Ward Christmas Party

I realize I am back tracting here but I don't want to forget this.

Our ward Christmas Party was December 19th. I had told the kids that Santa was going to there so they were beyond excited. Santa was set up in the Relief Society room. When we walked in Maeley really hesitated and did not want to see him. I was pretty shocked by this. Chase and Zoe got their pictures with Santa but Maeley wouldn't come close to him until as a family we got our picture taken. She told us later in the day that that was not Santa. She told us that someone dressed up like him. We then explained to her that the real Santa couldn't make it as he was busy at the North Pole and it was okay that someone else dressed up like him. We were completely taken back that our 4 year old figured that out. I hope she continues to believe for at least a few more years.

I love how Zoe is just trying to figure him out.

Zoe was not happy.

(This was taken before the family picture)

 Chase was thrilled to see Santa again.

Snow Fun

Saturday we decided it would be fun to go up Mt. Lemmon and play in the snow. Our kids have never been in the snow before. They loved it! Well Maeley and Chase did, not so much Zoe. Derek was so happy to be in the cold and snow you could just tell he was in his element. He sure misses cold weather. We were so happy that most of Derek's siblings could be with us (we sure miss Phil and Stephanie's family and of course Derek's parents). Kari and Marc brought their dog Indy and Derek's parents dog Linus. Indy seemed to love the snow while Linus did not.

Zoe did not want to be put down. And after awhile just cried, she was so cold.

 Marc and Chase

Chase and Maeley enjoying every minute in the snow.

Kari and Marc

Zoe and Kim

Chase with Daddy

(and Maeley in the background)

Christmas

We had a fantastic Christmas! To be honest I had a hard time sleeping the night before. I was just so excited to see the kids faces light up seeing what Santa brought them. Zoe was the first to wake up about 10 til 7. We gave Zoe a snack in our bed while we waited for Maeley and Chase to wake up. That was pretty boring so at about 7:15 we woke up Maeley and Chase.

First glance.

When Maeley saw her kitchen she started hoping on one foot. She just didn't know what to so with herself.

Chase was so thrilled about his car rug. Before opening any presents he ran to his room to get his cars to start playing.

Maeley can't believe she finally got a kitchen (although it's Zoe's too). Just like she asked, pink kitchen with refrigerator.

Zoe was pretty excited over everything. She really got into opening presents.

I love this.  

We tried throwing the packaging away to this bowling set but the kids love to put the pins and ball back. I guess its like a puzzle for them. Whatever makes them happy.

Doesn't Derek look so surprised?

Dad snuggling with Zoe.

Maeley and Zoe playing with their kitchen toys.

We learned Zoe loves candy canes.

About noon on Christmas day Derek's younger siblings came, Kim and Marc. They stayed until Saturday evening. I'll blog about that soon. The rest of the day was pretty much relaxing. All the kids have been playing well together and sharing their toys. I'm very impressed. In the evening we had movie night and watched UP. All in all it was a great day.

Christmas Eve

Again on Christmas Eve we went to my Aunt Cheri and Uncle Mel's for dinner. There are a lot of people there (mainly from my Uncles side of the family) but there is a ton of food. This year it was Mexican. It was delicious!  I'm amazed at how much Zoe likes spicy food. Maeley and Chase always tell us their tounge hurts but not Zoe. She always wants more. This year Derek took a few pictures of some of their Christmas decorations.

This is the baking tree. My sister's favorite.

This whole area is Coca Cola themed.

The Santa tree.

The classic tree, which by the way it spins.

Behind my aunt and uncle's house is a wash and a few Christmas trees from last year were dumped off there. Because it a rained a few days before they were able to burn the trees during the party. Its amazing how quickly they burn up.

After dinner we came home and opened up a present. Surprise, pajamas. It's my favorite Christmas tradition. This year Derek was very excited too.

  Maeley got Polar Bear pj's. She loves them.

Chase doesn't look too thrilled but he really loves his. Last night about an hour before the kids bedtime I put my pjs on and Chase says, "I want to wear my jammies.". We tried putting other ones on him but nope only his Christmas ones would do.

Zoe totally got into ripping open the presents.

Our little family all dressed in our Christmas jammies. I love it!

My project

About a month ago I came up with an idea of now to hang our stockings. I really did not want to buy stocking holders because they freak me out. I can just imagine one of the kids pulling on a stocking and the stocking holder landing on their head. One of my birthday presents from Derek was to let me do this project by myself. If you know Derek you know he loves to be hands on and any excuse to do so he's there. I knew it was a big deal to let me do it without him. I do love working side by side with Derek but it was nice to do this by myself.

 I wanted a rustic looking board. I started with a 10" x4' board and took a rock to it. I hit it all over. I then took a nail and put holes ramdonly throughout the whole piece.

Next I spray painted the front and sides with Rust-oleum Paniters Touch Heirloom White. I did 2-3 coats. After it dried I sanded the edges to rough it up some more.

Next I applied Ralph Lauren's Faux Technique Glaze tinted in Smoke. I've never used this before. I was a little nervous but now I love it! I actually applied 2 coats. You simply wipe it off after its applied to get the right look. Then I drilled holes and added the knobs. I found some knobs on clearance at Ace Hardware.

I love the end result!

I know on the white wall it doesn't do this piece justice. We won't be in this apartment forever though.

It was hard to get good lighting in our apartment.

