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.