Ward Christmas Party

Friday night was our annual Ward Christmas Party and it was so much fun!! The meal was scrumptious as always!! And we were even able to share it with my dad and my mom and Mark!! I was so happy they all could come, it makes the holidays that much better...to share it with my family!!

The program was good too!! Calum was the cutest elf ever...he was Joe in the song "Hardrock, Cocco and Joe" Emry portrayed Mary in the Nativiry....she fulfilled that role perfectly, a beautiful Mary! But the show stopper had to be Armin dressed as a snowman and singing and dancing to "Once There Was a Snowman"!!

Santa stopped by for a visit and Armin was not the least bit scared! He was more than eager to sit upon his knee!! Calum took some convincing and once he did, he sat there and tapped his little cheek getting the courage to ask Santa for his much coveted Batcave!! After he got his treat bag from Santa he found a seat and instantly tore into it only to be disappointed, "Oh no! There's no Robin!" he is quite the boy!

It was a really fun evening with family and friends!! One I always look forward to!!

Cupcakes

My mom had asked if I would make cupcakes for a Christmas Party Potluck they were going to!  Before she could get through asking me I said "YES!" I love making cupcakes!  I really wanted to try some new ones, Eggnog, Chocolate Peppermint, and Ferrero Roacher!  My mom also requested her favourite, Salted Caramel!  They were so good, all of them!  She really only needed four dozen, so there were still lots left over for us to try and even freeze for Christmas!! 

 All together there were about 136 cupcakes, while I was making the four different batches I was sure the amount would be comparable to the final competition round in Cupcake Wars when they have to make 1000 cupcakes!  I wasn't even a quarter of the way there, I honestly don't know if I could handle making 1000 cupcakes at a time!

Chocolate Peppermint, my favourite!

Eggnog, really yummy!

Ferrero Roacher! I just made brownies and baked them in mini muffin tins and then as soon as they came out of the oven I pressed a Ferrero Roacher chocolate into them and then iced them with a caramel icing!  They were super yummy!

I love Christmas, everything about it! I love baking the yummy treats and getting together with friends and family!  Tonight is Emry's school Christmas Concert, tomorrow we are going carolling with friends in Vulcan, Friday is our Ward Christmas Party and I am excited to have my dad and my mom and Mark there with us!  Saturday is Christmas with my mom and Mark, Monday is Christmas Eve and games and fun with Rachel and Jared, and best of all, my dad is spending the night with us!!  And Tuesday is Christmas, our day with all the Puzey's!  I am so excited, and I think my excitement has rubbed off on Emry because she has been busy everyday after school making gifts for everyone she can think of!

Trimming the Tree!

Monday night we decorated our tree!! The kids had so much fun! Each one got in on the fun, Armin would put a decoration on the tree and then stand back and giggle with pure delight at what he accomplished! Calum loved putting the same color of decoration's on the same branch, and Emry loved using the ladder to put the decorations on the higher branches! I love our children so much!!

Jared and I didn't really agree on where to put our tree! His heart was set on putting it right in the middle of our dinning and living room, so the top of the tree would be centered under the highest point of our house! I voiced my objection to this spot saying that if anyone was sitting in the living room while I was in the kitchen I would not be able to see them or be in on the conversation, I must have been very reasonable with my argument because as Jared was setting up the tree he put it where I had suggested without a single word or even a single complaint!

My choice was to put it on front of the middle window on the east side of our house so the top of the tree would be visible through our dormer window! I had to leave and teach yoga before Jared was able to get the lights on the tree, but as I was driving home I could clearly see the star on top of the tree all lit up through the dormer window and it was beautiful!!!

We also set up a little 4 foot artificial tree in the basement, Jared had it on his mission! We didn't get it decorated that night though because it was bedtime! After the kids were all in bed I mopped our floors and happened to mop myself into the basement, so while the floors dried I decorated the little tree so I could put all the Christmas stuff away! In the morning I showed the kids that the tree was decorated while we were sleeping! I have them convinced that one of Santa's Elves must have done it to help us out! They thought that was so cool!! I love keeping the spirit of Christmas alive, I love seeing the wonder in their eyes and the joy on their adorable little faces!

