Before Christmas...

The first half of December wasn't very exciting.  We didn't have a bunch going on...

December 1st

 Mondays are my days to drive to and from preschool for our carpool.  Lots of times I bring the boys over to play and feed them lunch.  Noah loves it.  Recently though he hasn't wanted to go to anyone else's house to play. It's kind of weird considering how much he used to love to go and play.  We can't figure it out.  So, the only time he plays with friends (besides preschool) is if I have them over here.  

 In our pantry (which is the little space under the stairs) is where I store all of our Christmas decorations.  So, when it's time for decorating for Christmas--the kids have a little play area to play in for a couple of days.  They love it!  I wish I had some other place to store decorations so they could play in it all the time!

December 3rd

 Basketball was starting to get underway and her first game was tonight against Liberty High.  I think this is a picture of her JV2 team and the JV team.  

 Maggie (#30) waiting for her turn to play.  

Also that night was our mutual night and we were all combined and we made gingerbread houses.

 December 5th

 Maggie had basketball every week day.  She usually had 3 practices and 2 games.  Sometimes the practices were from 6:30-8:00 in the morning.  Ugh!  This was another game--a home game this time. 

 Lydia also got her Pixie cut today.  She is so funny--she wanted this for such a long time!  I made her wait just to make sure that she really wanted it.  When I picked her up when she was done (I couldn't stay with her because Noah burnt his finger right as I was about to take her to her appointment), anyways, she was SO EXCITED!  I have never seen her so happy in her whole life.  She was dancing and she kept saying she wanted to scream--so I told her to go ahead!  It was so cute!!  She was excited to show it to everyone!  

December 6th

Garrett and I have gone to the Singing Christmas Tree quite a few times and really enjoy it.  This year, even though it's really expensive, we decided to bring the kids and grandma and grandpa McKibben.  We decided to go to the afternoon performance instead of the evening one, because it would've been too late for the little kids.  

 Don't they all look terribly excited?

 They had it in a different place--a lot smaller this year and it wasn't quite the same.  It was still good, though.

 I don't know if you can tell, but Santa is up on stage and Noah was pretty excited about it.  I was trying to get his face in the picture, too.

 During intermission...

 This little boy was pretty bored 15 minutes into it.  It was a long afternoon for him!

 After the show was over, we went out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes.  Then we had Jim and Georgia take the kids home for us and had Maggie babysit so that Garrett and I could go Christmas shopping. 

December 7th

 I think we were on our way to church when these girls took this picture.

December 8th

 Cooper was over to play today--playing trains.   I love that they were wearing the same shirt.  

December 12th

For one of Maggie's classes (child development), everyone in the class has to take home a baby doll for the weekend.  They have to take care of it like a real baby.  Everything they do is recorded.  The baby cries and they have to figure out what to do so that the baby is happy again.  They also have to write down everything they do for the baby.  If they have other things going on that weekend, they tell the teacher and the teacher will turn it off for a couple of hours so they aren't held responsible for that time.  So Maggie had a basketball game on Friday night, so it was turned off for that time and also for church on Sunday.  Maggie was very grateful for those little breaks.  She didn't get much sleep that weekend.  She said the baby cried on and off a lot--every night she had him.  I thought they might take it easy a little bit, but nope.  It was just like having a newborn.  She was up almost every two hours or so feeding the baby or rocking it or changing it's diaper.  She was so glad when Monday came so she could give "Lloyd" back.  

Feeding Lloyd

Bella loved to help out with him.

 This Saturday, we took the kids to the store and had them each pick out a toy to donate to the Firefighter's Toy Drive.  They had Santa at the drop off, and they got to sit in the firetruck.

And they got to see a pretty fake looking Minnie and Mickey.  Ha!

Feeding Lloyd again, while she ate dinner.  I think she looks pretty tired in this picture. 

Noah helping out too.

December 17th

Noah's preschool had their Christmas Program and Activity.  They sang about 5 or 6 songs...Noah actually sang and did some of the actions!  I was pretty surprised!

So cute with his reindeer hat

Then they had donuts and juice and then the families could make a craft together.  This year we made a snowman.

We really love his preschool!

December 21st

After church on Sunday...these girls like to take pictures.

Selfie Sunday...Is that what they call it for Sundays?

I sure love these beautiful girls of mine!

Finishing up November

Wednesday November 19th

 Along with it being Lydia's 12th birthday(Yay!!!!), it was also our Young Women in Excellence Night.  I was in charge of decorations and so we had to come early to help set up.  Therefore, we had to open presents when we got home.  And we had to go out and celebrate on Saturday night. 

 In case it isn't obvious, we had a "Star" theme.  I thought it turned out cute.  

 Our young women singing.  It was Lydia's first YW activity, so at the beginning we had her stand up and we all sang happy birthday to her.  She was pretty embarrassed. :)

Back home opening presents.  Isn't she beautiful?  I can't believe how grown-up she looks!!

 She got some cash to go shopping and buy herself a new outfit.  

 This was her big present that she was asking for.  

 She got a guitar!!  She was so excited.

and some guitar books to help her learn to play. 

