Merry Christmas!

Dallin surprised me with this little snowman he made at school for me and Kirt. It was really one of my favorite presents this Christmas. I get all choked up looking at it knowing the effort he put into it even wrapping and hiding it under the tree--so cute!
We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Just our little family here in Arizona. It was great just hanging out in P.J.s not having anywhere to go. We opened stockings first and then took a break for breakfast and to put Brigham down for a nap. Then the kids went to town on the other gifts. It is so fun to watch them and see what really captures their attention. Taft got a bit carried away and opened a gift of Elaine's (it was a princess set) and says, "Oh wow!"

This was taken Christmas eve as the kids were getting anxious for Santa to come later!

Brigham was quite mellow, I think in awe of all the excitement. The kids loved helping him open his gifts.

Taft was so excited to get his very own scooter to ride on just like his older siblings! Mom and Dad almost forgot about it until an hour before bedtime--oops!

Dallin and Elaine opening their 'big' gifts from Mom and Dad. A transformer for Dallin and a Fur Real tiger that hiccups and burps and purrs for Elaine.

A shot of Christmas morning in action.

Daddy just playing with another of Tafts favorites; a train!

Taft showing Mommy how his new excavator works.

Gingerbread House Fun

(Life has been so busy latelywith Holiday preparations and activites. This is the first chance I've had to blog in weeks. Enjoy!)
Grandpa Dye sent the kids this fun gingerbread house kit. It actually took them a couple of days to complete, but here is the yummy oh so sugary finished product. Dallin added a note to ask Santa to please not eat it--he is so silly at times. An interesting side note, we put cotton candy for snow all around the bottom and over the last couple of days it has deflated and is turning back to solid sugar. Craft project and science experiment all in one!

The kids in action. Taft true to character was eating the candy quicker than Dallin and Elaine could decorate with it. You can see his little hand reaching into a bag of goodies here, such a little monkey :)

Ho Ho Ho!

Dallin quote: "Mom, he's not the real Santa. It's just a guy in a costume who ate too much McDonald's food.

We went to Tempe Town Lake to see the boat parade saturday night and found this jolly old Santa there, too. It makes such a fun picture to have at least one little one crying with Santa. I was at the mall the other day (I'm never going back--too crazy, noisy, chaotic) and people line up forever and have their kids all dressed up and pay $25 for a Santa pictures. What?! Don't get me wrong, I love Santa and all the fun, but I don't go out of my way to get a shot of the big red guy, let alone pay for it :) Anyways, this one was free, convenient and maybe the kids look a bit windswept, but it makes for a fun memory. We'll invest in a nice family picture after the holidays :)