Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Day with Granny and Grannys Grandpa. Bil was nice enough to let us use his big truck so we could actually make it to their house (thanks so much). My Dad also made the trek to my Grandparents in Bellingham so they could make it out as well. We had a lot of fun with at my Moms! She also made my favorite Christmas meal, Spiral Ham, Hashbrown Casserole and last but not least Oyster Stew. Grace finished the day with dishes wearing only her new apron, tights and beautiful pearl necklace, while Elliot worked on his legos.

Christmas Morning

This years Christmas morning was so much fun. Both kids understood the meaning of Christmas this year. Grace was singing Happy Birthday Jesus for the entire month of December and Elliot learned in our family we say Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays because we believe Jesus is the Reason for the Season(he would tell you this). Grace was also really into present opening this year which was really fun to watch the smiles on her face. I feel like we are entering a new stage of toys no baby toys this year.

Christmas Eve Night

Christmas Eve Night we made the trek to Aunt Carols for the Vanderpol Christmas. It was a lot of fun with a new spin on a gift exchange and a round of Ticket to Ride.

Christmas Eve Day

We spent Christmas Eve day with Grandma and Grandpa Boat. It was a lot of fun with a yummy lunch, presents, and lots of good times together. Grandma even knitted grace and I matching scarfs.

Kids and I playing in the snow

THe kids and I went out to enjoy the snow today. We had so much fun:)

One more picture

Grace and Teacher Leslie. I am so glad that my kids have this amazing woman in their lives!

Graces Christmas Program

Here are the pics from Graces first Christmas program. She did very well. She also made her first Christmas ornament for the tree to match Elliots from his preschool days. I added a picture of Elliot and Ruby snuggling on the couch because I haven't posted him in a while.

Graces Christmas Program Videos

Make a Smilebox slideshow

These are a bit boring but I knew the grandparents would like it. The file may take a minute to load because the videos are big.

Graces Recital

Thank you to everyone that came to share in the evening with us. Grace was so excited when she came off the stage she yelled I did it mom!! I know I have said this before but It makes me so happy to see my kids so happy! Here are some pictures of the backstage happenings. I helped the girls make magic wands and I also fed them cookies. I made the cookies at home they are snowmen with earmuffs.

Graces Hair Salon:)

So this is Graces favorite thing to do in the tub these days. She plays Ami(emily my sister)who is a hairdresser. Ariel and Dora take their respective chairs (retired sippy cups turned into bath toys) and Grace washes their hair with a bar of soap. Next it is time for the rinsing. She promptly turns them upside down in their water filled chairs for a soak. I am not sure where she gets these ideas but it sure does provide for lots of smiles on my end.
P.S. Thanks Ami for not treating your clients this way.:)

A new school for Elliot...

As many of you know we had been having some difficulties at Elliots school. I think that we basically had some differences in opinion when it came to teaching him among other things. However, the exciting news is after much contemplation and visiting other schools Elliot will be a student at Ebenezer Christian School in January. We really feel like we have been led to this school and that it will be the best situation for our little family. The teachers were so nice and seemed to really love their jobs as well as their students. We are so excited for this new adventure and feel really blessed to have other options.

Elliot is sick and taking naps in the middle of the day.

Elliot is sick, and taking naps in the middle of the day with no prompting. Oh my poor little monkey i know he sick because he looks miserable but also because it has been virtually impossible to get him to nap since he was two years old. So Grace is loving that the tv is on almost permanently right now. We also kept ourselves busy making sugar cookies. I am so proud of her and her growing cooking skills she is quite handy with a rolling pin and a cookie cutter.

A Sneak Peek...Dress Rehearsal:)

I can't not begin to explain how adorable these little 3 and 4 year old girls are. They are not synchronized at all and they are running not eachother but they are so happy and proud of themselves. I think the best part of being a parent is watching your children as they play happily completely care free and innocently. I tried to video with my camera its not the best so pics will have to do for now. You will just have to wait until Saturday for the full effect of the performance. Thanks for reading our blog which is full of me being ridiculously proud of my kids and their tiny accomplishments.

Our Christmas Tree.

We got our Christmas Tree. Thanks to my Dad who agreed to go earlier than he likes so my sister and I could get our trees. My Dad would really love it if we went two days before Christmas to get our tree. We go every year to the same tree farm on South Pass Road to get our tree, it is very small and there aren't a bunch of crazy people around. Actually I don't think there has ever been anyone else there when we are. This was the first year that there wasn't snow on the ground , Brian was happy because we could actually see the trees. Elliot loves to pick out my Moms tree and Grace thinks any tree that is the same height as she is is the "perfect" tree. This was also the first year that my sister joined and her first year with her own tree. This is a wonderful tradition I hope we continue forever.