Festival of Trees

My mom has been decorating a tree for the Festival of Trees since before I was born.

I have never been able to help her until we were in Utah this year and I extended my stay so I could be there.

It was a blast-especially since I'm really not much help.  I'm there for moral support.

I did help Heather with her Despicable Christmas gingerbread house.

Until 2 am.

It was fun watching my uber-creative mom at work…

And the finished product!

We all stood back and documented the days' work!

It was really fun and a little emotional and special too!

This is a fun tradition that I'm glad I could be part of this year.

And I loved seeing my mom's friends all support and help her out too!

What a fantastic bunch of women-

So glad I could spend a day here with all of them.

2 Weeks Past Christmas?!

I can't believe how quickly the holiday season went!

We had a wonderful week--

many friends visited for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

our kids were happy and excited

(so excited that they piled in our bed at 5:45 am, so we started nice and early that day)

Paul and I were able to sleep in a little, go for runs together, watch movies, and read by the fireplace.

And my mom and dad came the day after Christmas to play with the kids 

and watch them while Paul and I celebrated our 14th anniversary in the city.

I also got to spend a lot of time in my new kitchen! 

(that is a post for another day)

Most of all, I just felt so much joy and love and happiness.

It was a perfect Christmas--we have so much to be thankful for and I felt those blessings this year.

I helped out at Afton's party (here she is with her cute teacher)

In their nice duds for Christmas Sunday

Waiting for the OK to see if Santa came

Our Lego-maniac is still going strong

Lots of American Girl fun!

Nora loves her Minnie and Mickey and double stroller

Figuring out our big family gift--a trip to DisneyWorld 

(starts this weekend)

 with Grandma and Grandpa Bunting

Christmas Wrap-Up

Because December turned out to be very busy,

I didn't end up posting for each of our fun activities.

So, before January comes tonight, I figured I would share a few fun pictures from our Christmas fun...

 Uncle Troy brought some fun gingerbread houses that were pre-baked with icing and candies.

It was perfect for the kids, and for mom!

The darling girls in their Christmas dresses and handsome Matthew in his new suit!

 We decorated gingerbread houses again with our friends.

I found an awesome pattern that makes four small houses with one batch.

They are the perfect size for kids (and the moms) to decorate!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with friends.

We enjoyed dinner and a brief Christmasprogram together.

(with 20 kids--most under 5--it is best to keep things brief!)

 Afton conducted the program...

 Paul told a story about a camel who learns about Christmas from the Christ Child.

(I love all the little girls piled around him!)

 The picture of everyone's shoes stacked up by the door makes me smile!

And finally, Christmas morning was here...

 the Lego-mania continues

 Nora has her hands full with her new "Bitty-Twins"

 Afton loved the clothes and books Santa brought for her

 Halle was excited about everything, but especially her new Barbie camper!

 opening stockings before we started presents

And the cherry on top?

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit the day after Christmas!

 We went to movies, played games, had Grandma sew up a few things, and watched bowl games.

Nora was a little upset that they didn't take her home with them today.

We had a wonderful Christmas season, filled with friends and family.

What more could we ask for?

We wish all of you a very happy 2012!

Quiet Christmas

We had a very peaceful Christmas this year.

Quite a change from our previous years,

when we've been around lots of family.

But I still wanted a big Christmas Eve dinner,

so I made the turkey, rolls, potatoes, etc.

and then we headed to the retirement home to participate

in a nativity and a sing-a-long

 The girls did a great job as angels guarding the baby Jesus

and Matthew was a solemn, respectful shepherd

After some carols, we headed home.

Got into our traditional Christmas Eve new pajamas,

read some stories and got everything ready for Santa

-Matthew wrote a letter while the girls put out cookies and carrots-

 Christmas Morning!

We make the kids wait on the stairs

while Dad makes sure that Santa has come

and the scene is ready for kids!

Even Nora knew something good was going on!

Everyone was happy and we had a restful day
Matt spent his day building Legos
The girls played American Girl and kitchen with Nora
I got to curl up on the couch and read a book
and Paul got to clean and vacuum.
Yep--everyone was happy!

Gingerbread Houses

This is the first year I have attempted homemade gingerbread houses

My friend was making them while I visited 

and she made it look so easy

that I figured I could do it too...

I have to say they take some practice, 

and I used hot glue to hold them together.

Next year will be better, but the kids had fun doing them anyway.

 

It was fun to see the dads get right in there with the frosting! 

 The finished products!

Christian and Nora were only interested in eating the candy!