Christmas Eve bowling

So Christmas Eve a bunch of families from our ward went bowling. I was back and forth about whether to go or not. It was early and Christmas Eve. I was having a party at my house that night and felt like I needed to be home to get ready but in the end I decided to take the kids and go. I am so glad we did. It was a fun time for Jason, Me and the kids. Kyson loves bowling. He is so fun to watch. Everytime anyone got a strike or spare he would run up and say "Give me Five." We had such a great time and I look forward to making Christmas Eve bowling a family tradition.

Rough Day!

As Christmas Day approaches it has gotten me thinking as well as a little down. I have been thinking a lot about all of our past Christmas'. We have spent every Christmas eve since we got married with Jason's family at their Christmas party. Although at times there has been a bit of drama it is something we have looked forward too. White elephant bingo was always fun. The kids singing waiting for Santa to come to get their last minute wishes on his list and of course just seeing how much the extended family had grown since the year before.
Christmas day usually consisted of rushing in the morning to get things done so Dawson could leave or the morning dragging while we waited for Dawson to return at one so we could open presents. Grandma and Papa, Nana and Grandpa Forrest and Grandma Lourenco would all make their appearance throughout the day and then we would usually do dinner with Kim and her family.
During the holidays Jason and I would have our Christmas date to Melting Pot. We would take the kids to see Temple Square, check out the lights at Thanksgiving point and lots of game nights.
These things are all things that I feel that I took for granted. Now that we are 1100 miles away from family it is making me really miss all of these things. I am sad that Dawson is away from us for the Christmas break. I am also sad that we are missing out on all of these "traditions" that we had started without even realizing had started.
I know that this move was what we were suppose to do. It just seems like these last few days it has been a little rough on me. The kids are really homesick. They are also missing their big brother Dawson. Of course Jason really could care less. To him not having all the family obligations is a relief. It is amazing how different men and women are.
We do have a Christmas Eve party planned with several other families in our ward and it is going to be a blast. I just wish we had all of our family here to share this wonderful time of the year with us.

Elf on the shelf day 3 and 4

So still every morning the kids are anxious to go and find where Buddy is hiding. Yesterday morning he was hiding on the counter in the kitchen. Since we spent most of the day baking cinnamon rolls he didn't leave. Apparently we were fun to watch. When we did finally get done we left to take cinnamon rolls to Jason's work and when we came back Buddy was waiting in Kyson's room to see if he was taking his nap. He then disappeared into Mom and Dad's room where Kennidee was sleeping. When Kennidee woke up she was a little freaked out knowing she had been being watched while she slept. She wouldn't even go back in the room since Buddy was sitting in there. During bath time he wandered into Kyson's bathroom and waited on the counter to make sure Kyson washed behind his ears and the bottom of his feet. He then snuck into Kennidee's bedroom until he was ready to go to his nightly resting spot before his visit to the North pole in the mug on the hearth.



This morning Kennidee woke up to Buddy spying on her while she was sleeping. She decided that she was going to just go climb in Mom's bed to get away from Buddy. Later he decided to go watch Kyson and Kennidee play a game in the family room. He went to make sure Kyson was taking his nap then wandered into the kitchen and then we found him hanging out in the Christmas tree. The kids thought that was pretty funny. He pretty much hung out there until it was time to go and report at the North Pole. I sure hope he is giving Santa good reports of the kids or they might be a little disappointed Christmas morning.

Corn Dog, Corn Dog. They are so good to Kyson!

Kyson is so funny and he loves to walk around with Dawson's Ipod touch and listen to songs. Well lately every time we sit down for dinner Kyson says he doesn't want what we are eating. He only wants a corn dog. So he comes in my room the other day with the ipod singing along with it to a song by Ryan Shupe called Corn dog. I was able to record Kyson with my phone without him realizing what I was doing. this video makes me laugh every time I see it.


Be sure to go to the bottom of the page and pause the music player to hear.

Crafts!

So a few months back I came across this great website that sells craft kits. I love doing crafts but I like others ideas better then my own. So this website was perfect for me because I didn't have to come up with the idea. All I had to do was order, get the paint and mod podge and make the time to do the craft. These cute little kits come with all the wood (sanded and cut), paper, embellishments and instructions. I made several for gifts for Christmas and of course several for my own. So if you are looking for some cute crafts to do or gifts to give this is the place to go. These are also great for super Saturdays and girls nights out. To check out all the other fun things that are to come click HERE

Elf on the Shelf day 2

Today the kids anxiously woke up to find Buddy. They had a more difficult time finding him today. After his visit to the North Pole last night for his nightly report he found a nice comfy place to sleep in our manger by our tree. After the kids found him he decided it was time to wake up and climbed out of the manger.

