Where to begin? On Christmas Eve we had a yummy dinner of Russian Christmas Chicken and grilled vegetables. I made mint chocolate cookies and we left some out for Santa. The kids opened their gifts from Opa and had fun playing with them. We watched the Living Scriptures DVD of when baby Jesus was born.
On Christmas morning the kids were so excited. Manuel set up a trap in the hallway that would alert us if Gabe woke up. He put plastic bags on the floor and bubble wrap on the stairs and put a chair against his bedroom door. Luckily the kids both slept through the night.
The kids got a really cool miniature store from Manuel's family. It was full of tiny
foods that were made of candy. Complete with a cash register that really scans items, processes credit cards, has a loud microphone, money, and a conveyor belt.
There was a cute little shopping cart, basket and grocery bags. It is so adorable. Manuel and his siblings had one growing up and it is a tradition where Manuel comes from. You only get it out at Christmas time every year.
One of Gabe's favorite presents was his karaoke machine that has colorful lights that shoot out of it. He sang on it all day and insisted that we take it to Grandma Bev's Christmas party where he performed for all his cousins. He is a natural!
Paisley loves her dress up shoes. She loves walking around the house in them and they make her feel special. She had her drama moments and we had to put her time out a few times. It is so cute when she puts her nose on the wall and waits until mommy counts to ten. When we say, "Paisley, go to time out!" without a fuss, she puts herself in time out and does her time accordingly. We laugh every time.
Manuel's family got me a really cool bread maker. I have always wanted one. It does all the work, you just dump the ingredients in! Manuel bought me some really cool gourmet chocolate (pink peppercorn, lavender, and ginger) also some jewelry and lip glosses. I gave him tons of his favorite treats and some DVDs. Our gift to each other is temple clothing which can be expensive so we decided to still surprise each other with stockings.
On Christmas morning, Paisley helped me make Christmas tree, gingerbread boy and heart shaped pancakes. We dyed them green. The kids loved them!
At Grandma Bev's party the next day we had a yummy dinner of honey glazed ham rolled Hawaii haystacks, salald, funeral potatoes, veggie skewers and dip, Christmas punch, and cranberry meatballs. Aunt Crista made homemade cinnamon rolls and we all exchanged homemade cookies. We all exchanged gifts and had a great time. Grandma gave Paisley a dog named "Paisley" it was cute.
We hope you all had a Merry Christmas too!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Christmas!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Pre Holiday Stuff
On the menu this week? Layered salad and chicken cordon bleu. I guess I had a little flare for spring foods.
The kids have been enjoying getting treats from their advent calendars each week - as you can see below. Gabe likes to help Paisley get hers so he can sneak a taste of what she gets. She never notices.
We had a lovely Christmas party and Grandpa Roger's. He and Grandma Candace made a delicious dinner complete with orange cranberry lemonade, cranberry toasted walnut wilted salad, funeral potatoes, homemade rolls and jam, roasted honey glazed ham, brownies, fudge, chocolate pie, creme brulee and hot chocolate.
The kids loved watching grandpa Roger flambe the creme brulee with the torch. Then he read the story of the Christmas orange to all the kids and then passed out oranges. It was so cute. Then we opened presents and played fun games like chicken foot and Snorty. So much fun!
We got a really special card today from Opa. If you look closely you'll see Gabe, Paisley, Nalani and Opa's faces infused into the painting on the card. He is so creative. Thanks Opa!!
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