New Year's

I'm not sure how they did it, but the kids all managed to stay up until midnight to "ring" in the New Year by making some noise. We weren't the only ones in the neighborhood making a ruckus, though.New Year's Day we spent at Great-Grandma's Christmas party. Of course, there has to be "Bingo". Can you just see the concentration at this table? Maybe if there were prizes to be won, they'd concentrate just as hard on their homework. Nah.

Just had to document something that you might not ever see again - Jeff AND Aunt Jolene doing the dishes. Jolene you will find in the kitchen again, I'm sure, but with JEFF? Really.
Mom is famous for her "White Elephant" game. The kids were anxiously awaiting their turn at the gift pile.
Can you sense the anticipation in THIS picture? Little did they know that among those great-looking gifts was a massive tax textbook, a "lovely" Dryden family clock, a Malawi-ian hoe, THE candle-of-all-candles, and a vintage trivia card game.After the Eddington family party it was back to Mom and Dad's to celebrate Jeff's birthday. Nothing says "party" like a pinata - especially a scary clown pinata. All the kids got a whack at it - Dallin was the oldest and the last of the whackers. Nice head shot, Dallin!

The mayhem - oh, if only you could HEAR it.

In the end you know the holidays are officially over by the size of your husband's (and son's) gut. How did we do this year? Should we put it to a vote?

(Dallin, Doug, Leon, and Dave)

Sledding

The week after Christmas we headed back up to my parents' house for a couple of days. Afterall, no one has such a nice sledding hill literally right across the street like Grandma and Grandpa. It's so convenient to walk the kids over, come back if someone gets cold, and sled until it's nearly dark. Of course, the "big kids" were all about hitting the jump and seeing how far they could go.
Landon just had a blast - no fear for that kid.
I thought this shot of Jayden was something you'd see in a winter clothing ad.
At the bottom of the hill is a SMALL creek - really, could you even call it a "creek"? But still, it was cold water. Landon and his cousin, Taylor, had me a bit worried for a minute. I was beginning to wonder, as they weren't slowing down, that I'd have to ditch the camera and fish them out. No worries, though, the cat tails stopped 'em.
After a few hours of sledding, it was back to Grandma and Grandpa's for hot chocolate -what else?

Brace Face - Again

Three days after Christmas Dallin had to get braces for the second time. The first time was just to make room for all his permanent teeth and now it's alignment. He was a bit dreadful about it since he knew exactly what to expect. But, this time he got both top and bottom braces, so he's been a bit more sore. Although, in all, he's been a trooper. We also have a great orthodontist (Dr. Wade Thompson) who has made adjustments to make him more comfortable. Good times.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning began at 5:30 a.m. - NOT by my choice, of course. Leon is just as bad as the kids when it comes to NOT sleeping on Christmas morning. I remember shaking my parents repeatedly, trying to get them out of bed, and the frustration that mounts. I have been very good to get out of bed by at least the third shake. The kids didn't get ALL that was on their list, but really, SHOULD they? But, they were all happy and that's what counts, right?
After opening gifts we had a nice breakfast and I took a nap. We went up to my parents' later that day and had another round of gifts and fun with family.
We had a great holiday.

Christmas Eve

December was a busy month for us, as usual. But by the time Christmas Eve comes around, you just have to let all those unfinished projects and ideas go and enjoy it. I was super swamped up until the week before Christmas and had all these plans once the kids were home from school. However, life happens (3 sick kids and 1 horribly cut finger) and sometimes you just can't get to it all. We managed to do the bare minimums, which taught me that sometimes "less IS more."

~

Leon grew up with the tradition of opening all gifts, except Santa's, on Christmas Eve. We've gone with my tradition of waiting until Christmas morning, but Leon lobbies for his childhood ways every year. We've "compromised" by starting our own tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve which is a family game. But, this year that wasn't enough. Leon wanted the kids to open something else, so I gave in and let them open one other gift - pajamas. I guess I gave in given the diffucult week I'd had and the lack of clean, decent pajamas for Christmas morning pictures. Leon thought pajamas were the lamest gift to choose, but the kids absolutely loved them. I even heard one comment, "This is the coolest gift, ever." Hmm. I'm not sure I'd go THAT far, but I guess they were so excited about it being Christmas Eve that we could have given them rocks and dirt and they'd have loved it. I asked the boys to pose by the tree in their new jammies, and this is what I got. I DID ask them to stand nicely, but the Christmas excitement was just too much for holding still or being serious. I love my boys!

I also love that the clock behind them says 6:45. We will never see them in their pajamas that early except on Christmas Eve.
(Oh, and I also love pajamas that cost $5 or less, too.)