A very white Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone again. And, I know it will be here again before I know it. Every year Christmas with the kids gets more fun. This year was no exception. Alexis couldn't wait for Santa to visit and Luke, being the copy cat that he is, couldn't either! Christmas Eve this year was definitely different than every other Christmas Eve I've been alive for, I think. It was the first year we didn't get to see Grandma and Grandpa Coon or Aunt Janet and Uncle Bill. There was just too much snow. It started really snowing at our house on the 17th of December and didn't really stop until the 26th or 27th. It was crazy the amount of snow we had (and still have). I didn't drive myself anywhere for 11 days. I think that's a record. As much as I complain about Chris' big truck I sure was glad to have it during the snow. There is no way we could have made it to Lynnwood without it!

Anyway, we spent Christmas Eve at mom and dad's with Karen and her family, Eric and Gramma S. It was a really nice, relaxing night. So nice to not have to go anywhere else and just be able to put the kids to bed when they were tired. We got up Christmas morning and opened more presents, had breakfast and were just lazy for a bit. Again, so nice to just relax! Around 1:00 we headed over to the Francois' for more presents and the big family dinner. Jen, Chad, Alice, Dre and Ed all made it to town for Christmas, and it was really fun to get to spend some time with all of them. We didn't leave their house until about 11:30 pm, so it was definitely a late night.
The snow at our house before we left!

Checking out the loot

She's a little excited


Playing with G.G.

Sawing off Eliot's arm



Christmas morning!

Biscuit. Santa did a good job!

The Soelter family

Being patient with Papa

Airbrush tattoos. The kids had so much fun with this!

December Update

Well, it's almost Christmas and it's been about a month since my last post, so I think it's time for an update.

We put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. Alexis had fun decorating it with me. Luke slept on the couch like a typical guy :) I've been trying to Christmas shop, but am having a hard time. Everytime I go out I find more stuff I want to get for the kids, but not much for other people. I'm refraining from buying it all. I think Visa gift cards may be the way I go this year. I'd be perfetly happy to get that as a gift, so hopefully others will too.

On December 12 Alexis had her preschool Christmas program. It was so cute! They sang some songs like "This Little Light of Mine" and "Away in a Manger" and a few others and their teacher told the short version of the Christmas story. Alexis was the Angel of the Lord, the only person with a speaking part. She memorized her lines and said them like a pro. She looked right at the shepherds and said "Don't be afraid. I have good news. A special baby is born! Go see the baby laying in the manger." We were so proud of her! Now she's on Christmas break til January 5. She is already asking when she gets to go back to school.

We got our first snow of the season last weekend. We were at mom and dad's for the weekend so Chris could work on the house and it snowed there. The kids played in it for a bit, but it was really cold. I was glad we weren't at home because out here in the county it was -5 with the wind chill! On Sunday we went to the Children's Museum in Everett to celebrate Eliot's 3d birthday. It was super fun!

Today it started snowing here and we've got a good 6 inches. We went to the mall tonight because I needed snow boots desperately and figured we'd do a little Christmas shopping while we were there. Didn't happen since the whole mall (besides Target) was closed! At least I got my boots :)

I can't believe next week is Christmas! Merry Christmas to anyone who happens to read this!

Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

First time at a movie!

Chris and I have talked quite a few times about taking the kids to different movies as they have come out, but we've never actually gotten our act together to do it. Well, this weekend we finally managed. On Sunday we took the kids to see Madagascar 2 in the theater. I really wasn't worried about it since both my kids (especially Luke) really like watching tv. We got popcorn, root beer and sour patch kids for a snack and got settled. They watched the whole movie and were both so good! Luke got pretty excited when he saw Alex the lion and couldn't help but yell his name a few times, but other than that they were very quiet. Chris and I really enjoyed the movie, too, and it was fun to go do something as a family. I mean, I've spent plenty of quality time with the kids over the last few months while Chris has been stuck spending a lot of quality time with our house. And since I never got around to a Halloween post, here's a couple pictures of the kids in their costumes. Luke's a monkey and Alexis is Violet, from the Incredibles.

Would you like some cookie with your sprinkles?

Just some pictures

We really haven't done anything fun or exciting lately, so I thought I'd just share a few pictures I've taken in the last few weeks. When do kids start smiling normally when you say smile??

Show and Tell

Alexis got to bring a "show and tell" item to school last Wednesday. I thought it would be hard for her to decide what to bring, but she knew what she wanted to bring. Let me just start by saying that Alexis has at least 50 (maybe closer to 100) stuffed animals and would happily take 50 more. She's always ooohing and ahhing over them at any store and begging to buy them all. So, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that that is what she chose for show and tell. She brought her Rudolph that she got last Christmas and a stuffed elephant. These 2 have always been at the top of her list of favorites. I wish I could have heard what she told the class about them.

My new nephew

There is a new addition in Karen, Dennis and Eliot's family! Baxter was born on 9/28 (his due date) and is doing great. We went to visit them on the 29th when they came home from the hospital. He was only 7 lbs at birth and seems so tiny! Eliot is doing great with his little brother. Alexis was so cute with him. She loved holding him and was so sweet. Luke didn't really care much about him. Apparently babies aren't his thing :)

I loved holding such a little baby, but was happy to give him back to Karen. I guess my baby days are behind me. I couldn't get both Luke and Alexis to sit with me while I held Baxter, so there is a picture of me with them separately. Oh well, someday they will cooperate, right??