Christmas Blues

The holidays are officially over it is time to take the decorations down.  Ryder was anxious to get started however, the sisters weren't excited at all.  In fact dragging their feet was more like it.  

Ryder went right to work.
Undressing the tree, I had to stop him from climbing it to reach those
pesky top ones.

The girls were in charge of all the other stuff.
Helping me pack the containers
Hopefully, carefully to avoid breaking thing.

It was time for lunch with Dad and taking a break from all the stuff that still needed to be put away.  Wendy's Frostys hit the spot.

Time to head home and finish cleaning up.   Ryder begged to redecorate and move the furniture.  I had to remind him that Dad would most likely to change it when he came home.

Let's try it was his reply.  

Finished and pooped.
Kicking back and relaxing.

Everything cleaned up

It looked nice and spacious.  Time to wait for Dave to get home and to give the thumbs up or down.  He liked it and only made a couple of minor changes.  Ryder with the look of satisfaction told me that of course he got it right he is Dad's son and just like him.

Truer words have never been spoken.  They are so much alike that they both wear me out.

It was time to relax before going to back to work.  The kids still had 3 days of Christmas Break.

Happy New Year.....2017

Time to party again it's New Years Eve!!  We had a busy day cleaning, shopping, and preparing treats for tonight.  We had the Teens, Tweens, and in the in betweens all sharing the basement.  We even had the parents getting into the action by playing games and watching movies upstairs.

The Teens had the theater room to watch movies and of course eat their treats.  Boredom soon set in and they were off the park to play in the rain.  Just when we thought they had moved on they were back.  To cold and to wet to stay outside for long.

The in Betweens

Ryder not quite a tween and neither boy a teen either.  They busied themselves with Minecraft.  Then harassing the parents for more treats and maybe play a game or two.

The Tweens

This group had nothing formally planned.  Instead the slowly gravitated to the tv room for a round of movies and begging for treats.

Everyone but Ryder made it to Midnight and the welcoming in of 2017!!!

We hope this year brings good health, good friends, and good times.

It was time for bed and celebrating tomorrow with 10:30 church.

Christmas Vacation...

What do you do when school has been out for over a week and you still have another week to go?  Ryder's crew are all out of town and the weather has been too wet to play outside.  He was bored out of his mind as well as driving Mom crazy with his constant chatter.  

He finally came up with a project he could do all by himself....Build a blanket floor!!!!!

After construction...
All the blankets in his closet, chairs, and a few book.
Sad puppy...to big to go inside.

Surprise!!!!
There he was and Ginger jumped when
the flash went off.

He had so much fun building, tweaking, and rebuilding all afternoon.  He is amazing to watch as he plans and completes his projects.  If only he can stay busy for the next week.

Christmas Morning Plus

Having early morning church that left us with all day still to play, eat, and visit.  The Wheeler's came to join in the fun of a yummy Christmas brunch, more presents, and movies.  What better way to spend the day.  Oh yeah maybe a nap or two here and there.

No way motorized paper airplanes.
Nobody better touch this present.

Boomarang Helicopters
Both boys have a new toy to play with today.
The salesman promised they were pretty tough and would last at least the day.

Gift cards for these girls
They love to shop.

It was a fun day filled with good friends, good food, and lots of Christmas Spirit.

Lucky for me my holiday is tomorrow so no work until Tuesday.  There is also another week of vacation from school for the kids.  Let's hope we all survive to see the new year arrive.

Special Gifts

This is a wonderful time of year and made even better when you see your children get into the Christmas Spirit to find the perfect gift for their brother or sister.

This year it happen early at the Dicken's Festival.  Reganne & Ryder bought each other's presents after listening to each other as they walked through the booths.  Each one had brought their own money.

Listening carefully, trying to avoid eye contact, and lastly hide their surprise so as not to give it away.

The excitement grew as it was time to open them.

Wooden Elastic Gun

Small Key Clock Necklace

They were both full of sheepish smiles and hugs.  I hope they continue to look for ways of surprising and making each other happy.

Christmas Morning...

Christmas Morning finally arrived!!! There was one problem Santa changed things up and wrapped all of his presents.  Ryder's task was to get everyone up, dressed, and ready for church before he could unwrap his gifts.  He begged, pleaded, and even nagged us to hurry up.

Our Elf's last message and mess of the season.

He was successful...

He got his Boogie Board

Wireless headphones & new gel pens.

Retro Adidas

Looking good in their new outfits.

Time to head to church and enjoy the special Christmas music.  Thank goodness this is our last week at 8:30 schedule.

The Old, The New, and The In Between

Christmas Eve is always a busy day full of old & new traditions.  We even have a few in between activities that could turn into an old one.

First things first all the presents needed to be wrapped put under the tree.  Dave had a few extra that he set on the table for something fun to do later.  It was time for lunch and an one of the in between things on our list.  Chinese food!!!  We have tried for 4 years to get this one to stick and it has been greeted with groans, sour faces, and picking at the food.  This year the waitress did listen when I ordered for 3 meals.  Everyone picked what they liked and ate.  We did have a few leftovers so Dave & I were happy we could have another quick meal later tonight.  This might be the last time for this in between tradition.

Next stop was the St George Temple Grounds.  The crowds were pretty light due to the rain that had continued to fall.  

Temple Step Picture
Not too far up this year due to rain
and not wanting to visit the emergency room from a slip.

Braving the rain for a picture
We had to have proof of the rain.

Time for a new tradition....A White Elephant Exchange...Build your Christmas Eve with what is the presents.  Dave read Twas The Night Before Christmas but with a twist.

Passing Right or Left
depending on the story.

Time to open
Each one had picked one that they really wanted to open.
Interesting they each ended up with the one they wanted.

Chocolate, Christmas Movie "Elf", checkers,
puzzle, and a family game.

Everyone taking a turn at the puzzle.
Ryder was the most determined and completed
half of it on his own.

This new activity may become our newest tradition.  It was going to be an early night to to early morning church.  However, we had a holdout who stayed up until the very last second.

Would Santa come?  Would we make it to early church?  Will everyone like their presents?