, "oops." Ethan would try and pick it up and then Bryan would pretend to help again, only to drop the bullet again. (Can you tell Bryan is a big brother?!) It was pretty funny and Ethan was laughing so hard.

What a creative kid!!

Courtney's Glasses

You may have noticed that Courtney hasn't been wearing her glasses in photos this past week. The last Monday of school before Christmas break, Courtney got off the bus upset that her lens had fallen out of her glasses and she had lost it. I immediately called the eye doctor's office to find out what I needed to do to get the lens replaced. (I didn't want to chase the bus down if I didn't have to because they are still under warranty.) I was told that, since they were still under warranty, that I didn't need the old lens but I did need to take them the frame so they could make sure the new lens would fit. I was so excited because I only had 15 minutes to get Courtney ready for a dance performance and didn't have time to chase down a bus to get a lost lens. Plus, her lenses are expensive because they are bi-focals.

Tuesday morning I took the frames and existing lens to the eye doctor's office, dropped them off and ran some errands. When I arrived home there was a message from the office saying that they needed the other lens. I called and talked to the woman I normally deal with (who had been out of the office Monday) and was told that we would have to pay for the lost lens. The woman I spoke to on Monday was new and had given me incorrect information. I was not very happy. If I had known that missing lenses wouldn't be replaced under the warranty, I would have chased the bus down! But I was told there was nothing I could do but pay the $200 for the new lens. Ugh!!

When the bus got to our house on Tuesday I ran outside to ask the bus driver if I could search the bus. I didn't think it would do any good because 3 schools use that bus and so there had been hundreds of kids on there since Monday afternoon, but I wanted to try everything. Before I could get to the bus, Courtney came running off it holding up her hand and yelling "I found it! I found it!" When Courtney had gotten on the bus that afternoon she sat in the same place she had been in on Monday and ... there was her lens. Yeah!!!

I hurried and called the doctor's office to tell them and then on Wednesday morning we ran the lens in to the office. It was such a blessing that she found it.

Rollerblading

Ethan and Courtney got roller blades for Christmas and were excited to try them out. We went outside, laced them up and off they went. They are nice roller blades so the kids are able to go a lot faster and with better ease. Courtney took right off but Ethan was a bit more cautious and used the scooter to help him with balance for a few minutes before venturing out alone.

We went around the block and soon found Ethan's best friend, Brennon, in front of his house. He had also received roller blades for Christmas. So he came around the block with us and stayed for a few hours to play. It was a fun afternoon playing with all the new toys we received for Christmas.

Here he goes:
Taking a break:

There she goes:

Christmas Day

Courtney woke us at 4:30 A.M. to ask if it was time to get up yet. Bryan told her to go back to bed. Ethan knew that they weren't supposed to get up until 6:30, so at 6:31 he was up and in our room telling us that it was time to get up!

I got the camera ready and we let the kids go. Ethan is the funniest with his reactions. He got a Lego kit from Santa and an MP3 player. Courtney got a new bike (now she doesn't have to use Ethan's old one). They also got a Wii Play game for the two of them. They were both pretty happy with what Santa brought. Bryan got a couple of new pillows (but since he can only use one, I get to use the other one, sneaky Santa!) and we got an old fashioned popcorn popper as a family.

Here is the giant cookie Ethan wanted to make for Santa. Santa couldn't eat much of it but we did find out that Santa likes to dunk his cookies in his milk (there were crumbs on the bottom of the mug).
Courtney couldn't wait to try out her bike so here she is in the backyard in her pjs.
She was really good at riding it right off so she moved to the front yard to try it out:
I don't have any pictures of Ethan that aren't blurry because he kept jumping up and down all morning long. So here is one of him rejoicing after seeing his Lego from Santa.

After the kids looked at their Santa loot, we had them eat an orange (or a banana because they aren't huge fans of oranges) then we started opening presents. They got a lot of fun stuff and were very happy with their loot this Christmas.

