Christmas Day!

Our Christmas tree about 6am Christmas day.

 Stockings filled to the brim and a fire lit for ambiance. 

Then we let the kids come down. 

Tamsyn liked her Bow

Ander was excited about his fishing pole

Gunnar liked his Van Gogh painting and art set

Sylas was delighted to get his own bean bag chair 

 "It's not very soft though..."

Sylas only asked Santa for an iPad. And even though he didn't get what he wanted, never have I seen a boy more pleased with what he got. Here he is hugging his new jeans.

Ambiance gone. Sigh.

This is what Lohn gave me. Whoop Whoop!

Then around 10 am Christmas morning, we packed up and went to Lohn's sister's house. 

Amy cut Gunnar's hair. Before and after pics-

SOOO much better!

We came home a few days later, with an extra guest! Grandma McKee! Let the fun begin!

Christmas Eve

We had pretty much the best Christmas Eve ever. Here are some highlights of the fun things we did.

We went to look at the best lit houses in the Richmond area. This one is in our neighborhood, and was my families personal favorite.

Made "gingerbread" houses.

Notice the spot of frosting on his chin. Isn't he cute?!

Our Christmas Eve dinner. We don't have a traditional meal for Christmas Eve. We try something new every year, so I guess that is tradition. This year Lohn made Ribeye steak, and asparagus, and I baked the potatoes, and the stuffed mushrooms. Num Yum.

Lohn was pretty happy with it.

The Reason For the Season. We do the Nativity every year. Sylas was a pig.

Sylas really loved giving presents this year. He seemed to enjoy it more than getting, which makes my momma heart happy :)

Ander spent a lot of time in his daddy's wood shop this month making gifts for his brothers. Lohn said he did 90% of the work on these beauties. He designed them, cut them out, and made the blades with hand planes. Pretty impressive for a 9 year old.

 He made one for himself as well.

These are the gifts that Grandma Dahle sent the kids. They LOVED them!

You can't really see it in this picture, but Gunnar just opened up a Golden Ninja Lego guy.

And Aunt Karen spoiled the kids with good ole' cash!

Lohn hand carved these for me out of a pear tree with only a hatchet, pocket knife and a chisel. My man is talented!

He also made Chocolate Mousse. Great way to end the evening!

Now that the kids are all asleep, Santa needs to go wrap all the presents for tomorrow. Merry Christmas friends and family! Love you all!

Because it's my birthday and I wantsssss it

For my birthday, I celebrated that the ward Christmas party was OVER (I was in charge...)

The night before my birthday we had our ward Christmas party, and while it was a lot of fun, it was also a lot of work. However, these awesome centerpieces I found on Pinterest, were NOT a lot of work and super cheap. I give you...

Puffball trees!

 I made all 20 in 2 hours. That includes cutting branches from my backyard. Easy peasy!

This has nothing to do with my birthday, but is still note worthy- Sylas learned to write his name on his own. Proud Mama :)

At the Ward Christmas party the night before my birthday, they canceled church the next day for the dreaded ice storm that was coming. So we had our own mini church at home. 

 Gunnar gave a talk conceived, illustrated, and delivered all by himself.  

 Virtual high five to the person that can guess the subject...

Sylas dressed himself for "church"...

And this is what I did all day on my birthday- Lounged on the couch, talking on the phone to wonderful people that called me for my birthday whilst my children showered me with gifts and Lohn made me Chop Che (Korean dish made with soy. I'm still paying for it, but it was oh-so worth it!)

We awaited the dreaded ice storm that never was, played games, ate yummy food, and I got some awesome presents from my lovelies. It's not so bad being 35! 

Oh, and I got this...

Yes, I am spoiled. And I am in danger of the sin of worshipping this sweet, beautiful, smart little graven image. I also have a crush on Siri. She makes me laugh and feel smart. She's my new best friend. I love her. I told her that too. If you have Siri on your phone, you should tell her that. Also- Ask her "Who let the dogs out" and tell her "It's my birthday today." She will make you smile :)