Family Christmas Fun

On Christmas Eve morning we went to Jason's sister's house. We had a yummy brunch and we all ate too much. We had a great time visiting together and it was fun to have Jason's brother-in-law back from Iraq with us. Welcome home Mitch!!

The kids were finally able to open a couple of presents from Grandma and Grandpa Crystal and their cousins. They LOVED their sleeping bags from Grandma and Grandpa.
Nathan put his to use later that day when he took a nap in it. He thought it seemed like the perfect place and he looked very comfy.

Christmas Eve night we went to Jason's parents' house. Once again we ate yummy food and enjoyed visiting together. We are blessed with a fabulous family and I can't think of a better place to spend the holidays. Family is truly what it's all about, isn't it?

On Christmas morning the kids slept in. It was so nice as we were up late being "Santa's helpers." After they awoke they didn't even remember that it was Christmas. We turned on a kids show for them while all of the adults took a few minutes to comb their hair and brush their teeth. When we were all ready I asked the kids if they thought Santa had come. They immediately headed for Mom and Dad's living room. They loved what Santa had brought and were so excited to see it all. Here are a few photos...

This is Landon with his new t-rex. Behind him is his new piano, complete with working microphone. Here is Nathan with his new tool bench and his pirate ship. I think he liked the cell phone that came with the bench the very best.

Here is princess Lauren in one of the many princess outfits that she now owns. She loves her magic wand and her princess shoes. She modeled each of the outfits for us throughout the day and made certain to check herself out in the mirror each time.

Our Christmas was so much fun! My sister pointed out how good the kids were. There was no crying or fighting this year and they played nicely in the living room all day. We enjoyed being together and know that we are so blessed. We hope your Christmas was as filled with love as ours was. Thanks to Mom and Dad and Suzanne and Brent for being with us. We love you all!!

More Holiday Fun

Last year we found the best Christmas light display I have ever seen! It's at a private residence about 45 minutes from where we live. This year we decided to make the trip again to see this incredible show.

We loaded the kids into the car and brought all their cold weather gear because it was a cold and windy night. Everyone was anxious to see the lights and to feed carrots to the real live camel.

This photo shows the kids enjoying the lights. Lauren really did like them, but in this photo she had just seen the "real" Santa Clause and she was worried we'd make her sit on his lap again.

We walked through the lights first and then stopped to see the camel. We didn't get to feed it carrots this year because they had a sign saying the camel was not feeling well. I have a feeling it has something to do with all of the candy canes that Santa was giving to the thousands of kids who had come to visit. After looking at the camel and explaining that we couldn't touch it we got back into the car and drove through the light display. We just couldn't get enough. If you live in south-central Idaho this is one Christmas tradition you don't want to miss!

Another fun project that we took on this year was to build a gingerbread house. My sister had a gingerbread house kit that she gave to us. She ate a few gum drops before she gave it to us but luckily we still had plenty. Whew!

Jason was the foreman on the project. He used the sticky icing to build the house and get it all set up. Nathan was a fabulous apprentice and watched his every move.

The kids and I were the decorators. Lauren and Landon put TONS of candy on the house and the trees. Nathan put a few pieces of candy on and then ate the rest. (I think he takes after his mom.) Check out all of the candy that he has stored in his right cheek.

The house turned out beautifully and it stayed on our kitchen counter until, after a few days, all of the candy was missing. Thanks to Suzanne for giving us this fun idea to do with our kids. I think we'll do this every year.

Our Christmas Season

This year Chistmas was so much fun for our family. While we busied ourselves with many holiday activities we tried to help our kids know of the true meaning of Christmas. I think (I hope) that if you asked them why we celebrate Christmas they could give you the correct answer-to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.

We started December by putting up our Christmas tree. For the past two years our tree has had a baby gate surrounding it. This year I decided that the kids were old enough to understand "don't touch the Christmas tree." They helped put the decorations on and we put all of the fragile ones at the top. I knew I needed to take a picture of the tree as soon as it was finished because it may not look very good after a few days of them rearranging things or tipping the whole thing over. So here they are looking very proud.

