After Christmas...organize!

Since the kids are all gone with their other parents and Amanda and Walter went to Georgia, I decided to pack up Christmas and sort out my holiday bins in the process!  I cleaned a lot out!  Then Dave and I went to Costco and bought two of these rolling racks that hold the bins so we don't have to keep pulling them out of stacks to get to things.  It is so handy! I spent a couple of days down in the basement getting this storage room looking spiffy!  I have a lot more to do in other rooms in the basement but this was a great start! It feels good to clean out and organize! I hope I can keep the momentum going for awhile.  When Lilly came home from her trip to Arizona with her mom, she helped me with some things.  She looked so cute mopping the floor in the dress her Grandma made her and of course with her purse over her shoulder!  Ha!  Dave and I rang in the new year playing cards.  We shuffled them the way Ann W. does in an ode to her.  Spread them out and mix them up!  It was funny.  We sure miss our card playing friends.  It's just not as fun with only two of us!  We did some puzzles and read some books, my way to ring in the new year!  Happy New Year! 

Christmas 2017...

 We woke up to a White Christmas!  We were so excited! The grands looked so cute in their matching pajamas!  We had Christmas a couple of days early as they were all going to be with their other parents.  So December the 25th we woke up to snow and a quiet house!  We had a relaxing "real" Christmas eve and Christmas day.  It was kind of fun to be done early!  I do have some pictures of our "Early Christmas" morning so will put those here too. Merry Christmas!!

 

 

What a mess!!

Lilly's class performance

 Amanda, Walter and I went to Lilly's class for a cute little performance. She did a great job! Then we waited to pick up the rest of the kids after school. Walter loved learning to drive while we waited. 

Temple Square tradition!

My favorite Christmas activity is to ride the train up to Temple Square and see the lights!  This year, Holly (my niece) and her family have moved here from Arizona.  It's so fun having them here!  We invited them to go with us.  Amanda stayed home with Walter (she didn't want to take him out in the cold) and Jacob (who has bad memories of his throwing up on the train last year).  Nate had classes and rides the train home, so he just met us there after class and rode home with us.  It worked out great!  The kids had so much fun together and the lights were as beautiful as always!  We of course had to buy some hot chocolate before our ride home.  We went into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to let the kids experience the "Light the World" machines but the lines were too long and they wouldn't take cash.  We were a little disappointed about that.  But I did finally get to meet my mom's cousin in person!  She works in that building and I saw her in the lobby as soon as we went in!  Maurine Winters. We chatted for a few minutes and took a picture.  We are friends on facebook and I know she has lots of stories she could tell me!  I hope to get together with her one day and just visit!  It was plenty cold (my nose is bright red to prove it!) but still no snow.  I love the red trees around the Assembly Hall.  I think they are my favorite.  After we got our hot chocolate and got on the Trax to get back to the Frontrunner train, the kids all sat up by Holly.  She was the favorite. And Justin stood up at the front with the stroller.  Carter and Coleson were snuggled up in that!  Lilly and Kameryn got along great and had a fun time, as well as David and Cooper.  What a fun tradition and I hope we continue it and that we ALL go next year!  

  

 

 

Gifts and treats in the making...Shhh

We made these picture holders at Super Saturday, this one belongs to the Relief Society.  Mine looks almost the same except the fancy hardware on the bottom and the pedestal is a little different. But I think they are cute.  I also tried my hand at string art.  Wow, did that make my hands hurt!  It was harder than it looks to keep the strings pulled tight and keep wrapping! But I was happy with how they turned out. I am also making a silky blanket for Walter.  It isn't going as smoothly as I would like it too, but thankfully he is too little to see how bad it is. It is really hurting my hands to get the knots in there correctly and get this stitched up.  I think I am getting my dad's arthritis! I made regular caramels and chocolate caramels this year.  David was a great helper wrapping them all!  He enjoyed taste testing them too!  We broke in my new tree ring bundt pan.  So much fun!  We made several chocolate cakes with chocolate glaze, and some simpler ones with powdered sugar so it looked like snow. Since we aren't getting any snow!  And lastly, I had to include a picture of my new favorite treat!  Molasses cookies!  Two of them with frosting in between are out of this world!  Oh, and one more...I love December at Chik-fil-A with their peppermint chocolate chip milkshakes!  This is why we diet in January!!

December!

We started decorating the tree!  Waiting for more kids to be home to get more decorations on it.  We got some snow today!  Just a little bit!  Hoping and praying for more!  We have never had to wait so long!  Sometimes Lilly reads her books in the funniest places!  That does not look comfortable to me at all! Walter is 5 months old now and we are excited for his first Christmas.  We love to put all his Christmas outfits on him.  He puts up with us!  And we said goodbye to Dave's beard.  He made sure we took a picture of it first.  Good to have a record of his grey beard.  Happy December!