A Very Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas we sure did.

Who needs toys when you have packing peanuts.

My favorite part of Christmas is my dad's dinner and homemade gifts with my family.

My dad's dinner includes Prime Rib, Lime Shrimp and King Crab Legs. His Creme Brulee and Chocolate Mousse are worth mentioning as well.

Everyone had amazing presents this year. Tami made these blankets for all the guys.

My dug up this log while building an island at Shuster Creek. He kept it and made this plaque for Jared. It was an emotional moment. We can't wait to put it up there.

I'll probably post more pictures of all the gifts at Second Street sometime this week.

Christmas Eve

We started our Christmas Eve with lunch and bowling with the Kidd Family. Jared and I won a prize for being the couple with the lowest score for the second year in a row. All three of our kids scored higher scores than us. Grayson got a few strikes at the end without bumpers.

Later that night we enjoyed a nice dinner, reenacted the nativity and opened PJ's

Lydia took her roll as Mary very seriously. She kept telling my little brother Toby that he needed to put his hand on her shoulder.

Grayson wanted to be a wiseman.

Kate was suppose to be an angle but acted like a wiseman with Grayson. She really enjoyed playing with the gold.

All ready for a long winters nap.

We really missed the Kameraths. It just wasn't the same without them.

More Santa

Making gingerbread homes.

Just a little thanks to my Santa, for putting up with my crazy ideas and helping me pull things off. I love you.

Terrible two's

I never really understood why two year old's were given a bad rap. Grayson and Lydia rarely got into anything. Then came Kate. This girl gets into enough trouble to make up for the other two. Just this morning she dumped out several cups worth of baby powder all over the bathroom. Last week she played with chocolate ice cream bars till they melted. Thankfully she only got one open and it was on a tiled floor. Most of her messes happen while she is suppose to be in bed asleep. These pictures were taken by my sister who was babysitting last week. Kate really likes butter. I'm always finding little finger marks in the butter. This night she decided to eat the whole cube, well at least till she was found.

We love you Kate monster and all.

Skating with Santa

My mom's work has this great party every year where they kids get to go ice skating and visit with Santa. It's one of our favorite traditions. Lydia was lucky enough to actually do some skating with Santa.

I wondered how Kate would react to Santa. Last year she was a little scared, but this year she got really excited the minute she saw him. Once up on his lap she became very shy and wouldn't make eye contact. She liked being there on his lap despite being shy. She snuggled right in and didn't want to get down.

Turns out Lydia is an excellent ice skater. She skated the whole night on her own and was skating circles by the end of the night.

Turns out Grayson need some practice, he spent the night hugging the rails.

Or on the ground.

Kate loved ice skating...but only liked being held. She cried if she was taken off the ice or put down to skate on her own.

It was quite the work out carrying her around. Luckily my sister and brother helped out.

The Nutcracker

Tami felt bad that she didn't get to go with us last year to see the Nutcracker, so we went again this year. Carol and Lydia both really liked it and only got restless at the end. I couldn't believe how much i enjoyed seeing it again, two years in a row. I think we'll take a break next year then try it the next with Kate.

Jungle Ball

Grayson started playing basketball this month. His first game was probably the funniest thing I've ever seen. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Our first soccer game was pretty funny, and I didn't think it could be topped, but it was. My favorite part was the refs constantly yelling at the kids to dribble.

Grayson has a lot to learn. He does okay but doesn't have a lot of confidence.

It will be fun to see how much improvement there is over the season.

Oh Christmas Tree!

We were lucky again and were able to get a tree at Schuster Creek. I don't know what I'll do when we have a year with too much snow. It was a beautiful day and we found the perfect tree.

Grayson and Porter LOVED riding in the back of the truck around Schuster.

And here she is all dressed up.

Christmas Dresses

I helped my mom make the girls Christmas dresses this year. She did all the hard stuff. They are really pretty. Tami and I had the great idea of getting pictures before church on Sunday. My mom really wanted one of all the girls in their dresses. We got a few good shots but the shoot was a mess.

Kate kept jumping off the bench and running away

This was the only decent picture with four of the girls. Clarissa was done by this point.

I tried to get one with Grayson so that we would have something for our Christmas Cards. Kate wouldn't let that happen. I guess I'll have to come up with something else.