Underwear Wars

Luke and Myles made up a game called, "Underwear Wars" where they slingshot each other with Myles' *clean* underwear. I'm not entirely sure how this all developed, but it is pretty silly and entertaining.

12 Days of Christmas

I remember growing up doing the 12 days of Christmas to other families in our ward/neighborhood. I remember the feelings as a kid delivering the present for the day and the excitement of "what if we get caught" or "do you think they'll like it"? I'm grateful for parents that helped me to look outward at a time when so much emphasis can be placed on oneself. Bryan and I started this tradition with our own family a few years ago. This year we decided on a family that was new to our neighborhood. We thought we were pretty sly, but the last night they caught us! We didn't realize we were caught until a package appeared on our front doorstep all by itself a day or two later with a note. The kids were initially disappointed that our cover was blown, but when we talked about the note and what their family felt over the past 12 days then our kids' attitudes dramatically changed. I know that our family felt more love, joy and meaning of the Christmas season as we served this family in a simple way. We love this tradition.

Preschool Christmas Program

Myles sang his little heart out at his preschool's Christmas program. Luke and Emma were Myles' biggest supporters. This preschool has been wonderful for Myles this year.

haha-the realization set in that there was still one more song. :)

Voices of angels. :)

Zoo Date

Myles and I had a zoo date on a warm, sunny day in December with just the two of us. It was fabulous. I loved my time with my little man.

Graham Cracker Houses

We continued our annual tradition of graham cracker houses and we were lucky to have Uncle Rick join us this time as he was in town for business. He is the fun uncle and our kids love him. We were glad he made the effort to come over. I love this tradition. It reminds me so much of my mom and the fun memories surrounding this tradition when I was growing up.

Basketball

Luke tried out basketball in the late Fall. He had a great coach and fun team members. Luke was fast on the court and became more confident shooting the ball.

Reindeer Games & Ward Party

I took Myles and Emma to a free event, Reindeer Games, put on by the city at the MAC. When the sun went down it was FREEZING! The kids really enjoyed all of the games, roasting marshmallows and riding the train. We waited f-o-r-e-v-e-r in line for the train ride, but the kids weren't complaining so I went with it.
After the Reindeer games, we joined Bryan and Luke at our Ward Christmas Party. Bryan ended up helping a lot with this night for our ward. We were both glad when the evening was over. :)

Santa Express

We surprised the kids with tickets on the Santa Express in Canon City, Colorado.  We had so much fun on the Polar Express in Durango last year that we found a closer version to try this year. It required some encouraging of the eldest child once or ten times to "have fun and just enjoy it" as he is getting older and some of the logistics of all of it doesn't add up. As I type it now, it makes me laugh thinking about some of our discussions on the train, but at the time I thought about giving Santa an additional name to his naughty list. :) We stayed the night in Canon City because the kids love the experience of the hotel and I had points we could use. I'm not sure what parent loves cramming the whole family into one bedroom, but in the name of FUN we did it.

Hahahah!! Maybe the sun was slightly in their eyes.

The open air "cabin" (I'm unsure what to call it) was cool.