A SCARY Christmas Carol

My mom wanted to take my family to see A Christmas Carol at the Hale Theater in SLC. To prepare them for the play, the night before my mom told them the story. They were fascinated by the ghosts and the mean Mr. Scrooge and were listening so intently to her story. Lacey was hilarious when she tried to say Ebenezer.

We went to the matinee with my mom and dad. Miss Cassidy had a special date with Uncle Blake, which I’m not sure who enjoyed more Blake or Cassidy. I was very interested to see how the kids reacted to a play. They had only been to one play before put on by kids. This play was a bigger production and more intimate and fascinating to watch. They were enthralled at the get go until Mr. Marley showed up in all his chains and scary voice. Lacey about had a conniption fit. She did not like him at all. She kept saying “turn it off! turn it off!” She had a death grip on my hand too and would not let go of it the rest of the play. She also couldn’t stop asking if he was coming back. Each time a new ghost was to appear she would hide her face. Then the culminating event was when they zapped fire at Scrooge’s tombstone. She jumped up and ran out of the theater. Ryan went out with her but we had her come back in for the end so she could see how Scrooge had changed. She even laughed at parts after that. The rest of the night Lacey asked me if the “chain guy” was real. I explained that he was just a person dressed up. I tried to show her the actor at the end without all the chains and makeup on but she wouldn’t have it. I guess I hadn’t realized how scary the story is. It is a little overwhelming and not very Christmasy strangely enough. It was a good experience for them though.

Lights at Temple Square

Tonight we bundled up for a night at Temple Square. This was a must do while in Utah. The Salt Lake Temple is so amazing anyway (Ryan and I were married there) but with all the trees around lit up it is almost magical. We took our fun Christmas light glasses that turn the lights into little snowmen and hearts. My family got a kick out of them. My dad even started to let passers by look through them. There was also a beautiful nativity presentation. They even had a star projecting onto the tabernacle. It was so cool. I loved being there. It was a cold night and we lost Aidan for a bit (a story in an of itself) but overall it was a great night.

Sledding

We were delighted to see so much snow when we got to Utah. The kids were anxious to go sledding. There are so many places to go so we ventured out this morning. We learned a few lessons. First we picked a hill too small, then we picked a hill too big. Aidan showed no fear and was the first to go down this steep hill all by himself. It wasn't a good idea. The run he chose was icy and he spun around twice and then fell off and rolled down the rest of the hill. He started crying and then stomped off. I reluctantly jumped on a sled with Lacey to rescue Aidan. We were a little more successfull since I used my HIGH HEELED boots (yeah it is all I had) as breaks to slow us down. Lacey and I screamed the whole way. LOUD! I was able to talk Aidan into trying the hill again with me. We marched up the hill, in my high heels mind you, to try again. So Aidan and I then went and he laughed and screamed the whole way. He liked sledding again. The kids each had turns with me or with grandpa and Aidan even went again himself after some good training from his momma. Cassidy went down the little hills but wasn't allowed on the big one. It was so fun. Cold, wet, exhausting but fun!

All I want for Christmas....

Aidan lost his two front teeth tonight. They were so ready to come out but he was hesitant for some reason to pull them. Ryan decided to use some floss to get them out. They both came out really easily. Aidan was shocked when the first one dropped to the floor. He was very excited though to have them both out. Eating was becoming difficult for him.

Breakfast with Santa

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to Aidan's school. We spent the morning making crafts and visiting with Santa. The kids all walked over to Santa and Mrs. Claus together and Cassidy took one look at Santa and quickly chose to sit with Mrs. Claus. After their picture they gave Cassidy one last chance to sit with Santa but she gave him a look like, "Are you crazy?" and quickly ran back to me and Ryan.

The Best Gingerbread Making Party-Kentucky edition

In Ryan's family, making gingerbread houses is a standing tradition. His aunt hosts the party each year. There is always lots of people, candy and frosting. We miss that we can't be there with everyone so we usually make our own at home. We have always wanted to invite other families but just don't have the house to accommodate that. We found out that we could use the community center for free so this year we had the Kentucky edition of the Best Gingerbread Making Party. We bought lots of candy and graham crackers and I made frosting for an hour straight. We had several families come. It was so much fun. We were just so happy to be able to share our tradition with our friends. So plan for next year Y'all!

Our house this Christmas

I feel lucky that I don't have a husband that I have to nag to put up the Christmas lights. He is self motivated. He worked long and hard strategically planning every extension cord, power strip and outlet. He did a great job! We love it, the kids love it and our neighbors love it.

Tree shopping

We picked out our tree early this year. We usually aren't the day after Thanksgiving people but Ryan was going to be gone for 4 days and we wanted to enjoy our tree as long as we could this year. We love having a real tree. Ryan and I grew up with real ones so it is an easy choice for us. We have a few of our "Gremmert Beauties" modeling the trees for us.

I love decorating the tree. It is just so magical to see it turn into a Christmas tree filled with ornaments full of memories. The kids are getting better at helping. They still put every ornament on the same limb but we rework it.

The finished project.

