Snowy preschool

It was just Jaclyn and Grant for preschool a couple weeks ago because Cooper and his family were out of town. We had fun learning about snow, white, circles, the letter S, and winter.

Grant, who is wearing a circular ball on his shirt, made an S out of string. The string was white and string starts with the letter S.

They had fun trying on winter accessories,

pretending it was snowing,

throwing snowballs (balled up white socks),

making snow angels,

making tortilla snowflakes (cut out, lightly buttered, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and broiled for just a minute or two.)

We sang some fun songs, read a few books, and did a funny snowman rhyme about a bunny that ate the snowman's nose "nibble, nibble, crunch."  I can't remember what else, but they seemed to have fun.

Then, for freeplay time, they dressed up again, played with the circus, and then played my little ponies.

They are pretty fun kids to teach.

wrestling 2011-2012

Danny and the boys have been busy wrestling on Monday nights and Saturday mornings for a couple months. The season is still going, so there may be another post or two. For now, here are a few pictures of our guys and their team.

Team shots!

warm up- rolling across the mats

Grant is on the team this year (half way)!

Christian breaks away from his opponent.

And his friend Damian gets on top.

His friend, Jack, is fiery.

Look at that patient coach!(Seriously, he is pretty positive and patient with that group of busy boys!)

V and her friend Maria had fun playing together at some of the practices and events. They cheered together for the Heartland Heat and cheered from the sidelines for their brothers too.

Danny working on matching the kids up when half of the kids from another team didn't show up for a tournament.

Grant and his friend James got to wrestle each other. Some of the fans thought it was the best match of the night. They were pretty funny.

December day at the Rivah!

I love going to the river house, even in December! It is just a calm, peaceful get-away. The kids and I went with my parents for a night or two after Christmas when Danny was working on the bathroom, working a basketball tounament, and maybe officiating wrestling. I can't remember for sure.  I know we enjoyed our time though.

I like the way my mom decorates the house for Christmas.

Just a few shots of the kids playing outside down by the water. This first one has a story.

Grant and Christian gave Victoria bracelets for Christmas. Well, when Victoria was throwing things into the water, her bracelet from Christian flew off on the first throw. She was so upset. I gave her a hug, so did her brothers. This is them hugging her. They have normal sibling rivalry sometimes, but they really love each other. To finish the story, the next morning when the tide was lower. My dad found the bracelet and rescued it! Christian was with him and felt like he played a role in the recovery too. Victoria's heroes!

Grant happily hanging by the water.

throwing things in is so fun! We used acorns and pine cones primarily.

Maybe a few leaves too.

We had a fun time. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

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.

Ok, yep, Lorel has a great Christmas Eve post! Thanks, Lorel!!!! Here's the link...
http://craigandlorel.blogspot.com/2012/02/is-getting-out-of-control.html

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!