Mommy and Daddy Dates

Jackson had some time away from work the week between Christmas and New Year's, so we decided to use some of that time for one-on-one dates with the kids. They each got to choose one thing to do with Mommy and one thing to do with Daddy. The rules were that the activity could last for one hour and it couldn't cost any money. Here is what they chose:

Dates with Daddy
Estella- Library
Nicholas- Library
Thomas- Canyon View Park to play Soccer

Dates with Mommy
Estella- Bookstore
Nicholas- Math and Science Center
Thomas- Main Street to look at sculptures and browse the toy store

The dates were a success and enjoyed by all. The only one I remembered to bring my camera on was my date with Nicholas to the Math and Science Center. This actually does cost money, but we bought a membership for the year, so it didn't cost us any more money.

This was Nicholas's favorite thing this time...dissecting an owl pellet and using a microscope to look at the bones. We compared them to a chart and decided this owl ate some kind of rodent...probably a mouse.

Happy 92 Grandma!

Grandma Berry turned 92 last week! We had a party for her complete with pizza and cupcakes. She amazes me with how mentally alert she is. She has lived a full life. There were three candles lit on the cupcakes, but she didn't have enough breath to blow them out, so Nicholas was enlisted to help her.

Alexander and cousin JD hanging out on the floor together.

Christmas Morning...

...was so much fun! I have such a hard time sleeping that night because I am so excited to see the kid's excitement in the morning. I woke up over and over just hoping it was morning. I was so disappointed to see 2 and then 3 and then 5 on my clock! When morning finally came it was nonstop fun the rest of the day. We took our time opening each present one by one and then just played together all day. Fun, fun, fun!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we went to a friend's house for dinner, a talent show, singing carols and a nativity play. My pictures are lousy, but here are the few I got. Nicholas was Joseph. Thomas was a wise man. Estella was an angel (no pictures of her...but she was adorable standing on the couch shouting out her line).

For our family journal, after the fun evening with friends, Jackson went to the 1st Presbyterian Church and played his cello in their Christmas Mass. He missed out on looking at Christmas lights with the kids and I, and also on reading Christmas stories and putting the excited children to bed, but it was a good experience for him and he felt good about doing it.

Christmas Towels

The day before Christmas Eve, we went to Grandma Chelle and Bubba's house for a Christmas dinner and party. Aunt Jazzy, Uncle Edmund, and new cousin JD were there visiting from Idaho. It was so fun to visit with them and meet little JD. I didn't get any pictures of that night, but it was really fun. The kids were spoiled and got to open gifts from Grandparents that night. If I could choose, I would do it this way every Christmas. It was so nice to have some of the anticipation and longing for gift opening relieved. It was also nice to be able to enjoy some gifts for a few days before opening more. Grandma Chelle and Bubba were so generous and showered both the kids and Jackson and I with thoughtful gifts.

Here are some pictures of the kids in their new towels.

Ugly Sweater Party

Jackson and I always talk about having friends over or throwing a party and it never seems to happen. We even get as far as deciding what to do and who to invite, but we never seem to be able to make it past that step. Well...this time was different. We finally just did it. We threw a last minute Ugly Sweater/White Elephant Gift party. We just invited a few families because our house won't hold more than that. It was a lot of fun to be with friends, laugh, play games, eat food, and laugh some more. We put a movie on for the kids in our bedroom so we could have a while to play games as adults. It was a blast. We just might have to make it a tradition.