Candy Anyone!

Today we finally did our Christmas Eve activity. We made gingerbread (graham cracker) houses. We were supposed to do this on Christmas Eve when every one was over but we ran out of time. So we decided to do them today. The boys all had their own ideas of how to do it and as you will see some were more successful than others.

Cole and Brian took very different approaches and Brian was a bit more successful than Cole.

The house on the left is Cole's and the one on the right is Brian's.

Cannon's had a brown and gold roof(I wonder where he got that color scheme from?) Cannon's looked much more like a house than the others.

Travis is more a just get it done type. At one point even though he was having fun he kept saying "this is taking hours to get done" When really we had only been working on the houses for about 15 min. But he did finish and was happy to move on to something else.

I declare Adam and I the winners. Adam was very patient and let me suggest patterns and candies and he took the time to put them on.

Tuesday I took the boys ice skating at Moncurs(aren't we lucky to have such generous neighbors.) Adrienne called and invited us and it couldn't of been better timing(how does she always seem to do that.) I was getting to the point of to much indoor time and we all needed a little fresh air and some space. It was perfect weather and the ice was nice and hard. Luckily never felt by my back side but all the others had their spills. Adam thought it was the most fun to be pulled around on the sled. Travis was brave he actually was quite the skater(no fear.) Cole was a little more cautious but in the end he didn't want to go. Cannon and Bill took right off but Cannon slowed at the end with a good sized blister. All in all though it was a great afternoon of friends fun and falls. What a great place we live in!

Papa's For Presents

After we had Christmas morning at our house we then went to Roland's for the traditional breakfast burritos and opening more gifts. The kids love doing this. It is always a surprise what they are going to get and opening presents never gets boring. This year the boys got Settlers of Catan a family favorite(if we could just figure out a way to beat Michael.) Roland finished his thought from the night before with a final gift which read that the best gift ever given was the gift of Eternal Life, it was a wonderful ending to the season and I am looking forward to it being a part of our Christmas for many years to come.

Santa always brings a second stocking to Papa's house.

Michael and his brothers and Emily got Roland tools for Christmas. They made sure they were all in their place. I am sure Roland didn't want to open his own gift right?!

We love spending time with cousins. We just wish more were around to see.

Santa Came!

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. The kids were told earlier in the season that we were going to have a different Christmas. We decided to make our Christmas about others and not so much about ourselves. We donated money to people and helped out where we could. We also told the kids that they would not have a big Chrismas under the tree and that most of their gifts would be family presents. We asked each child for some suggestions for what they would like from mom and dad. Some ideas were reasonable and some were not. Even though it wasn't the worlds biggest Christmas we still had a great morning(I wish they all could be 3 on Christmas morning because it is amazing what Adam was happy with getting.) As a family we got a new television(our old one only showed the bottom half of the screen) and some stuff to go with it. The gift we have had the most fun with is the Wii. Between bowling, racing cows, and pretending to be a rock star we have had hours of family fun(Todd is now our number one visitor he loves that guitar.)

We all just had a fun time playing and enjoying the morning.

The Night Before Christmas...

We had a great Christmas Eve. Michael and I had the family that was in Cowley over for dinner and a little program. It was soooo nice to have a home big enough to fit everyone. We had a little fiasco with our freezer, some one unplugged it and so we had to change our menu last minute, but the dinner turned out well. Who knows maybe Mexican will replace the traditional ham. No, I don't think so. After dinner Cannon and Cole shared some of their musical talents with us and Roland shared a story from the New Era. The story was great and I believe it has started a new Simmons Christmas tradition. After a night of family and fun the kids got to open their one gift. Adam hasn't been around for enough Christmas' so when the kids kept asking if they could open their pajamas Adam was so surprised that they knew what was in the wrapped gift( thanks Grandma for the soft and snugly pj's.)

We then put out cookies and milk for Santa and off to bed they went. Michael and I knew we had a long Christmas Eve ahead of us. We had many things to assemble to try to make Christmas morning exactly the way I wanted it to be. Thanks honey for going along with the plan. We finally got to bed around 2am, definitely the latest we have ever stayed up as Santa's helpers. It was worth it the next morning though, the kids were so surprised.

