Tuacahn

Courtney danced at Tuacahn tonight and it was FREEZING!! Seriously, it was only 30 degrees and the girl was in tights and a tutu.

Her first performance was at 6:30 and it wasn't too bad at that time. They only had 2 dances to do and the performance was only about 20 minutes long. We were prepared with rice bags warmed in the microwave, blankets and coats. She did pretty well waiting and keeping herself warm.

We then went to the live Nativity at Tuacahn. That was fun. We have been before but it's always a great experience.

Then we went back to her second performance and it was REALLY cold! It was actually snowing a bit so that made it worse. They had the girls wait inside the building before they went to the outdoor stage and that helped, but Courtney was still shivering pretty badly! Between dances they went back in the building but the second dance was almost too much. Her little legs were shaking and she was cold.

Bryan bundled her up and carried her to the car. It's taken a while to warm her up but I think the hot chocolate and the cookie her primary teacher gave her at Tuacahn helped (her teacher works there at the concessions stand).

Cookie Party

Courtney wanted to do something fun with a couple of her friends to celebrate Christmas, so we had a cookie party. We made invitations and she delivered them on Wednesday. I made some cookie dough this morning and we were ready.

Two little girls came over and they each cut their own cookies out, I baked them while they played and then they sat around and decorated them. Afterward they got to eat one cookie while they drank hot chocolate and talked about "girl stuff." It was a lot of fun and they were super cute girls!

Ward Christmas Party

Last night was our Ward Christmas party. It was the Mexican theme of Feliz Navidad. It was pretty fun. The kids loved it and ate tons of chips, salsa and salad. All their friends were there so they played around while waiting for the adults to eat.

Then Santa showed up. They didn't do a "sit on Santa's lap" thing, they just had Santa go around from table to table giving out candy. When he first showed up, Courtney wasn't too sure about it and jumped on Bryan's lap with a worried look on her face. But when he came around to our table, she was okay with it. Ethan was super excited, just because he wanted the candy Santa was giving out. Ethan's friend was sitting with us and they began debating whether it was the "real Santa" or not and they finally decided that it had to be the real one because he had enough candy for everyone! It was cute.

When Santa was finished a few games were played and then the men were all called up front to sing Christmas songs to the women. It was a good party. We stayed and helped to clean up while the kids ran around.

Ethan getting candy:

Courtney getting candy:

Ethan's face when he first saw Santa:

Courtney's panic when she first saw Santa:

Amish Oatmeal

I made this the other day and it is SOOO good. I thought I would share it. It turns out kind of like a cake and is sweet. I'm sure it isn't any good for you because it tastes so good. ;) I only made a half batch and put it in a 8x8 pan, just to check it out.

Amish Oatmeal:
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
warm milk
fresh fruit (optional)
brown sugar (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Combine first 8 ingredients and mix well (also add cinnamon if you want). Spread evenly in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Immediately spoon into bowls and add warm milk. Top with fresh fruit and/or brown sugar if desired.

I added the cinnamon in my bowl afterward and it was yummy, but I think it would be better added in at first. You can decide.

YUMMY!!

Another Performance

Courtney had another dance performance at the Dickin's Festival. The girls did a great job. I have video but they are the same dances as last time, so I won't bore you, but she did a great job and had a great time.

We picked Ethan up after school and drove to the Dixie Center so we could get there early enough to walk around before Courtney had to perform. There were some cool things to buy and my kids wanted all of them. The best thing, in my opinion, was "snow in a box." It's this powder that you add water too and it turns into snow. It lasts for 4-6 weeks before drying up and then you can reconstitute it again and again. It was even cold! But it was also $20 a box and snow isn't worth that much to me ;)

Here's a blurry picture of the cute girl (it was dark and my camera had problems).

Christmas Decorating

Last Monday, for FHE, we decorated for Christmas. We put up the tree, put on the balls and other decorations (I only dropped two this year!) and then put out all our other nicknacks to make it Christmas. The kids had a great time.

Now we just have to put lights on the outside of our house. And, once again, we are the LAST house on our street to put up our lights. CRAZY!

Self Esteem Deflator...Thy Name is Courtney

I drove the carpool to preschool yesterday and then spent the morning putting away all our junk from Thanksgiving. We had all our winter clothes, the gifts I bought, along with all our dirty laundry. I got it all put away, cleaned the kitchen and living room and got things pretty organized before it was time to pick up the kids from preschool. I thought the house was back to looking normal...until Courtney walked in.

She turned to me and said, "Wow Mom, the house actually looks clean!"

Yeah, it took her about 2 seconds to deflate all I do every day. ;) You gotta love kids.