~Ward Party~

We had our ward Christmas breakfast yesterday. We had a great turn out. The kids loved Santa, and the Primary singing, fun times.

John and Santa!

"What is he all about?"

Cole loves him!

Saylee wanted to be first!

an elf?!?

We had a new friend come live with us this week! His name is "Popotchi Twinkle Snowflake", and he came all the way from the North Pole to "help" our kids be good. He will be staying 'til Christmas, and he reports to Santa each night. The kids have enjoyed finding his hideout each morning, and, I have to say, he has been very helpful!

He showed up on our front porch and brought a little surprise!

This is his letter.

Nativity

We did our annual Nativity and family night at my parents on Sunday. It's my favorite FHE of the year! The kids love it, and it is the best way to help them remember what Christmas is all about! This year Cole was a wise man, and Saylee and Madi were angels. Cole takes this very serious, and pays close attention, I love it! They all did a great job, nights we will all always remember.

The three of them posing after the play.

Madilyn loving "baby Jesus".

After the Nativity and Christmas devotional, and lots of yummy soup- we celebrated my mom's birthday. Our kids love birthdays! Happy Birthday mom!

After that, a special visitor showed up!!! This is always a treat. Santa has a special treat for all the kids, and always reminds them the true meaning of Christmas, and what it's all about. Another wonderful start of the Christmas festivities!

Cole trying to remember the name of "Motobots"- he whispered it in Santa's ear.

Madilyn told Santa she wanted a "baby"- she did great, and was excited. She still talks about it and says, "Santa, hohoho- baby".

Saylee loves Santa- She's asking for a "Robyn doll".

~Madilyn~

Madilyn is cracking me up everyday! I love this age. She insists on wearing a "backpack" all the time. It is one of the words she enunciates best! She looks so big to me! She is getting more social, and loves nursery. She is a very happy little girl.
Madi also had her first snow fun of the year the other day. She kept saying, "hat, jacket, outside", and pointing at the snow. We bundled her up with the other kids. She loved it. I don't think it could be that fun when you are so bundled you can hardly move, but she didn't seem to mind. I love this girl!

Mads and her backpack!

Snow bundle!

"Cheese"

Swingin' in the snow!

Random

So here's the latest... Cole has set up shop selling caramels! He is so funny. I made some caramels just for fun, and I asked the kids to help me wrap them. Cole thought it was so great because they looked like REAL candy. He pulled out a Starburst and asked if he could write on the wrappers to make them look even better. I talked him out of that, but he soon decided he needed to "set up a store and sell these things!" He made a sign, and decided he would sell the caramels for 5 cents. He recruited Saylee as his helper, and she had the idea of taking a stool out to stand on so people could see them better. It was FREEZING, but they had fun. Thanks to kind neighbors, they sold some! Cole was so determined, he went out again today as soon as he got home from school. Funny things... Someone said these should be more than 5 cents, and Cole said, "Nope, just 5 cents, for 5 cents you can have as much as you need." Many people gave him a quarter, so he came in and said, "Mom, some people gave me 25 cents, but as long as it has a 5 in it, it's okay." Today he took a caramel to the neighbor, he came home and said, "If people are at home, the caramels are free!" I love what they come up with!

Could you resist this?

Cute kids, they soon had on stocking caps and gloves!

Saylee had a field trip to the grocery store the other day- it was fun. The best part for the kids, free cookies and ice cream cones! Saylee was so good to hold Madi's hand and let her tag along.

Enjoyin' cookies.

Madi likes to ride stick horses lately- anything she can find. She walks around saying "Yehaw!" Funny girl. Oh, and she wears everyone's shoes, in this picture she has one of Saylee's shoes on.

remember

Cole has a pretty bad cut on his finger. It started bleeding again today, and we put a bandaid on it. He came to me awhile later and said, "Mom, will this be gone when I get resurrected?"

Saylee REALLY likes her cousin Ryan. He is 10. Many times when we are going to see him somewhere, she says things like, "mom, do you think Ryan will like my hair?" or "mom, Ryan will love these earrings." One night we came home from my parents and Saylee was sad because she said Ryan didn't play with her much. I told he still liked her, but he is 10 and likes to play with his cousins his age. She thought about that for a minute and said, "mom, will you tell me all about 10 year olds, and what they do and like." I thinks she thought she could be 10 if she just knew how.

I was doing Madi's hair and Saylee started asking about different peoples hair. "Why are some peoples hair darkish, brownish? And why are some peoples hair brown?" I told her everyone just has different hair. She replied, "Me and Hannah Montana are the only people we know with blond hair, huh mom!" (I didn't even know she knew the word blond- silly girl)

Thank you Saylee...

We were driving somewhere, and Saylee said from the back seat, "Mom, Aunt Nancy has very beautiful hair. It's all curled up on top and very beautiful. Your hair is all on top too, but it's crazy. Maybe you should ask Aunt Nance how she does her hair sometime."