Happy New Year!

Unlike my daughter, I can totally grasp 2014.  2013 was a good year.  Not much exciting happened.  Nothing horrible happened.  It was perfectly ordinary with only minor ups and downs.  And that's okay.  I always the the start of new things.  The beginning holds so much promise. So much hope. Could this be the year that I lose the last ___ pounds? My child finds the book that turns them on to reading forever? The year we finally take that vacation?  It's going to be a great year.  :)

Our family always rings in the new year with some of our favorite people.  We meet up with the Stringham clan for food and games.  This year the adults opted to start the party early and catch an a matinee of Catching Fire.  (SO good.) A quick jaunt home to grab the kids and the food and head back to their house.  Turkey sandwiches and yummy finger foods.  (Heard of Cookie Butter? Try it.  You'll thank me.) Lots of games and giggles.  The kids had a good time too.  Wii. Princesses and Fairies.  Mulan.  So happy to have wonderful friends to celebrate with.

We failed to get a "before" picture, but this is the "after." They were still going strong (albeit tired and prone to whininess) at midnight.

Chloe surrounded by two of her favorite people her big Sis, Lyndsi and friend Dane.  Now if we can convince the two big kids it's OK to be friends.  One day they'll believe us.  ;) They did play the Wii together.  That's a start!

So lucky to have these amazing friends!

Christmas Advent

I wasn't planning on doing an advent calendar this year.  I haven't really done one before, especially a really cute one with activities or even little treats for the kids.  They are ALL over blogland right now.  Something about having the house in boxes and no Christmas tree up (yet) is squelching the Christmas spirit 'round here.  It wouldn't be such a big deal, but my kids are at such a fun age.  After feeling a little sorry for myself, I thought, "Why can't I still do one?  So what if I start it on Dec. 6 instead of Dec. 1?!"  And so I got to work.

This is the finished result:

I did it all with the (very limited) supplies I had on hand and it took maybe 20 minutes.  It's not much to look at, but the kids were so excited when we hung it up. I also borrowed an idea from this post (thank Marlene!) and added a scripture for each day to help all of us learn a little more about Christ.

After dinner tonight we got to pull out the first slip.  We learned about how much Jesus loves the little children.  For our activity we made ourselves into festive little elves. We love doing crafts together, so it was a great way to kick of our little advent!

St. Patrick's Day

St. Pat's is never a big deal at our house.  We do the usual wear green or get pinched thing, occasionally I'll sneak a few drops of gren food coloring into the kids' milk or mac 'n cheese.  This year the kids had the idea to set a trap for a leprachaun.  As we were going through the bedtime routine I helped each kid set their trap (each loaded with a shiny coin to attract the little guy).  When I tucked Sophie in her bed, she admitted to me that she was scared of the little guy. (In the morning, she told me, "Mommy, I just shut my eyes and closed my mouth and didn't open them til morning!)  Lyndsi on the other hand asked Heavenly Father to help her not be soexcited that she couldn't sleep. She told me she peaked from her bed a few times in the night.   In the morning, Jeff and I had our own wee visitors in the wee hours of the morning.  They were all so excited everyone was up by 6!  When they checked their traps, they didn't find leprachauns but they did find a pile of gold  (ok-gold hershey nuggets).  It was a fun little thing and 100% the kids' idea.  I think we'll try and do this again next year!

Mary and Joseph Dinner

Earlier I posted that one of our traditions at Christmas is to do a "Mary and Joseph" dinner. No matter when this comes up, I always get questions about it and this time was no different.

A few years ago I was reading in the December issue of the Ensign about how different members of the Church keep Christ in Christmas. One family had a "Mary and Joseph" dinner. They ate things that they might have eaten as they journeyed to Bethlehem and discuss what the journey might have been like for them. Of course they also went into THE Christmas story.

When I read it, I knew it had to be one of our traditions. We had recently quit being with either family on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning and were in need of some new traditions to start with our little family. It was pretty close to Christmas, but I talked to Jeff and we both agreed it would be a perfect thing for our fam. We've done it every year since.

Right now our discussion is pretty short and age appropriate for our little kids. They love it though and have started asking if we're going to do it again this year.

