Christmas Eve 2014

 Dear Kids,

Christmas Eve finally came. The last ornaments on our two Advent calendars were hung. The presents were all wrapped and under the tree. It was super exciting! First thing that morning we decided to do our breakfast picnic by the Christmas tree since we hadn't done that yet this year.
Lulu, you helped me cook some muffins and the we went down for our little feast:

Chocolate milk:

 Mmmm, muffins:

 Breakfast picnics are pretty fun!:

While Dad was at work we also decorated Grammie's wrapped gift, read stories, had a Christmas concert in the living room, and watched some of the movies we checked out from the library. You guys were watching Inspector Gadget cartoon when Dad came home a little early.
We started our Grinch party at dinner time.
Dad made up some yummy who has and then carved the roast beast:

 Pluto could smell that meat and was really hoping he would be invited to the feast:

 Lulu, you made a cute menu and put it on the table:

 Pluto, you were a good doggie, just resting over by the sink while we ate:

 After dinner we had Grinch punch and then went downstairs to watch our Christmas Even tradition movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! After the movie we opened our new jammies from Grammie!:

 Baby, you were doing a great job walking!:

 Then before baths it was time for some Who Pudding. Lulu, you really wanted to use our fancy dishes since it was a special occasion:

  After baths we took our family Christmas Jammie pictures.

 Here's a normal one:

 Then a few silly ones:

 Then another attempt at a normal one:

 and one last one with our Christmas friends in the picture.  I told you guys that you could finally hold Freddie on Christmas Eve, because even though he would probably lose his magic, Santa could just pick him up and take him back to the North Pole with him when he was at our house that night. Lulu, your eyes almost popped out of your head when I picked Freddie up off the mantle. Then you guys all giggled and giggled as you each held him and gave him a little kiss. Hammer, you were excited to hold him for the picture:

Dad then read us the Christmas story from Luke 2, and you guys got to use the brand new finger puppets that I made this year:

 Here they are again:

 After we were done saying goodbye to Freddie we put him here to wait for Santa:

 Lulu, you were a little sad that it was Freddie's last night with us:

 After we brushed teeth and just before bed, we checked on the computer to see where Santa was at that moment. He was in the Caribbean still. Then we watched a silly little video where one of Santa's reindeer got tired from pulling the sleigh and so Santa put two elves in his spot. You three laughed and laughed at that video. Then it was off to bed finally:

We remembered to put our Candy house and some cookies and milk out for Santa at the last minute. Phew!
I love Christmas Eve. I think it's just as exciting as the real deal the next day and I loved doing our traditions and starting a few new ones with you. Traditions are what make Christmas Eve even more special.
Love you all,
Mom

Our Christmas Card

Merry Christmas to all!

A Concert!

Dear Lulu and Hammer,

We were lucky enough to get tickets to see the Mormon Tabernacle choir concert last Sunday! It was a special concert with a guy named Santino Fontana and Sesame Street! Kids 5 and up were invited to attend, so Dad and I took you guys. Grammie was nice enough to stay home and watch the little boys for us.
We left pretty early in the morning so we could park and get a seat at the Conference Center. Our tickets only told us what section to sit in. As we hurried up the escalators we saw Nana and Scott and stopped to say hi for a minute. Then we went up some more escalators and found our section. We were just on time to get good seats, right on the aisle and close to the bottom of our section!
The first half hour of the show was being broadcast live on tv. I thought it was so exciting when all 21,000 of us sat quietly while a girl on the stage counted down the cameras. One minute, then thirty seconds, then countdown from 10 to 1. Then the sound of the symphony and choir filled the giant room and brought chills to my arms!
At 10 the broadcast was over and the rest of the concert with Sesame Street started. Hammer, you had a little bit of a hard time sitting for that long and you were only slightly amused by the characters. I saw you looking around at the ceiling and looking behind you, trying to figure out how all of it worked. Mostly you just kept telling us that you were starving. Lulu, you didn't sit super still but you enjoyed the whole show. You laughed with us at the jokes and told me that the Count's song about the 12 days of Christmas was hilarious, even if you also had to keep asking me "What did he say?" You also laughed with us at Ernie calling Santino "Fantino Santana" and "Santino Bambino." Dad and I thought Santino had a great voice too. He is very talented and is pleasant to listen to.
And now, some pictures...
Before it started:

