Gingerbread House

We started a family Christmas tradition last year of building a Gingerbread House together. It's the perfect art project because not only do you get to be creative and construct a cute winter wonderland house, but you get to eat it when you're done. (My little Lauren enjoys the latter part of that sentence the most.) This is the mark of the beginning of the Holiday Sugar Rush. Not only are my kids hyper with excitement about Santa coming soon, but it is magnified one hundred times by all the sugar they consume. From our Gingerbread House, to being Mom's official taste-testers while she does the baking for neighbor treats, to the candy canes we seem to collect everywhere we go....we can't seem to escape candy.

School Pictures

As you all know, Ethan started Kindergarten this year which means the beginning of the beloved School Pictures. While some of you may not like School pictures, you must know I love school pictures! I love everything about them: The same background that hasn't changed in 50 years; The same pose they position you in; The same little combs they have available for last minute hair touch-ups; The anticipation and planning of what to wear. It's wonderful nestalgia for me. I can clearly remember those days of getting the picture announcement at school. I'd bring it home and while my parents checked the box of which picture package to buy, I'd run off to my closet and think about what outfit to wear. The next day my girlfriends and I would discuss the clothing options and make the necessary clothing item trades. Finally, picture day would arrive and I'd get up an extra 10 minutes early to make sure I brushed the back of my hair too, and had time to practice a not-so-gummy smile. Another great reason to love Picture Day was because we were excused from class to walk to the gym and chat with friends while standing in line for pictures instead of sitting at our desks doing the dreaded school work. It was always my hope there would be lots of boys in front of me that the photographer would feel compelled to help brush his hair and straighten his shirt. These extra few minutes were priceless to a kid.
I know what some of you are thinking....WAY too much effort for this one simple day/task. I beg to differ, and here is why.... one year I decided not to go through my normal ritual for whatever reason, and just put on whatever I felt like wearing that day, only to discover, after it was too late, that I wore the same sunshine- yellow- velour shirt with sparkley acrylic painted flowers on front TWO YEARS in a row! Oh the horror. Now, I not only have to forever explain why I owned such a shirt, but why I wore it TWICE. It's documented...there's no denying it. Take a look...
Are you done laughing yet?


The best part about school pictures is looking back years later and remembering the times. Whether good or bad, it's a great document of the years past. And in my family, we tend to look back and laugh hysterically at ourselves.
This post would not be complete without sharing my absolute favorite school picture of my big sis Sundee.
Isn't she cute? I think they ran out of the complimentary combs this picture day.

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Drum roll please.....LAUREN IS POTTY TRAINED!! I promised her if she could go a week with no accidents she could take a friend to Build A Bear Workshop. She was very motivated and had great success. She wanted to build a Shrek baby. So last Saturday was the big day. She and her friend Morgan had a great time building their animals. Lauren was a little disappointed when she couldn't build the Shrek baby (they were already built and just for sale), but she quickly found a dinosaur she wanted to build. Her name is Karissa.

Here, Karissa is about to be stuffed.

Karissa just got her heart and is being stitched up.
Morgan and Lauren are giving their animals a bath.
Karissa is wearing Hello Kitty underwear and shirt with pink leggings.
Lauren hugging her Shrek baby and Karissa.
Lauren and Morgan with their animals.
What a big girl you are Lauren. We are so proud of you!!

Kindergarten Art

I just wanted to show off Ethan's artistic talent. I love all the things he brings home from Kindergarten. I was trying to save them all, but decided to take pictures of them and put them in a scrapbook. Here are a few I thought I'd share. Check out his "alligator". Love it!

Tiramasu

Daddy has been craving Tiramasu, his favorite Italian dessert. So, he got a Mormon-afied recipe from Sister Taylor and decided to make it with the kids. They had so much fun. L gave us all a scare when we found her eating the raw eggs by the spoonful...but she survived. The kids love to help, which means they are the official taste testers.

Comedy Club

Welcome to E and L's comedy club. The best audience....K. They do the silliest things and she cracks up. They enjoy making her laugh. Check out this video...

K is a very happy baby. She gives us smiles and giggles daily. We love her so much. We are so glad to have her in our family.

Soccer

E is awesome at soccer! He loves getting out there and chasing the ball. His games are so much fun to watch. It's great entertainment, to say the least. I finally remembered my camera (with good batteries) for this game and actually captured one of his goals. Watch carefully...the goal takes place in the first few seconds. E is # 6, hiding behind # 4.