Few Things

 I have really slacked with taking pictures lately, so I really don't have much to write about. 

For Christmas the boys got suckers from a friend and were surprised that you could make suckers. We used to make suckers all the time when i was a kid, so we got what we needed and made suckers. They actually turned out pretty good. It was fun to make them again. 

 I got a jury summons for the first time ever. I was not looking forward to it at all and when I had to go in  I was kind of annoyed. As luck would have it, I was selected to be on a jury and I have to say, I loved it. It was so interesting to see how the judicial system worked. The judge seemed not super nice during jury selection, so I made sure I didn't say much. I would assume he gets sick of hearing lame excuses why people have to leave. He was a lot better during the actual trial. It was a battery case. I thought it would be hard to see both sides, to go in with an open mind but it wasn't as hard as I thought. It became a little hard once you realize that you have the power in your hands to change someones life. The deliberations took about and hour and a half, it was a hard decision. They said I won't have to go back for 2 years, but really I'd be fine going again sooner. 

 Emery had he special day this past Saturday. We did it a little different. She thought about seeing a movie but wasn't hooked on seeing one. She needed some shirts so we decided to have a shopping day. So Emery Brad and I went to lunch and spend the afternoon shopping. It was probably her favorite type of special day. 

 In science the boys have a project on genes where they have to pick 2 super heroes and using punnet squares they had to show what their kid would look like. Then they had to draw their child. Brad helped Camden this weekend draw his. I only got a picture of it half done, but it turned out awesome. His super hero's were Spider-man  and the invisible woman. 

 Emery and Jackson got 3rd place in their class for a spelling bee which meant today they competed with their grade. Emery was a little nervous but she did get 4th place in the grade. 

 Jackson was so nervous I wanted to run up and hug him and help him. He at first didn't want to talk and then he could only get out p. Purr was his word. I'm so proud of them both for getting so far in the spelling bee. 

Christmas Day

I love the look of the tree when it's quiet in the house and it's still nice and neat.

 These are the kids gifts. We got a lot of pops as you can see. Grandma and Grandpa's house is getting over run with them.

 We woke up to a white Christmas, which the kids love. This is by our house....

 This is by the theater just a minute later.

All December we kept telling Beck he can't spend any money and to just save what he has for later. We told them that one year and they didn't believe us, so they woke up Christmas to I think it was the PS4 VR and didn't have money to buy any extra games. With that memory in mind they figured they were getting something for Christmas that they'd need money for, and kept guessing. I tired to confuse them a few times but when they found out Christmas day they were really excited. We were able to get tickets to San Diego Comic Con 2019. Since the boys are 12 now they get in free wit a paying adult, so its the last cheap year we will have with them. I recorded their reaction and just know, that is them VERY excited. They show excitement like their dad does. The first part of the video is Jacks with the bells. I'm not quiet sure what he was thinking.



Christmas Eve

Well this first one is Christmas Eve Eve, but we'll count it. We went and looked at lights around town. The display towards the South Hills I think was everyone's favorite. It rained a little but wasn't too bad.

 We went to Black Bear for breakfast on Christmas Eve. The kids love this tradition. They also love what comes after breakfast.

 The gift exchange presents. They are always very excited to open these ones.

 Beck got Brad a pop, but he didn't want it too obvious, so he wrapped an avocado instead. By the time it was opened it was a very soft avocado.  

That night we played a while elephant gift BINGO game. Every time a number was called we knew who had the number, who had a number close and who didn't have it at all. The kids loved to give a play by play with each number. 

 We did fondue for dinner which was really good. The spinach artichoke was the best one. We also opened crackers both Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

 Then came PJs. Grandpa and Grandma got PJs with us. We even found some for the dogs; which they hated but they looked funny in them.

For the past few years we have done a service chain. Its always fun to see it grow and to see the kids not just thinking of that they get. We got it down the stairs and around the corner.

 After dessert fondue we played an escape game. Grandma, Emery, Beck and I won because the other team cheated and skipped a task. It was pretty fun, and harder than you would think.

 Grandma and Grandpa shared the pickle story. Each year the kids ask why we have a pickle ornament and now finally they know. Sometime I'll post the story here too.

 After Camden rang the bells and it was time for bed. Jacks and Emery watched a show for maybe 20 min before they fell asleep. Camden and Beckham stayed up longer. When we told them we were going to bed, they went right upstairs to see the tree. They didn't wait for us to fall asleep, so I went up and sent them right back to bed. They did however go again when we were asleep at 2 ish and 6 ish.

Few Things

Grandma and Grandpa had boxes for the kids to open everyday leading up to Christmas. One of the days was a movie night with them. They went upstairs and watched a movie and ate popcorn. I'm not sure why Jackson took a box to sit in, but he was comfy I guess.

 Brad is apart of a pop group on Facebook and one of the guys on there has way too much extra income to buy lots of pricey pops. Well he did a competition and win some grail pops so Brad and the boys were all over it. You had to say your best "They're Great" like Tony the Tiger. Brad made a video for their submission. If you want to see that you have to ask him. The video did however win them second place, whey they all were very happy about.

And these are the two that they won.

Jackson is the best at playing with toys. He is the most fun to shop for because we know he'll play with what he gets. The other day he played with the Clue game for at least an hour alone. Just the clue weapons and colored pieces.