Christmas

As usual Christmas is a busy time of the year!!! But despite all the busyness, working, concerts, dances and dinners I was able to get everything ready with time to spare!!!

Our annual Church Christmas Party was yummy as usual and everyone performed their best!  Calum and Armin made handsome shepherds in the Nativity and Emry was a beautiful Mary!!

We didn't get a chance to go out and get our own Christmas tree this year :( the Saturday we wanted to go was the last Saturday for deer hunting season and we really thought getting shot at would put a damper on our holiday season!!  Thankfully Buck and Arren went up to Sundrie to visit some friends and cut a tree from their property and they brought one back for us!  She asked how big we wanted and I said no bigger than 12 feet!!  Well of course when you are in the middle of cutting one it is hard to take a measurement!  The tree happened to be at least 18 feet, if not more!!!  Jared prepared the bottom so it would fit in our stand and then together we carried it inside!  I had the top end and it seemed like I just kept walking until I couldn't go any further, so we tried to stand it up!  There was no way it was going to fit in our house, even with the vaulted ceiling!!  So instead of hacking off more from the bottom Jared chopped the top 6 feet off and did some reshaping!  It actually looked pretty good and even better with all the decorations!  We were a little worried about the smell though!! Buck had put it in his cattle trailer, and even though they laid tarps underneath them it was a warm enough day that the manure smell just permeated the needles of the tree!  Jared was singing, "I'm dreaming of a poopy smelling Christmas" as we were setting it up!!!  Luckily it was above zero for a few days so we just left the windows open to help air the house out and it really seemed to work, the poopy smell dissipated before too long!  The kids all got right in on the decorating and did a great job.

On December 23rd, we celebrated Christmas with my Mom, Mark, Buck and Arren, Gilbert and Lily.  We had a yummy dinner and fun opening presents!  We played a few rounds of cards and ate some more!  I love spending time with my Mom and Mark and my sister.  The kids always seem to have fun together and great memories are created!!!  

For my dad we updated a frame we had given him years ago of all his grandchildren!! Arren had a great idea and we were able to put it together while we were at my mom's.

Christmas Eve we watched a movie, played the game of Life, ate appetizers, and opened our new Christmas jammies!!  During the day I made cheesecakes for dessert on Christmas Day and finished tidying the house, and we had a yummy brunch of pancakes and bacon, and played more games!! My dad was staying with us Christmas Eve and he arrived just as the boys were getting ready for bed!  We read T'was the Night Before Christmas, set out cookies and milk for Santa and sprinkled our magical Reindeer sparkles outside to help guide Santa's sleigh to our house!  The boys actually went to bed really well!  Emry stayed up with us oldies and watched Casino Royale with us!

Armin wrapped himself up and laid under the tree until I came to see him.  He was the cutest present I have ever seen!!!

Armin came into bed with us at his usual 3:30am but quickly fell back asleep.  Calum was in our room at 6:30am but I was able to put a show on for him and by 8:15 the rest of the house was awake!  I put cinnamon buns in the oven and we went to town opening stockings and presents!  The first thing Calum pulled out of his stocking was a Darth Vader action figure and he screamed he was so excited!!!  Every present after had the very same reaction!!  Lego was the majority of the gifts and after all was opened we got busy building!!! Grandpa had given the boys a table hockey game and that was a hit, many competitions have been had already!!!

We had a yummy Christmas dinner, a new tradition for sure, Prime Rib...cooked to perfection!!!  I don't think I could ever cook a turkey so I decided Prime Rib would be an easy alternative!!  It was sooooo yummy.  I was happy to have my dad with us and even happier I could serve him a wholesome Christmas dinner!!

Boxing Day we were back at my Mom's where we were treated to a traditional turkey dinner!! We didn't miss out on the turkey!! We were able to spend time with my other sister, Avi, and her kids!! My Uncle Larry and my Grandma Mary also came out to celebrate!! Mark put on a spectacular fireworks show and we again played games and ate entirely too much!!

Saturday our celebrating continued with The Puzey clan!  We had delicious Chicken Cordon Bleu with potatoes, peas and carrots and my holly jolly jello that we had forgotten to eat with our Prime Rib on Christmas Day!!  After dinner we all headed into Champion where we all gathered around Dad Puzey's grave to see the newly installed headstone and then into the church where we played a few games of bump and a couple games of basketball!  It was so much fun and should become a tradition every time we all get together.  The little kids had fun running around the church in the dark and playing in the nursery!  After our excursion we headed back to the farm for dessert and presents, and of course more food!  The kids were all super excited for their gifts from Grandma...Blake jumped up and down with pure delight when he opened his gift and Armin rubbed his hands together with excitement!!!

New Year's Eve we took the kids into Lethbridge to see Big Hero 6, which was really good!!! And then the kids wanted to do some shopping to spend their money they got from Great Grandma Mary.  We then took the kids to Moxie's to enjoy a nice dinner!! The first thing Armin did when we sat down was unwrap his napkin.  He saw two forks and a knife fall out and said in his loudest talking voice, "Two forks, why two forks?"  Our waiter laughed and I said maybe we should take them out more often, and Jared added that at home we eat with our hands!!  It was a pretty good experience and except for Calum wanting to go to the bathroom just to watch tv, the kids were fairly well behaved!!  Calum just could not get over the fact that there was a television in the bathroom!!

In just a few minutes, at 9:00pm, we are going to tell the kids that it is almost midnight and we will blow our horns and wear out hats and ring in 2015!!!  I love our little family and I am so thankful for the joy they bring to my life!  I love the excitement daily in their eyes and how contagious their laughter is!  I look forward to 2015 and all the new memories we will create!  2014 has been a great year too with many great and wonderful memories made.