It's A Christmas Party!

 As expected, Izzy asked if we were going to have our Christmas Party.  This started out initially out of desperation to get my kids to see Santa when the twins were babes.  Santa is a bit hard to find in our area.  You may have to travel 30+ minutes to see him in a mall AND stand in the line.  So Santa came to us that year.  He's been coming ever since then.  As expected, we had a wonderful time.

This year, I allowed each of the kids to invited 5 of their friends.  I was floored by Izzy's choices.  Of course she invited her BFFs, Bonnie and Michael.  She then invited Rahan so that Michael had a boy friend their and Matilde, a new girl from France as she knows nobody.  John and I had the most fun with Matilde's family.  There is always are reason it seems that things turn out they way they do!

 Santa read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'.  He was like the Pied Piper getting every child to follow his commands.  After reading, the first child who got to sit on his lap had to answer a question.  His question... What color is Mrs. Claus' green apron.  Hands shot up.  The first answer was purple!  Izzy answered second and was correct.

 When Santa asked Izzy what she wanted for Christmas, she replied she wasn't sure.  She's always happy with what she gets.  That makes Santa's job easy!

 This is the first year that the twins weren't scared of Santa and sat on his lap!  SHOCKING!  True to being a little sister, Victoria answered in a similar manner as Izzy.  Micah asked for a Transformer.  Santa did bring gifts for all the kids.  The girls received Beanie Boos, the boys toy cars.  When Micah was handed his car, his face was so excited.  He then ran up to me after her managed to get the car doors open asking where was his face.  When I informed him this wasn't a Transformer, he was upset but soon go over it.

 An odd phenomenon happened with this year's party.... everyone (nearly) RSVP'd YES.  This meant we had 40+ people in our 1100 sq ft condo.  The parents got a kick out of how many kids could get into Izzy's bed.  The brainiac parents then started to try and calculate how much weight the bed could hold. 

 Micah was so happy he had his own boy friends at the party.  There were a few tears shed when girls entered his room.

The party was such a hit thanks to John's help.

First Ever Gingerbread House

 Adding John to our Christmas festivities this years has meant adding new experiences.  We have never made a gingerbread house.  Izzy was more than eager to take on this challenge.  I was pleasantly surprised (though not shocked given his architecture background) to find he designed the house himself.  He is such a handyman in the kitchen as well making the gingerbread dough and frosting.

 Because of the lovely uncontrolled near 80 degree temperature inside, the frosting started to melt.  We thus stopped at this point and let things cool / harden in the refrigerator.

 With a plethora of candy choices, John and Izzy went to town decorating the house.

We ended up having a gingerbread village as each of the kids brought home houses they made at school.

Our Elf on the Shelf

 Our Elf on the Shelf, Percy, was back at it this year.  Many days he found places to hang out and watch the kids.  But some nights he was mischievous.  He was not greeted with excitement on this day by Micah and Victoria.  Micah was upset Percy used his helicopter.  And Victoria didn't like that her doll had on the wrong outfit.  At least Percy saved Chelsea!

 Percy wanted to be a part of "The Reason for the Season".

 Walking the dogs got out of hand.

 Percy is such a lady's man!

 And the winner is.... Micah's transformer!

 The kids loved finding Percy in this situation.

 Percy even has etiquette... a nice afternoon tea with Batgirl.

Percy's last appearance... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Cookies

 Jackie, John's mother, was gracious to host my munchkins and John's nephew, Josh, for Christmas cookie making.  We were only expecting to decorate the cookies.  However we were pleasantly surprised to find stations; cookie cutting, cookie decorating and container decorating. 

 

 While the cookies were baking, the kids headed over to decorate the containers they would use to bring them home in.  Very clever idea!

 On to the cookie decorating!  We had so many choices of how to decorate the cookies; white and pink frosting, M&Ms, miniature chocolate chips and a wide assortment of sprinkles!

 One of the funniest things to watch was Micah standing over where the finished cookies sat eating and licking off the frosting.

Ta-Da!

It's Soccer & Basketball Time!

 The help with the upcoming winter blues, I signed Micah & Victoria up for soccer.  They both enjoyed picking out their own ball and equipment.  Victoria's pink socks and shin guards make me laugh every time we put them on.

 Practicing our toe taps and trapping.

 Practicing dribbling.  Micah has taken pretty quickly to soccer.  Victoria on the other hand is so focused on perfection she is oblivious to how slow this makes her.

 Instead of signing Izzy up for soccer, we picked basketball.  Though I think this will be a good experience for her, it has been tough to watch.  There are only 2 other girls in her group.  Most of them have obviously played before.  At the first practice Izzy was near last in every drill.  However, at the second practice she improved enough to not always be the last player.  That put a smile on her face.

 Even at Izzy's age they start off with conditioning... 5 laps before starting.  As I said, this will be good for her.

 Practicing dribbling with two hands.

Project of Love

 The Salvation Army's Project of Love has turned into a Thanksgiving tradition.  They provide the teddy bears.  We get to dress them up and then give them back.  The teddy bears are then given to children who are displaced from their families to help with this time of transition.  Its fun to see what the kiddos pick out.  It definitely shows their personality, interests and age.  I'm always impressed how unselfish my children are when it is time to give them back; never a single tear.  They always ask if we are going to do it again next year.

Killer Claus

 What better way after Thanksgiving to get into the Christmas mood then to go to a Christmas themed murder mystery!... Killer Claus.  The story goes that Mrs. Claus was run over by a reindeer.... have I heard that song before....  Intermixed was characters that had speaking parts.  I was asked to play Hermey, the dentist (from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer).

 The 9 reindeer.... John was a trooper to play one... Donder.

 At the end, we were all given paper to write who we thought killed Mrs Claus and why.  Suspects included several lead elves, Mrs Claus (the daughter-in-law to the now late Mrs Claus) and Santa Claus' intoxicated brother (ugly green sweater above).  Turns out his brother did as he was jealous of always being in 2nd place.

The funniest part was at the very end where a few choice entries were read.  For example, one person wrote that Mrs Claus' killer was Mrs Claus... she committed suicide.  Another wrote down on the side they thought one of the elves had eye-catching calves.