Good times....

One of the best parts about Christmas vacation is that we get to hang out with family that we don't get to see very often.
Melanie and Shelby at the bead table. Yes, we took over my mother's dining room and made bracelets, necklaces, and watches galore for two days. It was crazy!

Who needs a whole bunch of new Christmas presents when you can go for a ride in a laundry basket? :0) Mackenzee and Paige were being super silly together.

Talon got this new wicked awesome electric drum set that Riley was super excited about. The kids had a lot of fun trying out the different sounds and making up songs. Mackenzee was the dancing entertainment....

Christmas 2009

Santa came!!!!

Melanie, Paige, and Savanna

Landon and Talon

Christmas Jammies 2009

Annual Christmas Candy Making Day!

This year I told myself I was going to take it easy and only do a few simple things for my Christmas candy.....{yeah right!}

peppermint bark and marshmallow chocolate fudge....

peanut butter cups and the ever so famous peanut butter ritz cracker sandwiches covered in milk chocolate...

lots of chocolate covered pretzels too....and not pictured are the Moose Munch popcorn mix, hot chocolate stirring spoons, and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. {Can you hear my thighs getting bigger?}

I have done this annual Christmas Candy making day for almost 10 years. I think I started doing it the year that Landon turned 1 year old. I haven't missed a year since. There was one year where I had to do it solo, but the rest of the years I was able to do it with family or friends. I have never had the same group two years in a row though. I love the new recipe ideas that people bring with them each year and it is so much fun to spend the day with such fun people. I wish I had taken more pictures this year, but I'm pretty sure my hands were coated in chocolate for about 7 hours straight. I did get this cute picture just before the chocolating began.....

This is Mackenzee and Hannah after they frosted a few cookies. We were waiting for the rest of the group to get to my house and the girls were dying to "help" in the kitchen. Don't you just love how they decided that the frosting was just better straight out of the jar? I caught them double dipping their knives in the frosting container. Can you say sugar high?

Thanks so much Ellen and Montay for your ideas and for your willingness to get crazy in the kitchen with me. I hope the mounds of chocolate you took home made it worth it! :0) See you next year!

Landon's Christmas Play

Landon was able to participate in the ward Christmas play this year. His character was named Jesse, and he was the best friend of a kid named Nathan.

Nathan and Jesse were shepherds back in the time of Jesus' birth. {Insert a big thanks to Nana and Papa for help with the costume!}

Landon's friend Reese played the part of Nathan. Landon woke Reese up from sleeping and dragged him out of bed to help tend the flocks of sheep. Of course, the angels told them to go and see baby Jesus, which they did.

The gym was set up so beautifully and the characters did such a good job. Landon remembered all of his lines and said them prefectly. I know he was inwardly dying because of his fear of getting up in front of people, but he did wonderfully.

Bad shot here....but here is the entire cast taking their final bow for the evening. It was a really nice program, especially with the music added to the various portions of the play. And, honestly, it was a really nice way to start out the month.

Christmas Cheer

Did you all have a fabulous Christmas? I hope so. Ours was busy and full of good family memories. Here's a quick recap....
We spent Christmas Eve in Jerome this year with the Burnham's.
Mackenzee wasn't feeling too chipper, and though she was heavily drugged with Tylenol :0) she was still able to sing her "La La" song for everyone. I'm mad I didn't think to record it because she did such a good job. The song she sang is actually called "When Christmas Comes to Town" from the Polar Express movie, and the reason she calls it the La La song is because that's what you sing at the beginning of the song. All December long she has been having me play it OVER AND OVER again in the car and eventually she was singing along. She was sure that she needed to sing it for everyone. :0)
And why the angel costume you ask? Aunt Jodie called and asked if Mackenzee would be the angel in the nativity story and it just so happened that we had the halo and wings in our dress up bin. Humorously, Mackenzee was sure that meant she was supposed to wear it ALL night.
After eating and playing games, the grandkids all opened up their Christmas jammies from Grandma Burnham. Such a handsome group, don't you think?
Christmas morning came...which means that Santa came. Unfortunately, Mackenzee was feeling even worse and I'm not sure she even remembers Christmas Day. She was almost zombie-like and could barely open her presents. We did get a smile out of her when she opened up her Abby Cadabby blanket from Nana. :0)
Christmas Day is also my neice, Breanna's birthday. She is a crazy teenager now, which is hard to believe.
The day after Christmas Landon finally came home to us. It's just not Christmas without him. His first stop was Nana and Papa's house where he made sure to pour some loving on his Papa. Of course, additional hugs were given to Nana, especially after he opened up his new Wii game. :0)
Amazingly, my brother-in-law, Stephen's birthday is Christmas Day as well, though we celebrated it the day after Christmas.
On Saturday we got to spend some more time with the Burnhams eating Thai food {yum!} and going to watch the movie "Bedtime Stories", which was super cute. It was just us {my nephew Talon included}, the Buxton's and Gage that saw the flick and we headed back to Grandma Burnham's house afterwards. Rachel and Aubrey showered Mackenzee with attention and did a little makeover on her. She totally ate it up and was able to fully enjoy it as her fever had gone away.
Sunday we had to say goodbye to everyone as my sister and her family were leaving that night and the Buxton's were leaving early the next morning. BUT! Stay tuned for some wicked awesome Burnham family photos. We did a quick photo shoot on Sunday in Jerome. I'll share more soon!