Winter Concert

The boys were great at their Christmas concert. Travis, who last year didn't really sing at all, chose to sing this year and add a little animation to his performance. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful music program at our elementary school. Ms. Asay is such an asset to our district. I know that there are schools all around the country that are having to cut their music programs and I am so grateful for ours.

In the first song For the 4th grade class Cole was Santa and he was stuck in the chimney you see

him standing next to. He was nervous and excited to have a big part this year.

After the Santa song Cole had to run back stage and get his costume off as fast as he could(which wasn't very fast he couldn't get his boots off) and finish his concert as Cole. The class did a great job. They sang a song about pinatas and it was very entertaining. All in all the concert was a huge success and fun was had by all.

12 days of Christmas

1 EMBARRASSING MOMENT: It seems lately whenever I open my mouth.

2 BEST FRIENDS: Michael

3 THINGS I BUY REGULARLY: Goldfish Crackers, Milk, and Eggs

4 PLACES I WANT TO GO: Texas, Mormon History Tour(with the boys), Somewhere warm!!!!

5 GOALS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR: Remember B-days better, Love my children, Decorate my house, And of course no more yelling at Basketball games

6 THINGS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: I always sleep with socks on, I never take baths( I do shower though), I never owned a doll, I love candy(oh everyone knows that)

7 THINGS I WOULD NEVER SAY: Please rub my feet, Can I rub your feet? Don't worry about cleaning up your toys, I am going to go take a long hot bath.

8 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE CHRISTMAS SEASON: Focusing on the Savior, Treats, Christmas vacation, Fire in the fireplace, Spending time with friends and family.

9 THINGS I SAY TO MY KIDS: I love you, Don't touch your brother, Please go pick up your room, You still have clothes on the floor in the bathroom, Nigh night, See you in the morning , I am sorry, I love you.

10 THINGS I DO A LOT: Pick up the house, cook, clean the bathroom, hug my boys, play with Adam, Read books, Think about my friends family, Pray for strength


11 THINGS I WOULD RATHER NOT LIVE WITHOUT: My husband, my boys, the gospel, love, friendship, heater, running water, car, Costco, house, memories

12 PEOPLE I TAG: Anyone who would like to try.

Old Saint Cole

Last night at Cole and Travis' Christmas concert Cole was Santa for one of the songs so before we left for the concert we had all the kids sit on Santa's lap.Adam just didn't get it he kept asking Cole "Cole are you Santa?" And of course Cole said "yes" and now my son is completely confused about the whole Santa thing.

Cannon even got in some fun on Santa's lap. Isn't Christmas time fun! They look like they might like each other.

Advent Calendars

The children every year get those chocolate advent calendars from the grocery store. The boys love them and it is a fun way of keeping track of the month. One year I remember Travis having a little extra fun with the calendars. The boys had eaten their days candy and left for school. Unfortunately Cannon and Cole had forgotten to put their calendars back up and out of Travis'(who was two or three at the time) reach. I did not realize this either and was back in my room doing something and when I came out there was Travis with every ones advent calendars in front of him with all the little doors open and not a chocolate to be found! Needless to say we had to get new chocolate calendars that year so the older boys wouldn't have a fit but it is one of my favorite Christmas memories.

What made me think of that story was this morning when the boys were all getting out their chocolates before school Adam didn't have any in his day 17. Adam was not happy and turned to Cole and said "Cole you ate my candy" and tried to convince me he should get to eat Cole's chocolate. Really what happened is that Adam thinks he should get to eat two or three candies a day and he is running out. Nice try though Adam. Merry Christmas and have a treat!

Santa's Lap

On Saturday after the humanitarian project we had our ward party and after dinner Santa came. I think this might be the last year I will be able to get a picture with all of my boys. I was looking back over the years of past Santa pics and I thought I would share them with you. What a difference three years can make. Adam is so little in this picture.

Travis used to think it was great to sit on the lap of Santa but as you can see he is not so excited. If it wasn't for the bag of candy I'm not sure he would have even done it.Cole is always my sport. He is one of those closet believers. I think he wants Santa to be real but no one his age seems to be on the same page. He looks a little too big for Santa's lap though.

