christmas shopping

 mommy's been down with the flu & forgot to post this, but that's why we're here to remind her. a few weeks ago mommy took livi & i on our annual shopping trip at the dollar store (everything in there only cost $1) to buy presents for our family. so as soon as we were through the door mommy handed livi & i each a basket & told us "to have fun" & boy did we ever! i went one way while mommy & livi went the other (livi needed mommy to hold the basket after a while), but every time livi found something she had to come running/screaming through the store to show me! the one rule we made was that mommy wasn't able to say one word about what we picked out because this is about what we wanted to buy & she didn't (isn't it amazing)! when it was time to check out mommy couldn't believe all the things i had picked out & then when she saw the total she really couldn't believe it because she said "i don't think anyone has ever spent so much in a dollar store!"

 when we got home i insisted on wrapping all my presents without any help, it took me almost 3 hours!!! livi insisted on wrapping all of her own presents also but she was a smart cookie & just put everything in bags. the funniest thing was sadie found the gift livi got her before she could bag it & when livi finally got it back, sadie was having no part of the whole wrapping thing. sadie wouldn't get off the tissue paper & i had to distract her with treats so livi could get her present wrapped & put at the back of the tree... fast! 

i am very proud of us though, we stuck it out & the presents look fantastic! it did take us a really long time to clean up, it looked like the living room exploded in wrapping paper & bows. the most important thing is livi & i had a great time & everything we bought came from the bottom of our hearts & everyone loved them!

beautiful day

today was just so beautiful we couldn't bear to be inside, so daddy took us to play at 2 different parks & we had the best time ever!

ecuador

we got word that our shoeboxes traveled all the way to ecuador & we know some beautiful children are loving their gifts they received... yay. did you know twenty-nine percent of ecuador’s 15.4 million people are 14-years-old or younger. in the 2013-2014 season, 239,568 shoebox gifts from the united states will be delivered to children in ecuador, which first received the gifts in 1997. since then, 936,303 children in ecuador have received a shoebox gift. we can't wait to make someone have christmas again next year!

we miss kris already

first of all we want to wish everyone a very merry christmas! it’s been such a joy having kris our elf on the shelf around this year.  last night on christmas eve kris listened for santa's bell & when he heard them it was time for him to fly back to the north pole until next december 1st. we have had so so so much fun with kris & can't wait to see him next year. boy, do we miss him, it's not going to be the same without looking for him every morning. here is some more of crazy mischievous things he he did while he was with us...

day 16: looks like kris is excited as we are for christmas & is counting down with us!

day 17: awe, kris had story time with all of his friends. he was reading "santa's workshop" to them, so they could see all the things he does when he's away.

day 18: this was one of our favorites, kris brought back a special message for us from santa & it was written in our favorite thing... marshmallows!

day 19: looks like kris really had to use the potty, well now we know he has colorful poo poo.

day 20: i wrote kris a note asking him what santa's reindeer looked like & if he could would he please take a picture & HE DID!!!

day 21: holy cow, it looks like livi's dinosaurs were craving a mexican midnight snack! they rolled kris up into a burrito with some cheese & salsa on the side!!

day 22: kris wrote us a note saying he's checked santa's lists twice & we're on the good one, so don't delay & send our christmas list on the way.

day 23: sneaky kris hid all the sharp knives in the house & took a nap in their spot... it was just his size!

day 24: kris made special sugar sprinkle christmas cookies for santa & had a fun time playing in the flour making a flour angel.

day 25: we'll miss you kris!!! thank you for all the fun & excitement you brought us every morning! we'll be counting down the days till we see you next year!!!

santa tracker

oh my gosh, our pop sent us the coolest thing EVER!!! it's a tracking santa website so we can see everywhere he's been & where he's at now! you can also click on everywhere he's been & it'll tell you all about that place. we can not walk away from the computer it's so fun to watch him moving! to check it out click here!

our gingerbread house

to celebrate the official first day of christmas break we decided to build our gingerbread house. i think it's safe to say livi & i did more eating the decorations than putting them on the house, but we had a great time & we can say for sure everything tasted delicious!

candy cane crunch

it's also that time of year to make our famous candy cane crunch...nummy. the reciepe for our candy cane crunch is so easy peasy anyone can make it. enjoy & have fun!!!
all you need is:

30 mini candy canes

12 ounces vanilla candy coating broken into pieces

1. unwrap candy canes, & place in a zip-top freezer bag. seal bag, removing as much air as you can. wrap the bag in a kitchen towel, & crush candies using a rolling pin or a wooden hammer.
2. place candy coating in a big microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1min & 30 sec or until coating looks like it's just beginning to melt. stir candy coating until smooth. stir in crushed candy canes.
3. spread mixture evenly onto a 15x10 inch jelly-roll pan lined with wax paper. chill in the refrigerator 30 mins or until candy is firm; break into pieces & enjoy!
store in an airtight container up to 1 month. makes 1 pound of candy.

homemade snowflakes

it's that time of the year... time to make homemade ornaments to give to our teachers & friends. it's something we look forward to creating every year. this year we decided to make snowflakes out of popsicle sticks & marbles! we used clear, frosted & white marbles for a mixed snowy effect. they came out so good & look as beautiful as real snowflakes!