I got in the shower and when I got out I found Kyson and Kennidee in the living room talking to the elf telling him what they wanted for Christmas. After I of course had to have them pose with the elf.



We went on with our day and at nap time he was found in Kyson's room. During Kyson's nap he disappeared into the living room later being found on top of Kennidee's fan in her room. Kennidee and Kyson were freaking out that he was able to get clear up there.

When he finally got down from the fan he went and enjoyed some time on the sofa. Decided to check up on me in the kitchen while I made caramel and then headed to his nightly resting spot in the hot cocoa mug on the fireplace until the kids fall asleep so he can go report to Santa on day 2 at the Plott house.
Kyson went down for his nap so well thinking the elf was watching him and going to report his behavior. At one point today when Kyson got mad at me he told Buddy to tell Santa to put Mommy on the naughty list. We had just as much fun today with Buddy as we did yesterday.

Dawson going to Utah

Today Dawson had to fly out to Utah for Christmas. The new statute allows Glenn to have him every other Christmas for the full break. It was so hard to send him on a plane knowing he wasn't going to be back until after Christmas. The last week has been a bit emotional for Dawson. He really wants to see Glenn but he really wants to see his brother and sister open their Christmas gifts as well. You could tell he was very sad when he got on the plane but he was trying to be so strong. I gave him several hugs and just told him it is going to be fun and it will be alright. When he gets back we will have Christmas with him. The kids will save the family exchange gifts and the family gifts from Santa so that Dawson can be part of that.
This is going to be a very hard Christmas. Being away from family for the first time and also having Dawson gone. I knew moving here that we were going to have to send him away. I knew that we would no longer have family here for the holidays. I didn't realize it would be so hard. I know that Dawson needs to see Glenn. He loves him. He misses him. He went from seeing him every other weekend to now only seeing him a few times a year. I know that Glenn really needs to see Dawson as well. His wife has been having some medical issues and also was laid off from his job and I know that having Dawson 1100 miles away is hard. I hope that this only makes us all stronger. We have to do what is best for this special little guy regardless of how hard it is on us. I just pray that he has a wonderful Christmas and returns to us safely and happy.

We are definitely going to miss our Christmas eve party this year with Jason's family and having family come visit on Christmas. But we love you all and miss you all very much.

This is a picture of the kids at the airport getting ready to send Dawson off.

New Christmas outfits

I always buy the kids a new church Christmas outfit. This year we had a lady in our stake that we were able to order these darling dresses from for a super price. I had a hard time finding something that matched well for the boys so this was as close as we got. But since it was the last Sunday before Christmas the kids got to wear them to church. Here they are after church showing them off. Aren't they the cutest??? I love these kids.

My three Angels. Kennidee, Kyson and Dawson. (Kyson does not have a bloody nose. He has been sick and his nose is so sore that it keeps cracking and bleeding. It is now scabbed over and hopefully on the mend)





These boys are best buds. I am so glad they love each other so much. Kyson is such a big cheeseball though.


My beautiful baby Girl. Having a girl is so much fun. I just wish there wasn't so much drama at such young age.

