Christmas 2016

Wow, what a Christmas! We had it all--family visits, celebrations, tons of snow, and lots of fun memories were made. We started off with our traditional Christmas Eve party with our entire family. EVERYONE was here this year so that made it extra special. We've grown so large in numbers we ended up having the party at the church house--we wouldn't all fit in Mom and Dad's house--and next year there will be even more!  We had tons of yummy food, a short program in which Amelia played her violin:

Cooper told a few jokes, followed by the other cousins--of which Matthew thought his jkoke was hilarious. Then we ate some more!

We left just as the "Big Storm" was hitting Blackfoot. We arrived home just in time to get tucked into our home and the storm blew in. We ended up having a constant snow fall from Christmas Eve eve until December 26th! When the skied cleared, we had about 12 inches of snow. Let me tell you, it made getting to church on Sunday an adventure. Let's just say my children were super impressed at the drift busting their mother could do in their tiny car. :-)

Here's some pictures of Christmas morning:

Cooper finally got his membership to the online game he'd been waiting for: 

Amelia and Cooper had $10 to get each other gifts. Amelia is bracing herself for Cooper's known exuberant reactions:

See?

They loved all their gifts--from the complete haul from Santa; to the "I-Day" (tickets to I-Jump and lunch at IHOP) from Nana and Grandpa. 

The rest of our vacation was spent sleeping in, playing with new toys and games, relaxing, and gearing up for the looooong few months with no break in sight. :-) We have New Years Eve celebration tonight, so I'll post that later. Happy New Year!

Nutcracker

Sigh. The Nutcracker  is over. Finished. The season has passed. I don't know who feels more relief--the moms or the dance teachers. It may be a tie. In addition to Andy and Desiree wedding (which was lovely) we had the first of two performances last weekend. Saturday went well, and I didn't mind the late night. Monday however, was a little rougher. I had taught all day, was fighting a cold, and exhausted. Cooper and Amelia did a fabulous job as always. Cooper behaved himself and Amelia didn't fall as she danced on her pointe shoes. Everyone was tired and by the time we got home, 2/3 of us were in tears. I'm hoping it gets better with each year! Here's a few pictures:

Cooper and his "manly" candy bouquet.

On Wednesday Amelia went to the dentist to have a "surgical exposure of impacted canine tooth" procedure done. It took an hour an a half. I didn't understand the severity of the procedure, but it became clear when the dentist cut her gums away from the tooth, folded it back up, and stitched it in place. Let's just say I'm certain my decision to NOT become a dentist was a good choice.  Amelia did an AMAZING job. I talked her into happy gas and I think that really helped. That, and the dentist remembered her and numbed her from her eyebrows to her chin. :-)  She will go in later this month to have a brace attached to the uncovered tooth so they can start moving it down.

On less grotesque note, Cooper had his science fair yesterday. I'm proud of the work he did and how well he presented. It was one of the perks of him being in the same school as me that I got to see his project.

Next up: Amelia's orchestra concert and Cooper's school Christmas program.

Holiday Season

Wow, holidays certainly make time move fast! So much has happened in that month. Thanksgiving, Amelia's first festival performance, a wedding, and gearing up for Christmas. The most exciting thing however, is that this girl got her braces on:

She. Did. AMAZING. No tears, no crying, no "flippin' out" as Cooper would put it. The whole hour and a half she did so well! I don't know who was more surprised--me or the her orthodontist! Amelia is now the proud owner of pink braces, and I'm the proud owner of monthly payments!

We also had Thanksgiving in Blackfoot--it was especially fun because every single person in our family made it! That hasn't happened in a few years! It was a crazy day, with lots of food and tons of children running around. Amelia was in heaven with so many babies to hold and play with. Cooper had fun playing with his "army of boys". Next year we'll have at one more addition, can't wait!

Only rolls for this picky eater!

Only soft foods for this poor girls mouth!

Joey and Lynnli were having a pouting contest. 

The boy loves his Oreos!

A rare picture of Linus with his eyes shut. 

I loaded some of the cousins on the rolling tray and took them for a spin around the room. 

The Friday after Thanksgiving we decorated our home. We had so much fun unwrapping our ornaments and looking at each one! Each year we choose one that represents what we accomplished or experienced that year.

Gotta have that funny one:

We had the first performance of the Nutcracker last night, and the second tomorrow. I'll post pictures later this week! Merry Christmas!

Amelia's recital

This weekend Amelia had a violin recital. It was a last minute plan; on Friday her teacher told her  she felt Amelia was ready to perform her song. She also wanted her to have more experience playing under a bit of pressure because Amelia has festival coming up in a few weeks. She did a fabulous job and was very serious and concentrated during her playing. Here's the video:

Halloween

Whew! What a week! Halloween on a Monday just makes those 5 days drag. We had a great time with all our activities including the school carnival, Hocus Pocus, and trick or treating throughout the city! Here are some pictures:

My Darth Vader and hula girl.

For Hocus Pocus they opted for other costumes.

Our pumpkins. 

I'm happy I got a picture of our pumpkins because that night we had a terrible storm! It was raining sideways, gusting through the courtyard and completely made a mess of Amelia's mummy pumpkin. Cooper's sunglasses blew of his pumpkin and ended up about 30 feet away.  I didn't even have time to bring them inside because the storm hit so fast.

On to the holidays!

Pumpkin Patch

Today after Nutcracker practice we went to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. We were about two weeks later than we usually go, so the pickings were a little slimmer. We still had a great time climbing the straw bales, driving the pedal carts, and going through the maze. Here are some pictures:

It was a little windy. Cooper is hitting another spurt, closing the distance between his and Amelia's height.

Awwww! What you didn't see was the elbow Amelia jammed into Cooper's side as he quickly leapt away.

Cooper loved climbing on the straw bales.

 This year we rode the pedal carts. Rather, Amelia and Cooper steered while I alternated pushing them out of ruts and mud. :-) Amelia got the hang of it soon though, and she took off.

However, I'm grateful we have a couple years before driver's ed:

Cooper was All. Over. The. Place.

Amelia did better, but still managed to get stuck a few times.

Next week we have the school carnival and Hocus Pocus!

Straw Maze

To kick off Harvest Break, we went to the opening day of the straw maze. Just me, Cooper, Amelia........and two of her loudest friends. I put all three girls in the back seat hoping.....well, I'm not quite sure what I was hoping for. Poor Cooper kept turning around, trying to join their conversation.

As those who know or have 12-year-old girls, joining a conversation is often next to impossible. Cooper tried several times, only to be discouraged. Finally, he turned back around, huffed out a breath and said, "All girls DO is talk, laugh, interrupt, giggle and be loud." I told him he'd discovered the secret of women and to remember that all his life.

We arrived at the straw maze and immediately became separated from the "noisy girls" and finally "had some quiet to think".  He did however, manage to crash the girls "before" picture:

Cooper and I wandered around, thinking each time we'd found the way out. These are the twine that hangs down so you run into it at night and get all creeped out. It was a stormy day, so during the worst rain we sheltered in the tunnels or the haunted bus.

Cooper and I ended up getting REALLY turned around and came OUT the Haunted Forest entrance. While we waited for the girls he played on the slides and straw bales.

                                     

After everyone finished the maze, we played in the straw pit for awhile. We were already soaked, so why not get covered in straw, too?

Here's a picture after the rainstorms, the straw pit, and an hour and a half being lost. We picked up Amelia's friend's brother during the adventure.

Onto to Hocus Pocus, picking our pumpkins, and harvest parties!