It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like CHRISTMAS!!!!
Each year, I put out the same decorations for Christmas, and so many of them make me ridiculously happy! I get SOOOO excited to put them around the house!! So this year, I took pictures of them, so I can log on and see them whenever I need a little mid-year boost!
Our family room Christmas tree
This one has all the kids' handcrafted ornaments on it, along with the ones I have had since I was small, AND the ones that have been given to us as gifts (newlywed ornaments, new baby ones, and souvenirs from MeMe and PawPaw's travels).
Our Christmas tree in the office
This one shows from the street, and it has Thomas the Tank Engine and some of his friends circling around the bottom of it!
Stockings!
My mantle is definitely weighted down! Only some of the stockings are on the mantle in this picture, because normally there are 7. Every member of the family, including our black lab Mosby, has their own. Mosby's is in the shape of a bone, and has the picture of him and the kids with Santa from PetSmart on it.
The snowman paratrooper
Mom and Dad found this guy for us when we were first married, and couldn't resist buying it, since Dan was in the Army Airborne. This is definitely one of my favorite Christmas decorations! He sparks a lot of conversation in our house!
Christmas Village
This year, the village lacks a little to be desired! The table that holds my Christmas village is within perfect reach of little Ashlyn Belle's fingers! She is constantly pulling the "snow" off and scattering it throughout the house! But, that just makes her enjoy the decorations that much more, so it's OK. But normally, there is not blue painters tape showing through the village snow! :)
Santa Pictures
Dan's company throws a big Christmas party each year, and they have Santa come visit for pictures, and he gives all the kids a gift. I updated my Christmas pictures each year to include the photos. These are from last year.
The Elf on the Shelf
For those of you who do not have a resident elf, you just might consider yourself lucky! The girl who wrote the book went to UT, so you know it's a good tradition! :)
Our kids named our elf Quimby. He comes to visit us each year on Thanksgiving, and he watches to see if the kids are behaving or not. At night, he flies back to the North Pole to report good (and bad) deeds to Santa Clause. But the problem is, the elfs like to create mischeif around the house at night. When we wake up each morning, the kids have to go find what he has gotten in to, along with where he is hiding.
Some of the things he has done around our house are: turn the kitchen chairs upside-down, hang shoes, socks and underwear from the Christmas tree, toilet paper different rooms of the house, hang himself by the toes from the parachuting snowman, etc.
Quimby left a few days after Christmas to spend the rest of the year with his elf buddies in the North Pole. We'll see him again after Thanksgiving 2008!
Dining Room Setting
I love the Christmas dishes from my Mom and Dad, along with our nutcrackers!
Christmas Plate!
A good friend bought me this plate, and I LOVE IT! I use it constantly for holidays, UT games, birthdays, etc.
Merry Christmas!!!
ALMOST everyone loved it! Here is Ashi with crazy hair, eating her snow cream.
But Courtney decided she would rather gnaw on an actual snowball!
Avery asked for seconds! What a FUN night!!!
...And talk about making yourself at home!!! Check out Court in PawPaw's massaging recliner!!
Here's PawPaw cooking in their basement kitchen.
PawPaw shows off the feast!
Alex can hardly contain himself... He knows there are shrimp and crablegs in the pot...
The 3 oldest ones attempting to wait patiently...
Look at those faces!!!
I was afraid he might actually pounce on the food.
