Adventures with the elf

Over the course of the month that Gary he aquired a last name - Snowball. He became Gary Snowball. The kids loved him. Since I didn't do the whole "don't touch him or he'll loose his magic" thing with him since it was our first year with him and I didn't know how they'd do, he spent a lot of time with them. I had several people ask about things our elf did. I was by no means anywhere near the most creative but we had lots of fun with him. So here are some highlights.

 Playing in sprinkles and colored sugar...

 Playing in their crayons and writing them notes...

 Apparently Gary is a fan of oreos...

 reading under the Christmas tree...

 taking a bath with a candle while reading Frosty...

 falling asleep under the Christmas tree...

 swinging from the kitchen lights...

 a late night game of Memory with Barbie, Pooh, a couple My Little Ponies and a few other friends...

 getting a little too excited in the bathroom with some toilet paper...

 man-up in a giant carton of Goldfish...

 going cruising with Tigger in the dump truck...

 building with their blocks...

 leaving notes written in Cheerios...

 hanging from their bedroom light...

 a little refreshment and web surfing with Payton's puppy, Penny...

 Gary and some of the friends he made here hanging out in the window...

 Gary, on his last night with us. He wrote them notes saying good-bye and he'd be back next year.

 They are still asking where Gary Snowball is but they know he went home with Santa and is at the North Pole. And now a whole other year to be coming up with elf ideas.

It's Christmas Time in the City

It's almost Christmas! We've been super busy hitting everything that's going on around town and some get togethers and a few parties...the month has flown by! So this is the dynamic duo's holiday month wrap-up!

This is the first time in 4 years that I've put up a Christmas tree. It's quite honestly a little Charlie Brown type tree so if the kids ruin it I won't be super upset. I bought a pack of plastic ornaments that they helped my put on the tree, along with some beads. They did really goo helping decorate and have done a good job for the most part in not playing with it too much.

We ran around town earlier this month we hung out in downtown for the afternoon with MaMaw going to the police barn to see the horses, riding on trollies, looking at the big tree and Santa at the Durham Museum. And goodies, crafts and snacks all for free. It was a beautiful day out, we sang carols on the trollies with people that carted us from one spot to the other. And getting to talk with the real police horses was a total hit.

We has our Christmas party with respite care which is always one of our favorites. We bowled, made gumdrop snowflakes, and wrote letters to Santa. We get one-on-one time to talk to Santa but that still doesn't go over well. No one was sitting on his lap or talking to him too much. The whole thing is so fun. They love seeing their friends and teachers there. It is truly a favorite thing. And besides mom and dad going with them, Aunt Bo and Uncle Dave were able to go too.

We went to the Immanuel Hospital campus last weekend to see Santa and Ms. Claus land in a helicopter. The Life Flight team cruised the city stopping to let off the Claus's for some pictures, cookies and juice. We had alot of fun watching the helicopter come in and getting some goodies at the party.

We visited with Sarah, Joe, Austin and Christian. They L-O-V-E to play with the boys. We exchanged gifts. The pajamas were an instant hit, especially with the diva. They also love their new toys. They are causing fights over them so I guess that's a good sign.

 This Thursday's storm gave us a snow day at home. This meant baking holiday confetti cupcakes and a little time playing in the snow outside once the wind died down. They are totally fascinated by the snow this year. Last year it was still a little scary and a little hard to move around in. 

Friday night, after work was over and the snow was mostly cleared, we went to play with Kristin, Sydney and Ava. The kids had a blast! Dinner, playing, crafty Christmas stuff, chocolate peppermint cookies and lots of glitter...sounds pretty much like the perfect evening.

We also had a few lunches out, went to visit the gingerbread houses, a few story times at the library, visited the UP museum, and had our annual Christmas get together with my friends and former co-workers. It's been so fun to be out and doing more stuff this year.

Merry Christmas!