Snow?

So, it snowed on Saturday. And...it snowed some more yesterday. As most of you know...I am not a huge fan of the white, wet stuff. It's cold, it's hard to drive in, and it makes it really hard to walk when you are wearing sassy heels.

Since I do not enjoy the weather, I tend to stick to the indoors. Jaysen...he feels the same way as I do. But, he's way nicer than me about it. :0) Let me explain.

Mackenzee has been dying to play in the snow since Saturday. Well, Saturday was landon's birthday party and then by Sunday the snow had turned icy and hard, which makes it no fun to play in. With the new soft snow covering the ground, there was no denying her the opportunity to jump right in. {Unless you are me of course}. Jaysen came home early today so that he could shovel the sidewalk and driveway before it got dark. He told Mackenzee that she could go out front and play in the snow while he worked. She was elated! Thankfully, Landon's old snow pants fit her this year, so I bundled her up and sent her out with her dad.

I stayed inside nice and warm. :0) Hey! dinner DID need to be cooked! It definitely wasn't going to cook itself! :0)

Landon...he stuck with me. He's not a huge fan of the snow either. Smart boy.

Well, not long after I sent Mackenzee out Jaysen popped his head in the door and told me that I needed to go outside and take some pictures of Mackenzee. Why you ask? Jaysen built a little snow "hill" in the front yard for Mackenzee to ride the sled down. What? I thought he hated snow? And...after Landon saw what was going on, he couldn't resist going out to play too. As for me? I took some pictures and happily went back inside to finish cooking dinner where it was nice and warm.

Of course, the second it was dark outside Jaysen closed up shop and made everyone come in. Apparently you can catch pneumonia after dark. :0) Or something like that anyway...

Jaysen said so.

After the kids warmed up with hot chocolate and some homemade soup, we broke out the gingerbread house kit. Normally we decorate these with the Burnham cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Burnham's house. This year the gingerbread house was just dropped off to us as there wasn't going to be a time when we could all get together to do it. :0( We still had fun though. I thought they did a great job on it, and added a little touch to it myself. Can you tell what my addition was?

We are getting closer and closer to the big day! So much is going on it makes it so much fun for the kids. I've posted a few more things today, so don't forget to keep scrolling down to see what Landon has been up to! :0)

Christmas Play Part 2

That's right...this is part two. So, keep reading on for Part 1. Although...part 2 is actually really about Landon's Christmas play and not just those of us who got to watch the play. :0)

Last night was Landon's Christmas play. He, along with the rest of the 3rd graders at his school, have been working on this for months. He ended up with a fun part, too. His name was "Bix"...of the rock n roll drumming duo "Bix and Stix". Doesn't he look tough? This was one of the poses he had to do during the performance. :0)He told me that I had to do his hair like this because it was part of his costume. He was very particular too. It HAD to be combed forward into a "V". Apparently all of the band members were supposed to do their hair like that. Interestingly, he was the only one with "rocker" hair. When I asked him about it afterwards he tried to cover up by saying that the other boys were supposed to do other styles with their hair and he was the only one who was supposed to have a "V". Hmmm....convenient.....don't you think? :0) I thought it was hilarious that he was sure he looked just like a rock star. {In his church pants even!}

The name of the play was Elfis and the Sleigh Riders. Obviously...this meant it was a musical. Landon was part of the band that accompanied the Elfis's who sang for Santa Claus. He had a "drum" that he wore around his neck as he sat up front to "play" the drums for the songs the kids sang.

