Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas, with a full house! We had Matt's parents and brother with us for the week of Christmas, it was alot of fun! It came and went so fast that I realize now I did not get as many pictures as I would have liked of the kids and all the things we did together. I think I was just to busy doing a million other things. Christmas eve was a fun night, we had lots of yummy food, then it was time to play games. We played "Do you jingle", I changed the name, my family will remember it as "Do you teakettle". It was hilarious! Then we played LCR (left, center, right). Everyone really got into it.This game really changes with every roll of the dice! It was nearing the end and it looked as though Sadi was going to win the pot and then...

David won the pot of chocolate! He was kind enough to share it with all of us.

We read stories and before we knew it, it was time to hang the stockings. Sadi was so excited to get her stocking but didn't want to hang it, she wanted to wear hers to bed and was mad when I told her she needed to leave it out for Santa.

Santa usually stops by but like I said we were so busy he forgot! We also usually always decorate cookies for Santa but lost track of time and it was getting late so Chase left him some homemade chocolate chip cookies.

All to soon it was morning and all the kids climbed into our bed waiting to go see if Santa had come. Grandpa Denning was the first up and couldn't wait to start the day!

Sadi got the loving family dollhouse with all kind of dolls and furniture, she was in heaven!

She quickly removed every piece of furniture from the house (what was Santa thinking!). She loved the babies that came with it.

Chase got the big imaginext dragon castle with all kinds of new guys and weapons. I think now he has every one.

He was so excited about every single thing Santa brought even the orange in the bottom of his stocking!

Kelsey got all kinds of new clothes,

And a stereo/CD/DVD/i-pod system with new music and DVDs. She kept us jamming all day long. Her most favorite thing she got was a New Moon blanket (yes, somehow I didn't get a picture of that).

Soon it was time to tackle all the gift that were wrapped under the tree. This year the kids wasted no time tearing into their gifts.

It was fun to be able to watch Grandma and Grandpa open their gifts as well. All the kids had sent in photos that we had made into a blanket for them.

The kids played all day, it was so fun to watch. Matt left later in the day for work and I made a huge dinner for everyone. Ham, potatoes, rolls, etc. it was yummy! Al the kids got new jammies for Christmas but Sadi is the only one I could get to stop long enough to snap a photo of that night before bedtime.

It was a great Christmas! We are looking forward to 2010!!

Fourteen!

Kyle turned 14 yesterday! We got to have him over later in the evening for dinner and cake. We made up a huge batch of tacos....that boy can eat!! We played games and had a little cake (I don't know how many cakes he had for his birthday but I think he was about sick of cake by the time he got to our house. Here is the birthday boy trying to think of something to wish for... Today he is off with Matt on a shopping trip and out to lunch! Happy Birthday Kyle!

It takes a village..

Once you have more than a couple kids, you can't just get away with one gingerbread house, you end up with a village! Last night we all got to decorate our own gingerbread house, the kids had a blast. Sadi was in full concentration... The finished product was very..hmm top heavy?

I also had gingerbread men so they could eat some of what they made (because really those houses inedible).

Chase loved decorating his house, he definitely has his own sense of style. Who else is dying to have a square house?

Kelsey's took the longest, checking out every detail, and of course adding a little "Twilight" theme to hers with the gingerbread "vampire".

Here is our complete village...

It's beginning to look alot like.....

Yucky...I mean a white Christmas! Well it happened, years with just flurries always saying we were going to get snow and it never happened. The weather men actually got it right we got snow! A whole foot and it is still coming down!! For us this is highly unusual. Schools were closed and 6:50 a.m. Chase is in my bed asking to go play in the snow. Of course none of us have winter clothes (snow bibs or real coats). But before 9 we were all outside playing in the beautiful white wonder. This is Sadi's real look at the white stuff she calls lots of sand and would not call it anything but. I really did not expect any of them to last longer than 15 minutes, who can with non-waterproof mittens? Over an hour later we were still out there.

Sadi was in heaven with her "sand", and of course without watching anyone she knew just what to do.....

Yummm! Chase dove head first in, only got one picture of him, the little booger couldn't stop throwing snowballs at me.

Kyle was content to lie this one out! (of course after getting a few good snowball whacks at Dad)

And Kelsey the true snow lover lasted more than two hours (way beyond all of us). She shoveled our whole driveway for us.

She even outlasted the Eskimo dog!

I have to say it is pretty but I am already ready for it to melt! Get ready Utah we are sending it your way!