 The whole stage:

  Big Bird conducting!:

See the box around the trees in the center? That's where the smaller muppets came up to talk. And the dancers came out of the black door on the far right:

When it was over we hurried out to walk back to our car before a million other people tried to leave too. It was lightly snowing as we hurried along, and it made the whole experience feel even more like Christmas for me.
Daddy says he enjoyed it but he would rather just watch it from home, especially since most of what we could see was on the big tv screen, and that's what you see at home too. I think you agree with him Hammer. Lulu, you and I thought it was exciting to be there and experience it in person.
Thanks for coming along my loves!
Mom

Temple Square Visit

Hey guys,

Last Friday we met Grandma and Grandpa downtown to see the lights at temple square. It was so crazy warm that we couldn't pass up the opportunity. You guys played in the cute playland at the shopping center while we waited for Grandma, and then we were off to see the candy windows. They were so cool huh? While we were seeing the windows the lights on temple square came on. We were just in time! We hurried over to the pedestal for family pictures with the temple in the background.

We walked over to the old tabernacle and oohed and aahed over the trees on the way there. Right by the tabernacle was a little disappointing. We didn't know that all of those big trees are not lit any more. But the manger scene is cool, with the beautiful Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcasting over there. They sang my favorite version of one of my very favorite Christmas songs, The First Noel.

I wanted to experiment a little more with the camera and the tripod, but at this point you guys were all starving and ready to move on. We walked through temple square and headed back to the shopping center to try to get some dinner at the food court there. Every time we passed a water fountain Mr T was mesmerized by it. You wanted to touch it and watch it for ever. So of course the we stopped for to watch the water at the City Creek too:

It was a mad house in the food court though! The lines were so long and every table was packed. So we decided after a while of debating that we would just leave and eat somewhere else. We got burgers and fries with Grandma and Grandpa in Sugarhouse instead. That's always fun and everyone loved that! Even Baby ate a few bites of burger to go with his ketchup and fries.
To finish off the night we stopped by Nana and Scott's home. We gave them our Christmas present and they gave us ours. We chatted for a little bit while you guys played with your stickers from them. I'm sure Nana had to wipe down every table and cabinet and door after we left. It was hard to keep the boys from getting their grimy hands on all of the glass in their house. When Baby started to have an I'm-too-tired melt down, it was time for a picture and our goodbyes.

It was a pretty fantastic night though, and we got some pretty great pictures too.
Thanks for coming along with us.
I love you,
Mom

My Artists

Dear Lulu and Hammer,

Last week I was able to go to your school for a special assembly. You received trophies for your Reflections art submissions. You guys did so amazing on your projects that they have moved on to the next level! You were the best in the school for your grade and category. Isn't that cool?
Hammer, you marched right up there and grabbed your photography trophy when they called your name, while Lulu was a little more shy about it. Lulu you grabbed your Visual Arts trophy but as you walked back to your seat you almost frowned and you held your trophy as low as you could. It's ok though, cuz I saw you when you sat down excitedly showing your friends in your class. I think it's ok to be nervous and shy in front of big crowds. You just take after me. I was just the same, and I think I've turned out ok. I still don't love being the center of attention in a big crowd, but I have learned enough confidence to not be ashamed. Don't worry, that confidence will come for you too one day.
I took some pictures after the assembly and then I took the boys home with me.

Dad and I were super proud parents that day.
Love you my little artists,
Mom

We Saw Santa!