Can I just tell you how impressed I am with my kid? For those of you who have known Landon for a while, you know that he has been a fairly shy child. He still has trouble saying his line in the Primary Programs held each year. He gets embarrased and nervous....sick to his stomach. Like with his piano recitals....he usually just wants to run away. But, Landon surprised me last night. He did start out kind of reserved, but was able to keep with his part nonetheless. Then, as the play progressed....and he started having more fun with it....he really got into it. He was tapping his toes, and bobbing his head to the music. His drumsticks were being used a bit more emphatically. He said his parts loudly and with a smile. I just couldn't believe it. My mom came to see him perform and we were in shock. We had so much fun watching him, too.

His friend, Cole, was one of the narrators and had some seriously long lines! I couldn't believe it! All memorized and no mistakes! Way to go Cole!

Landon has had so much fun having Cole at his school. They get into such mischief! But they both did such a good job at their performance. :0)

Landon even told me that he wants to be in more plays. Who'd have thunk it?

December craziness continued...

This month is almost half over! Holy cow! Is anyone else tired?

I feel as though I've been going a hundred miles a minute for the last several weeks. We had the Arnold family Christmas party at my Grandma Casperson's house last weekend. This event always includes a rousing game of gift bingo. Me and Mackenzee went home with our arms full of fun treasures {a Dora letter book, Hello Kitty light up stamp, Dora necklace, oven mitts, iTunes gift card, coasters, and colored pencils to name a few}. Jaysen....he won a tube of chapstick. :0) Oh! And because my grandma felt sorry for him she gave him the gift certificate to Cold Stone that she had won.

I had my annual Christmas goodie making day this last week and have so much sugary sweet goodness in my kitchen right now it's scary. This year I ended up with fudge, sweet Chex Mix, White Chocolate Popcorn, Orange Creamsicle Fudge, chocolate truffles, peanut butter cups, peppermint patties, oreo cookie bark, peppermint bark, and crispy peanut butter balls. I broke my no sweets rule that day, too. :0) I HAD to sample everything to make sure it tasted good!

I also helped the kids make gingerbread cookies. In the past, they have both wanted to help roll out the dough but couldn't because my rolling pin is so heavy. So, I was so excited when I found a junior wooden rolling pin and a mini plastic rolling pin set in the dollar section of Target this year. Both my kids each rolled out their own dough and made all sorts of Christmasy shapes with cookie cutters. Sure...I couldn't tell you what each cookie came from which cookie cutter...but they had fun. And, they had even more fun frosting and decorating them. Me? I got to have "fun" cleaning up the mess left behind. Can I tell you how glad I am that we don't have carpet in the dining room anymore? :0)

Mackenzee watched the Polar Express for the first time this year and is infatuated with it. The day after she first watched it she NEEDED to go and see Santa Claus. Landon was with Jeff and so it was just her we took this year. :0( She was so funny about it though. She could hardly contain her excitement and picked out a special outfit to wear for the occassion. She told me that she was going to give Santa a hug and tell him that she loved him. And, actually, she was sure she needed to take Santa a present. It was cute. She told Santa that she wanted Dora for Christmas. I'm not sure if that means she literally wants Dora to come to our house, or if she will just settle for a Dora toy. I'm hoping for the latter. :0) After we left she became really upset because she didn't get to see Santa's reindeer or go on a train ride like the little boy from the movie did. Silly girl.

Last night was girls night and we did a gift exchange similar to the kind we did at my grandma's house. Everyone went home with something fun and we got to eat lots of yummy treats {again!} Insanely, at 9:15 the girls remaining decided they wanted to go to the movies. I had to finish up a homework assignment and so I told them to have fun. Apparently this was unacceptable to them. After we found out we had 20 minutes to get to the theatre, I was told that they would help me finish up my homework so that I could go too. So, we all crammed into my computer room down here to get it all done in time. Let's just say that this was the first "educational" girls night I think we've ever had and those girls are WAY more informed about proper nutrition throughout the different stages of life than they were before. We made it to the theatre about 10 minutes after the movie had started. CRAZY! Thanks so much ladies for your help though! That was the quickest I have ever finished up a power point presentation. I'll let you know our grade! :0)

Tomorrow is Landon's birthday party, so we will continue to be busy as the week ends. I am going to be attempting a Ben 10 birthday cake today...so wish me luck. Next week: Landon's Christmas play, my Grandpa's birthday, family Christmas, and class party.

