Fourteen. Pip.

thirteen. ollie.

"Tonight there will be singing... and cookies, too!"

(Here's an unrelated photo of scripture time. Three candles lit for the third Sunday of advent.)

Today I sang in our stake's Christmas cantata. I'm a bit of a choir geek. Our stake choir is quite good, and I love the music we sing. And so it was a nice night. And hey... cookies!

Thirteen. Pip.

"Let's light some candles for dinner!"

Twelve. Pip.

"Let's go see T dance in the Nutcracker!"


Once it started, Thomas was WAY upset that it wasn't the REAL Nutcracker - we've spoiled him by watching the Royal Ballet one on tape. But at least there was 'the battle' of sorts between the mice (jazz dancers) and the soldiers. That made him happy.


Even though it wasn't 'real', it was still fun and Christmas-y!

And the girl did brilliantly in both of her dances.
Bon Bons (jazz):


And the Waltz of the Flowers (ballet):

We're proud of her!

Eleven. Pip.

"Let's read a chapter from this book for our bedtime story!"


We read "Mr. Edwards meets Santa Claus" from Little House on the Prairie.

twelve. ollie.

"You get to go to Grandma and Grandpa's today! I wonder what you'll do there?"

(This is just a generic Christmasy photo I took last year, but I think they are going to see the lights tonight.)

Zach came down with Ollie's note today and said, "Mom... it says something exciting!!" So I'm sure they'll have a blast.

eleven. ollie.

"It's so cold today. Let's spread some warmth!"


Hot loaves of bread on their way to a few friends who needed some caring today.

Ten. Pip.

"Let's decorate the tree when Dad gets home! You can do moon sand while you're waiting."


We braved the 10 degree weather the night before to pick out our tree. That might have been crazy, but ended well.







Somehow this year the kids got tired of decorating the tree after about 20 minutes or so - might have something to do with those Star Wars ornaments I made them last year... they needed to PLAY with them.

But they all played together near the tree, listening to Christmas music, and the 4yo said, "This is the best night ever." (Except say "evvo" to get the full effect).

ten. ollie.

"Let's go to the movies!"


(Aren't we adorable in our 3-D glasses? I'm just sad they aren't cardboard dealies with red and blue lenses.)

So we went to see Disney's A Christmas Carol. I had heard that some of it wasn't great for little kids, and I figured, "Yeah, Marley's ghost and the spooky Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come are always a little scary for kids, but hey... it's an animated Disney film. How bad can it be?"

Bad. Don't take your kids to this one. Really.

Here's a breakdown of the movie, which left Zach with a shaky voice, sweaty palms, and fingers in his ears:

3% Cute, clever bits

6% Random weird things thrown in

16% Fabulous animation and 3-D effects

32% Classic Dickens (aka dark and depressing, but with great morals)

43% Creeeepy (bordering on terrifying for children)


I love A Christmas Carol, but we will stick with the classic versions.

P.S. Zach was incredibly hyper and over-stimulated until we got started on his bedtime routine, but he says he had a fun evening. We saw some puppies and read a little James Herriot to end the night. It's all good.

nine. ollie.

"Let's make gifts for your friends and family!"


Take two. Zach wasn't thrilled to find the same message for the second day running... I won't make that mistake again.

So we tried making beeswax ornaments. I thought, "How hard can it be?" Well, folks... this is our one and only survivor. And it's going on our very own tree. Oh, yes, it is.

We did make some other ornaments last night at cub scouts that can be given as gifts. We used sculpey clay for those... I'm not really the glutton for punishment that I sometimes appear.

Nine. Pip.

"I love these pictures of you guys as babies - let's take some more Christmas pictures!"



So I tacked a piece of fabric to Monkey's wall over his bed, set the camera on the tripod, and handed the kids the remote shutter release.
So. Much. Fun.

Here are just a few of them (I think we took 134 shots) - and I didn't crop/edit any of them!











I think this is my favorite advent idea.

eight. ollie.

"Let's make some gifts for your family and friends!"

Well, folks, there are no pictures today. Was it because we made adorable things that we'd like to keep secret till Christmas? That's a lovely thought.

But no... we just ran all day with no time for elfery, I'm afraid. Perhaps we'll catch up and do this another day, or perhaps not. Either way, tomorrow we'll try again!

Eight. Pip.

"The nature table is still looking very Fall-ish - let's make it look more Christmas-y! Here's a little fox to put on it, too."

seven. ollie.

"Let's play games for family night!"

Seven. Pip.

"Let's go out in the snow!"



They shoveled for a minute - and then left to make snow forts.



Even Pip came out and helped - for a minute.


It was FREEZING. But the kids stayed out for about an hour and a half!

(okay, I color-corrected these photos already - they looked great until I uploaded them - my originals and bloggers are looking very different...)

Six. Pip.

"It's time for the first showing of 'The Grinch'!"





I think Pip is getting even more snuggles than last year! The kids LOVE him so much!

six. ollie.

"Let's learn more about Christ. Christmas is His day, after all!"



Tonight's scripture reading was about Samuel's prophecy of Christ's birth, which we read after lighting two candles on our advent wreath. (Just two more Sundays before Christmas!)

And we got to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. "Silent Night" gets me every time.

five. ollie.

"Let's go downtown, baby!"

Our hometown has some Christmasy things happening today. Zach wasn't really into talking with Santa, but he loved the Christmas sing-along on the horse-and-carriage ride down Main Street.

Five. Pip.

Do you see Pip?


No, really, do you see him? Hee hee!


"Let's dress up and have a DANCE PARTY!"

So we did.


We danced to an awesome Christmas mix my sister made us this year - first to The Ramones and then some other awesome Christmas songs..


Now we're tired.

Four. Pip.

"I know you've been wanting to see this movie - want to make some popcorn?"



(It's the Playmobil Pirate Island movie - which I knew I wouldn't want to pay more than $1 for!)

The kids laughed and bounced the entire time! And they all said, 'Thanks, Pip!'