Hey guys,

We decided to go out and do some shopping the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's called Small Business Saturday. We went to a small store in Ogden and bought gloves and hats. We got burgers from our favorite place called Burger Bar. And we also stopped at a place called Smith and Edwards to get some stuff for one of Daddy's guns. While we were at S & E's, we happened to be in the right spot at the right time! Santa came to visit! Since we were right there we didn't have to wait to see him. We were second in line!
Lulu, you were so funny. You got all nervous and flustered and said you didn't actually want to see him. Luckily you changed your mind. You asked for Elsa and Anna dolls.
Hammer, you weren't shy at all. You hopped right up there on Santa's knee and told him you wanted Lincoln Logs (although you have since changed the story and say that you asked for Legos. )
Mr T, you weren't scared either. You told Santa you wanted Ninjas!
Baby, Santa only held you for a few seconds while we took a few pictures. You were not a fan of the big bearded man. So you didn't get a chance to tell him what you want. Or that mom wants you to get a Fischer Price interactive chair.

I loved this Santa. He had a real white beard and such a jolly voice. And they let us take our own pictures and gave you candy canes!
Now I'm not sure if we will go to our annual Santa pictures at the store by our house. I'm still tempted since at that store they take individual pictures as well as a family one. We'll see.
The good thing is if we don't make it over there we at least did see him and he knows what you want now! Hooray!
Love you!
Mom

November Edition

Here it is again.
Another month's Life Lately, According to My Phone

 Baby-tickles one morning

 Mr T, you wanted to paint one day when you were sick with the flu

 Lulu, you and I had our first painting class from my book. See the purple flower you made?

 Going for a walk

J

Just me and my boys, including Pluto

 We got candy striped beets in our bountiful basket one day!

 Mr T, you took a picture of our sunset

 Lulu, we had a girls night out to see Disney on Ice! We went with your bestie Holli and her mom. It was awesome.

 Here's the Toy Story part. See Rex?

 Mr T, you like to match Baby

 You look cute!

 Oh, here's Daddy looking cute too one Sunday. I made him pose for a picture since I liked his ensemble

 After we visited Hobby Lobby one day we put a few coins in the Salvation Army's can and he gave you boys suckers. You guys were super excited.

 Lulu, this was your first poem that you wrote at school one day. It made me smile.

 Mr T, you were soooooo excited to have a date with mommy. We got sorbet from Taco Time. You still talk about it every time we pass Taco Time.

 One day we went to the mall and you two boys were dying to go on this little ride. Luckily for you I had a dollar in my purse so you got to go. Baby you were especially excited about it. I love doing little things like this that make you really happy.

 Hammer, here's the pilgrim hat you wore home from Kindergarten. You didn't love Dad telling you it looked more like a Pope hat, or when I ripped it a little trying to add a brim. 

My friend Diana came over one evening after you kids were in bed. We painted together and talked downstairs. We are trying to learn how to do watercolor together. Here's a tiny little picture of a house I did and then glued to a greeting card.

 My friend Angie invited us to go out to lunch at Chick Fil A with her and her little Sam. It was super fun huh?

 Baby, you had your 15 month doctor appointment. You loved playing with the blocks. You are a skinny little guy, and you're not tall any more. Not at all. The doctor loved your fun personality.

 One day it was super cold, but we needed to get out and about. So we took a little walk around the block.

 Hammer, here's another hat you wore home from Kinder. This is not a pope hat either. 

 I took all 4 kids by myself to the dentist on the day before Thanksgiving. Here you are playing on the Ipads in the waiting room. You all did so good! No cavities!

 After the dentist we used our free kids meals at Applebees. You were also really good there. Baby you loved dipping fries in Hammer's ketchup. 

 When we got home, Mr T, you put on your gray mustache that was your dentist prize. It cracked us up. 

 Another evening walk, this time with Dad. It was almost warm!

 Lulu, you love your littlest brother so much

 Here is the dessert I took to Grammie's for Thanksgiving. I made the Oreo's and peanut butter cups into pilgrim hats and turkeys.

 Aren't they cute? The funny thing is that Grammie made the same thing!! So we had lots of turkeys and hats to go around.

 Pluto got to go to Grammie's on Thanksgiving too. He waits for us on his long rope outside and in the garage. He was a good boy in the car too.

And lastly, here's the picture of you guys that I sent to Grandma of your Thanksgiving pajamas. 

November was fun. Lots of play dates and outings and a fun holiday! And now we're into December already! It's the most wonderful time of the year, right? I love it!

Love you guys,

Mom