Boys Day Out

Owen was very sad one day when Claire went to play at the neighbors house, and he couldn't go.  I tried to make the situation better by calling his friend Issac and seeing if he could come over.  It just so happened that his mom was just leaving the house and almost driving by our house when I called them.  He was thrilled to have someone over to play.  I thought it would be fun to have them make cookies so we picked snickerdoodles.  It was so funny to watch.  They were very meticulous at first, but when they were finished I found those rather large cookies rolled in sugar.  I fixed them, and we popped them in the oven.  It was a fun activity for the boys, and a good afternoon.

Daddy Daughter Date Night

Chad was thrilled when I told him that he needed to take Claire on a date skiing. It didn't take much convincing. Claire tried skiing last year, and loved it!! She is very good too, which helps. Last year we had to drag her onto the slope, this year she didn't want to sit down long enough to eat a sandwich. She was also happy that her "ski teacher," our friend Hal Jensen happened to be skiing the night Chad and Claire went. They had a great time, and Claire is counting down to the next ski trip.

New Years Eve and Illegal Fireworks

We spent New Years Even in style this year. My parents came so we started off with Owen's favorite dinner "dip sandwiches." After dinner my parents treated us to a movie (I can't recall the last time we even went to a movie, so it was very special). The girls and kids went to see Tangled, and Chad and my dad saw True Grit. Grant had never been to a movie, and the previews were playing as we walked in. He wouldn't move, he was so fascinated. It was a great movie, and we all had a good time.

After the movie the illegal fireworks came out. My dad loves fireworks, and he always has some good one on the 4th of July and New Years. The kids had a great time, and we let them do sparklers, and let one firework off. Then, they were off to bed. The adults played games, ate food, and then at midnight toasted, and sent Chad outside to let off more fireworks. What a guy, it was soooooo cold, and he would light one, then run back inside. It was a great night, and we couldn't have spent it better any other way!

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Farmer

Grandma and Grandpa Farmer came to visit us on New Year's Eve. They had to take Amber back to BYU-I so they came a few days early to spend some time with us. We were so glad that they did, and so were the kids because we saved their Christmas presents from them until they came. It was one of the first things we did when they walked in the door. Owen got an Iron Man hand, Claire got a new pair of snow boots (thank you!) and a new Barbie, Grant got a really cute truck, and Ava got a new outfit. They also gave us some BBQ tools, but then quickly took Chad shopping for our new BBQ.

All I Want for Christmas . . .

Claire came up one morning during Christmas break, and was missing her front tooth. We are still not sure where it is, but I'm pretty sure that she swallowed it. She left the Tooth Fairy a note, and was so happy with her dollar. It is so fun listening to her talk, and I was so excited that she lost her tooth before Christmas so we could sing a fun song together!

Christmas 2010

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. I always look forward to it because of the kids. I want it to be the best day for them, and something they look forward to. We had a wonderful dinner on Christmas Eve with our friend from the ward and his kids. We read the Christmas Story and then watched the Christmas DVD by the church. It was very nice to remember our Savior, and why we celebrate Christmas. The kids were very excited, put out the cookies for Santa, and went straight to bed.

Claire woke up first, but we made her stay in our room for awhile. She was very good about walking straight upstairs into our room since this was the first Christmas in her new room. She held off until just after 7:00 and then the madness began.

Santa had a hard time trying to figure out what to get Claire for Christmas. You can only have so many Barbies. Santa decided that since Claire loves to draw, and is always using her mom and dads good paper that she would love an Art Easel. She loved her art easel and her new art box. She also got a couple of new outfits, and some easel paper.

Santa had an easy time picking out what to get for Owen. He loves so many things! He got a walking Iron Man, "which is exactly what he wanted," some superhero cars, some superhero squad cars and a box of superhero costumes so he could save the world all by himself.

Santa also loved getting everything ready for Grant. Grant loves Toy Story, especially "Guzz" (Buzz). He got a talking Buzz Lightyear, a Buzz blanket for his bed, some Toy story figures and a Mr. Potato Head for the bathtub. It was so much fun to watch him figure out what Christmas was, and how much he enjoyed unwrapping the presents.

Santa got Ava some very practical Christmas presents. She got some new bottles, a new mattress pad, a new blanket and a couple of chew toys. She mostly wanted to play with all the paper that was all around her.

Mom and Dad got exactly what they needed a new TV. Their TV was very old and not working very well. They also got a new Blue Ray Player so that they can watch Netflix movies upstairs. It is very nice, and has made us very happy with our purchase. We were also lucky to get a new BBQ from Mom and Dad Farmer and a new handmade picnic table from Mom and Dad Clayson. We are now all set for the summer BBQ season.

Christmas Best

This year I had so much fun dressing my family for Christmas. Chad wouldn't get in the picture because we were in a hurry, but he also has a matching tie. I just wanted to make the boys a tie, but I had enough material to make Claire a skirt and then the girls got matching hair things, although Claire couldn't find hers. It was so much fun for me, and so great to hear all the comments at church. I'm not sure I will get Chad to wear matching ties very often unless I get a little more manly looking material.