Christmas

Christmas Eve we always open one present - and suprisingly, it is always pajamas! Grandma was very kind to us this year and made the kids pajamas. The best part was how they paired themselves up - Jaxon, Jerrick and Cannon had matching pajamas, as did Ryker and Gunnar. Monica's were invidualized, just like her!! The kids were so excited for Christmas - they all went to bed at 8 p.m. (I almost dropped dead from shock!). Everyone was asleep except Gunnar, who told me, he was too excited to sleep!!

The kids were excited to open their presents - and absolute chaos happened. Isn't that what 6 kids is all about!! Just as a quick side note - check out the leaning tree - last night I was supposed to turn on the lights - but instead I broke the tree stand and it started falling over - we just pushed it back into the wall. Not one of the kids said anything - but I told Jared, next year, we will need to break out the fishing string or the duct tape!! (the stand was already mostly broken - I just helped finish the process!)

Christmas Traps

We have this great tradition every Christmas Eve. Jared and I stay up after the kids have gone to bed, and usually after Santa has come, to set traps down the stairs for the kids. It all started when I was little, and my parents, probably out of frustration, started setting simple traps to make some noise when we were out of bed on Christmas Eve. I loved to go and sit in front of the Christmas tree and admire the lights and the presents (I may have peeked at a few of them) - there were many traps that I set off myself. There was the string of bells in the middle of the hall - I think I was running at full speed when I hit them, and who can forget the bread pans on the top of the stairs that I hit and listened as they tumbled down and down the stairs (at that moment - the stairs were an abyss)!! Dad would usually yell, "Get back into bed" and we (sometimes just me) would run into bed, until I thought they were asleep again and tried it all over again. So our Christmas Eve tradition was born, but in true Emily fashion - we can't do anything simple - it must be complex, take a long time and use elaborate devices. We've had a few incredible ones - like last year, when we put a remote control on the flood lights and blasted the kids when they came down the stairs (making lots of noise with the bells) - we layed in bed and laughed until we cried. It was great! So this year is certainly no exception. The hype starts when we get the Christmas decorations out and the kids start asking if we'll set traps this year. This year, we told Monica that we probably wouldn't - and she told us that if we didn't, she would!! How crazy is that! I think the kids are just as excited for the traps as they are to see what appears under the tree!



So this year, it included PVC pipe, bells, lots of fishing string (it's invisible in the dark), a large roll of tape and of course, the remote control device. This time, hooked up to the vaccuum downstairs in the hall, the flood lights and a vaccuum upstairs in the kitchen. We hid the extention cord behind one of the pvc pipes and when Jared hit the remote - the two vacuums went off as well as the flood lights. I must say, this year, I was way too tired to find too get laughing too hard!! But it was still great! I even remembered to take pictures so I can show just how crazy we are. Sometimes I think most of the fun is setting it up and then hearing the kids try and get through it. They always tells us that this year, it was the easiest to get through. They've started carrying scissors and various other tools I probably don't want to know about! Whenever I tell anyone about our 'traps' tradition - I'm sure they think we're absolutely nuts - which we are!!! It's been one of my favorite Christmas traditions!!

December Memories

December is full of great memories - there is the Christmas parties, decorating the house, making gingerbread houses, making cookies (or candy!), Christmas pajamas, Christmas morning . . . the list goes on and on. So, since I've been a little neglectful of all the wonderful things that I have to share - it's a bonus day! I figured, since I have a little bit of free time, I'd make sure I was completely caught up. I did spend several hours this morning creating a Star Wars lego ship (one of the bad guys - not sure who). It was one of those 'projects' that had 50 pages of instructions and several thousand pieces. So, here goes . . . Monica had here first dance recital. She did a great job. Of course, anything extra in the middle of December is crazy - but this was well worth it! She really enjoys taking dance!


Sleding at Grandma and Grandpas. The kids sure enjoyed the snow in Logan. I forget how much snow they really get there - and how little we get here - and how thankful I am that I don't have to shovel!! But my kids do miss out on the playing in the snow. So, while we were at Grandma and Grandpa's, they made sure the kids had a chance to enjoy the snow. Apparently, the boys had a great time, pushing each other off the sled into the snow. Did I mention I'm really glad I don't have to shovel snow???


And I can't mention Grandma and Grandpa's house without mentioning the spoons injury - yes, it was wild (it always is!) - but this time, instead of sitting around the table, we sat around the living room, with the spoons on a stool in the middle. So, if you got 4 of a kind, or saw that someone else was grabbing a spoon - you had to jump out of your chair and fight your way for a spoon. Monica sustained a very large bruise on the top of her foot - it was a nagging injury for a while!! We think we know who it was, but we probably shouldn't mention Dan's name!! Okay, we don't know who it was for sure - but it's a family party Monica will never forget!!

Cannon's Blessing Day

Cannon was blessed on Sunday, December 7th. We had a lot of family and many friends (our Wendover family) that came and helped us celebrate. We had a great time. Although it's a lot of work - it's always worth it to see everyone and be able to have a big party! Okay, maybe party is an exaggeration - but still, we love to have everyone over. Luckily we didn't run out of food!! Baili made her famous oreo cookies and of course, they were the first dessert to disappear!!

It's a little sad to think that it's the last baby blessing we'll be doing, at least until the grandkids roll around (yes, getting way ahead of myself) - but it's a milestone that sometimes is a little hard to believe. I keep trying to remind myself with Cannon that this will be the last time around and I'm trying to enjoy every minute. That theory is probably not helping how much I miss my baby during the day. I know that he is in good hands, but it's so hard to leave him every morning. And sometimes, after a long hard day, all I do is sit cuddled up on the couch with him - those are the nights when everything goes out the window! I guess they're only young once!

Robinson Crusoe Play

Jaxon, Gunnar and Jerrick participated in the Missoula Children's Theater Play, The Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, last Friday night. They had a great time. Jaxon had a few lines and he did great. He was the comic of the play. He would get up and tell a joke and then say, "I have a million of 'em!" He did a great job. Jerrick and Gunnar were chameleons that did a cute little change color dance. Everyone who participated did a great job. It's an amazing program - the director's come, audition the kids on Monday and start play practice. They then practice for everyday for 4 hours (it depends on how complicated your part is) - then they perform on Friday. I was able to play the musical accompanyment for the play - the music was relatively easy - except the timing was very difficult - especially for someone who HATES to count. But, we all managed through! Enjoy the cute pictures!

Baby Updates

We took Cannon to his 2 month check up yesterday. We thought he would weigh around 9 pounds - turns out he's almost 11! He starting to sleep much better too! Sunday night he slept 7 hours. It was wonderful! I'm really trying to enjoy the middle of the night feedings, since I know he's the last one. He even smiled for the first time on Sunday for Jared, then on Monday for Bonnie and finally yesterday for me. I told him the person who gets up in the middle of the night, changes most of the diapers should get the first smile. He thought otherwise! I love how much he's changing.

We put up our Christmas tree on Monday night. It was quite the ordeal with the kids fighting who got to put up which ornament. Everyone has a great time! Jared thought that Cannon should put on the star this year. We got some cute pictures of Cannon and Jared putting the star on the top of the tree - sadly, it almost looks like Jared is putting Cannon on the top of the tree - the star is almost as big as Cannon is! We're trying to get the rest of the decorations up this week before Cannon's blessing day on Sunday. Not sure if it will happen, but it's the grand plan.