Oh Yeah...I DO Have a Blog!

Let's see if I remember how to do this...

There's so much to catch up on I don't even know where to start. My last post was added just one day before my birthday. I know I should be thanking my kids and wonderful husband for all the fun we had on my birthday and for the gifts I received, but I don't even remember any specifics about it. I know I might get in trouble for that one.

The next big event was Halloween. Now this one, I remember. We went to a pumpkin patch about a week before Halloween. Jace picked the biggest pumpkin he could carry, and Camden loved the tractors. Alek just loved to look at and touch every pumpkin, even the rotten ones. Ewwww! The fun thing about Halloween is how much the kids love it, and it is so fun to see them in their costumes. Jace was a Clone Trooper, Camden was GI Joe and Alek was a monster in the costume I made for Jace when he was that age. My sisters came over a couple of days before Halloween and we carved pumpkins and had soup before going to the trunk or treat at our ward. Luckily, Sophie fit into one of our frog costumes so she got to join in the fun.

I don't remember anything else during the fall that's too memorable which brings us to Thanksgiving. (Camden made this cute hat and collar at preschool.)

We take turns spending Thanksgiving with Casey's family and my family. This year (meaning last year...anyway) we were with Casey's family. The kids love playing with all of their cousins. And even though Thanksgiving gets a lot less hype than most of the other holidays, it's my absolute favorite. Despite the marathon cook-a-thon leading up to the dinner itself, it somehow seems to have a relaxed feeling to it. I just LOVE Thanksgiving.

Ok, I think we're to Christmas now. Hooray for Christmas! We had a great holiday and tried to get some of our traditions in even though it seems like the month of December just flew by. The kids participated in St Nicholas Day and found treats tucked into their shoes on the morning of Dec 6th. The kids had fun picking out a Christmas tree and helping me decorate it. I didn't even fix the decorations after they went to bed. Our tree was clumpily decorated the whole time and I loved it. We Made Christmas cookies, gingerbread men and gingerbread houses. We saw Santa at the mall, and drove down "Christmas Street." I also had lunch with my family at Siegfried's Delicatessen. We made treats to take to neighbors and I spent some late nights wrapping presents. One other thing we did this year was new for us and hopefully it becomes a tradition. We went to a live musical nativity at Liberty park and were reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. It was beautiful and touching, and is run buy a staff of volunteers. The kids really liked it too which made it that much better. If you want to go this year, it's called Echoes of Christmas.

I had to work on Christmas eve night but I was home in the morning just in time to open presents with the kids and have breakfast before crashing for a little while. That evening we went to see my family and open presents there. We had dinner there and then headed home. The next morning we went to see Casey's family and spend time at his brother-in-law's cabin. We met everyone for breakfast and had another gift exchange. The kids went sledding with Casey for a while and then played games for most of the afternoon. It was a busy couple of days, but we really had fun too. I couldn't believe how fast it all went. Just when things are picturesque and you want to savor the moment, the time passes at the speed of light. At least it does for me.

Our last big even of the year was, naturally, New Year's Eve. We spent the evening at home with the kids. I had Jace and Camden take naps that afternoon so they could try and stay up until the new year. They actually made it too. Of course Alek didn't even get to try but he didn't know the difference. But we had a fun evening. We ordered pizza, played games, snacked, watched a movie, snacked, played more games and then snacked as we waited for the final countdown. At midnight the kids went outside to bang pots and pans with spoons, an idea they thought was quite strange until they saw several neighbors doing the same thing. Then being a party pooper, I had them come inside and go to bed. Our house was quiet at 12:05. Yeah, some party. But the kids had fun. It's the first time I've let them say up and I'm glad I did. It's fun to see the kids enjoying some of the holiday traditions I loved when I was growing up.

And now, I think we're pretty much caught up, at least on the major things. Of course there's never a dull moment around here so I'm sure I'll have new posts soon. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to get caught up. I would probably remember the big holiday events I just posted even if I didn't have it in written format. It's the little details that I love blogging about. Those are the things I forget more quickly ad love looking back on later. So there may be more smiley lists in the future as well as random things we have going on in our day to day lives. Hopefully I can keep up with blogging better this year.

And for those who like pictures, All of my pictures after Halloween are still on the camera. I may add them later when I transfer them over.