We used the limbs we cut off and made a wreath. Ryan and I did this together. Now isn't that teamwork? It turned out great.

Happy Thanksgiving from Lacey

Princess for a day!

Today was Lacey's birthday party. It was a PRINCESS party. All the little girls came in princess dresses and looked so cute. We played a few princess games. We put kisses on a frog like pin the tail on the donkey, then we played princess, princess, dragon, like duck, duck goose but using a wand to tap them on the head, and then we played music and had them dance and then when I, being the wicked witch, waved my wand and turned off the music, the last girl to fall to the ground asleep from my spell was out. They were adorable to watch. We then ate a castle cake that really looked more like the Oakland Temple and opened presents.

Lacey had a great time with her friends and loved all her presents. The girls received a tiara, a wand and some jewelry to take home. I had taken a picture of each girl individually and made them a card like this one to take home. They were just so beautiful.

I love doing fun birthday parties for my kids. We get excited together and can't wait for the party to arrive. It is work but it is so worth all the effort. My mom always had super parties for me and I loved them so much. I mean who can top Tifferella. I can only do these types of parties for so many years so I am going to take advantage while I can!

First Day of School............FOR ME!

(Ryan made me take this picture I guess to get me back for all the pics I take of him.)

I went to school today, to middle school to be a substitute teacher. This was my first time subbing and it was for 8th grade pre-algebra and science. What a way to start. I was so nervous. Middle schoolers can be a little intimidating and especially for my first time EVER. As I got to my classroom I just started to laugh out loud. I couldn't believe I was doing this. Then when the students arrived reality set in. The kids were okay overall. I mean they had a sub and they acted like it. I didn't have any major problems though. I just let them know my boundaries and they did pretty good sticking to them. It was so weird to be around them though. I still feel like those days were just a few years ago but then seeing them, I so don't relate anymore. I found myself looking at the teachers and seeing them as my peers. That was weird and just evidence that I AM old. What was weird too is that the same social dynamics that existed for me in 8th grade still exist. There are the same typical groups: popular, flirty, jocks, cheerleaders, nerds etc. You could tell who they were. It made me think back to who those people were to me back then. I just wanted to whisper to some of them that none of this social mumbo jumbo matters. You change when you graduate and you become the real you and most of these people will never know that person. My heart aches for teenagers. It is such a hard time, critical, emotional, and rebellious. Some mistakes seem worth it at the time but are so juvenial and immature in reality. Anyway, I did see some kids from my ward and it was fun to see their puzzled faces as to why I was there. It was a good first day and I think I will just get better. Ryan did a good job playing mommy but at the days end, we were both exhausted.

Random thoughts of gratitude

At preschool today Lacey learned about a happy family. She made a door hanger for each member of her family listing why she was thankful for them. Here are her answers.

Daddy: I'm thankful when daddy takes me out to dinner.
Mommy: I'm thankful when mommy plays "babies" with me.
Aidan: I'm thankful when you let me sleep in your bed when I'm scared of Santa.
Cassidy: I'm thankful when you give me the remote control when we watch T.V. You're a really nice sister.
Family: I'm thankful for my family! I like it when we go swimming together at the YMCA.

So which one made you laugh?

Happy Birthday to Lace Lace Pretty Face

She is FIVE this very day. She was four and a half according to her as of yesterday. We tried to explain the half stuff but she didn't get it. She is just happy to actually be five. She planned most of this day. We started with donuts, chocolate with sprinkles. Then she went swimming with daddy. Corndogs for lunch and the out for pizza for dinner. We went to Toys R Us so she could show us the three things she DIDN'T want out of that whole huge store. She was game for everything. Well, we did pretty good. She was so excited to pick out stuff and use her $3 gift card from the store. Ryan took her out to the car while we picked the final present choices. We enjoyed dinner at Hometown Pizza and then off to Cold Stone. I had signed her up for the free birthday treat so she had a coupon for a free ice cream. She is starting to love coupons as much as me.

We opened presents when we got home. She ended up getting PINK legos, 2 Pet shop stuffed animals, a Snow White dress and shoes (that I found for $6.50 total), princess playing card, and some jewelry.

She enjoyed all the phone calls she received today. She was surprised everyone was calling for her.

Halloween

We had a relaxing Halloween morning. The clouds continued to blow out of the area that left for a promising Halloween night. We carved our pumpkins together. The kids actually participated more this year. Ryan made them pull out all the "pumpkin guts". They didn't really like that part. We didn't get as extensive with the carving this year. We played it simple but they turned out good. A ghost pumpkin and a heart pumpkin.

So this year we had Tinker Bell, a gypsy, a cheerleader and Karate Kid. The kids didn't know what a gypsy was so I just said they stole kids. My mom always said growing up that if we weren't good she would sell us to the gypsies.

The kids were very excited to start trick or treating. We went to our usual neighborhood and met up with some friends. Aidan and his buddies ran from door to door and the poor girls just couldn't keep up. Cassidy just stayed in her stroller and we would only take her to the people sitting in their driveways. So she did drive-thru trick or treating. She loved it. She ate like 40 suckers that night. We had a great night with no rain and lots and lots of Candy!