Cannon has been the opposite of Cole. I think he doubted Santa ever since kindergarten but I think deep down he has always wanted Santa to be real. Last year Cannon was great about trying to convince the younger children of Santa.

Where did the time go? I am grateful for all the years we have had together as a family and hope and pray for many more to come. Merry Christmas to all.

Humanitarian Project

I would like to thank all of those people who made the humanitarian project possible yesterday! I know many people spent hours and hours to make it possible and I am so grateful for that. My family and I had a great time doing service together and all the preparation that went into the day ahead of time made it absolutely wonderful! I have been struggling with some things lately and it was just the best feeling to be able to look outside of myself for a couple of hours and do something for someone else. I love being a member of a ward family that thinks of great things like a humanitarian project that benefits others while uplifting the ones doing it also. Service is such a two way street the recipient benefits but the giver is a benefactor also. I know that my children didn't do a ton yesterday but what they did do they were proud of and you can only learn about the blessings of service by serving. So thanks again to all those wonderful people who coordinated such a meaningful day!

Christmas Concert

We went to our first middle school concert last night. Cannon plays the alto sax. I feel very lucky that our school stills has a music program. Ms Olson is such a wonderful teacher she has so much passion for music and teaching the kids. I believe her excitement for the arts is contagious and the kids feel the same passion when they are with her.

Cannon also got to sing a solo in the choir part of his concert. Here he is taking a bow with the rest of the kids who got to sing a solo. I enjoy seeing my children develop talents and I know that music is something they will have with them forever. When Cannon first started to learn the sax his background in piano helped him to move quickly through the beginning stages. It was so nice to be able to watch Cannon reap the benefits of the hard work he has put in learning the piano(and my hard work of dealing with all the fits he has thrown over the years) Music is one of my favorite parts of the holidays. Merry Christmas to all.

Bye Daisy

We decided that it was time to let someone have our dog Daisy. The boys never paid attention to her except when they had to feed her. We loved having a dog for the short time we had her but it is nice not to have her anymore.

We put an ad in the paper and a nice family decided to take her. I thought all the boys would be so excited to see her go considering when I asked Cole what we should do with her because it seemed no one wanted to feed or take care of her he said"we should take her out of town and leave her." I was wrong that no one would mind Daisy leaving. When it came time to start loading Daisy up into the car Travis started absolutely balling! He then was asked to go to his room if he couldn't control himself and Adam Cole and I went to go get the rest of Daisy's things. As we were putting Daisy into the family's car Travis was sitting in our large front window crying Daisy's name with such force I was a little embarrassed. It seemed as though I was giving away Travis' bosom pal. Which I wasn't! Just the night before Travis was complaining because it was his turn to feed Daisy. After we got all of Daisy's stuff in the car I asked Adam if he wanted to say goodbye and that was when Adam realized what was going on. Adam then started crying also and out ran Travis from the house SCREAMING for Daisy also. The scene as the nice lady who was taking our dog off our hands drove off was pretty pathetic. It took only moments though for the boys to get over it after they got back in the house. I am sorry the boys had such a hard time but boy is it nice not to have to fight with whoever is supposed to feed Daisy. So bye Daisy thanks for the memories and Good Luck wherever you are.

Family Fun

We decorated the tree last night and it was so much fun! The boys are getting old enough that I don't constantly have to say "Be Careful." Maybe I have lightened up over the years also. Cannon was in charge of unwrapping the ornaments.The rest of the boys put the ornaments on the tree. Cannon then set up the little village on the piano. We are at an age in our family that we have so much fun together. When the kids went to bed the house was destroyed but all were happy. Adam's excitement is contagious I love hearing him sing Christmas songs. Santa Claus is Coming to Town is his favorite right now. Merry Christmas to all.

Here We Go Grizzlies! Here We Go

Here are my new additions to the family(I am missing pictures of the managers.) Don't they look cute in their retro uniforms. They had their brown and gold game the day after Thanksgiving. I think this year is going to be a good one. I think that every year though. I'm not talking
about just wins though, I really like these boys a lot. Good Luck this weekend!