Our home Christmas - Christmas #1

                                         Getting the cookies, carrots and milk ready for Santa.

                                                        All of the gifts from Santa.

                                            Our Christmas tree with all of the presents.

                            Grant and Rachel waiting to come upstairs to see the presents Santa brought.

                                                All of the kids checking out their stockings.

                     Everyone is ready to start opening.  They each have "their" pile of presents to open.

                                Abbie got the Justin Bieber perfume.

                     I got matching owl aprons with Rachel and a great cookbook.

                                           Jacob LOVED his Hollister boxer shorts.

             Greg can now ride around the neighborhood with his very own helmet now.  No more getting made fun of by Kay and Tim with pretty butterflies on his helmet.

                              Grant pretty much had a RAIDERS Christmas and LOVES it all.

          I think the neighborhood heard Rachel when she opened up her iTouch.  WOW was that loud.

                             Time to clean up the mess and play with the goods they got.

                

     Abbie with her new jeans, new shirt and socks on along with her cool skull candy earphones.

Week ending 12-24-2011

                           The lunch ladies look very festive for our last day of the year at Weber.

                         Grant playing some SNOWY aka BINGO at his Winter Party.

              Jacob's poster of the West High Swim Team this year.

                               Having some fun coloring Christmas pages in a huge coloring book.

                                 Grant hanging out with his friend Abdurrahim on the first day of break.

                              Rachel and Margaret hanging out in her room having some fun.

  Margaret, Rachel, Abdurrahim and Grant doing a craft at Michael's this week.

                        Abbie had a slumber party with Sam and Sydney after BASIC.

                           Rachel, Grant and I having some fun downtown with the tech store. 

                   Rode the bus downtown so we had lunch at Blue Bird Dinner.

                    Alf wishing for some snow so he made a snow angel with sugar when I wasn't looking.

                       Time to make the Christmas cookies with the kids.

                                              Looking good kiddos.

             ALF hanging out in his lego box he made.  I think he was scared of me after I was so mad about the sugar angel that he locked himself up.

       Rachel and I doing some cooking - we made to overnight dishes to make on Christmas morning.

                      Rachel making a list of what needed to be done before bed on Christmas Eve.

Happenings week ending 12-18-2011

                 Pop was here for breakfast so he got to help Grant with his spelling words. Thanks Pop - he got them all right this week.

             Rachel gave a presentation on Paul Revere - this is what she did for her presentation.  Her unicorn was actually Paul's horse - she wore a handsome suit coat and brought along a photo of Greg and I in front of Paul's house in Boston. 

                       My big sis Kim came for a night so she helped me wrap up some cake pops.

                              Alf decided to make a snowfort this week.  If only he would have wrapped all of those presents for me when I was at work that really would have helped me.  BUT NO!!!

                     Grant all ready to race his boat race at his Cub Scout meeting.

                           The flapping pages having a good discussion at book club this week.

                 This is every Friday night at our house.  Greg with Rachel and Grant watching a movie and then having a sleepover by the Christmas tree - doesn't get any better than that.

                                   Grant having a football game with the neighbors.

                        Grant with our neighbor boys - Jeremy and Gabe.

               We made personal pizzas this weekend to eat by the Christmas tree.

                                     Rachel made her pizza with a canadian bacon eyes and a sausage mouth.

                  Another Christmas tradition is to check out the Santa display in Coralville.  Always a hit.

 Mie - this is what Grant does with the Santa chocolates you brought.  He makes up football plays and uses them on a paper to determine the play.  Thanks for helping him out.

                         Everyone working on puzzels in the den on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

                Rachel got her first dance competition costume today.  She was so excited.

Happenings week ending 12-11-2011

             Rachel and Grant working on a ginger bread house together.

                         Rachel and Grant played a lot of school over the weekend in the playroom.

                          Rachel helping Oma get Sunday lunch ready.

              We all went to The Muppet Movie on Saturday - It was a GREAT movie.

                             Jacob at his swim meet on Saturday afternoon.

                  I had our Christmas Brownie Meeting at our house - they loved the hairnets they wore while making gingerbread houses that they didn't want to take them off.  I guess they really look up to me.  I love my girls.

                                  Maddie and Rachel working on their gingerbread houses.

         He who wakes mom up at 5:30AM will shovel the driveway with her. 

          The BIGGEST news of the week.  Uncle Joel proposed to Susan.  We can't wait to call her Aunt Susan.  We are all SO EXCITED!!!!

                              Grant with his homemade gingerbread house.  Get the theme this week.

                        Grant, Jacob, and Abbie's gingerbread houses.

                                      Family event of making gingerbread houses.

                Here are my funny penguins I made this week.  I think they are pretty cute.  I hope you enjoy the blog this week.  It is a totally different format so I am not sure how it looks to you.  Let me know what you think.  Have a great week.