Life is Beautiful: ~A Week of Fun~

I think the week after Christmas was much busier than Christmas itself! It was a whirlwind of fun, here's the quick version...
Monday was my families Christmas party. The kids started the day enjoying and discovering all their gifts. They had fun playing together. They got Mario Cart for the Wii and loved it! Saylee had been wanting to make sugar cookies, so I convinced her to make them today instead of before Christmas. She and Madi picked out all the cutters. We made everything from stars to pumpkins to candy canes! They had fun. I appreciate my mother more and more every time we make sugar cookies- I should do that more often like she did!
We started our party at the bowling alley. We were supposed to be having a ugly sweater contest, but John and I and my niece and nephew were the only participants- boring fam. According to the neighboring bowlers, John won hands down! The kids had fun bowling, mostly. The boys refused bumpers, and their game got a little long as they got tired! The little girls didn't quite finish theirs- they were done. We did have a good time. John even performed to "Party House Rock", ugly sweater and all- the teens and adults were impressed!
We had soup and sandwiches for dinner and plenty of other food and snacks. The kids enjoyed their gift exchange- I love how cousins love each other! Then they played while the adults enjoyed a white elephant exchange game. We had some interesting gifts! I think Rob won with the deer leg knife that John brought.
Someone asked when we were going to open Cole's birthday gifts, to which he replied, "Start singing" and began the song. He was wild and happy for the attention! We were all spent by the end of the night!
Tuesday we tried to get a few things back to normal or at least organized. Johns parents came for a visit in the afternoon. The kids were excited to show them their Christmas! They brought Cole a treasured birthday gift, Star Wars Episode I- his very favorite! They also were bringing the girls the rest of their Christmas, something they had been working hard on. But due to a little mishap they weren't able to bring it. They brought it the next week so I included the pictures here. They made a HUGE dollhouse for Saylee and Madi. The girls love it and can't wait to paint and decorate it! It has become the house for the Barbies, with a loft for the big dolls to sleep in, it's perfect.
We had dinner with them at "Chuck a Grandmas" then they headed home. Another fun day!
Wednesday I can't even remember. I'm sure we played a lot, and maybe caught up a bit. Wednesday night was Cole's first official Pack meeting. He earned his Bobcat! They let him start going to scouts awhile ago and he loves it! He just got his book and has been so excited reading about all the things he gets to do. He is especially excited for the Pine Wood Derby this month- he has been designing his car and can't wait to get working on it!
Thursday was a beloved, cousin swap, sleep over. The kids love cousin sleep overs, and try to plan them whenever they get a break. We ended up with the boys this time, 5 ages 7-9. They had so much fun, and were so LOUD and a even a little stinky! Marshmellow guns, pillow fights, wrestling, running, drawing, DS, pizza making, darts, popcorn, Kung Fu Panda 2, lots of stories and a little sleep. Morning brought waffles, eggs and hot chocolate, and a BEAUTIFUL day to play outside. They had quite the adventures down by the creek and in the "woods". The girls ended up in the Valley. It was Madi's very 1st sleep over and she loved it! I was told they played a lot of school and had a lot of fun. There were 5 girls ages 3-6.
Friday again was beautiful weather! When all kids were returned, we played outside and enjoyed the sunshine. It felt like spring, mud included! Friday night my family enjoyed a trip to the Temple. It was so great to all (almost all, we missed Rob) be together. We were able to seal my grandpa Story to his parents and my uncle Dan to his parents. We did sealings for an hour. It was awesome. We had dinner at Robintinos. This was my mom's birthday gift she has been wanting for years, hopefully we do it again soon! Our awesome babysitters, Meili and Jenna watched the kids, they had tons of fun as always. They stayed up late again and were soooo tired!
Saturday was New Years Eve. The kids were really tired from a week of fun, and a little (sometimes a lot) ornery! I had (got actually, I have been called off so much!) to work that night. John said the girls and Drew crashed out early and he and Cole watched the ball drop at 10pm and went to bed soon after!
Luckily church is now at 11, so we got a little morning sleep. We are ready to get back to normal and on schedule. But a great week of fun!!!

Monday...