KDO Christmas Party

Earlier this month we had the KDO staff Christmas Party.

 We were supposed to bring a treat for the cookie exchange.  I brought these yummy things right here.  They are ritz crackers with peanut butter in the middle and then dipped in almond bark.  They are fantastic and fairly easy to make. 

 We were also supposed to make something from Pinterest and bring it for a Pinspired Dirty Santa so I made this candy cane sugar scrub.

 Trish and Christy had decorated everything so cute. 

 AND made all kinds of yummy brunch foods. 

 These are just a couple of the jars that decorated the table.  Everything was so festive!

 And this is what I got during the Dirty Santa game.  I LOVE it and am still trying to figure out how I managed to keep it.  (: 

These were all of the goodies that I had after the cookie exchange.  Luckily we had small group that night so we were able to share all of the goodness!  It was such a fun time and I am so blessed to work with a group of ladies that I just love! 

No Cavity Club

Last week Lilly and Reid went back to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned!  This was their second time to go to the dentist. 

We usually see our friend Lisa but she stays home now so I was a little nervous about how the kids would do with somebody they didn't know.  They ended up doing great.  The lady that cleaned Reid was so good with him.  She showed him what each tool was and let him touch each one before she started.  You can see him smiling in this picture--it really helped him relax! 

 He chose the cookie dough flavored cleaning stuff.  It was important because he told her 1,000 times and held it until it was time to use it.  Ha! 

 Lilly was so excited to go--she loves the dentist!  The lady that cleaned her teeth told her that she had been doing a great job brushing.  Pretty sure that made her day.  She chose the bubble gum flavored cleaning stuff...also important and also reminded the hygienist 1,000 times.  Haha!  Lilly forgets nothing and so as soon as she got there she was asking if they still had the stickers and the prize bucket. 

 Oh, and the dentist office we go to has big glass windows where you can look outside and Reid kept looking for a squirrel.  We were SO excited when one came up and started eating right outside the window! 

 Both Lilly and Reid are still in the No Cavity Club and they both picked out a bouncy ball as their prize! 

Love these two cavity-free-kiddos.  ( ; 

Snow Days!!

We are snowed in!  (Currently on day 3--we did get out today but the roads were terrible.) It all started Thursday, though.  The news and forecast were so bad that they cancelled school before it all even started.  On Thursday there was freezing rain and sleet off and on during the day so we just hung out inside.

I guess the kids needed a day to relax because they sat still and watched movies all morning long which is not really like them. 

Lilly did get up to put her Tangled dress on before starting a new show at one point.  ( ; 

And Lola was my kitchen helper.  Ha!  It started snowing Thursday night and didn't stop until 1:00ish Friday afternoon. 

The kids woke up pumped and ready to go outside and play Friday morning. 

I think we are going to have to ask Santa for some snow gear. 

The kids ran around and were so excited!  The first thing Reid did was grab a handful of snow and eat it.  Every time he talks about snow he says, "I love snow!  It is so yummy!" 

Oh, and the snow was so powdery that you couldn't really make a snowball but that did not stop him from having a pretty good snowball fight. 

Lilly was trying to catch it,

roll in it,

and make snow angels in it. 

Such a pretty snow bunny! 

Lola ran around like a crazy dog in it.  It was entertaining. 

This was several hours before it stopped snowing. 

We made at least 3 new loads of laundry after all of the snow clothes throughout the day. 

Reid was having a blast in the snow and then just stopped all of the sudden and said, "I'm going inside.  I'm freezing!"  So, of course, we made some hot chocolate! 

Reid drank all of his! 

She looks like such a big girl holding her cup like that! 

After the second round of snow play Lilly came in crying that her foot was frozen.  I was a little worried because it was SO red but I tried to warm it up a little and then get them in a warm bath.  Thankfully, all toes were back to a good normal color after that.  (: 

Lola just laid in bed all day.  I tried to convince the kids THAT was the fun way to spend a snow day but no such luck.  Haha! 

They did get in their "snuggly" PJs and watch a Christmas show, though! 

And had a picnic in the living room while they watched it, too. 

 After naps some of our neighbors sled to our house and we all went back outside for snow play round 3.  Look at Lilly-she is covered in snow! 

 Reid gathering some ammunition. 

 We measured 8 inches of snow in our front yard! 

 After dinner we made snow ice cream. (8-10 cups of snow, 2 cups of milk, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 to 2 tsp of vanilla)

 It got two thumbs up!  It was tasty!  (: 

 Then we played Hi-Ho Cherry-O.  This was our first time to play and the kids LOVED it!  It is really an age-appropriate game for them.