This is how we will be doing it this year. We'll have dinner downstairs on blankets since Mary and Joseph didn't have a table. We'll have a fire in the fireplace because that would have been the only light they would have had to eat by if the sun had gone down. (We'll also have the tree lights on. maybe for the stars in the sky?) Things we typically eat for this meal are fish (much to Lyndsi's dismay), pita or flat bread, cantaloupe, grapes, almonds, cheese cubes, olives (much to my dismay. lol.), pomegranates, fig newtons (because what do you do with a fig?) and sometimes a dessert like baklava. (I know that's maybe more Greek-but it was to get the honey in.) This year we'll be trying something called rugelach for a little treat. Oh and the part the kids love-no utinsels. We all eat with our hands. (Luckily it's mostly finger food anyway.) We also serve either grape juice or sparkling grape juice. It's by far not a filling meal, but it is a special one we all look forward too.

We'll be combining this tradition with the one we have of reading the nativity story while placing each character in their spot in the stable that sits under our family tree.

So there ya have it. The Mary and Joseph dinner. :)

Summer Fun

We've been working hard at playing this summer. Here's just a few things we've been up to:

Summer Bingo

As part of the fun, the kids had to do a picture scavenger hunt. I gave them a list of 10 things to go find and take pictures of. They loved it. And they did go-ood!

Boy on a slide

Girl on a swing (this was supposed to be a picture of Sophie, but she didn't want to play that game.)

Girl on a bike
A pine cone

Hiking.




Jeff thought it'd be great fun to take the kids hiking. So we did. He happened to have a Monday off after the 4th of July weekend. We packed a picnic, loaded everyone in the car and drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Doughnut Falls. We were highly entertained by a cheeky little gray squirrel who seemed to think he was part of our family-coming right up to our picnic blanket to beg for scraps of food. The girls would scream-in true girl fashion-every time he got near. McKay was a little unsure about our new friend, too, at first. Once he decided the squirrel was no real threat, he said, "Let's name him! I know-Zack!" So thus we have Zack the Squirrel. (Which, btw, set the precedence of the kids naming every living creature we saw on the trail)





With lunch cleaned up, we headed out on the trail. It was gorgeous day for hiking and the kids took to it like fish to water. Lyndsi especially loved it and could always be found leading out little party. Sophie was the only one to get whiny. Enter mom and dad and a big bag full of snacks. Problem solved. We hiked 1.6 miles in all and not once did Jeff or I have to carry that little girl. It was great. My favorite moment was when we were hiking back from the falls. Sophie started singing, "underpants, underpants" over and over. Trying not to laugh (and not succeeding), I asked her why she was singing about underpants. "Because I'm funny!" she replied. 'nough said.






Photos.






My summer fun has come in the form of Photoshop. I signed up for an online, self-paced class to learn different special effect techniques for PSE 7. I am loving it. Here are a few of my projects thus far.

Happy 4th of July!

Here's to BBQ's, hot dogs, apple pie, ice cream, baseball, a weekend at the cabin, families, parades, fireworks. To the men and women who built this country from the ground up, who fought and still fight for freedom no matter the battlefield, who sacrificed to make something better for their children. Here's to all good things AMERICAN!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!

Have a delicious, fun-filled, and safe holiday weekend. See ya next week!

Ahhh...

Conference weekend. A time to laze around the house in your jammies, eat too much junk, maybe accomplish a project or two, be with your family, and maybe (wink) grow a little spiritually.

It's not a holiday technically, but....Well, I would say it is at least a religious holiday. Let's look at the facts. We get a break from regular meetings. Very holiday-ish. A lot of people use that weekend to gather with family. Definitely holiday-ish. AND it is a weekend seeped in traditions. (see above)

For me, Conference is the official "kick-off" weekend to the last 3 months of the year, better know as the "holiday" season. I get my kids settled in with some fun new coloring book and crayons and arm them with their little 1st presidency/quorum of the 12 flip-book. Then, I pull out my projects (usually a paper craft of some sort) and get to work. I find if my hands are busy with simple, repetitive motions like cutting, my brain seems to focus better. Last October, I proclaimed Conf. weekend official make my Christmas card weekend. And this year-I'll add "finish everyone's Halloween costumes" to my agenda. A huge bite to chew, but it will be FUN!!

Happy Conference!