The Gingerbread Village WilLY WOnKa Style

Alicia, Jamie, Me, Katie, Shannyn and Stephanie braved this place with 18 kiddos and their sweet tooths. Dangerous.

Happy Birthday to the Birthday Boy Ashton, Big 4!

The temptation was just too great. And that red rope barrier was just too weak.

Engineer Jamie stepped in when the train derailed.
No, her talents are not limited to painting, plumbing, crafting, decorating, cooking, running marathons, hanging ceiling fans and doing hair.

This is not the kid who knocked down the red rope barrier nearly giving heart failure to the concierge.

He came from out of nowhere to fix it. I don't think paramedics move that quickly.

The scream of joy I let out when I saw this Oompa-Loompa nearly deafened Shannyn and scared baby Sam to tears.  Might be the last time Shannyn is seen in public with me:). 

Not to mention the fact that my daughter likes to stow-away with her in elevators that get stuck.

The best part of our visit for certain moms though was donating cash for a good cause.  I'm not sure what the cause was but when you donated the cash (even small amounts will do) you got to pick a Willy Wonka candy and somewhere in that wheelbarrow of candy was one with a GOLDEN TICKET in it (good for a free stay at the Marriott).  We bought a lot of candy. But no Golden Ticket.

Where on earth is Mary when we need her?

Golden Ticket or not, it was a sweet and delightfully fun day!

Girls vs Boys Gingerbread Style

 The Girls. Organizing. Designing. Calculating.

 The Boys. All Hands on Deck. Go for It.

 Love him working from home and getting in on the action.

 Working a little window magic.

 One of the houses (the most expensive one, mind you) wouldn't stay together. So instead of just bagging it, I had to make my no-fail sugar glue to fix it.  And let me tell you that stuff is hot. Jamie came over to lend a hand and this almighty blister on her finger is proof of just how hot that stuff was. 

And yes, I do believe that one finger salute is for me and my sticky hot glue idea.

 Those houses turned out so good!! 

Especially the one on the left.

Yes that burn was so worth it.

 Aunt Ashley, thanks for this wonderful box, which made for a great sled.

We have to improvise here.

It was a wheeee kind of day.

Temple Lights

We were supposed to see the lights last week after Jake's soccer game, but the rain got in the way.

So we grabbed the opportunity to go see the lights with these guys tonight.

 

This good sweet little missionary was out doing the Lord's work tonight. And Jamie was quick to think of that one neighbor he could contact. And when she realized she didn't have their number Jon was quick to come in with the save.  Elder Bird come on down!

Ummm Nik I think you were in my favorite picture of this event last year, but I'm gonna go ahead and give it to you again this year.

Love it.

And believe it or not I think I love Brit even more than Luke does.

Possible?

She (Tyler too) was amazing with all the kids tonight. Especially Luke.

He thinks sun rises and sets on her. 

Pulling Dylan's Rudolph trick from last year. I do hope they wash those lights.

If these women take one more picture, I'm gonna have to run an get me a PB cookie.

So many lights. So many people. Next year let's make it an early Tuesday in December!

Snapshots of a Sick Weekend

Bree was sick. Luke was sick.
Our car smelled sick. 
But at least we got some fun games in;)
And of course, there's nothing like just hangin out as a fam.

And you might not know it, but these people, well, they're all about love.  

And that just might be why I kind of like them.

Especially the one in purple.

First Finals

 Oh the joy in our house the past week preparing for finals. The kids haven't ever had final exams (and please don't call them tests) before, so there were plenty of moments of I hate science. I hate history. You get the idea.  Love of learning was just oozing from our pores.

 She was just pulling a face before it's actually been all smiles around here. Especially going to lunch with mom yesterday and an early breakfast at Dennys with Dad this morning. See there are a few perks to finals:)

As Jake put it, "We're in the Big Leagues now".  The kids studied hard. I quizzed them. And stressed them out. And on occassion even brought them to tears.  I did exactly what the teachers told us not to do. I suppose that means I failed my final exams.  Must do better next time. On so many levels.

I can't wait for the next two weeks of stress-free worry-free fun!

CHRISTMAS VACATION HERE WE COME!!!!

Ho Ho No...

I did everything short of sitting on Santa's lap myself to help Luke warm up to him, but it wasn't happening.  As we walked away from Santa, Luke said, "He's not the real Santa, mom".

Probably trying to convince himself he hadn't blown his one and only chance to chat with the big man.

This little girl on the other hand was ready to pour on the charm.
Is it my imagination, or is she holding Santa's hand?
Just try taking the believer out of her.

As for Jake, he was at his soccer game so he didn't get to see Santa.

And for some reason he's pretty okay with that:)

But we were missing him and Jer bad.

My friend, Lynnette took all the pictures and she did such incredible job!

Thanks for capturing such sweet memories for us!

And sorry again for the white chalk handprint Luke left on the back of your brand new black backdrop!

Starburst's Soccer Season Finale

 Breanna throwing into Georgia who would later score a GOAL!

 Coach James workin the sidelines.

 Trophy time!

 Bree with the assistant coach.

 Sarah coming through with the ultimate cupcake.

Such a fun season (did I mention it ended on a 80 degree day in Dec.?). It was complete with Breanna's appendicitis, Coach James' motorcycle injury, and meltdowns over forgotten soccer balls and water bottles. Jer realized how much he loves the role of assistant coach the few times James was out of town:).  

Georgia and Macie, so glad you were there with Breezy

and that undying determination to win a game or two:)! 

You girls all played your hearts out and we're so proud of you!

Tree Trimming

If I'm being honest, the night started off a little rough with our annual "discussion" about where the tree should go and if we really needed to move the couch in order to put the tree up.  I think the neighbors could give you a play by play of our discussion.  Man I love this season and I think Jer might even love it more especially all the decorating biz (not!).  But once we got the couch moved (yes it really needed to be moved), the tree up, and a bit of Christmas music going to set the mood, it was a jolly good time. We let the kids take charge. Jer and I snuck in a few ornaments too. I think the combo of the kids ornaments and my ornaments from the past 2 year's fabulous ornament exchanges made our tree perfect.

Now comes my favorite part...the days before Christmas when we all seem to find ourselves drawn to the living room with a good book or a fun game and cup of hot chocolate just hanging out and spending time together.
I think that tree just might be a little piece of magic!