I'm Gettin Nuthin for Christmas

Here's the video of our cute first graders singing the version by Smashmouth. You can look for our little boy in the orange PJs and blue hat (the kid whose head is usually going the wrong way). Enjoy! And yes, that's a lot of first graders (over 150) at our school. Lots of friends for our little guy. :) We love it.

More Christmas Fun

We had fun getting ready for Christmas.  Class parties and visits from Santa...

Fun with boxes...Ziploc boxes make great hats!

Setting out the cookies for Santa!  We even saved him Thin Mints from the Girl Scouts (they stay in our freezer for Santa!)

Oma's Christmas Crafts with the Cousins

Oma sponsored a Christmas Craft day at her home this year.  We had a lot of fun with cousins and came home with some great projects.  It was fun with glitter, paint, felt, glue, gingerbread, candy, and other wonderfully messy stuff!  So glad Oma volunteered her house!! ;)

Elementary School Choir and First Grade Concerts

Here's our oldest's first Choir Concert.  They sang their little hearts out.  It was awesome.  Nana and Papa joined us for the fun.  It's inspiring to see our big guy loving music so much.

Yep, that's less than half of the choir.  We have a wonderfully huge school (over 1000 students), and this is an optional choir program, open only to 4-6 graders.

And next up...the First Grade Christmas Concert.  SO cute.  They wore their pajamas and sang some fun songs, including Smashmouth's version of "I'm Gettin Nothin for Christmas" (hence the beanies and sunglasses).  So fun to watch.

Halloween Fun

This year was a fun one for Halloween. Trent got into the act with his very own costume...one that was three weeks in the growing (that was one heck of a beard!). Check it out!

Trent with hair and beard.  First, shave the head....

Then shave the sides of the beard...add french hat and glasses and voila!

Trent as Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters.

He said the hardest part of the costume was not smiling.

In case you're not familiar with Mythbusters, here's a picture of the guy:

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2098108160/nm1367178

Oma came to visit and have dinner with us.  It was so fun to have her here!

When Trent answered the door like this for some trick-or-treaters, he saw some very frightened moms.  We realized that if he wasn't smiling, he looked a bit like an ex-con.

Our princess was VERY proud of her new white gloves.

We had Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Obi Wan, and Sleeping Beauty.  Very fun.

Our little guy was supposed to be Yoda, but he wouldn't keep the ears on.  I think he made a perfect Jedi.

Learn the ways of the dark side, my young padawan...

Or hang out with your mom, that works, too.

Trick-or-treat!  We had beautiful weather this year.  We visited Nana and Papa, uncle Brett and aunt Janae, as well as many of our friends from our old ward.  Trent got stopped and stared at quite a bit...one of our friends even commented.  "You know what's scary?  How little you look like YOU, and how much you look like Jamie Hyneman!"  It was a fun evening for all.  We got to bed late, and had way too much sugar.  A perfect Halloween.

The Lodge

We got to go to the Bates Lodge in Idaho again this year.  Our kids really look forward to this trip, and we have a great time with family.  Here are some pictures. 

We also hit Yellowstone while we were there. Most of the Park was shut down due to a big fire, but we still got to see Old Faithful and some beautiful waterfalls.

Hunter earned his first scouting badge...the Junior Ranger at Yellowstone.  He was very proud.

This was where we saw elk and coyote.  We drove a little farther and spotted two bald eagles.  It was a fun trip. 

On the way back to the lodge, we saw a diesel trailer with a big sign that said, "Free Potatoes, Take 'em all!"  So the boys climbed in and we brought home some delicious Idaho spuds.  Here they are in the potato trailer.

 Back to the lodge, and time to use our good weather.  We were forcasted snow for the next day, so we spend the whole day outside.  Hiking...

Relaxing...

Playing on the four wheeler...

We even piled in the truck and drove down the dirt road to the creek.  Fun with water and rocks!

And over the bridge...

Back to the Lodge.

The cousins

Miss T playing kickball.  She kept dribbling the ball instead of kicking it.  I just wish she would have done that during soccer season!

Time for our campfire!  And s'mores.

Snowed In!  The weatherman was right (for once), and we had snow in September at the Lodge.  We were SO glad that we had so much fun outside the day before.  So we hung out inside.

Games, homework, toys, reading, and movies in the basement.  So much fun!

Yes, sweet girl.  That is snow.

The snow stopped, and we attempted one last hike and ATV ride.  But it was VERY cold.  The kids didn't want to do that again (and neither did we).

Goodbye until next year, Bates Lodge!

Decorating for Christmas

So we were concerned about having a Christmas tree with a little man who is learning to walk. He's cruising on everything now, and loves to pull up and lean on furniture. I could just imagine the crash and cry when the tree toppled over on him. So my friend, Lindsay, suggested putting the Christmas tree in the pack-n-play. So here it is... :)

Keeps baby out of the wires, tinsel, and balls, and lets big brother enjoy the tree.

We all had a great FHE setting up the Christmas tree, and listening to Johnny Mathis Christmas music. I'll never forget the Christmas we put the tree in the manger!