Christmas Eve

 Dad won best gingerbread house.

I was proud of my home-made gingerbread.

 But will probably never do that again.

 Pretty sure the shepherds did not yell at Mary.

 An extra tall Joseph.

Also pretty sure shepherds didn't hit pinatas.

Always love the Martindale Christmas Eve Mexican Potluck Nativity Pinata Party.

Holiday Baking

If anyone is looking for some

saltcurrycreamoftartarcinnamonbayleaf-

m&msugarrosemarybasil-

thymenutmegchilipowderpaprika-

clovetacoseasoninggarlic-

moresaltgingerallspice cookies...

aka, "super duper spicy cookies"

Sally can help you out.

Merry Christmas from her!

Lately

They found closet bunk beds.

 

She painted my toes while I was blow drying my hair for church.

I made sure to wear peep-toe shoes to show off her awesome job.

This caramel apple dip is so addicting.

I've made it like 4 times since having it @ Errin's (thanks to her mom).

Directions:

Bottom layer: 8 oz cream cheese + 1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar

Middle layer: caramel dip (the kind you get in the produce section)...I use about 8 oz

Top layer: a large Symphony bar crushed up (pictured is with choc covered pretzels, but Symphonies are better...the kind with toffee bits).

Serve with sliced granny smith apples.

 I'm a young women leader for the first time since being a young woman.

6 months later I'm starting to get the hang of it.

(primary has been my life and my comfort zone)

We babysat Ellis.

She got a little fussy, but nothing some Justin Bieber Christmas videos couldn't fix.

A First

 Only took us 11 years of being married to hang Christmas lights on our house.

In other decorating news, this guy makes me happy every year I put him up.

Our friends gave it to us in memory of this camping trip.

It was the best time I've ever had camping.

My tree is still mostly stars, though.

One of my favorites:

Got it in Park City when we visited Nate & Bethany there maybe 9 years ago?

Peach & Plum

Peach & Plum is a new Etsy shop that my friend Danna just started.

Cute little girl wrap bracelets.

And cute models.

Coronado

 

The Place to Ourselves

My Legoland passes have been expired for awhile, but Errin had some free ones she shared.

That place is so much more enjoyable when it's dead

(pretty much any school day afternoon in the fall/winter).

The kids stayed on this ride probably 10 times in a row.

  
Is that really the sun and the moon both in the background?

It was a good day (I mean 1 1/2 hours) at Legoland, but Disneyland is hands down better.

A Cyclops

Drew pulled me over to his side of the table the other day to see the, "one-eyed cyclops" his cereal spillage had formed.
 I liked it.
Then we talked about how "one-eyed" and "cyclops" mean the same thing.


Also, Drew calls people humans.
 Like when we were walking to school during red ribbon week and he said, "Everything has red ribbons on it! Except not the humans."
 Or like the cover of his home-made book, A Story About a Rabbit and a Human.

How We Got a Christmas Tree

No mountainous adventures or overpriced cute tree farms.

We just went to Costco and bought one.

And some pizza while we were at it.

Another Recap

My mom has patience for days.
She involved kids in everything from bread making to pie making
to candy turkey making, penny collections, and endless games.

A baptist church by Karen's house has a roller skating rink.
It came complete with a disco ball, lights, and Kidz Bop.

Sally was the only one of my kids that enjoyed the skating.

Or, just wearing the skates.

THANKSGIVING

Turkey Bowl Participants:

Spectators:

Back at the house...

I think it was his best one ever.

Rachel was inspired by Pinterest to do a life-size Angry Birds game.

Also seen that day:

Saturday, we were all just sitting around and next thing we know, Dad rigged a zipline.
The mini version:

And the super sized one:

We ended our lovely week with another sand dunes pit-stop on the way home.

Also:

Twilight with Justin. Yes, Justin.
A random fire in my parents' freezer. No damage done.
Long wait for Black Friday shopping (Justin). Got what he wanted (which really wasn't a lot, but he loves the excitement).
Got my hair done.
Went to Jump Street.
Firehouse Subs (my first time...yum) and games with Nate, Bethany & Gavin.
Breakfast at Crackers with friends.
Cousin Kristen's wedding reception.