Christmas Cookies!

My mom and I have a tradition of cookie and candy making at Christmas time.
And now, that tradition includes the kids. We had so much fun and made a huge mess!

Notice that Emma has more frosting on her face than on her cookie!
That's my girl!

Winter is Finally Here!

Yes, you read the thermometer correctly...7 degrees!!

This is what we woke up to on Sunday morning.
It wasn't a ton of snow, but we were just excited to get this much!

The kids were so excited!
They had a hard time waiting until after church to play in it.

I had to post both of these pics of all 5 kids because the 1st one is so cute,
but Emma wasn't looking.
In the 2nd one, she was saying "kitty" as she watched a cat walk by...
it was so cute!!

Christmas Tree Hunting!

On Monday night, we went hunting for a tree to go in our basement family room.
It was snowing up the canyon and the kids were thrilled!
(We haven't really gotten any snow yet this year)
The bigger kids were so cute and helpful with Emma and Hannah.
It was a little slippery in some places,
so they held their hands and made sure they didn't fall down.

And while my hunk of a man was busy cutting down the tree...

the kids were participating in this productive activity...

Hey, somebody has to teach Emma how to catch snowflakes on her tongue!!

Here we are decorating!

Emma loves decorating, undecorating...she's not picky, as long as she's involved!
(thanks to Mikaela for the shot of my backside!)

And here's the finished product!!!
I know what you're thinking...that it strongly resembles something you would see
on a Charlie Brown Christmas special.
But it started to get very cold up the canyon,
so we just cut down the best thing we could find!
We like it!
And here's a tip...if you get a tree with VERY sharp needles,
your 3 year old and your 18 month old are less likely to take the ornaments off!
Go figure.

She's Got Moves!

Go, Emma! It's your birthday!

Go, Emma! It's your birthday!

(for those of you not familiar with that chant,
it's not really Emma's birthday...)

i saw it.........

....and.....I LOVED IT!!!!!!!

I have read other people's blogs about the movie and there are lots of different opinions...

I didn't think it was corny or cheesy. I loved the dialogue...I laughed more than I thought I would. Don't get me wrong. The book is a thousand times better! There were plenty of things that I had wished were in the movie that weren't. But then it would have been a 4 hour movie! I just loved seeing it brought to life on the big screen. I am soooo glad I got to see it! Thanks to my awesome sisters-in-law and mother-in-law for making it such a fun girls' night!