And after all that fun we put the kids to bed and had a little snow day date with a couple of redbox movies.   I am so thankful for fun times like these with the people I love most!  Snow days are one of my favorite things!

Christmas Countdown!!

Well it is that time of year again...my FAVORITE time of year again...Christmas time!  One of our favorite traditions is doing our Christmas countdown and I am so excited to get started!  This is our third year (you can see our first year's list here and our second year's list here) to do the Christmas Countdown and it is probably still my favorite idea from Pinterest. 

Soooo I noticed after last years that I really needed to include in the activities things that we were going to have to do anyway like wrap presents, address Christmas cards, etc.  I also realized I really needed to look at days we already had stuff planned (like small group or Christmas parties) and plan easy, quick things for those days.  And last, but not least, every December weekend is crazy busy (fun, but busy) so I planned for every Monday to be a family movie night this year.  Now, without further adieu, our 2013 Christmas Countdown (not in order):

1. Minivan Express
2. Christmas Train
3. Read the Christmas story in a fort
4. Grinch Storytime, Whoville Feast, and the Grinch movie
5. Wrapping party
6. Watch Frozen
7. Candlelight dinner and Special Bath
8. Watch Rudolph and have Rudolph pancakes for dinner
9. Watch Frosty the Snowman and make Snowman pizza
10. Watch Veggie Tales and make Jesus in a Manger treats
11. Watch Santa Claus and Veggie Tales St. Nicholas (both short) and have Santa waffles
12.  Nativity Night--Read the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible and retell it using our Little People Nativity
13. Night at the Square
14. Neighbor gift. 
15. Christmas Cards (the kids make a Christmas card for a soldier--I send out our Christmas cards)
16. Dance Party and Christmas Action Cards. Kids decorate their trees
17.  Cookie Decorating tea party
18. Christmas light scavenger hunt
19. Christmas craft
20. Random acts of kindness
21. Toys for Tots
22. Decorate Ornaments
23. Shop for sibling at the Dollar Store (one of our favorites)
24. Make Jesus' Birthday Cake
25. Happy Birthday Jesus Party!!!!!

Oh, and one last tip--some things like Toys for Tots or Christmas Cards for soldiers have to be done by a certain date so you have to make sure those are earlier!  Also, both previous years there have been things we didn't get done because things came up or we got sick and that is just fine.  I figure if we only get half of the stuff done we have still made lots of great memories together! 

Thanksgiving Day and Weekend

Wednesday morning Reid got up and I went to check on him and he had taken all of the clothes out of the dryer and put them on the couch and he was finishing up moving all of the clothes from the washer to the dryer.  Then he started the dryer all by himself.  You see, his favorite shirt was in the washer. 

 I went ahead and gave him a bath and then he put his towel on and stood in front of the dryer and watched and waited patiently until his shirt was dry.  Haha!  Later that day we all loaded up and headed to Mike and DeDe's for Thanksgiving! 

 This is his favorite shirt...and also how I found him sleeping when I went to check on him at DeDe's.  Now this is where I fail--I have no pictures of Thanksgiving Day!  :/  Not one.  Not a family picture. Not one of the kids in their cute outfits.  (Well Lilly in a cute outfit and Reid still in his favorite shirt from the day before.)  Not one of the yummy food.  Not one of any of the awesome family member we got the pleasure of seeing.  Not even the ones from out of state.  Eeeeeeek!!!  So let me just tell you that we ate lots of yummy food and loved getting to see each and every family member that was there, too!  Becca, DeDe, and I went Black Friday shopping.  I know lots of people don't enjoy--but I really like Black Friday shopping.  The boys are all going to watch football and the kids are going to play and it is a great opportunity to get out for a little girl-bonding and I knocked out most of my Christmas shopping (while getting it on sale...bonus!) 

 On Saturday we decided to take the kids out for some fun and give the guys the chance to watch football uninterrupted.  We started with lunch at the Purple Cow and both Lilly and Reid were SO excited about the purple milkshakes. 

 Then we went to the Wonder Place.  It is like a big indoor play area with all kinds of different pretend areas like a restaurant, store, vet's office, sand, legos, blocks, water, etc.  The kids LOVE it there.   Reid and Lilly both fixed us all several meals. 

 Some water area fun! 

 Lilly my little animal loving child.  (: 

Breanna was cracking me up saying, "C'mon DeDe" over and over until DeDe finally sat in one of those tiny chairs.  But seriously, who could say no to that face??  Then we watched the movie Frozen.  We all loved it!  After that we met the guys for dinner and Lilly discovered she loves steak.  Then, on Sunday, we had lunch with all of the family and headed home.  I think we all had a great Thanksgiving and weekend and we have SO very much to be thankful for--we are beyond blessed!