The End (of the year)

Cael got invited to go with a friend to the Army vs. Marines basketball game. The other boys were so upset they weren't invited I had to promise to take them there as well. Our first seats were pretty high up and the kids kept running up and around the very top. I thought they were going to trip and fall and it just wasn't going to be any fun at all if that happened. So we moved after Cael and his friend (and his dad) found us and brought us to seats closer to the court and out of dangerous zone.

 These seats were much better for the second half of the game. Army had a good lead and it was fun to watch them hold on and win! I also got to explain most of the elements to the sport. In the picture above you can see where we were the first time. Way up to the top and in the middle! Of course a worker had to come and tell my children not to be running up there!

And this is how you spend New Years night at home with the kids! Playing computer games and letting the children observe--- they do love it, especially when they have candy to snack on.

**I didn't take any pictures, but NEW YEARS day we had 13 children in our house. We had agreed to watch the Elgan's children (6) plus the Tonelli children (3) plus my own (4) = 13. Ben was on-call for the hospital and so we needed to stay close for the day anyway. While they were all here I thought I would put away our Christmas decorations at the same time. It was a mess! But I got it all done, packed the tree away that I threaten to throw away every year, and Ben even got a call to admit a patient! So there I was with 13 kids all by myself for about 3 hours. With that many children there was always someone who was hungry, bored, or grumpy. I was pretty exhausted by the time dinner rolled around, and pretty confident that 13 children all under the age of 9 were still alive when their parents came back is an accomplishment in itself!

Christmas

The whole month really seemed to fly by- I don't know why that always happens!

Having some ipad time together and not fighting :)

I actually sent this picture to my mother on her phone and she got after me for dressing Brielle in truck pajamas. They fit her and still have a lot of life in them! She also looks about the same size as Connor in a lot of pictures too. They are only 5 lbs apart, but we will see how long that holds out.

St. Nicholaus followed us from Germany and put goodies in our shoes on Dec. 6th

 While Grandpa and Joseph were here visiting we attended the West Point Holiday Singing Concert. They had told all of the children to wear nice clothes for the concert and I really tried to help Cael get ready for the big show. We were pretty embarrassed to see the outfit he was wearing. Check out the second picture....

 Look at all those holiday sweaters and nice slacks. Then check out the snow boots. Where does that kids come from? He did sing really well, it was just hard to look past the crazy outfit!

 Brecon looked so cute up there singing with his class and looking so handsome too! They had a great song called "Snow Pants... warm and snuggly ... SNOW PANTS" We all got a pretty good kick out of that one.

Here is the entire 4th grade class for a group shot. I liked the Chanaka and Kwanzaa decorations as well as the big Christmas Tree. Cael came home with an armful of the paper chains that were all around the gym. He said kids even were taking some of the chains that he had, and he still came home with enough for us to decorate our house a little bit more with.

***On Christmas Eve we worked really hard to make goodies plates to deliver to our friends and neighbors. Carmel popcorn, cinnamon almonds, and Lemon Melting Moments. I'm sure I could have come up with a better combination, but these were just the treats I made that day. I'm glad that Ben really wanted to keep up this tradition-- but we felt funny knocking on doors and having everyone answer dressed up like shepherds or angels. Obviously they were acting out the biblical account of the Saviors birth and we were going around dropping off treats. It even snowed that night as we were driving around- A Christmas Eve miracle.

***Christmas Morning. We spend the holiday together as a family here at our little home. The morning started at 8:00 when everyone was awake and ready to check out the downstairs. The kids are so fun to watch, the excitement, squeals of delight, and cheers of an exciting gift. Brielle got some cute dress up Tinkerbelle shoes and a doll house. Also a few baby dolls! Every girl needs a few baby dolls! The funny part of the morning was when Brecon and Connor had taken Brielle's doll house and hid behind a door so they could play with it uninterrupted.

This year as a family we decided that we are going to make gifts for each other from now on for Christmas. I think that starting earlier in the month will relieve some of the stress that comes from trying to get everything finished on time. I helped Brecon make cardboard swords and weapons to give to Cael and Connor. He even made a magic fairy wand for Brielle and we did MODGE PODGE with pink, purple, and black paper on the handle to make it more colorful. I made reverent books for each of the boys with pictures of the Savior and also temples in it. For Ben I made a memory book of all the emails we wrote to each other while he was in Afghanistan. Plus pictures he took while he was down there.  Ben made secret books for the boys (regular books with a cut out section to hide treasures in) and the whole family made me vanilla candles in tea cups. In addition, we've started the tradition of a MOM and DAD book. A place when the kids can draw, write, color, and make an entry in a book that we will keep for Christmas, birthdays, and other holidays. There is something special about that first picture your child draws for you! Or when they write their name for the first time or spell out 'mom' in those first letters. I'm excited for this tradition as I watch the kids and my relationship with them longitudinally through their entries over the years.

We played with our toys, read stories and books, and spent the day -- and the whole break-- taking it easy and enjoying our time together. Plenty of messes all the time but that was okay!

Day trip to NYC

Grandpa Eugene and Uncle Joseph came to visit! We wanted to show them a good time and the cool stuff around our area. It was only obvious that they would spend the day in NYC to see the cool sites. It was a bitter cold and snowy day so Becky volunteered to watch the children at home (Brielle wasn't feel well) so they could have a good time marching around the city.

 They parked close to the Juliard School  of Performing Arts, which is right next to the Manhattan LDS temple. Purchased and ate a street vendor hotdog and continued on their journey. Central Park and the 9/11 memorial, followed by the Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, Times Square, and a Broadway show. They really packed in an a full day of sightseeing, and didn't get home until late.

  They just walked up to the window right before the show was about to start to ask if there were any tickets available. They got an "amazing" deal and had great seats for the show. Dead Center and only 8 rows back. Regularly the tickets would have cost $215--- so I am glad they didn't pay that much!