Elf on the Shelf

Today we started a new family tradition. My sister Kori had called me yesterday and asked me if I had heard of a story called Elf on the Shelf. She told me that this is a story about an elf. With the book comes a little elf doll that is magic. He magically moves around the house spying on children to report back to Santa. You name your elf and can tell him what you want for Christmas but you must NOT ever touch the elf. If you touch the elf he loses his magic and has to be placed back in the box by a parent using rubber gloves for 6 hours to regain his magic.
The kids woke up this morning to the Elf on the Shelf book sitting on the kitchen table. No one heard the alarm go off and no one saw anyone put this magic book and Elf on the table. We sat down with the kids and read the story and then registered our elf that we now call Buddy. We sat him in his box on the hearth and the kids sat around watching for him to move and break out of the box. You would hear the kids talking about how his leg moved, his eyes or his hands. When the kids went to get ready for church Buddy broke out of his box and the kids returned to the family room to buddy sitting on the heart out of his box. Later he moved to the mantle and then decided to go and check out the train around the tree. A few minutes later the kids heard the train going and they ran out to find that Buddy had plugged the train and and was going for a ride on the train. Dawson entertained him by playing him Christmas songs on the piano when all of the sudden the train stopped. He came running into the bathroom to tell us that Buddy now had magically stopped the train. We went off to church and came home to find Buddy in Dawson's room. He later moved to Kyson's and then on to Kennidee's. We told the kids that he must be doing bedroom inspections to report to Santa. When the kids woke up from naps Buddy had found his place on top of the fridge. Later he moved over to the counter and then onto the couch to enjoy a little television. After he had enough TV he went to the table and watched the kids skype with their Grandma's and then all of the sudden he was gone again and had magically relocated to the huge hot cocoa mug by the fireplace where he waited for the kids to go to bed so he could head back to the North Pole to report to Santa on the kids behavior for the day. He will be back again tomorrow for another report.
This is seriously the funnest thing for the kids. Kyson would walk around the house "I gotta find that freaking elf'' and the squeal with joy when he found him an giggle. They have all been so excited to see what Buddy was going to do next or where he was going to pop up. At one point I told them he was freaking me out and I was sending him back to the North pole and they pretty much broke down in tears. Later I told them I was going to touch him so he lost his magic and Kyson cried and said "You will be on the naughty list Mommy." They have been so good to follow the rules and not touch the elf in fear of being on the naughty list. Dawson was leaving notes for the elf and was excited to find that he had received a reply.
If you don't have any family traditions this is seriously the funnest thing. Our kids are really enjoying it. I love the magic of Christmas to a young child and this just brings the magic into our house even more for the kids.

Here are just a few of the random pictures of Buddy hiding around the house on Day 1

Kennidee Dance recital

Tonight Kennidee had her first dance recital with her new dance company called Dance Gallery here in Lubbock. They do it differently then what we are use to as far as the costumes go. In Utah they got a costume that they ended up using for the Christmas recital and then again at the end of the year. At Dance Gallery the Christmas recital is a much smaller scale and they just use a leotard you have from home with some of their stockings and headbands. Prior to the recital they had Santa and Mrs. Clause come for photos with the kids and then they sat on the front row of the recital to enjoy all the dances. Kennidee's group danced to "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas." It was so cute and Kennidee did so good. I love watching my little girl dance.

Merry Christmas

I was going to use family pictures for cards this year but decided to just snap a few of the kids by the Christmas tree. They turned out pretty cute for it being 9:30 at night. So here is our Christmas card for 2010

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Our New house

So we are officially moved to Texas. We have been in the house a month now. It turned out so beautiful. It has been really hard being away from all my family and friends. I miss them all so much. I never realized how much I needed them until I moved 1100 miles away. We have met some really great people and our ward is amazing.
Dawson had to fly out to Utah to stay with Glenn for a month and that sucks. I miss him so bad. I have never had to be away from him for that long. Sending your little 8 year old boy on an airplane by himself was the worst thing. I bawled and pretty much have been depressed since he left. On top of all of it Glenn has been a major butt and not allowed him to talk with us numerous times. But after he comes home I just have to remember that he will be with us non stop until Christmas.
Kennidee had her birthday on July 9th and it was really hard being away from family for her birthday. We did invite a few of the neighbor girls over just for cake so she didn't feel so bad. It is amazing how much you take for granted having family around.
Kyson was just so excited to have his own room and his bed and blankets back that he has adjusted pretty well. I got most of the house put away within a week and even started hanging things on the walls. It has been a lot of fun having a new house and getting to decorate.
All in all I think this is a good move. I know after much prayer that this is where my family is suppose to be. As far as the reason...I have yet to find out. I am sure in time we will know.
Here are some pictures of our house the week we moved in.

A really crooked picture of the exterior.

My Master Bedroom and my new bed and bedding. LOVE IT!

Kennidee's room
Kennidee's bathroom

Family room

Dining area
Boys Bathroom

Master bathtub and toilet closet area.

Our master bath with separate vanities and the door into the master closet.

Kitchen


Another view of the kitchen


Here are a few pictures of us celebrating Kennidee's 6th birthday her in Lubbock