We then made breakfast (bacon, eggs, orange rolls, cinnamon rolls, and orange juice). After cleaning up and playing with our toys for a while, we got ready for Church. As we drove up to the Church we were about 15 minute early and there were hardly any cars there. But by the time the Sacrament was over it was filled and the overflow had to be opened. It was nice to have Christmas on Sunday because it really reminded us why we celebrate. The talks were really well done and the singing was nice.

After Sacrament Meeting, we went home and began making dinner. My parents and sister were coming over and then round 2 of gifts would begin. We had ham, funeral potatoes, baked potatoes (because Bryan doesn't like funeral potatoes), rolls, salad, fruit salad and green beans. It was yummy!

When we had dinner cleaned up a bit (leftovers were put away), we decided the kids had been patient long enough and we opened more gifts. They got rollerblades, more games, magazines and some other things. It was fun and they were super excited again.

It was a good day!!

Here is a video of the morning. It gets a bit boring after 50 seconds because the kids just look at their stuff but before that you can see Ethan's hilarious reaction to his Legos.

Christmas Eve!

Saturday morning the kids were really anxious for Christmas to "hurry up and get here!" We went with my parents and sister to "Chipwrecked" (the latest Chipmunks movie). It was cute. Afterward we all went to Pier 49 for pizza (thanks to Mom and Dad).

We went home and the kids tried to do things to make the day go faster: tried to take naps (that didn't work), played in their rooms, read books, played Legos, etc. But the day wasn't going any faster.

When it was "finally" time, we decided to start our traditional Christmas Eve activities. We usually order pizza and eat it while sitting on the floor near the Christmas tree. Since we had already had pizza, we heated the leftovers and ate those. Then the kids asked to open their Christmas Eve presents and we said "no." Ethan wasn't hungry so he read us Christmas stories while we ate our pizza. Then the kids asked to open their Christmas Eve presents and we said "no." We played a few tunes with the chimes (which we are getting better at, by the way). Then the kids asked to open their Christmas Eve presents and we said "no." We tried to do a few more things but it wasn't working because the kids kept asking if they could open their present from Christmas Eve and it was getting annoying and everyone was getting grumpy (okay, it was Ethan and me that were getting grumpy).

Finally, we told the kids that they could open their Christmas Eve present but that they would have to go and take baths afterward. That did not go over well. I don't know why our kids hate to take baths/showers because once they get in the water we CAN'T GET THEM OUT!! I don't know what they do in there but they certainly enjoy themselves. But they get so upset when we tell them they have to get clean.

They opened their presents:
It's always pajamas. Usually I make them but they both wanted "feetie" pjs this year and there really isn't a pattern for pjs Ethan's size that have feet. I could have improvised but I have been too busy. I sad that I didn't make their pjs because I think it would have been more fun for me when they opened them. But then again, Courtney always complains that they are too "itchy" and I get frustrated at her and Ethan grew 3/4 of an inch last month so his would have been too short. Maybe it was best that I bought them.

Here's camo-Ethan with footies:
Here is Hello Kitty girl:

Sick Courtney

The last day of school before Christmas break and Courtney woke up barking like a seal. She usually will get croup once per year and this was her time. I emailed her teacher and the school to let them know and then I had her lay down on the couch while I helped Ethan through his morning routine. While he was practicing the piano I turned and saw this on the couch:
She claims that she wasn't asleep but I know better. The poor girl. I dropped by her class at school to clean out her cubbie and give her teacher a present. I took her to the doctor to get the steroid she takes for 2 days to get rid of the seal bark. Then I ran a few errands. It was kind of a bummer that she was sick because I had a lot I needed to get done on my last "kid-less" day before Christmas. But I got it all finished okay.

That afternoon Courtney felt much better and wanted me to drop her off at school. Poor girl didn't do well when I explained that she had to stay home because she was still sick even if she felt like she wasn't.

By Friday she was fine and driving Ethan nuts again!