Here's her birthday questions for 12 years:
Favorite color:  turquoise
Favorite dessert:  Texas sheet cake
What is your favorite thing for dinner:  chicken honey nut stir fry
Do you collect anything:  bouncy balls
What is your favorite movie:  Star Wars
Favorite book:  Percy Jackson
Favorite song:  'Bleeding Out' by Imagine Dragons.
Who are your best friends:  Elise, Kali and Katelyn
What do you love about yourself:  my sense of humor
Favorite thing about school:  everything
Who is your teacher: Ms. Kolstad
What is your favorite thing to do with your mom:  be on the brunette team
What is your favorite thing to do with your dad:  make jokes
If you had a day alone with mom and dad, what would you do:  go bowling
What is the best thing you have learned this year:  long division and fractions
What makes you most proud: my family
What makes you laugh/smile: comedians, anyone funny
What makes you happy:  anything funny
Where you you love to go on vacation:  Alaska
What are some of your wishes for this year:  Pixie cut and cute clothes
What do you want to be when you grow up:  a mom
What is your favorite scripture:  Mosiah 2:17
What do you like about being in Young women's:  the excitement
Who is your favorite apostle:  Thomas S. Monson
Friday November 21st

Lydia's Friend Party

The last "friend birthday party" I plan for my kids is their 10th birthday.  Then for their 11th, they have a family party.  They can have a friend party for their 12th, but they have to plan it.  So Lydia wanted to have her friends over for dinner--pizza, she wanted to play games, decorate cup cakes, have fondue and have a sleep over.  I don't normally like having sleep overs or let my kids go to sleep overs, but she talked me into it since we let Maggie have a sleep over for one of her parties.  I guess it's now the new tradition since Paige is talking about having one for her 12th birthday.  

 I hung up a few decorations.  I put pictures of her for every year of her life onto a balloon and hung them around the room with streamers.  

Just born

6 years old

5 years old

10 years old

They decorated balloons

Played Apples to Apples and some other games.  Hung out in her room--talking and giggling.

After dinner, they decorated cupcakes.

Katelyn and Kali

Elise and Lydia

Scooter

Then they opened presents

Getting some books she really wanted

Cute girls

Later, we set up their beds in front of the TV and tried to find a movie that they all could watch.  It ended up being some cheesy princess movie that I had never seen before and I can't even remember the name of it.  No one could agree on a movie!  I went to bed then, but they stayed up watching Barbie shows off of Netflix.  I'm not sure what time they went to bed.

That morning after breakfast they played Monopoly.  Lydia and Kali's favorite game to play.  They were supposed to be picked up at 10, but we never got around to having fondue the night before.  So, I got everything ready and had them call their parents to see if they could stay for another half hour and eat fondue.  It was pretty yummy!

I had these photo prop things out, but I wasn't able to get pictures of the girls when they were playing with them.  But I did get this one of Noah, later in the day.

Maggie had her basketball pictures this morning--Garrett took her while I was getting breakfast for the party girls.

Her JV2 team
That night we took Lydia out for her birthday at a Teriyaki place
Sunday November 23rd:  Maggie spoke in sacrament meeting about the Holy Ghost and it was Lydia's first Sunday in Young Women's.
Monday November 24th:  The kids didn't have school today because of teacher conferences, (except Maggie--she still had school) so I took the kids to the mall to get Lydia's 12 year pictures taken and so she could go shopping for some new clothes.
Here are some of her pictures:

Tuesday November 25th:
The youth had a Temple Trip to do baptisms for the dead and so it was Lydia's first time to go to the temple!  We had Jim and Georgia watch the kids so that Garrett and I could go too.  It was pretty awesome--so cool to have two of my children in the temple doing Heavenly Father's work!  And so awesome that Garrett and I could be there to share in the experience!  I'm so proud of Lydia and Maggie!

Wednesday November 26th:

Spending the day getting ready for Thanksgiving

 Maggie (with Noah and Bella as helpers) makes an apple pie

I was making rolls.  I decided to try a new recipe that were supposedly from the Lion House in Utah.  But, they weren't that good.  So, the next day I made some of my dad's whole wheat honey rolls that we all love!

Thursday November 27:

Thanksgiving!!

 Jim found this card and gave it to us for Thanksgiving.  We thought it was so funny!

 rolls and banana cream pie!!

 The table

 the kids being silly before dinner was ready

 Georgia cooked the turkey this year again and also did the stuffing.  It was good, but I love the kind we make.  So, I made a batch to eat with our left overs.  :)

Yummy food!

We watched some football after dinner, took naps, played Apples to Apples and later that night, watched "The Giver" with Maggie and Garrett.

Friday November 28th:

This morning we went to the temple with some friends of ours in our ward.  It was nice to get to the temple with Garrett to do an endowment session.  It had been awhile, so I'm grateful to the Squires for inviting us to go with them.  Garrett's parents work at the temple on Fridays, so when we got done, they were finishing up.  So, we went with them and stopped for lunch at Chevy's before coming home.  It was such a nice morning.  I spent the rest of the day taking down Thanksgiving decorations.  Saturday November 29th:

We went to get our Christmas tree today.  Next year we need to remember to not get it so early!!  Our poor tree was so dead before Christmas.  It wasn't even funny.  So dead.  

 I love the clouds in this one...

 stopping to pose

 Right as we found our tree, it started SNOWING!!  Crazy! It didn't last long, though.

 Lydia trying to catch snow flakes on her tongue

 They have this big fire there to sit around while you drink your hot chocolate

Maggie's pumpkin didn't rot, so she decided to carve a Christmas tree into it today.  It was too weird for me.  Seeing a pumpkin on the porch when there's a Christmas wreath on the door.  And then inside, you have this beautiful Christmas tree smell and then you smell pumpkin....does NOT work!!

We got the Christmas boxes out so we could decorate the tree the next day.  That evening, Garrett took all the kids over to Jim and Georgia's (minus Maggie) so that he could watch a basketball game with Jim and also for a chance to hot tub.  Maggie and I had a date to go see "Mockingjay" which is why he took all the kids.  

Sunday November 30th:

Decorating the tree

 Maggie and Lydia took my camera and started taking silly pictures of themselves.  They started out cute, but then turned weird. :)

 Noah putting the angel on the tree

Merry Christmas!!