Ready......

BREAK!

Time to play catch up

Has it been crazy for everyone else? Holy cow!

I figured I needed to hurry and catch everyone up on what has been going on this last week.

We started out on Tuesday night with Landon's piano recital. My mom decided to forego the Christmas recital this year and hold it in November instead. The theme was American folk songs relating to patriotism as this year was an election year. So, songs like 'God Bless America' and 'Yankee Doodle' were played. Landon played Yankee Doodle Boy, County Fair, and then You Are My Sunshine with me as a duet. He worked so hard on all of his songs and did such a good job! You Are My Sunshine is one of the lullaby's I sang to both my kids when they were babies. Mackenzee still requests it. So, it was really nice to be able to play that one with Landon this year. County Fair was played by four kids at once, on three pianos. They each have their own part and so the song ends up having the main melody with three different harmonies playing along with it. They did SO good with their counting and were able to stay together through most of the song. Landon enjoyed having his cousin Taryn to play next to as well. At the end of the recital my mom played a medley of different patriotic songs. It was amazing. I haven't heard my mom play like that in years and I know it's hard for her to do. She did beautifully and everyone around me was in awe. {I'm not kidding mom!} It was good to have her students hear it too because not all of them knew she could play like that. :0)

Wednesday night my siblings showed up for the Thanksgiving weekend. My kids were DYING from impatience. We just love having family come and visit and end up practically living over at my mom's house when they are here. We don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like and I know the kids miss their cousins immensely. They don't get to chat on the phone or swap emails with each other like us adults do. :0)

My whole family {minus a few kids who were with their mom this year} was able to be here for the holiday this year. So, Landon got to hang with the boys and Kenzee got to run around with the little girls. She was so excited when her "nana nana" got here. That is her nickname for her cousin, Savanna, whom she adores. I'm pretty sure she would shrivel and die without her. :0)

Of course, Thursday was Thanksgiving and we went to my Grandma Casperson's house for the day. She roasted an amazing turkey. There was so much food there, it was insane! Everyone filled their tummies, and then filled their tummies some more. Of course, my neices and nephews filled their tummies mostly with my mom's layered jello salad. They can never get enough of that one. :0)

Thanksgiving night is the official lighting ceremony for my Grandpa Casperson's outdoor Christmas display. He has been working for months on it and the kids were SO excited for him to turn them on. Mackenzee couldn't wait, so I took her and her cousin, Alina, out for a walk to check out the displays before it got dark.

When the clock finally struck 5:00 pm it was time! Everyone went out to see the lights on and to see what additions my Grandpa had made this year. He has something new every year and has added so many lights over the years that he actually decorates the entire street. It is awesome. The kids were amazed at the display and oohed and aahed at all the lights. The boys decided to play "statues" afterwards, which involved them posing behind the displays on the front lawn when the cars drove past. Even Shelby got in on the fun and had the boys walk up and down the street singing Christmas carols.

On Friday night my sisters and I went to go and see the movie, Twilight. I won't go into detail, but let's just say that I enjoyed the company, but the movie was kind of lame. It definitely did not do the book any justice. Afterwards, Jaysen, my brother, brother-in-law and my sisters brother-in-law {did that make sense?} went to go and watch a movie of their own. Apparently they didn't want to be left out. :0) This only meant that the kids felt they were being left out of the movie loop. So they were promised a movie night the next day at my mom's house too.

Saturday afternoon, though, we had a birthday party for my neice, Greta, and my nephew, Riley. Greta turned five this last week and Riley turns four on Wednesday. I can't believe they are getting so big. It's crazy!

When we were done, my sister Crystal had to get home. After saying our goodbyes and giving hugs, the rest of us girls went to get the boys their movie and a promise of movie candy was made. Each kid was promised they would get their own movie-sized candy. Holy cow...there was a lot of candy being passed around. The girls piled all of their onto a blanket like they were having their own little candy picnic. Of course, due to the rush from the sugar intake my little Mackenzee and her cousin Alina went psycho! They were running around screaming and giggling. It was crazy! But, they had so much fun together.

Saturday night was our night to say goodbye as everyone was heading home the next day. Though it was a whirlwind of a weekend, we enjoyed seeing everyone. With the Christmas holidays now in full swing, I don't foresee things slowing down any time soon. It's time to break out the Christmas music and to wear our pretty Christmas dresses. :0) Landon is already playing Christmas carols on the piano and we are putting up the tree tonight. Tis the season!