Hot Dogs and Nachos

With basketball season starting up and softball season following right on it's heels that means there will be a lot of meals of hot dogs and nachos over the next few months. 

But seriously how cute is this picture of Bryce chowing down this hot dog (literally the only meat he will now eat as he has stopped even eating chicken nuggets from McDonald's)

 Also there will probably be a lot of naps or bedtimes in the stands and stadiums, here is the first of many to come.

WE love watching Chloe compete. Good thing Bryce is such a good kid and so well behaved through the countless hours of games we attend. 

Christmas Treats

We got together with some friends to make Christmas treats. We made Christmas Crack (so good), caramel, and cookies.

 Then we came home and made more cookies. Sugar cookies our one of our Christmas traditions. We have fun making them as a family and I know all my sisters and other family members really look forward to us delivering them a plate full of them.

Gotta Catch Em All

Bryce has been really into Pokemon lately. His new obsession is Pokemon Cards. He loves to look at them, sort them, and take them to school to trade. He just got a brand new pack (these cards aren't cheap if you aren't familiar with them) and had taken it to school to do some trading and it was stolen :( He was heartbroken--he couldn't understand why someone would take his cards. That afternoon he had a dentist appointment and he told the dentist what had happened. The dentist told him to stop by his office the next day. When we went back the dentists son and some friends had gotten together and each given up some of their Pokemon cards and put them in a binder for Bryce to replace the ones that were stolen. He was so happy! It really made his day. We have such a thoughtful dentist and staff. #payitforward #pokemon #bloomingtoncourtyarddental #BryceEE

Also a side-note it might be time for a new Pokemon Handbook this one is looking a little bit worn out. HA!

Doodle Love

We are all loving and enjoying our new puppy. He really is such a good pup, although he's not perfect he loves to chew on things so we have to watch him close. I'm so glad we decided to make him an addition to the gang. 

Gingerbread Castle

One of the things we try to do at Christmas time each year is to try and make a Gingerbread house. This year I found a fun kit that was from Super Mario Brothers. Bryce loved it!

Advent and Light the World

The first of December means that our advent calendar begins. Bryce loves the advent calendar and wakes ups even earlier than normal to run down and check it out. There is usually a little treat inside each day and sometimes an extra surprise like a new Christmas Story or Christmas PJ's sitting next to it. This is one of our favorite family traditions. We used to just do the little chocolate advent calendars you can buy at the grocery store until I purchased this one a few years ago, but advent calendars are something that have always been part of Christmas tradition.

We also sat down as a family and came up with a list of ways we could "Light the World" during the Christmas season. We brainstormed and wrote down several things and then chose one for each week in December.

Here is what we chose to do...

Dec. 1-7 PAY IT FORWARD (we did this at McDonald's one day)

Dec. 8-14 Angel Tree (Bryce chose a name off the Angel Tree at his school and Chloe went and helped do the shopping for the local Angel Tree in town) they both had fun and enjoyed doing this.

Dec. 15-21 Find a Homeless Person and give them something (we gave them a water and some money)

Also Make and Deliver Christmas Cookies and Goodies (another of our Christmas Traditions)

Dec. 22-28 Have Groceries Delivered to Grandmas House-we weren't really sure what she was in need of so we just ended up leaving a Wal-Mart gift card on her front step instead.

We had lots of fun doing these things during the Holidays I think it will become a new part of our yearly Christmas traditions.

#lighttheworld

November Book Recap

I only finished 2 books in November. Etched in Sand was pretty good, however the way the novel was written felt like something was left out or I don't know how to explain it really than it was lacking just a little bit. I did however still give it 4/5 stars.

Scott Westerfeld is was one of my all time favorite authors. He also writes a lot of books that are Dystopian (one of my favorite genres). Imposters did not disappoint and I can't wait for the second one in the series to come out. 5/5 stars 

Hitting the Slopes

We took the opportunity over Thanksgiving Break to make a trip to Brian Head. Chloe and I hit the slopes and the boys just hung out in the lodge. All the runs weren't open yet, but there was still plenty of mountain for us to explore. The weather was nice. We had a great time spending a few hours together. Chloe would go ever weekend if someone would take her--too bad the adult season passes aren't as cheap as the student ones. 

Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving we had our annual "Pie Day". My Grandma and I spent a good share of the day baking our traditional squash pies. We didn't make quite as many as we normally do, but we still made a pretty good number.

 We hosted Thanksgiving at our house. My Mom and Jeff, a few of Jeff's kids and grandkids, and my Grandma came. My sisters and there families were supposed to come as well, but they all ended up sick and so they didn't make it. We had a great day-with lots of yummy food. 

 I found a cute tablecloth for the kids table that they could actually color on.

 I love this quote so much.

 Bryce ate a roll, some crackers, and olives for his meal. LOL

 My friend Amy and I made these fun name tags for the table.

Even though sometimes they drive me crazy I really do love my family, and I'm glad we finally have a place where we can all gather.

After Thanksgiving Dinner, it was time for one of our favorite family traditions. Black Friday Shopping. The older two kids and I hit up several stores Thursday night on into the early morning hours of Friday. One of Chloe's friends also joined us. Then on Friday afternoon we shopped a bit more with my mom, Grandma, and Landon, and also went out for some lunch. 

 After being up most of the night it was time for a little R&R.