Christmas Day

 Before lunch we watched a few movies, then just had snack foods for lunch. After lunch all the kids crashed and took a nap. Cam Emery and Jacks tried to stay up all night. They didn't make it but were up late and tired. Beck was tired from waking up early. I guess that's what they get when they wake up at 6:30 in the morning. 

We finished the night off with homemade pizza and watching the next instalment of Stranger Things. It was pretty good, now only one episode left. 

Emery worked on her Lego on and off all day and got a little over half done. It's looking good however her fingers hurt a little. 

Christmas Day Morning

 The 'joy' of being woken up at 6:30 am, is by 9:30 am I'm ready to write the morning down and a few things are cleaned up. 

They always send Jackson in to wake up us, as if we don't know they will come in early. 

It's always fun when we get things they didn't expect or wanted but didn't think they would get. 

Emery's favorite was the Batman Lego. She had high hopes she would get it but didn't think it would happen. Thanks to a good sale, it happened. Now she'll be busy the rest of the day. 

Beck's favorite was the Monster squad poster. He got 4 big ones and is now moving his room around to make all of them fit. 

Jacks' favorite was a new keyboard. It lights up and makes a cool noise when he types. I think it has quicker rection time too... maybe? He also got a lot of figures that he's been putting together.

Cam's favorite was a book about Dinosaurs or the kitchen things. He got a wok, nice knife and Soda Stream. Cailey is in London for Christmas with her family, so they have been texting all morning too. 

Brad's favorite was a dart board. We've been married 20 years and I did not now until this year that he liked to play darts. He mentioned it in passing in April and I've had it saved since then. Thankfully he was telling the truth and liked it. 

I love a necklace Beck got me, A view finder that has pictures of the kids and some Tula skin care. Laffy Taffy used to have seeds on the watermelon and sparkles on the cherry. They don't anymore, but Brad found someone who makes it. They taste pretty close to the real ones. 

Now we have 'Maze Runner' on and will possibly fall asleep before the movie is over. More to come later-if we stay awake. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

 

We had a good Christmas Eve this year. We started with breakfast at The Griddle. It wasn't bad, but I think Black Bear still wins. 

Came home and did our PJ's and gift exchange. As the kids get older they put more thought into what they get. It's fun to see what they decide to get for who they have. 

The we played some games and watched "Home Alone".

We got our family picture early and with only having cell phones, we have turned to doing selfies. Cute family we have!

This years PJ's are all from "Elf".

Beck slept in his room and the other three stayed up in Cam's room. 

Each year we hide their wrapping paper in new places. This year we put it in their shoes, however Beck didn't have any shoes, so he got his on a weight (he uses them a lot).

Stockings are still my favorite thing to shop for and open. 

There were a few things this year that took up a lot of space. It's all set out just waiting for the kids to wake us up super early like they do every year. 

Emery's Outings

A new movie came out called Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and a lot of kids were excited to see it. We took Jacks to it (it was okay) and Emery went with a group of friends. They all dressed up as characters from the movie. At the end of the movie a little girl came up a few times to tell them how much she loved their costumes. Emery was Freddy Fazbear. 

This past weekend she went with a friend Maddie to Arizona. She has family out there and they do a Christmas party each year. Kind of weird to have her gone all weekend but she had fun. 

Then most recently she did a two mile race with Jenna. She says they made her do it, but I think she had fun. 

More Random Thoughts

If you know my mom you know she is really into health. We never had a lot of pop or candy in the house growing up, which I hated then, but see how good it was now that I'm older. We used to make fun that our dessert was cut up oranges and apples. They really could have just been part of the meal, but I swore they were brought out once we were almost done eating. Fast forward to now as an adult and what do my kids get and devour? Cut up apples and oranges. I did marry a Barnes, and they have a separate sugar spot in their stomachs, so we almost always have sugar in the house. Even with that, the apples and oranges every now and again at dinner is a hit. 

With putting away the Thanksgiving decor and getting out Christmas I found some of my year round things in some tubs. I had a lot of it put away for a long period of time because I put books out as decor vs some of the other little things. At the bottom of a tub was the Bountiful temple ceramic. I had completely forgotten about this. The spire was broken and I had a mini meltdown until I was sure it was fixed. Why do I care so much? When I got married Aunt Gerry had her own kiln and made things all the time. One thing she made was my cake topper and this was it. It felt so nice to find this and now have a piece that she did out on display. I think of her and smile whenever I look at it. 

Weird things having adult kids. Beck walks to and from work every day. Rain or shine, he walks. It gets dark early now, so his walks home are in the dark a lot. He is usually home about 8:30 when he works late so when it was 10 pm and no Beck, we were worried. Flip to another conversation where he was asking to do things and we finally had to tell him, he's an adult and doesn't need our permission anymore... unless he doesn't show up at home and I worry something bad happened.

The Elf

I hated Elf on the Shelf so we made up an elf that came randomly  and left little things. When they were really little, we'd do projects and arts mixed with little gifts. As they got older the crafts that were fun when they were 7 or 8 weren't as fun. We thought this year they wouldn't care if the Elf didn't show, but apparently they were all waiting for it. I guess it's a little easier this year since we are one child short, until the 19th. 

Yesterday the Elf left Gingerbread houses and today we watched the Grinch while putting them together.  

Super cute! It's the little things they used to love to do as kids that they grow out of that I miss the most. I miss my shopping buddies each week for groceries, or doing the little painting projects and making treats. I guess holding onto the Elf for a few more years will actually be nice. 

Thanksgiving Weekend

It's nice when school breaks come up, it means we get time with Cam and Cailey. They cook a lot at school, so when they come home, they will cook a meal that they tried out and liked. They did orange chicken and it was really good. 

We went to Twin for Thanksgiving and were at the Barnes. A lot of family showed up, we had around 40 I think. It was nice to have a big crowd. 

I didn't take many pictures, only a few of Buddy, the chunkiest dog there is.  

We came home and put up the tree. At the end of last season we tossed out other one and bought this one on sale. It was the first time opening the box and seeing it. I think it ended up being a nice one. 

I put out the sleighbells finally this year. I'm so worries about them getting ruined but think this case will help. My Grandma Arrington's dad Frank Stevens, he had a brother Nathan Stevens who bought these when he was a kid and they have been passed down. The sound they make is my favorite and each year when the kids were younger Grandpa Arrington would dress up like Santa and ring the bells outside our house. That would be the clue for the kids to go to bed so Santa can visit. 

I went with a co-worker to some of her families house and made a Christmas Wreath. It was attaching all the greenery and the decorations too. It was a lot of work, but I was fun to do, and I think turned out pretty good, considering I'm not very artistic.