Yesterday I was able to go to The Nutcracker with Emry and the rest of the Champion School and it was really good! I had never been to a ballet before and I really enjoyed it, Emry too really liked it! I was able to sit with her on the bus and spend some much needed quality girl time with her!

A Hunting We Will Go...

On Saturday we bundled up and piled in the pick up truck to go and pick out the perfect Christmas tree! Well, maybe not the perfect Christmas tree, but the perfect Charlie Brown Christmas tree! It has been five Christmases since we have done this, it was both Calum and Armin's first time and it was a ton of fun! It was really cold when we left home, but oddly enough when we stopped in Claresholm to put fuel in the truck we thought the air felt warmer. And when we got to the hills it was definitely warmer! The skies were crystal clear and a beautiful shade of blue, the snow was fluffy and soft!

We did have to put chains on the truck, always an adventure but such a neat thing for the kids to see!

We only stopped the truck twice to hunt for a tree, and were lucky to find two beautiful trees on our second stop! We found one for Buck and Arren too, and they decorated it and said it is the best tree they have ever had! We will hopefully do ours tonight, Jared was hit hard with the flu at 5 yesterday morning. Poor guy, it really is not fun to see our loved ones sick, it takes so much out of them! It was a great day in the hills, and I am looking forward to many, many, many more years of getting a tree!

Christmas Festivities

Our traditional Christmas festivities officially start this weekend!! Tomorrow morning we are going to get our Christmas tree west of Claresholm...I am sooooooooo excited!!! It has been five Christmases since we have done this!! It has been a tradition with Jared and I since we started dating!! I know the trees aren't that spectacular but I love the adventure in finding our perfect tree!!

Tomorrow evening also starts a new Christmas tradition for us...Emry's Christmas piano recital! And then right after Jared and I have a Crazy Rook Party to go to! It will be a super busy day but one I am looking forward to!

Tuesday I will have the opportunity to go with Emry, and the rest of the Champion School, to a production of The Nutcracker at the U of L! I am excited to spend this time with Emry, something we don't get to do too often!

A busy few weeks leading up to Christmas but I am excited! I love this time year!!!

A House Becoming a Home

We have started to put up some pictures in our house! We went out to the hills earlier this fall to take our family Christmas picture but when we got home the sun was setting so perfectly making everything a golden color! So Jared took some pictures of the kids and then he set the camera on a fence post and we all stood in front of the bales in order of age! It only took one picture to get the perfect print, so we enlarged it and framed it! We also framed a picture of each of the kids and then we enlarged a picture of the temple we had that had the same coloring in it! Jared had also taken this picture of the temple when we were dating and we've had it in our home ever since! He really is a remarkable photographer and can capture the light just perfectly! So Jared hung our pictures on our stairway wall, he did have to risk his life a little to do it but it totally turned out to be worth it!

Two Years Old!

Armin turns two tomorrow but we celebrated his birthday last night so all his grandparents could be there! We had a great time and I know he did too! Armin absolutely loves Cookie Monster, and last year for Christmas Myrna gave him a little Elmo and a little Cookie Monster stuffy, at first he only seemed to cuddle Elmo but now he doesn't go anywhere without Cookie Monster! Personally I think it's because Jared always says "look it's Mommy!" whenever Cookie Monster comes on Sesame Street! So maybe he thinks he's cuddling momma!! Anyway, because he likes Cookie Monster so much I made Cookie Monster cupcakes for him! They turned out really cute and he seemed to really like them!

He was spoiled rotten, even though his birthday is less than a month before Christmas! He was so cute opening his gifts...he would pull out the tissue paper, hold it up and say "Yaaayy!" he was so excited about all of his present, not just the toy inside! From Lily he got his most prized possession...a big Cookie Monster Stuffy! It hasn't left his side since he opened it! He got a toy school bus from Grandpa Glen which he points at and calls Emmy!!

He really is such a sweet boy, quiet in nature, and happy to just do whatever! He loves to sit and cuddle but he also likes to play with his toys! I think he and Calum are going to be best pals but also a ton of trouble!! I am so thankful he is apart of our family, he really is a joy to be around!