Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Dad

Today was my parents 30th wedding anniversary. We surprised them by making them dinner and a small anniversary cake. My mom didn't know we were coming over, so she had already started cooking some pork spare ribs in the crock pot before she went to church. So, I just baked the cheesy potatoes, made buttermilk biscuits, salad, and corn to go with it. I was planning on making BBQ pork chops, but we'll have to have those another day. You can visit my cake web page to see the cake that I made for them.

Dinner with the Weber's

We were invited to go to our friend's house for dinner tonight. They moved this past summer from our ward to Highland. I used to switch off with Melissa doing preschool with our kids. It was fun to get together. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, veggies, fruit, chips and brownies and ice cream. Melissa had made this really cute SANTA game (like Bingo) that the kids loved playing. They also enjoyed playing with their friends, Noah, Kaleb, Carson, and Garrett. They miss playing with them. It's fun to get together with friends. I wish they were closer so we could do stuff together more often.

Breakfast in Bed

I woke up today to the most wonderful surprise! My kids made me breakfast in bed! After Jon leaves I usually lay in bed for a while longer before I'm ready to face the day. I heard my kids "playing" nicely and just let them play while I layed down a little longer. Before I knew it Alex comes into my room with our wooden tray with breakfast for me! He said, "Wake up, Mommy! We made you breakfast!" His face was beaming with a gigantic smile. They had made me a tortilla with grated cheese in it and a glass of water. Alex told me that the water had spilled a little. As he placed the wooden tray on my bed I could see the 1/4 inch of water floating in it as it was dripping onto my bed. I thanked him and told my kids how wonderful they are. I brought my breakfast into the kitchen (where I could drain off the excess water) and eat with my wonderful children. Caleb informed me, "I told Alex we couldn't use the oven." I'm grateful that they thought of me, but I'm also glad they didn't try to cook anything. I reminded them that they are still too little to use the stove or microwave, and they agreed. They said, "We can do this every day! You don't have to make breakfast for us anymore." I was so proud of my cute kids who thought of me this morning. They really are caring and loving children.

Elf Yourself

This video will get you in the holiday mood for sure! These are the cutest elves I've ever seen! (Ok, I might be a bit partial). Check it out. It even has my kids voices on it. Alex, Caleb, and Leah all say "Merry Christmas".

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1142789013

Thanks, Kelli, for the great idea that I got from your web page.

The First Snow Storm

Alex, Leah, Caleb

I can't believe the first snow storm didn't come until December 1st. Our kids were SO excited when they saw all of the snow. As soon as we got home from the Christmas Party (see the previous post), they suited up into their snow suits and headed outside. They each put on their snow suits, coats, and cotton gloves, then Jon put some rubber gloves over the top of their regular gloves so their hands wouldn't get wet. He's so inventive! It worked. They were able to play outside for almost 2 hours and their little hands stayed dry and warm.

A Visit With Santa

Every year BYU has a party for all of their employees and their families. We like to go so the kids can visit Santa. Alex, Caleb and Leah wrote a letter to Santa that said what they wanted this year for Christmas. They got to give him the letter in person. At the party they also can do crafts (which we avoided like the plague this year---crazy), play games (like pinata, ice fishing, cake walk, ring toss, etc), and there are lots of performances we can watch while eating doughnuts. Our kids love it. Caleb said that this year was "way funner than last year." I don't know what the difference was. It seemed "exactly" the same to me! It was even more perfect that the first snow storm came on December 1st, and we got to see Santa that day!

Christmas Decorations

The day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday as it is known, means decorating the house for Christmas at our house! I usually brave the weather and the crowds and hit a few of the sales in the wee morning hours. This year, I slept in. It was nice. After we had all had breakfast we started getting out the boxes and boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations. Jon focused on the lights for the outside of the house. He is so good at checking each strand of lights and fixing the ones that need fixing. I worked on the Christmas tree and the other decorations on our entertainment center, and our fireplace. I love the Christmas season and I like to enjoy it as long as possible. So, here's my Christmas tree. It's the first year we've had this 7' tree. I really love it. The picture I took was during the day and it just doesn't do it justice.