Christmas time

In the weeks leading up to Christmas Dan's work had a fun party at the firm for families.

 They had a balloon artist, caricature artists, a magician, Santa, and various people reading Christmas stories. The kids really liked it.

 Until it came time to meet Santa.

 So first was Sam.

And then the whole family. That's the only way she would get anywhere close to him. Santa looks tipsy.

 And here's the caricature of the kids. I think Sam's is alright, but Afton's looks nothing like her. Makes me laugh.

Dan's tax section had a Christmas party at a partner's house. It was our first time using a babysitter here. 

Dan's wall went from looking like this:

 To this:

 To this (as of yesterday):

(This is in no way an endorsement of The Children's Place. It was just on PBS.) All that's left to be done is grouting the slate tiles, adding the crown molding, and caulking. Hooray! Dad helped a ton while he was here with electrical and manpower.

Sam's last day of school was Friday and he woke up on Saturday with a fever. Great way to start the break. He threw up on Sunday morning so I stayed home from church with him while Dan went with Afton. Monday Sam threw up again and then started to get better. Later that day I caught what he had and spent the rest of the evening and night in the bathroom. I lost 5 pounds in 12 hours. Don't worry, I've gained it back.

Tuesday morning Mom and Dad Cheney came over to begin the Christmas festivities. After making a few things, we went to see Frozen. It was cute. We came home and prepared our Christmas Eve dinner: ham, cheesy potatoes, rolls, salad, baked carrots, jello. Delish. Sam was still feeling pretty miserable.

After dinner we went to look at Christmas lights, read from Luke 2, and put the kids to bed. I got to hang our stockings on the mantle for about 5 seconds. The holders wouldn't hold once there was actually stuff in them.

Mom and Dad prepared chunky for Christmas morning while Dan and I wrapped and assembled a few more gifts.

Christmas morning the kids looked at what Santa brought and what they received that was too big to wrap.

Sam received playdoh, hot wheels, a new bike, and a table that Dan built for his legos. (Their current table is tiny and all the legos roll off the sides, so Dan built a bigger table with a lip around the edge.) Afton received little people, a fairy costume, and a bike.

After breakfast we opened presents, hung out, went on a walk, played a game, and Dan kept working on his wall.

One of the favorite gifts according to the kids is this "toot gun" as we call it from Grandpa Cheney.

It was a very nice day. Afton got sick on Christmas night and Mom and Dad left mid-day on Thursday. Despite the illness, it was a nice laid-back Christmas.

The latest

We said farewell to our Thankful tree. It wasn't quite as full as last year's, but it was still fun. I loved hearing which particular animal Afton would be thankful for each night. She got away with variations of the same animal. "Cheetahs" "Baby cheetahs" "Mommy tough cheetahs." And I loved seeing Sam write his own. He's such a sweetheart.

We said hello to our Christmas tree.

Dan celebrated his 32nd birthday on Friday. He requested baked potato soup and carrot cake. I had never made carrot cake before. I used this recipe: Sam's Famous Carrot Cake and it was a hit. Just in case you're looking for a good carrot cake recipe. Topped with cream cheese frosting.

Mom and Dad came over for the festivities, too, but I didn't get a pic of them.

 I know it's kind of feminine looking, but I didn't want to color the frosting and I wanted to try this style.

He got dress shirts, socks, slippers, a snowflake tie (from Afton), athletic socks (from Sam), and a new 2-man tent for his camping adventures that will hopefully take place this spring and summer. I love Dan. In case you didn't know. He's the best and I'm so lucky he's my best friend.

Dan and I were supposed to speak in church on Sunday but it was cancelled due to inclement weather. It was a stir-crazy day. I read a whole book. We baked some bread.

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving 2013 was awesome! We spent the majority of it at my parents' house. Candice and her family drove down from Chicago on Tuesday so after picking Sam up from school, I headed over with the kids. Dan had to give a presentation and attend a work party Wednesday, so he came after that.

Oh, Millie. She's such a cutie.

 Playdoh time.

 Playing in the basement.

 Watching The Little Mermaid on Thanksgiving.

 I had impromptu photo shoots on the stairs with the three bigger kids.

 Charlotte.

 Afton.

 Cousin love.

 Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely delicious. I didn't get a picture of it, though. Stacy England, a family friend, came for dinner, too. I fell asleep downstairs afterwards. Dan and I went on a date to see Catching Fire. Candice and Craig when shopping. Mom and Dad put the kids to bed.

Friday morning we decided to attend the Barracks Road Christmas parade. I'm glad we went.

 Sorry, Mom!

 SANTA!

 Dan and I then thought we'd get some deals at Old Navy while we were there. I waited in line for over an hour to buy our stuff. It was crazy. The line wrapped around the entire store and zigzagged in the front. Nuts!

Later on Friday I took pics of C&C's family. I won't post the good ones. I'll leave that to them. Here are some outtakes. This first one is cute, though.

 Millie was LOSING IT. Dad came along, fortunately, to try and get her to smile. She made him work for it, though. I wish I had a video of that. Dad was dancing and jumping all over the place.

 Too bad there's eventually going to be a house here.

 Best buds.

 Later the kids decorated Mom's small tree.

 A little bottom heavy.

 Apparently, kids love to watch popcorn pop. So we made some. And it's true. They did love it.

 They also loved playing together.

 And watching movies. I think here they're watching Despicable Me.

 That's a wrap!

Thanks, Mom and Dad for hosting! It was great!