It's JUST what I always wanted!!!

This is the phrase heard most often coming out of Tyler's mouth on Christmas morning as he opened his Christmas presents. He alternated between this one and "Oh Cool!" or "Oh Neat!" WHO teaches this child these phrases and their correct usage and inflection!?! He was cracking everyone up with his reactions to presents. Papa Dale and Grandma Carol got Tyler his own tool set.

Among other things, Grandma Maggie and Papa Mike got Tyler an Optimus Prime Transformer. How Tyler knows about Transformers, I'm not sure...he's never seen the show, movie, etc. but he loves them!

One thing that was hilarious was when Tyler opened a present that was wrapped in a box that origionally had a dish washing rack. He saw the picture of the rack on the box and asked what it was. When he learned that the box was for a washing rack, he said, "Hmmm..." and turned to move on to the next gift without opening the box. He wasn't even going to give it the time of day!

Countdown Chocolates

This year, Mom and Dad bought Ty a chocolate advent calendar from Trader Joe's, but as they were on vacation, it was a little delayed. We told Tyler that every day he'd get a chocolate and then when the chocolates were all gone, it would be time for Christmas. Small problem: because we started late, the chocolates would not be done by Christmas. Bigger problem: Tyler remembered every chocolate he had eaten and would have easily noticed if I had "equalized" the amount of chocolates with the amount of days left before Christmas. Solution?? We started a new tradition this year that I REALLY like. Each day, Tyler would get to choose 2 Chocolates--one for himself and one to give away to someone else of his choice. I felt that this would be good practice for him giving things to other people (especially things that he really wanted for himself) and teach him to have a generous spirit. One thing that made me happy to see was when he was very careful to make sure everyone around him had the opportunity to share the chocolate love!

Harper Family Christmas

The Harper Family Christmas was an exciting time or delicious (and beautifully presented!) food with a large portion or the family present (Dorris and Grace were the only two siblings not represented, but since they are in Idaho, I guess they have an excuse?)

And it turned into quite the crafty show and tell! Kim was working on a new pair of slippers:
I was desperately trying to finish a Christmas Present Hat (don't worry, I did finish it before Christmas Eve...barely)
Mom and Aunt Sue were able to show off their nearly completed "Roman Holiday" quilt that they plan to donate to the MCC Sale;

8 Tiny Reindeer...

I had the opportunity to help out at Tyler's school Christmas Party. Now, I have always had a lot of respect for those blessed individuals who take care out my child every day, but each time I help out at Tyler's school, I am desperately glad that the person in charge of maintaining order, sanity and safety during the day with eight 3-4year olds is NOT me! Miss Pam and Miss Esperanza are so wonderful with the kids who they have in their classes. During the school party, I got to help the kids make "jingle bell" necklaces.

We also made reindeer hats with antlers and ears.

It was great to see all the kids with their reindeer antler hats decorating cupcakes and eating lunch. It was so Fun!!!

Live Dangerously!

I knew I was low on gas, but when I filled up at Costco, I was a little surprised at how close I had cut it!

(my car manual says that I have an 18 Gallon tank!)

Why do boys get soooo dirty?

On Purpose!!!

It's all about the LONG Arms!

Long arm quilting machines, I mean. Kim finished her green/yellow/white Irish Chain quilt and now it's ready to be quilted. Since we seem to prefer to send out our quilts to actually be quilted, Kim, Mom and I took a field trip to pick out the design, etc. that would end up on her quilt. It was an exciting adventure!

The Great Hat Swap!

So, in a previous post I showed the hat that I had knit. I have come to the conclusion that although I love the color, the yarn is delicious and the pattern is super fun, it's just a bit too small for me. Kim just recently finished a wonderful black hat.
She has come to the disappointing (for her) conclusion that this hat is just a wee bit to big for her head. Solution? Switch Hats!!! Pictures of hats with their new owners to come! (she will not complete the hat swap until I weave in the ends of the red one...heehee...)

Christmas Programs are Hilarious!

Tyler's School Christmas Program was absolutely a riot. These poor teachers have been practicing these songs with this group of kids for several months and Tyler has been coming home singing Away in a Manger, "Police Davidad" and Happy Birthday Jesus for a very long time. Tyler told me that "Police Davidad" (Feliz Navidad for those who don't speak 3 year old Spanish) was his favorite song because he got to shake the maracas.But of course about half way through each song, most of the kids got a little bored/distracted (hence the Christmas Programs are Hilarious post title!)

And they all went Wii Wii Wiii all the way home!

For her birthday, my mom received a Wii and also the Wii Fit/sport games. It was decided that a Wii night was in order. We played Golf, Baseball, bowling, tennis, we skiied, bounced soccer balls off our heads, and hula hooped...Sadly, there are no pictures of the hula hooping (although, I was REALLY getting into it!) One of my favorite parts was how adventurous Kim was with her golf strategy...Water? NO problem, she can make it over! Sand Bar? Don't even worry about it...The other very exciting part about Wiing the night away is disovering you have muscles you thought you had banished from your life forever...especially when they remind you of their presence in the middle of the night when you are trying to sleep!

(please note the time--we really did Wii the night away!)

Hmmm...not my idea of fun...

I went to pick up Tyler from school and we decided to stop off at the grocery store for dinner (Mom and Dad left for a 1 week stay in Avila and they left a barren fridge behind). When we came into the kitchen to put all the groceries away, this is what we saw:
Thanks Piper....It means a lot to me to know you wanted me to feel needed.

Celtic Thunder Yumminess!

Kim received a ticket to Celtic Thunder for her birthday/Christmas present from Doug and I received a ticket to the same show for my early Christmas present from Doug SOOOO....we decided to go together. It was an absolutely AMAZING show! I had a great time listening to the music and watching the performers (hence the "yumminess" in the title) and Kim and I had a blast joking and laughing about a variety of crazy topics. THANK YOU DOUG!!!