Not just for kids.

We made the kids take turns opening their presents so they could watch each other instead of rushing through all their own gifts. It made the moment last a little longer.

Sam really likes his Drawn to Life SpongeBob game for DS. All four kids ended up receiving a DS game, but unfortunately we only have 2 DS consoles, so I'm afraid there will be some arguments tonight!

Here the kids are trying out the creepy crawly maker. I remember having one of these when I was a kid.

Nerf gun wars were a major part of our day, and pretty much everyone in the family was involved at some point.

Noah trying out his Moonshoes. They're like mini trampolines for your feet, and a bit tricky until you get the hang of it!

Of course, Daddy had to give the Mario Bros. Wii game a try.

Chris and Sam working on the Lego home. Legos are so cool!

Sophie, multitasking. ;)

Christmas traditions.

Tonight the kids got bundled up in their new Christmas jammies and we read some stories in the 'Friend' magazine about the importance of being mindful of the true spirit of giving at this time of year. Then we said family prayer and sent the kiddos off to bed. Sophie said the prayer: "Heavenly Father, please bless Jesus that he'll have a good birthday tomorrow! Amen."

Now I've got the homemade Christmas tree shaped cinnamon rolls in the fridge to rise overnight, and Chris and I are just relaxing, watching Twilight for the umpteenth time, waiting for all the kids to fall asleep; two down, two to go! I'm so glad we've been wrapping presents gradually over the past couple of weeks, so the work to do tonight is minimal. I'm so excited for our kids to enjoy a super great day tomorrow. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Kickin' it off!

Today was the kids' last day of school until after the New Year. They will be home for the next 19 days! I guess for those of you with kids on year round school, a two and half week break isn't anything unusual, but I'm just hoping I can keep them busy so they're not fighting. Tonight we decided to jump-start their Christmas vacation by decorating a gingerbread house. It's something we've done almost every year and the kids love it.

This is the place.

Yesterday morning after dropping the kids off at school, I noticed how beautiful the sunrise looked over the mountains. I climbed up a little bit on the hill behind our house to take this picture. I'm so grateful to live in such a pretty place; I just love the way the mountains make us feel like we're enveloped and protected. I also noticed while I was up on the hill that there were fresh mule deer tracks. We haven't been able to see the deer during the daytime yet, and I've been watching for them ever since the snow has been driving them down lower from the mountains. They must be sneaking down at night, but I'm sure sometime soon they'll start spending more time grazing down here closer to the house and I'm really looking forward to it.

Sweet baby grill.

At some point this evening, when she was supposed to be in bed, an elf snuck out of her room to place a Magnadoodle message where we might find it...

(In case you have trouble reading her writing, it says: "I love you mom and dad, litll grill Sophia."

Snow Day.

Well, technically not a snow day, more of a FREAKING FREEZING day! At 6am I was startled awake by the phone ringing: school cancelled due to the extremely cold temps. As soon as I heard the kids waking up at their usual time to get ready for school, I went in to tell them the good news. Sam and Sophie were disappointed, they wanted to go to school. So we found ways to fill the day, including a big breakfast complete with homemade biscuits, green eggs (with zucchini) and bacon. I wasn't too sure how the green eggs would go over, but luckily the kids all wolfed them down and wanted seconds!Then we made homemade play-doh. The kids helped with the stirring and kneading, and we made red and green for Christmas. That kept them occupied for a couple of hours. Sam's best friend called and asked him to play at his house in the afternoon, where he got to go sledding on the big hill in his friend's yard. While he was gone, Chris and I made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate later on when Sam came home. I put some different colors of frosting in little bowls, gave the kids clean paintbrushes, and let them decorate the cookies any way they wanted. Nick had so much fun "painting" the frosting on that by the time he finished with his allotment of cookies, Chris referred to them as "Nightmare Before Christmas-Cookies", because the colors of the frosting all melded together and thickened in a brown and reddish mess! It was so cute to watch him enjoying himself.Noah was able to have his friend over for a couple of hours in the afternoon, which kept him happy. Then, this evening Chris watched Fred Claus with the kids while they ate their dinner. Now they're in bed, I just finished making a couple of dozen cupcakes for an Achievement Days activity tomorrow morning, and I'm getting ready to go school Chris in a game of Trivial Pursuit on the Wii. ;)

Christmas program.

Noah, Sophia and Samuel ready to go to their school Christmas program.

Before the show started, I got this picture of Noah being "cool" with his friends. They needed the sunglasses because Rudolph's nose was too bright. ;)

Here's Noah during his class' square dancing routine. He looks enthused, doesn't he?

Sophie singing "Up on the Housetop".

Sam waiting for his class' turn at the mic.