The Day after...

We were supposed to go to Idaho to visit my parents, but the road was closed because of the big storm we got. So instead we hopped onto FrontRunner and went to Salt Lake to see the lights and stuff. Sidney is a big ole copycat. She saw Mike holding onto the strap while we were on Trax and so she had to do it. It was so funny!!Rachel didn't make a very good Christmas list, so Santa (at the last minute) gave her a gift card to spend at Build-a-Bear. She picked out a bunny. Here she is with the chic that works there (who was completely UNfriendly, btw) watching her bunny get its guts put into it. I didn't get a good picture of her kissing the heart and putting it inside which is a bummer because she was so cute about it.

Here is the finished bunny. Her name is Suzy. Rachel even got a pair of glasses for her to wear so they could match. The best part of the whole thing is that the store was so busy that they gave a $5 coupon to everyone standing in line, so Rachel had even more money to spend. The other kids were so enthralled by the whole process that they have all proclaimed that it is what they want to do for their birthdays!

Then we went over to Temple Square to see the lights. It was too freaking cold, so we didn't last very long, but I did manage to get this great shot!

Christmas Day...

I'm pretty sure that I ToTallY scored with getting this hat for Mike! I think it was his favorite present.

The ONE time that Sidney actually wore her cape. At least she kept her Elmo slippers on.

Jonathan spent the day putting his Lego and Bionicles together. Seriously. One of the things he got was this Lego Mars Mission ship thing. It was for ages 7-12. He is 5. It took him 3 hours, but he stuck with it and he got it built.

Most of the other pictures I took were fuzzy or dorky. Sorry. I was having too much fun watching the kids open their presents!!

Christmas Eve...

is all about TrAdiTionS!! Every year Mike makes homemade pizza. He makes whole wheat dough (yum!!), and throws it in the air... and then the kids get to put whatever toppings they want onto their own personal pizzas. This year Mike made a ton of dough so the pizzas were quite large. That's okay by me though, since it meant LEftoVErs!!This was my pizza. It's the only time that I actually get to have peppers on my pizza. No one else likes them, so others times when we get pizza I can't have them. See how nicely the kids are sitting waiting for me to stop taking pictures and let them eat!

Then we went to look at Christmas lights. This was our favorite.This was not. If you read my blog at all, I'm sure you know why we didn't like this house's lights!

And last of all we came home to eat cookies and drink hot chocolate and open one present. Here are the kids posing with the jammies that I made them. I finished up Rachel and Meghan at about 3:00. I am the world's BEST procrastinator!!

Flashback Friday to 1986

Christmas 1986.

I got a new coat which I was very excited about. But apparently I was NOT near as excited as Amy was about the cassette player/walkman she got! Oh yeah baby! Hello, we were in the 80's!

Don't mind our messy hair either. We would get up as soon as the clock said 6:00 to go check out our pressies and wake mom and dad. Seriously. Every year. One year we tried to get up earlier and Mom told us we had to go back to bed and stay there until 6:00. So at 5:59, we were climbing out of bed so we could race into the living room at 6:00. We weren't about to wait a second longer than necessary.

The cape

A couple of years ago I bought this fun double-sided "hero" cape for Jonathan from a craft show. He has loved it and wears it (still) all the time. When he was three (and 4) he would seriously wear it EVERYDAY. Many times I had to give up the fight and just take him to Walmart with the cape on. He loves it that much.

As you can see, it has a Batman side and a Superman side. Perfect for little boys. I have purchased a few more of these capes over the years and given them as gifts to other little boys and they have loved them also.

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Sidney also likes to wear Jonathan's cape. She runs with it on and it flies out behind her. So, I let her wear it if she wants to. Sometimes this causes fights. But, a couple of months ago, I was at a craft show again and they had this same cape, but in girlie colors. It was so cute and I almost bought it....but then I thought, "hey- I already have ONE. I can make a pattern from it and do this myself."

So I did!

It turned out great and I was so proud of myself! She is getting this for Christmas and I just know she is gonna love it!

Just call me Becky Homecky.

*If you want one....order it from me and I will make it for you for $10. (the craft show was selling them for $15)

Fashion plates among other things

so when all else fails and I have nothing else to write, I will do what I am doing right now. What's that you ask? Well, let me tell you! I dug down into my daughter's journal jar from activity days and picked a topic to write on. So, stand back and prepared to be amazed. Maybe. But probably not.

Question: "What is the best Christmas present you ever received?"

Hmmm. I have received some pretty great presents over the years, so it is hard for me to actually pick "the best". Some presents that I have enjoyed immensely are...temple dress given to me by my parents. My husband surprises me every year with a new snowman for my collection. I remember getting a "Peaches and Cream Barbie" when I was a kid. I loved her!



Here is a picture of my sister Amy and I on Christmas morning playing with our presents. Hers was Fashion Plates (remember those), and mine was the fashion plates that you used fabric to design the clothes (I forgot the name).

In case you need further clarification on how geeky I was...I'm the one with the side pigtails and missing two front teeth. I was six years old, I think.

I blame my mom for my complete lack of coolness or cute hair or whatever. And believe me I can, since I am mostly certain that she doesn't read my blog! She'll never even know.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane. I have to admit that it weirded me out!