I'm proud to report that we only had two broken ornaments and not once was the tree toppled. The ornaments were easily fixed with a little glue and all is well. We did not attempt to put presents under the tree as this would be way too much of a temptation. We'll try adding this feature next year and see how it goes.

Next we went to our local Festival of Trees. Jason coached the kids in advance and told them that Santa would likely be there to see them. He had them each practice asking Santa for what they wanted for Christmas.

Nathan was the first to approach or to be pushed to approach Santa. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas he said, "A peanut." Jason thought this was hilarious because it was just what he had told Nathan to tell Santa. After Nathan made his request we attempted to get him to sit on Santa's lap for a photo. Needless to say, Nathan wasn't really in to this idea. He had made his request and just wanted to get out of there. Poor Santa!!
Lauren was the next to approach Santa. She really wanted the candy cane that he offered but had no interest in getting any closer than she absolutely had to. She refused to speak when Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas. The photo op speaks for itself. Lauren had her candy cane and thought the rest of the show was completely ridiculous. I think this is so funny and so typical of Lauren. The last little Weir to see Santa was our little social bug Landon. He didn't want to go first or second, but when his turn came he wanted to make the most of it. He walked right up and sat on Santa's lap. When asked what he wanted he very clearly stated, "A T- Rex!" As always, he smiled and posed perfectly for the camera.

Now for the rest of the t-rex story...
Landon had seen a t-rex at Target in the toy department. He was afraid of it at the time but then decided, after seeing commericials for it on television, that he had to have one. When Jason and I went to Target to get one we found out that it was not only sold out but that it was $129. This was a little steep for our budget. So we searched and searched to find another remote control t-rex that would suffice. There was none to be found in all of south-central Idaho.

Jason finally found something on the Internet. He thought it looked a little scary but it was remote control and it cost $30. We thought we were in business. The kicker was that it was just a few days before Christmas when he found it and he ended up paying $20 for expedited shipping. Oh well, parents do things like this to make their little ones happy sometimes, don't they?

Landon continued talking about the t-rex. Any time anyone asked him what he wanted for Christmas he always replied, "A t-rex." He was stuck on this toy and there was no changing his mind. Boy was I glad we had found one and that it was on it's way.

Well, the day came for us to leave to go my parents' house and the darn t-rex still hadn't arrived. I couldn't believe it!! My sister was leaving the next day and planned to stop by our house to see if the t-rex was waiting on our doorstep so she could bring it with her to my parents' house. It was Christmas eve day and the vendor had promised delivery before Christmas if we paid the extra shipping. My sister stopped by and there was no t-rex. The whole family was concerned about this silly toy at this point. Part of me was saying, "We don't always get what we want and it's a good lesson to teach your kids." The other part of me (the part that was going to win) was saying, "He's too young to learn this lesson! This is the first toy he's ever asked Santa for and I refuse to let him down!" If the t-rex didn't come I was headed to the store to find something that looked like a remote control t-rex.

So my sister ran a couple of errands, had lunch and came back by our house. Guess what??? The t-rex was there!!! Thank you, thank you Mr. UPS man!!! (Was it you Dan?)

The story ends like this...On Christmas morning the kids ran upstairs into my parents' living room. Landon was the first to enter. The first words uttered by any child came from Landon. He said, "My t-rex!" Then he ran straight to it.

What can I say? It made all of the headache and hassle worthwhile.

Jason's Birthday

About a month ago Jason had a birthday. The kids were so excited about it that they decided they would throw him a surprise party. They helped me wrap Jason's presents and the boys hid them in their room behind their locked door. We located party hats and balloons in our party supply box. We bought an ice cream birthday cake (Daddy's favorite) and waited for Jason to get home.


When Jason went to the bedroom to change his clothes after work the kids sprang into action. They ran to the boys' bedroom to retrieve the presents. Then they placed them carefully in the family room where the party was to take place. Then they quickly donned their hats, placed their balloons and waited for Jason to come out from the bedroom. They could hardly wait!!! As soon as he came out they yelled, "Surprise!!!" Jason acted as surprised as he could and the kids loved every minute of it.


The kids couldn't wait for Daddy to open his presents, so...
they did it for him!!! If I didn't actually know it was REALLY Jason's birthday I would have assumed it was Lauren, Landon and Nathan's birthday. Where is Jason's hat, anyway??




