Christmas Festivities

Wow. Busy. I'm so relieved that it's Christmas break, but I kinda doubt it will slow things down too much unfortunately. I'm hopeful for a few days of relaxation, and just enjoying some family time. 

We've been going to Christmas parties, busy with Cub Scouts, school stuff, sing-along at school, church Christmas program...last week was just crazy. The weather has also been unusually warm (50's today!!!) and you know I'm loving that! It looks like there may not be a white Christmas in N. Idaho for the 2nd year in a row! I am a little afraid that the REAL winter weather is going to hit us hard at some point, but for now, I'll enjoy the warmth. I'm not sad that we haven't been skiing yet, but I know the other 4 in my family are kinda disappointed about it. 

We built a gingerbread village this morning, including a train and even some gluten free houses! I had intentions of making a grain free gingerbread house from scratch, but I ran out of time so we used gluten free graham crackers instead. They worked really well - I was surprised that we didn't have any major gingerbread catastrophes until the end when Archer accidentally knocked his down. 

And then this afternoon the boys got to go to Dad's office for cleanings and x-rays. No cavities! And we even got to have a quick lunch with Dad afterwards which is super exciting for all of us. I'm looking forward to having some relaxing days since he will be taking some vacation time for the first time since buying the practice. Yay!

Tonight was Christmas caroling with friends. A lot of people showed up, and the kids had so much fun running from door to door and knocking. Apparently I am a slacker mom, and my kids didn't even know what Christmas caroling was until I told them we were going. Oops. But they sang the songs they knew, and had fun with their friends. Plus had some hot chocolate to go along with the fun!

Cutest Rudolph ever!

Not many good pics of this, but we had our first Ideal Family Dentistry Christmas party! It was a success! (At least I think it was!)

We spent a (loooooong) evening at Triple Play. Bowling, rock climbing, laser tag, mini golf, arcade, and water park. My boys could stay there forever!

Preston and his friend (Preston!)

This is as close as we will get to visiting Santa :)

On the way to church this morning with these handsome guys!

The Angel (who got to recite part of the Christmas Story)

Joseph

Cute little Shepherd

The kids did such a good job! They all sang their hearts out, and most of them stayed and sang for both services.

Archer hanging out with a moose at the bookstore

I'm sold on the idea of individual gingerbread houses. I'll have to remember that for next year! So much easier than trying to have them all work on one house!

Christmas caroling! We went to a subdivision that isn't too far away since the houses in our neighborhood are on 1+ acre lots, and there aren't any sidewalks/street lights. Good for kids to play in the yards...not so good for caroling (or trick-or-treating for that matter!).

Oh Christmas Tree

I hate winter, but I LOVE Christmas! We put our tree up right after Thanksgiving, followed by St. Nicholas Day. I've been trying to come up with Christmas crafts to do, and we went to the North Pole. It's been a fun Christmas season so far! The boys have their last week of school this week, and I am SO ready to be done! We could use a little bit of a break from the routine. John will also have some time off, which is nice since he hasn't had any vacation time since buying the practice in May. (He insists that Samoa wasn't a vacation!)

These are Christmas gifts for the boys' teachers. I'm proud that I won't be scrambling at the last minute! I will be getting them each a gift card to go with it. 

Here is our journey to the North Pole:

I tried so hard to get a pic of the boys with Santa and the fireworks in the background, but it took so long to get them to look at me (instead of the fireworks!) that this was the best I could get. 

And finally, almost caught up!, Bryton had a Christmas program at school the other night. Last year they did grades 1-3 and it was filled to capacity, and then some, so this year they cut it down to grades 1-2...and they were still filled to capacity. It makes it a little bit chaotic and difficult to get pics, but I managed a few!

Handsome B in his Holiday best!

Singing his heart out!

B with 2 of his besties

So Much

This will probably be a lot of catch-up randomness. I am not doing so great at keeping up with the amount of pictures that are on my phone! It's been craziness around here, what with the 3 boys and their school/activities/etc., Thanksgiving, snow, birthday parties, John taking a "work" trip to American Samoa (this was a while ago...I'm behind...by a lot!), the boys and John chomping at the bit to go skiing (the mountain opened last weekend)...the list goes on and on! 

So. Starting with the oldest thing: John's trip to American Samoa. I was jealous. He got to spend a few days on a tropical island while I stayed home in the cold, snowy weather (which truthfully hasn't been TOO bad so far, thankfully!). Either way, it's tough to not be jealous when you get texts like this:

Yeah. He's lucky. :) 

Meanwhile:

The boys and I went to a birthday party, and just laid low for a few days.

Preston discovered a new love: Calvin and Hobbes.

And B is reading the "My Father's Dragon" series, which is pretty challenging for him but he's loving it!

Yeah, Archer spent an entire day dressed like this, and even went out in public...thankfully it was not a school day!

We had parent-teacher conferences right before Thanksgiving, and took the boys out to celebrate their amazingness afterwards. I'm so proud of them! I really wasn't sure how Archer would adjust to kindergarten, but he has done awesome! His teacher had nothing but good things to say! (Same with my older boys - they're all awesome. Their teachers this year are pretty spectacular too!)

QOTD

Bryton: "I hit the back button!" (P & B were navigating their school website)

Preston: "No Bryton, that's not the back button! That's the destroy button!" (B had hit backspace)

QOTD

"I know why they call it Lookout (referring to Lookout Pass Ski area...where we - or the rest of the family anyway - ski)! Because you have to look out for trees, and other people and stuff like that when you're skiing." - Bryton

A Boy and his Dog

This puppy has been an amazing dog for our family. She has some quirks, but we love her! 

Preston's class is doing a fundraiser for the humane society, and one of their tasks was to bring a picture of themselves with their pet(s) if they have any. It took a bit for Ender to get that she was supposed to sit still a pose for the camera, but she finally understood that the point was not to wrestle and play.

And a few outtakes:

QOTD

Archer and I put together a world map puzzle today after school. I asked him where we live...he spent a long time studying the map, and then says to me: "I'm looking for 'C' (our last name). It's supposed to say C!"