Christmas Week

The kids were off of school this week and I loved having a few days to do Christmas stuff with them before the big day.

Friday afternoon Jack and Sam came for some cousin time. I had made some extra gram-cracker houses so we took advantage of the left overs and made up some more.

Then when it got dark we took them over to see the lights on Comstock and found snow. (well fake snow, but still magical) In the morning I took the kids to our not primary activity for cookie decorating, coco, reindeer games and The Grinch. 

John and Shannyn got back to our house is the late afternoon we chatted for awhile. Since it was Shannyn's birthday we went out to celebrate at a German restaurant. Man is this place is a Mesa gem. The food was so yummy and the atmosphere felt like I had just stepped back into Germany There was even an accordion player with lederhosen.  I would love to do again. We ended the night at the Mesa Temple lights. No need to say more than awesome.

On Christmas Adam we all slept under the tree.

We hosted Christmas Eve this year. All 27 of us. We were tight and cozy but every one fit and had a good food to eat and good entertainment,  I actually made 2 hams just to make sure there was enough. Everyone pitched in a brought something to share so that was really nice that is all didn't fall on me. I do still dream of hosting a lovely dinner party, with beautiful table settings and white lights. Maybe next year. 

As per tradition the kids performed the Nativity. My favorite part, to sit still for a moment and think of the humble birth of our Savior.

 Then it was on to more festive entertainment. Leave it John to bring the fun. This time it was a karaoke machine.  We had some good laughs and good moves.

When everyone left the kids exchanged their gifts. I think the theme this year was straws .

 We had smiles, hugs, and thank yous. Then off to bed for Santa to come.

All I want for Christmas is Lights

This year I told my family that all I really wanted for Christmas was to see all the lights that the holiday had to offer. Part of the the deal was that I wanted them to be happy about it and excited to see all the lights from all over the city. My team was good to me and we made it to all the light events on my list. And they, we had a great time. So these are all the places that we went. Of course not all on the same day but throughout the month
First to the the balloon glow in Gilbert. Oh how I just love the light and how it glows in the night sky.

Second we met up with John and went to the Tempe Town Lake boat parade. We made a whole evening out of it. We took the light rail down. Ate at a cute pizza place and headed down to the lake. Man it got cold and I was not prepared for it. John and Shannyn teased me for not wearing the proper shoes. I've lived in Arizona so long I barely wear socks or own a pair of shoes that cover my feet.

 But that was not going to take away from the night. The boats where cool and I loved to see the lights reflection on the water. There were some creative boats like star wars and this one of the leg lamp. LOVED IT.

Made a stop at Comstock ST that won this years neighborhood light fight. Sadly no pics of the lights but we did get a bad picture of the kids and the snow machine.

The kids were in heaven. Since the line to drive into the neighborhood was about a mile or more long we took a little side street parked and walked over. Perfect evening in my opinion.

To finish it off, lights at he Mesa temple always a delight and beautiful.

6 Week Challenge

Back in November I joined my friends on a healthy eating challange.  I just wanted to see if I could start some better habbits and loose the 5 pounds that I'm always trying to get rid of. But I never tried to hard because I would still have my ice cream and sweets.
Back up to October I went in for a check up and some routine labs and my doctor was concerened that I was showing some signs of being pre-dibetic.  ME the gril that exercies 5 days a week, but yeah I do like my sweets.  It was a good time to challenge myself.
I was secptical because the challenge is very loose. You would get points for doing certian things, logging your food, water intake, 3 servings of vegtables, 2 serivngs of fruit, no sweets except for one day of the week and exercise.  Now where in the challege dose it restrict what you eat or how many caloires, so it was my choice to eat good foods and not cheetoes.

The water intake was the hardest for me. I was just not used to drinking that much. And some days I really wanted a treat but I passed it up so I would be able to earn maxim points. I was way more selective in my sweets which I think is such a great healthy practice. The digging in the pantery for the last of the chocolate chips had stopped so I was really greatful that I feel that I really kicked the sugar habit. I didn't over do it during Thanksgiving, just giving that day a free day and moved on.