We love this, what do you think?

Birthday weekend

I really had a great birthday this year. It was celebrated not just on my actual birthday but all weekend.

Friday began like normal. I decided to get all the laundry and cleaning done so Saturday we could play. I was in the middle of cleaning my bathroom when Maeley came to tell me someone was knocking on our door. I thought maybe it was the neighbor, she likes to come see the kids. It was a huge surprise to see my mom, sister Laurel and her two boys, Jacob and Devan. They brought gifts for the kids and myself. Maeley later told me she liked getting presents for my birthday. I thought that was funny. Laurel also made me a very cool cake.

Then they took me out to eat and went to Target. Apparently they don't have the red footed cake plate at the Targets near them. So I had to show Laurel knowing she'd love it and for only $15 not a bad price. It was very cute to see Devan and Maeley holding hands walking back to our car. Maeley and Chase love their cousins. After that we went to my Aunt Cheri's so my mom and sister could see their Christmas decorations. It was beautiful like every year. My aunt and uncle do an amazing job at decorating their whole house. I love it! Later in the evening Derek and I finished our Christmas shopping while our neighbor watched the kids. Then Derek and I went to set up for the ward activity the following morning.

Saturday started with our Ward Christmas party which I will blog about later. After that Derek took me shopping for a birthday gift. After looking for the typical, clothes I just didn't like anything I saw. Derek then said "I know what you really want" and took me to Home Depot. I was actually very very excited.

He got me a sander for a project we are starting after Christmas during his time off and a faux finish glaze for another project I have already started and finished! I've never used that before and now I can't wait for the next project that I get to use it on. I love that stuff!  That evening we had movie night with the kids and watched Santa Claus 3.

Sunday Derek made me breakfast and definitely made me feel like it was a special day. He kept calling me the birthday girl.  He also made dinner that night. It was nice not having to make the meals for a change. Overall it was a great weekend.

Blah Blah Blah

The past few days I've been in a really blah mood.  I think it began Sunday when I couldn't walk I was in so much pain. I somehow pulled my tendon in my right foot. I'm fine now. No pain whatsoever but Sunday was brutal. I can only handle so long of lying on the couch with nothing to do. Boring!

Zoe doesn't sleep as much as I want her to. She gets as much sleep as Chase or maybe even less. She wants to stay up late but get up early everyday! I'm going crazy! She does take one nap each day between 2-3 hours, normally closer to 2.  I think she just really wants to hang out with her daddy. Zoe does talk a little. She says, mom or mama, dad or dada, I want mom, Santa (sounds more like danta) and dog. She is loving the Christmas decorations and gets excited to see the Christmas tree lights turned on. Our next door neighbor has a lot of those animated stuffed animals that sing and move. Wow, Zoe loves them all. She gets so excited. The neightbor has a Santa that has a motion sensor on her front door anytime our door gets opened Zoe gets so excited to see it. She is one silly girl.

Chase is growing up so fast. He is still so sweet though. I feel so bad when Maeley bosses him around. He gets so upset. But man he is a great big brother to Zoe. He shares anything he has with her. This morning after getting Zoe dressed when Chase saw her he said, "You are such a cutie Zoe." Seriously he is such a good kid. He does whine more often than we 'd like and at some meals its awful getting him to eat his food. He will keep a mouthful of food in his mouth if he doesn't like something. He simply will not swallow it. It's very annoying.

Little Miss Maeley, or shall I say big kid Maeley. If I call her little she will correct me and say he's a big girl. I love her imagination. She is so smart. She was telling me yesterday about pipes that carry water in them to get to our faucets. She said she learned it from Handy Manny. I love how she teaches Chase new things. When they get along they really are best of friends. While at the grocery store Monday night Maeley and Chase were holding hands down some of the aisles. It was so darn cute. I should have taken a picture.

Derek is so busy at work. He has been working long hours. He has 11 days off starting the 24th! We couldn't be happier. We finally made up our minds as to what we are doing during that break. We're staying home. We want to relax and making another trip to Gilbert would have been too much for us. We are planning on doing a couple projects during the time off. I can't wait!

I'm hanging in there. 9 days til Christmas, 4 til my birthday. Well I'm not too excited about my birthday just another year older. I'm just hoping for a better one than last year. I had spent the night before in the hospital with Zoe and most of my birthday (they thought she had RSV). So it won't take much to top last year. Now Christmas is what I'm most excited for. I can hardly wait to see the kids open their presents. It's killing me. Also on Christmas Eve we are going to my Aunt Cheri and Uncle Mel's for dinner. They do an amazing job decorating their home for Christmas. If their house doesn't get you in the holiday spirit I don't know what will. I can't wait.

Well that's pretty much sums up what we are up to.  

Gingerbread house

Finally this year we made a gingerbread house. We've never done it with the kids before. Maeley recalls doing it with her cousin Parker though. She even said that Parker needed to come help her. She misses him.

We did this a week ago for Family Home Evening. When we are at the grocery store that morning I saw it was on sale and decided it was about time to do one. Maeley and Chase had a hard time waiting for Dad to get home. When Chase and Zoe napped Maeley helped me make the frosting and build the house so it would be dry for decorating that evening.

Derek was having a great time.

Chase did all the gum drops by himself without any instructions, except just put them on. We thought he did a good job putting them in rows.

After we took some pictures we let them dig in and start eating. As you can imagine they loved it!