Ward Referee

Bryan was sustained Sunday as the "Ward Referee." I had to giggle and so did a lot of people. The Bishop then got up and clarified that Bryan was called as the "Ward Basketball Referee." Bryan isn't available to solve any disputes between ward members. ;)

Here are some pictures and video of Courtney's first dance performance of the season. It was at the halftime of the Pineview High School basketball game on Friday.

Getting ready to boogie:
Here she is whipping her hair (they had fake hair ponytails so they all had long hair to whip):
Doing her jump:
This is how it ends "Peace!" (she loves this part):

Here is the video, the audio was horrible in the gym and so it wasn't as great a performance as it could be. She has another one on Monday and I'll tape it to see if it comes out better.

The song is "I Whip My Hair Back and Forth" by Willow Smith. It's a cute dance and she loves doing it.

Gingerbread Houses

Courtney's 1st grade class isn't having a Christmas Party. Instead, they invited all the parents to come to school last Friday and help make/decorate gingerbread houses with their child. We had to send graham crackers, frosting, a board to put it on and some candy to share with everyone. Then we all showed up and went to town.

Now, there is something that needs to be explained right up front about activities like this. Courtney DOES NOT like to have ANYONE help her in these kinds of activities. When her teacher sends home an activity for the entire family to do, Courtney DOES NOT allow us to touch it. I can't help her make it cuter or even see it until she is finished. So much for a family activity. So I was curious as to how this gingerbread house making activity would go.

As predicted, I showed up and Courtney showed me where to sit. She asked me to help her build the house (which we did very nicely) and then she told me that my job was "finished" because she would now be decorating the house. I tried and tried to get her to let me put candy on the house but she would take it away each time I tried. So I sat and talked to the other moms, who were nicely decorating houses with their daughters. But it was a fun activity and Courtney had her house looking just the way she wanted it to. I tried to suggest using the peppermint candies for windows, but she thought they would look better in another place "thank you very much for your suggestion though."

The important thing was that she had fun and I was there to share it with her:
She was really concentrating on getting it just right:
I think she probably ate 1/3 of the tub of frosting just by "accidentally" getting it on her fingers and licking it off:
She was having a great time!Unfortunately, the house didn't survive the drive home. Courtney said it was because of my "crazy driving skills" but I think it just wasn't a very stable house and the vibration from the road destroyed it. But it was fun while it lasted and I have pictures, so what's the big deal?!

Temple Lights

(I forgot to blog about this the other day. Better late than never, huh?)

One of our family traditions at Christmas time is to go see the lights at the St. George Temple. We make hot chocolate and then walk around. We usually end up in the Visitors Center for a little while so the kids can look at things. That's their favorite part of the tradition. It wasn't as cold as I remember it being other years and there weren't many people there.

Then we drove around looking at Christmas lights before going home. It was a good FHE.

The cute kids:
The Temple with the moon (pretty cool!):

Our Ward Nativity

A few weeks ago the Primary Chorister announced that the Annual Ward Nativity would be held in a few weeks. They asked that if any children would like to sing solos to let her know. Of course, in Junior Primary, Courtney volunteered immediately to sing a solo. The chorister then asked Ethan during Senior Primary if he would be willing to sing with her. Like a good big brother, he agreed.

They practiced the song and ended up sounding really good. Ethan was very nervous and stared at the same spot the entire time he sang but he did a great job and didn't forget any words. Courtney was just excited so she didn't have any problems.

Here they are:



We didn't think about it until we were home but Bryan mentioned that, with all the Church buildings being wireless now, we could have Skyped that to all the family and they could have seen it live. Oh well, we will remember for next year!

The Paper

We cancelled our newspaper a while ago because they hiked up the price and we didn't want to pay it. Let's be honest here, it's a small town newspaper that doesn't have a lot in it. So I felt that we were paying a lot for nothing. I really didn't think we would miss it much but found out that we really did miss it.

Every week or so, we get a phone call asking us to "come back" to the newspaper. Each time they sweeten the deal a little bit more but not enough to make us want to subscribe again. A couple of weeks ago, we got a subscription plea in the mail giving us a really good price but it was only for 6 months. We talked about it and decided we would do it, but I kept forgetting to find the form and fill it out.