Supplies:

• 4 popsicle sticks
• glue
• buttons (or gems or marbles)
• ribbon

Instructions:

take 2 popsicle sticks and form an x and glue where the two sticks connect. take other 2 and form a + and glue where two sticks connect. now take the x and the + and place on top of each other and glue where they connect. take buttons or gems, marbles, poms poms whatever you like and glue to popsicle sticks. take ribbon and glue a hoop and viola!, you have a cute ornament for the tree.

look what kris has been up to now

oh my goodness, just when we thought kris couldn't get any crazier...we can't believe all the mischievous things kris has done this week. every morning it's been an adventure to find him, he definitely keeps us on our toes with all of the mischief he gets into. we now have made it through the 2nd week, who knows what's going to be in store for us next week... ahh! just take a look at what he's done this past week:

day 8: it looks like with all the flying to the north pole & back on these past super cold nights and with livi having strep throat, it looks like kris is down for the count too. poor elfie, thank goodness he's bundled up & took his medicine.

day 9: kris decided our christmas cards weren't festive enough to be mailed out. so he broke out the stickers & went to town... he also got just a few on himself in the process!

day 10: we only have the tree set up for one night & kris is already swinging in the branches. the best part is he brought us the flashing "santa stop here" ornament we've been wanting! there's no missing our house now!!!

day 11: since kris's return livi & i have been running way late in the mornings because we're just so excited to see what he's been up to & talk to him. well to help out he got our toothbrushes ready to go to speed us along! 

day 12: livi & i have been really bummed because it's been so cold & it's not fair that we haven't had any snow to make it worthwhile. so kris brought back some sparkly snowflakes from the north pole & hung them from the ceiling.

day 13: ohhh, kris was so naughty... he turned daddy into a hysterically funny dancing elf. oh my goodness, it's the funniest thing we've ever seen, finally daddy can bust a move! you have to watch it... hee hee hee!

day 14:  looks like kris has a rockin' friday night christmas concert for his adoring fans.

day 15: since we weren't able to visit the biggest gingerbread house in the world before it was torn down, kris brought us a gingerbread house for us to make! we can't wait to get started!

the songs of christmas & the nutcracker

today was one busy saturday, that's for sure! this morning was the children's christmas program at livi's school. it started with "the songs of christmas" then we went through the "festival of trees" into the fellowship hall for breakfast, crafts & a silent auction. we had so much fun watching all the children (about 75 of them) singing, dancing, signing, clapping, shaking bells, yawning & even a few picking their noses. livi's favorite song to sing was "holy night" & you could hear her singing her heart out, it was so wonderful! in the "festival of trees" each classroom had a tree of their own & with a theme that was decorated with homemade ornaments. livi's classroom was "joy to the earth!" we got to spend time with family friends & teachers, it was so much fun! if you weren't into the christmas spirit when you walked in this morning you definitely were by the time you walked out!

then this  afternoon we went as a family to the nutcracker for the first time. this was mommy & i's third time to go, but daddy & livi have never been & really wanted to go this year too & we think the more the merrier! it was even better having daddy & livi there because we got to show them around & tell them when our favorite parts were coming up! livi was so cute she was in awe of everything she saw from the big tree that greets you when you walk in

to all the ornaments you can buy as souvenirs, to seeing all the life size nutcrackers to pose with

to taking our seats & looking the program over from front to back while waiting for the show to start

then to hearing her big gasp as the big curtains parted & the ballet started, but the best was her smile when she got to meet all the ballerinas she wanted! she even put her hair back in a bun so she'd look just like them!

then when we got home it was time to put all of our nutcracker ornaments on the tree & talk about our favorite parts. livi looooooved playing with the nutcrackers that were her size & watching the arabian princess dance. my favorite was pretty much the whole second act, but i do love seeing the sugar plum fairy dance!

the best part is daddy & livi enjoyed it just as much as mommy & i do so we're all going back next year together!!!