Wednesday, December 31, 2008

another christmas come and gone...who's ready for valentine's day?

I noticed the latest Avon book out is all pink and hearts and full of mushy lovey goodness.  Can I just boycott the next holiday please?  Give me a chance to actually breathe and enjoy the new year for a few cotton-pickin' minutes before I gotta decorate for  Cupid and St. Patrick and the Easter Bunny?

I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas!  We visited with grandparents and great-grandparents and made the 9.5 hour trek to visit the in-laws in California.  I have lots of pictures and videos from said events (280 to be exact) and I am nothing if not thorough, so you'll get to hear about all of it.  In time.

But for now, let's start with Christmas Day.  =)

My parents came to visit and as always, my kids ate up their time and attention from Grandma!  She made treats with them, helped them make Christmas Decorations, colored, painted, drew, played, and more until I finally said ENOUGH, she's my mom.  Give me a minute with her!  (She's pretty great that way.)

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Aren't these the cutest little Christmas Tree treats?  Ice cream cone turned upside down, green frosting, and sprinkles of every caliber.

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The kids even left one out for Santa.  (Santa wasn't too impressed, but the kiddos loved making them!)

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Sean got the digital camera he's been wanting.

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Cameron has more legos to lose use all over the house.

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And dittos for Ethan.

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Dan got a fishing reel.

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And me, well. . .

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All I can say is. . .

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Santa must read my blog.  =)

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My kiddos are all Jedi-ed out.

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When I saw this art easel set, I knew immediately it had Cameron's name written all over it.

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I made these for our three sets of parents--painted handprints of the kids, embroidered and quilted and framed.  I made a set for us too.  It's crooked.  But that's ok. 

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It was nice to have a few hours to spend with Danny before he left for work at 9:30.

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It wouldn't have been the same without him.

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And later, when everything was forced messily into closets and toy boxes cleaned up, we went to the kids' Great Grandparents for a quick visit, along with their cousins in town.

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And then we went to the cousins' house for steak dinner and more fun.  Which I really appreciate, by the way--kept my mind off the fact that I was once again husbandless for a holiday.

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All in all, a pretty great day.  The best part, was just being together and enjoying each other's company. 

Although the kitchen tools are pretty fab too.

8 comments:

Heidi E. said...

Lots of great gifts. Glad you had a great day.. Totally love the ice cream cone idea.. Will have to remember that for next year. You always have the best ideas :)

AZ HS Spotlight said...

Yeah, what a great Christmas!! I can't wait to watch all the videos you make using your new kitchen stuff!

leaner said...

Now that you have an MP3 player (0r is that an actual iPod?) are you going to do that one post I did? It was f-u-n.

I love my Kitchenaid mixer, it gets used all the live long day. And I am so happy you got a new crock pot. I hate to say it, but that old one? Guh ross! (Haha, says the girl with a lovely green 1980s crockpot.) You should keep it around, because having two can really come in handy!

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I just wanted to say great blog!!! (I found you via blog explosion) and that we seem to have alot in common, I have 4 kids, a paramedic husband and also love crafty stuff!!!

Looks like you had a great Christmas!

Happy New Year!!

Stacie

Dahlene said...

Matt just bought me that same crockpot. Mine wasn't as old as yours, but we found with a bigger family we needed a bigger pot. We've done 3 roasts and some ribs in it so far. Very fun and easy to use I must say. I hope you'll do some more cooking demos for me to be entertained and to give me some great ideas!

Lorie said...

Oh! You must have been good this year! A new crock pot, a KitchenAid AND an Ipod!

Margee' said...

Wow! All kinds of kitchen goodies! Enjoy using them!

OneHappyfamily said...

You will love your mixer. I got one at a yard sale 3 years ago and I don't know how I lived without it. I wanted one for 10+ years but I was too cheap. If mine broke tomorrow, I would run out and pay full price for another!