Yesterday, while I was teaching piano, the phone rings and it was the newspaper again. This time they offered us 7-days-a-week home delivery newspaper for $11.06 per month FOR LIFE, as long as we don't ever cancel. I couldn't pass that one up so we are now paper subscribers again!! Ethan can't wait for the comics.

It pays to be a hold out!!

Courtney Playing the Piano

Here is Courtney Pack playing the piano this morning

Our Little Piano Players

Here is Ethan practicing this morning:

Decorating for Christmas

Since a lot of our Christmas decorations (including our tree) had been used at the Ward Christmas Party, I decided to put a bit of stuff up Friday while trying to clean up. I didn't put much up because the kids wanted to wait and have Bryan help us decorate.

After dinner, while Bryan read a book to us, we decorated the house. It was a lot of fun! I think it turned out pretty well.

Ward Christmas Party

Our Ward Christmas Party this year was crazy....amazing...but crazy! The Relief Society was in charge so I asked this amazing woman in the ward to take it over. And took it over she did!

Our Stake Center was converted into Old Nauvoo. The classrooms were assigned out to groups and then made into the various shops found in Nauvoo. We had the Scovil Bakery because they are Bryan's ancestors. There was the quilt shop, book shop, photo shop, tin shop, Red Brick Store, park, wagon rides (with real horses) and the Mansion House.

I gathered a few things from our house, made 18 dozen gingerbread cookies and then went to the Stake Center Wednesday night at 8:30 to begin decorating with a ton of other people from the ward. The wind had been blowing gusts of 30 mph all day long and it was really cold. So it was hilarious watching everyone unload their trucks with stuff. One tree blew away and I was almost blown away carrying a table in from our van. The woman in charge had a ton of stuff there for me so I just had to put her stuff together with what I had and I would be finished.

At 8:35 the power went out!! Not to be deterred, we grabbed flashlights/lanterns and everyone kept on decorating. Bryan called at about 9:30 thinking that the Church still had power because he couldn't imagine who would be crazy enough to keep decorating in the dark. I left at about 10:30, just as the power was going back on. Hahaha

People spent most of Thursday morning putting finishing touches on their rooms and getting everything ready. I spent most of the day frosting the 18 dozen gingerbread cookies I had made and running around buying last minute things for anyone still decorating. Did I mention that half of our Relief Society tablecloths were missing when they went to get them to decorate for dinner? Yup! What a mess that was and we never did figure out who had them. So I bought some plastic ones from the dollar store for them to use. They weren't excited but it was better than nothing and no one noticed that night.

Bryan came home from work early and we all got dressed up. A woman gave me a pioneer dress to wear (I was Mrs. Claus) so you won't see any pictures of me here, I didn't want that documented. But we did have an old fashioned picture taken that night. We got to the Church, finished setting our stuff out and then I took the kids around while Bryan manned the store for a while, then we switched so we could see everything.

The kids had their foots measured for boots:
This is part of our bakery room:
The kids on the wagon ride (Courtney went a few times but Ethan only went once because it was really cold that night!):
The cute kids LOVED handing the cookies out and making sure everyone had a copy of the recipe. (I actually didn't use their "official" recipe so Ethan would tell people that this wasn't the recipe for the cookies they were eating but the "official" one. It was cute.)
This is the Red Brick Store complete with butcher paper painted to look like bricks on the walls. Yup, that's fake folks. The young women spent weeks making all the brick walls for the party.
We had a ton of people show up (many we didn't know). We had places set for about 300 people at dinner and we had to set up a few more that night. It was a hit but a lot of work for one night.

After the Stake President gave the closing prayer blessing "all the many people who will helping to clean up" we began cleaning up. There were so many people who stayed afterward that it took us 20 minutes to get our room finished and, when Bryan stayed to help, there wasn't anything to do. So we were home before bedtime!

My stress level is now so low that I don't know what to do with myself! ;)