oh dear! Another demolition!

So, our home is filled with a never-ending layer of dust, but the downstairs bathroom renovations have begun! President Yankey, our branch president offered to come over and help Danny gut the space. They tore out all of the old tiles and flooring pretty quickly! It was super nice of him to help because it took days last time! I don't think we are going to miss our ugly 70s tile and linoleum. The "After pictures" will be coming soon!

Christmas at Bobby and Kattia's

We had a great time at Bobby and Kattia's house too. Everyone brought something delicious and we enjoyed a nice big meal. The kids played nicely. We opened presents. Again, everyone was very generous! Thanks!

Also, we acted out the story of the Savior's birth again.

 Like last year, Grant was a cow. This year he got to wear a pretty cool costume though and a bell.

 Orion was supposedto be the sheep, but he wasn't up to it. So, Chewy was kind enough to fill in.

 Christian was Joseph, Teagan was Mary and Jesus was a sweet quiet doll.

Victoria, Megan, and Camila were a few of the heavenly hosts- they looked beautiful. 

Good job guys! We think that it is good that both of our families have this tradition of reading from the scriptures and acting out the nativity. It helps keep Christmas a little more Christ centered.

Christmas Morning!

They couldn't wait to come downstairs!

Victoria got an acoustic guitar!

Christian seemed pretty excited about this playmobil circus. (I think it was intended for Grant, but sharing it has worked nicely!) Christian also got a really cool microscope which has been fun to use.

the joker house that Grant was hoping for

I made them all to do lists for their rooms.

Funny book!

Harry Potter Legos!!

An American Girl Doll, Kanani, from Grandma and Grandpa!

Giving each other hugs after opening gifts from each other! Love that they were so excited and could say thank you.

I was a little crafty this year and made a few gifts for the kids rooms- bulletin board for V.

 and a few spray painted picture frames to display some of her photos- they cost like .49 cents each, but looked awesome after just a coat or two of spray paint. The boys got curtains and curtain rods for their room. Instead of toy or clothes presents from us, the kids are having their rooms painted/ decorated in the near future. Photos to come!

Danny and I had a fun morning too. Christmas morning was awesome! The kids were very blessed with toys from family members and Santa too! We ate breakfast together, then got ready for church.. It was a good meeting. Danny and the other members of the branch presidency spoke and each did a nice job sharing Christmas messages.

It was good. Then, we came home and got ready to go to Bobby and Kattia's house to celebrate with Danny's side of the family. Next post.

More Christmas Eve

I am going to have to add some of Lorel and Chrissy's photos to this post because I didn't bring my camera with me to my parents house. We had Chinese food for the 2nd year in a row and it worked well. Yum! We played a couple rounds of cornhole on the boards that Danny made for Craig for Christmas, played a few songs on the pipe chimes, opened a few presents, acted out and read the nativity, and had a great time! Hope to add some pictures here.

That evening Grant fell asleep in the car and we transferred him to his bed and let him keep sleeping. V and C put out the milk and cookies. Well actually, they thought that an apple might be better for Santa, so just gave him 1 cookie.

They put out carrots for the reindeer too.

Christian was pretty tired,

but, that child can't be still very long if he isn't asleep. He noticed the light reflecting off of the ornaments and thought they would be good bug eyes.

He was right. Then Victoria remembered that they hadn't wrapped Grant's gift, so they worked as a team to do that before they went to bed.

I love how excited they were about giving each other presents! Glad that they find joy in giving!

Chistmas Eve morning at CMOR and seeing the Legendary Santa!

http://craigandlorel.blogspot.com/2012/01/pre-christmas-events.html

Lorel already blogged about this and her pictures and explanations are great, so I won't add much commentary.  Just a few pics.

We love seeing Santa come down the chimney!

Sod fam with the snow queen,

and with the man in red!

Victoria said that she would like an acoustic guitar, Christian asked for surprises, and Grant asked for a Joker house. They were really glad to see Santa and running into cousins again made it extra fun!

V's Christmas concert

Third and Fourth graders performed at the December PTA meeting. There was a huge crowd and they did a great job! The resource teachers at the school are really great!

A sweet quick wave back from V before the singing started! I was pretty far away and couldn't get too many clear shots, but thought this was cute.

Victoria loves to sing and has a lot of poise on stage. I enjoy seeing her do things like this.

C's Wombat Project

Christian did an animal project this year and chose the wombat. This kid cracks me up. He filled out his written report paper before I even saw it! That sort of initiative and wanting to get things done quickly is tricky for me. I admire it, but I like to deliberate and think things through first. I wanted to help him research and plan his project. He just likes to get things done and move on. Some of his answers changed after we did a little more research online, but the majority were right and were things I wouldn't have known. He remembers a lot of what he hears, the first time. Lucky him, huh?

For the creative portion of the project, he and Danny cut out a wooden wombat with the jigsaw. Christian sanded it and painted it.

We thought it was pretty cute. Good job, Buddy!

Gingerbread playdough!