The results were great, I feel great. I lost the 5 pounds, I drink a lost more water. I am always trying to fit in all my fruits and vegetables and I'm making better choices on my sweets. Added bonus is that I came in second in the challenge and won 1/2 of the pot.  So I treated myself to some new workout clothes. More than anything I feel acomplished, I set a goal, stuck to it and I feel great. I'm happy that I found a way to get my diet back into check when things get a little out of control.

December 12

Last addition for this year.

1.  Started out early on a morning run with Amy E.weather was cold and dark. Just as we were finishing our 5 miles it started to rain. Running up to the house and seeing our Christmas lights just makes me a happy.

2.  A favorite breakfast of mine. Oats, banana, nuts, chia seeds, cinnamon and a little bit of honey.

3.  Out getting the food for the week. I always love to wear my orange shoes.

4.  Kevin sent me a video with him singing at the top of his lungs, This is what he does when he misses me at work.

5.  Our buddy Baxter is back for the weekend. I hate to admit it but I do like this dog.

6.  Getting preschool magic ready.

7.  Max went ice skating with his primary class. He had a good time and wants to go again. I love his primary teachers they are wonderful.

8.  Making our way to the Tempe Town Lake Boat Parade. Trying to catch the beautiful sunset.

9.  Boy cousins together so silly.

10.  A favorite family of mine. So happy that we met up and hung out together.

11. Wow a picture with our whole family. Thanks Max for not looking at the camera.

12. The boat parade was so neat to see, Here is the Minion boat. It ended with Santa and then BAM fireworks light up the sky. All around a great day with my team.

November: little things

Trying to keep up with life is great and hard and exhausting. So here are the little things this month. Lilly really wanted to girl date to go pick up things for science camp. She wanted to be all ready. This sign was at the door that day now we have half of the days left. YIKES!!!

My super dishwashers. I was a little surprised how well these 2 washed the dishes. They will sure have a lot more practice since our dishwasher motor has died and we won't have the part installed until next Friday.

One of my many trips to Costco this month I was hit by a tiny moment of sadness.  As I stood in line to have a receipt checked I realized that I will not get a smilie face on it because my kids are all big and in school.  And I do recognize that shopping solo is a luxury for many but, I missed my big kindergartner that was my constant sidekick his whole life.

I'm so nerdy but really under $2 a gallon just makes me happy.

I know this picture is out of focus but what a happy occasion this was. We found, or should I say Lilly found the lost case of DVDs. We were sure they were lost forever on a road trip somewhere. But no Lilly had taken them on a babysitting job and found them in her bag. yeah!!!

This is totally embarrassing, and funny, and well a real moment from life. One day I was feeling board of all my clothes so I said hey lets go try on whatever I want with no intention to buy anything. And then I thought "I should take pictures of all these outfits and pretend I'm some famous Instagramer that people care about what I try on in the store." I went to a really fancy store, Target, and then hoped over to Down East.  Well my no intention to buy held strong in Target but I really really wanted the pants I tried on. However in Down East I caved. I found a dress and 2 shirts all marked down super cheep and I had a gift card so they came home with me. And now I have some cute things to wear when I'm subbing. I did go back and buy the pants form Target a couple weeks later. It was a sign I had to have them because they were 50% off.

Preschool, Preschool I love you! L is for lion.

No thanksgiving tree this year, everyone just made a long long list of all our blessings and boy do we have many.

My friend let Lilly and I try out these curlers. I'm so silly for not taking a after picture but she had curls all day. That is unheard of for this little girl of mine. We can't wait to try them again.

Perhaps the most exciting thing this month is that we got to dog sit for a week. I'm still not a dog person but is was fun to have this little guy around. The kids were a great help and to be honest we kinda missed him when he went home. Oh he was a good dog. 

Two things that I don't have pictures for.. 

Subbing: I got to sub at the kids school this month. I loved it!! Now that I have been around I know how great our school is and I loved being down the hall from my kiddos. I got to see them at lunch and they came to my room at the end of the day. It was awesome. 

Pack meeting Carnival.  For pack meeting this month the boys planed and put on a carnival. Best pack meeting I have ever been to. Cotton candy, popcorn, games and photo booth. Max has such great leaders and I am so grateful for the time and effort they put into their callings. We are truly blessed.