New Year's Eve

My parents had invited the family (whoever wanted to come) out to their place for a New Year's Eve party, but then a bunch of the family all got sick just after Christmas... especially mom!  She has been sick all week and just wasn't up to having everyone over.  She started feeling a bit better yesterday, so we invited them to come over for dinner after church today for a New Year's Eve meal instead of a party.  

We pulled out the good china, made a slushy drink and had poppers for each person.  The kids were in heaven!  We had a roast beef dinner with yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and squash.  We had a yummy yule log cake for dessert.  It was a nice, relaxing afternoon to just sit and visit.  We even got in a game of Blokus!  It's been a long time since we've done that!

 After a few hours, they left to go home and we had a lazy rest of the afternoon.  We played on the PS4, watched a movie and took a bunch of selfies.  (We're such party animals!)

The kids were in bed by about 8:00 and we weren't too far behind them.  Happy New Year to all!

Boxing Day, Illness and Fish Pond

We had a super lazy morning and took our time getting up and getting going.  Ben woke up saying that he had a headache, but when he started getting warmer, I started getting a bit worried.  He was watching Lennard play a game downstairs when I suggested that he go have a nap... and he agreed!  That's when I knew for sure that he wasn't feeling well.  Poor boy.  He went to sleep immediately and didn't want to wake up.  We were supposed to be out at my parents for our annual Fish Pond/Dinner, but right before we should have left, Ben started throwing up.  Gross.  We definitely didn't want to share that with anyone, so Lennard stayed home with him while I took Emma to the dinner.

The food was excellent (as usual) and everyone had fun visiting and playing together.  The kids always love fishing for their presents.  This year, they got to draw a number to decide what order they would go in.  Emma was lucky and got #3.

 She was so happy to get new slippers and pink nail polish!

 I helped out putting the presents in the bag for the fish pond, so I didn't get to see what the kids got.  It was a little different, but I was glad to help out.  Since Benny was asking for me, we didn't stick around too much longer.  We had a pretty low key evening.  My mom wasn't feeling well either, so she ended up sleeping in a chair at the church while everyone played and visited. 

Since Ben missed out on the Fish Pond, my parents provided him with his own Fish Pond today!  He was excited to find out what he got.

 He got a whole set of Lego books! (You can see that he is still pretty rosy and warm...)

My mom still wasn't feeling great, so they didn't stay very long.  Lennard came down with what Ben had so he hasn't been doing much today.  We did manage to get all the Christmas stuff down and put away.  It feels nice and clean!  Hopefully everyone will start to feel better soon!

Christmas Day

We had such a wonderful Christmas day!  Emma initially asked if she could get up at 5:30, but went back to sleep when we told her no.  They didn't get up until about 6:30.  It was so nice to sit together as a family and open gifts.  We took our time and enjoyed the process.  The kids got stuff from B&T too, so they got lots to open!

Emma - Christmas 2017

Ben - Christmas 2017

 

Family gift!  - Lots of fun times together to come!

 As soon as we were done opening gifts, Ben had his Lego kit open and had it made in no time! 

 Lennard tried out the PS4.

 Emma loved all her Barbies and the car that Ben gave her!

 Even though she wasn't too sure about why she'd got a Ken doll initially... She has thoroughly enjoyed having Ken and Barbie do everything together!  Even to the point of wanting me to take a picture of them kissing!  ha! ha!

 Ben quickly got in to the PS4 too and loves the Cars game!

Just after lunch time, we headed back out to my parents house for a ham dinner.  Everyone has eaten so much lately, that there were lots of leftovers, but it sure was good!  Thanks, Mom!  We all hung out and played games for most of the afternoon.  Within 45 minutes of being there, Ben was asking when we could go home.  He was pretty anxious to go play with his toys!  We headed home around 5:00ish and had a super relaxed evening together.  It was perfect.

Christmas Eve

We got to attend church this morning (only for Sacrament meeting) and Emma was welcomed as the newest baptized member of our Ward.  She was so excited to dress up in her white dress.  We took her hair out of the braids and then I curled it a bit.  

She kept walking around the house saying, "I look like a doll!"

 I sure love seeing her beautiful smile!

 Benny got in on the action and got to wear a 'real' tie to church this morning.  He was feeling pretty handsome... especially because it was a Christmas tie!