Next came the birthday cake. Can you guess who blew out the candles?? Well, actually Jason got to do the honors on this one. We all enjoyed cake and Landon made certain to eat around all of the chocolate ice cream as he thinks chocolate is yucky. I wish I had this problem...

Our New Addition

O.K., O.K., don't get too carried away...It's not a baby or a pet. It's a NEW SHED/SHOP!!! I am privileged to be married to a very handy guy. The downside of the arrangement is that he comes well equipped with enough tools to fill our entire garage. I've refused to give up my indoor parking spot but will have a little more room now that we've constructed this new addition. Jason has big plans for his little space and is very protective of it. Every time I suggest something that could be placed inside of it, I am quickly reminded that I'm treading on his turf.

This project has been ongoing since we moved into our house. We started with the concrete slab. Then Jason and his step-dad built the structure (thanks to much, Gordon). Then Jason insulated it. And we finally hired someone to put the siding on a few weeks ago. I think it looks great and love that it matches our house.

Hmmmm...What should our next project be?

Nathan's Big Surprise

Today we were driving in the van, when all of the sudden Nathan started reciting something that I'm sure you'll all recognize. I couldn't believe my ears!!! I had him say it a couple of times to make certain that it wasn't a fluke. Turn the sound on your computer way up so that you can hear what he has to say.

Nathan learned this at school. It's one of the many things that he's amazed us with since starting school. Thanks to all of his WONDERFUL teachers for teaching him so many things. He's one of the smartest 3-year-olds that I've ever met. Yes, I am biased. What can I say. Yeah Nathan!!

Happy Halloween

Halloween was VERY exciting at our house this year. Our kids were really into all of the decorations, costumes and CANDY!!!!

We started a new tradition in our family. Jason's sister Jody had these really fun face parts (eyes, ears, lips, etc.) that you just poke into the pumpkin. She found them at Walmart for $3.50 a box and used them with her kids. When I saw them I nearly jumped for joy!!! You see, the thoughts of three 3-year-olds with knives for carving pumpkins was just too much for this mother. I love my children and I love that they have all of their digits. Thankfully, we have them all still intact and had darling pumpkins as well. Nathan especially loved that the nose that he chose for his pumkin had a big green booger hanging out of it. Why are boys so gross??!!

Our super cute and 100% safe pumpkins!!

Nathan's pumpkin-Can you see the booger?



Landon's doggie pumpkin-so cute!!


Lauren's crazy pumpkin.

For Halloween this year I decided that the kids would all be penguins. I found the cutest costumes on the Internet and just couldn't resist. Landon really wanted to be Spiderman or a skeleton but I wanted them to all match one more year. First we were dalmation puppies, then we were clowns, then we were pirates and this year we were penguins. From now forward I vow to let my children choose their own costumes.

Our Happy Feet-Lauren, Nathan and Landon-Aren't they cute?

Our ward had a fun Harvest Dinner followed by the annual Trunk or Treat. Last year the kids were still little and I kept them in the triple stroller by the back of our van. They were content to watch all of the trick-or-treaters pass by. Never once did they question why they weren't trick-or-treating or why they weren't getting any candy. It was fabulous!! Besides, I really didn't want them getting/eating all of that candy. But...I knew there was no way that I would get away with that this year. So here is a photo of Jason and the 3 penguins trick-or-treating at Trunk-or-Treat. It was super fun. At the end Nathan had both hands full of candy bars. He said to me, "Are these candy bars?" When I said that they were he cheerfully exclaimed, "I love candy bars!!" This is true. He does love candy bars. Nathan and Lauren LOVE chocolate like their Mommy. Landon detests chocolate but is a huge fan of taffy and starbursts. I think we got more than enough candy to please all 3 of them-and Mom and Dad too!!

Here is Jason's Jamaican-inspired costume. The nice ladies that he works with always call him "Boss Man." We found a fun Jamaican twist to the term on this t-shirt and purchased the hat and dreds to go with it. He said that everyone liked the costume but the hair was a bit itchy. He also wondered what the hair was actually made from. I'm sure we don't want to know, but I thought he looked really great.