Our Odd Quad: December 2012

We've been pretty busy the month of December, like the rest of you! It's such a fun time of year and a magical time of year for the kids. So fun "seeing" Christmas through your children's eyes!

I didn't get any photos of annual Christmas party I host with our friends from a moms group formed years ago. But the kids and adult all had a great time! I think there were 9 or 10 families that came this year. We are blessed with good friends/good support system! :)

Our elf Stanley, was quite the character this season! One morning he had graffitied the kids' pictures!

Where's Porter? Snapped this of him one day when I was volunteering at recess.

We didn't have to dream of a White Christmas this year! A blizzard blew through here Wednesday night before Christmas. School was cancelled on Thursday and Friday, which the kids were thrilled about! This is a tree across the street that is weighed down by all the heavy snow.

Stella using a very large branch that broke off during the storm to break icicles off the house.

Porter catching snowflakes on his tongue.

Warming up with some hot cocoa after playing a couple hours in the snow.

Enjoying some snow ice cream!

Decorating Christmas sugar cookies.

Playing in the snow a different day. They got some big icicles down and loved eating them.

Cosmo doesn't not lack attention or love in this household!

Sledding with the kids and Hannah and Haydn at Waveland Golf Course. Always a fun time!!

We went to Jolly Holiday Lights for the first time in a few years. It was PACKED! Next time we will go earlier in the season, but it was still fun seeing everything all lit up.

Christmas Eve morning the kids helped me make monkey bread to enjoy on Christmas morning.

Stella with some of her Christmas gifts. Wearing her new ear muffs, on her crutches from Santa next to her triple bunk bed from Santa and her purple Caboodle is next to the beds.

Thursday the kids and I went to the library to get some books and happened to arrive just before a puppet show was starting. They wanted to see the show and it ended up being really cute. Stella and Porter both got chosen from the audience to come up and help the puppeteer out during her show. They were excited about that!

Yesterday I took the kids to Climb Iowa, Stella had gone to a birthday party there last spring and just loved it! She is definitely part monkey! She made it to the top at a handful of different spots.

A couple weeks ago I took them to the mall to visit Santa and ride the train. They still love to ride the train even at their ages! LOL!

With their letters they wrote to Santa.

Porter's Christmas concert. This is the kindergarten and 1st grade classes from St. Francis. He's in the front row, in the gray sweater next to the little boy in the white shirt with red tie. We have a new computer and I can't figure out how to edit/crop pics yet! And I can't find Stella's Christmas concert photos on this computer at all! I will post some when I figure this all out. Both of their concerts were very cute and they enjoyed singing in them.

Porter with is number 1 gift on Christmas morning. The Talking Eagle Castle. He's been asking for this thing for months!! He's had so much fun with it this past week! :)

Just a cute pic of Stella's dolls before bedtime a couple weeks ago. She need a doll intervention!! :)

We were able to celebrate Christmas in Mt. Ayr a few weekend ago. Anna, Pat, Vada and Isla were able to be home for Christmas this year, which was a joy for everyone! We had SO MUCH fun! The kids just loved spending time together playing, just as much as us adults enjoyed sitting around visiting, cooking and golfing (the guys anyway!).

These pics are out of order! So sorry!

The kids with the prize for the Minute To Win It game. I think there was a 4 way tie! It was a huge candy cane filled with gum balls.

Mom and Dad gave the kids new pj's to wear on "Christmas Eve", Haydn, Vada and Stella's were matching this year.

Group shot of the grandkids wearing their new pj's with Nana and Papa.

Porter, Hannah and Vada

Saturday afternoon all the kids decorated gingerbread men. They turned out SO cute! I'm kicking myself for not taking an after photo of the adorable gingerbread men.

Before the Christmas Party at Nana and Papa's, my handsome little man.

Reading the annual, T'was the Night Before Christmas

We gave Uncle Mark strict orders to wear either his Red Solo Cup shirt, his I Am The Uncle shirt or a Ringgold County shirt! He made our night by wearing all 3!! (Yes, we are all easily entertained, why do you ask???)

The Darling Cunninghams: Vada, Anna, Isla, Patrick

The Dashing Davidsons

The Divine Little's, Wes, Haydn, Hannah and Sara

The whole crew!

Christmas morning! Wes with the Christmas Vacation moose mug (he also received Cousin Eddie's dickie, which he has yet to model for us!! maybe it will make an appearance on New Year's Eve?!?!?)

One of the Minute To Win It games, but the best one by far! Put a tennis ball at the end of a pair of panty hose, but the panty hose around your head and swing the ball to knock over cans. It was hilarious! Mike showing his mad skills.