 These two are getting so big and growing so fast.  I miss my tiny babies!

 We headed out to my parents for a roast beef dinner after church.  It was SO good!  Lennard ate way too much and laid down for a nap during the afternoon, while the rest of us played games and visited.

Shauna & Matt and their family are having Christmas at my parents house this year, so they were able to be part of our Christmas Eve tradition.  It was nice having more people there.

 After singing some carols and reading the Christmas story, we had lots of treats to eat.  The shrimp ring disappeared quickly!

 As soon as we got home, the kids raced to see if the elves had made an early delivery... and they didn't disappoint!  They got new jammies and were changed in no time flat!

 Surprisingly, they went to bed really easily!  Hooray! 

I'm excited to see the kids reactions in the morning!  Merry Christmas!

Baptism

The day finally arrived for Emma to get baptized!  She's been planning this day since her last birthday!  She thought that this day would never come... especially since we didn't have her baptism until 4:00pm, so the day took forever (for her!).

I was busy all day getting food ready and all the last minute things that needed gathered up. We headed up to the church at 3:00 and got things set up.  Thankfully, my parents came early to help out getting tables and chairs set up for the meal afterwards.

We were a little bit late getting started since we had to wait for two of my sisters to arrive (the roads were rotten coming from Lethbridge).  It was a beautiful baptism though.  It was a bit of a blur for me, but I absolutely loved seeing our beautiful little girl just vibrate from excitement for her special day.

 We were able to take a few pictures before the baptism started.  I can't believe we have an 8 year old!

 Family picture!  Ben looks taller in this picture, but just because he's wearing shoes and Emma isn't.

 We did Emma's hair in french braids and it worked out great not to have to re-do hair after it got wet.

 After she got baptized, we took a few minutes together and Emma got to open a special bracelet from us.  I love her absolute glowing smile.  She was SO happy and we are so proud of her making this important decision.

 My parents did such a wonderful job on their talks.  I love that the program was short and sweet and that the focus was on Emma.  I feel so blessed to have her in our family.

In the circle:  Bishop C Toone, Grandpa, Daddy, Uncle Matt, Uncle Roger, Uncle Mike, Brother Woodruff and Uncle Dan

Happy Birthday!

Happy 8th Birthday!  Emma was SO excited that it was finally her birthday!  Yesterday was the last day of school before Christmas holidays, so she had a full day to play.  We went to Lethbridge in the morning to get all the food for her baptism and then went to the Pizza Hut buffet for lunch.

We had a fondu dinner with my parents and then Emma was bouncing to finally get to open her presents!

 She was SO excited to get a fuzzy housecoat from Grandpa Nichols.

 It even had a kitty hood on it!

 She got a necklace from us.

 Ben gave her a new shirt.

She got two sets of beads from B & T to make necklaces, bracelets and even clip on earrings.

 Grandma & Grandpa gave her a fashion designer kit.

 We gave her a new outfit for her doll.

 And a kit to learn how to make spool knit animals!

 It's hard to believe that our baby girl is already 8 years old!  The time has gone by SO quickly.

 Happy Birthday sweet Emma.  We can't imagine life without you.  Love you to bits!

Christmas Concert

The kids got to participate in the CES Christmas concert today.  Emma wasn't very happy to have to wear 'church' clothes all day long, but Ben was thrilled to 'look handsome'!  ha! ha!  The whole school sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and then each class sang or performed two numbers.

Ben (Grade 1) did a kazoo number with medley of Christmas songs.  It was super cute.  He also sang "My Two Front Teeth".  

Emma (Grade 2) sang "The 12 Days of Christmas" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

Christmas Gift

Mike & Melissa have our name for Christmas this year and as part of their gift to us, they took the kids for the afternoon so Lennard and I could have an afternoon alone!  We went to watch the new Star Wars while the kids got to play games, have dinner and make gingerbread houses!

They took the kids to see some fun Christmas lights and then we met up with them at the Stake Center where they had a huge number of nativities set up.

 Ben loved the couple of Lego nativities that were displayed.

 Emma loved getting to dress up (Ben didn't want anything to do with it).  Thanks Mike & Melissa for giving us a wonderful afternoon/evening!