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?!