Pretzel/Donut Night

This was not the same night, it is just getting hard to figure out ways to keep these kids occupied, so we are making plenty of treats. Friday night we made donuts to have for treats with our game night. They were really easy, a little greasy, and unfortunately one of my daughters threw up later that night!

So, I guess I will skip the "post the recipe" part. They had a great time, and I loved that it took me a week or two to get all of the sprinkles swept up. I tried and tried but those little things just keep rolling around.

A couple of days later, the kids were bored so we made soft pretzels. My little girl Paige loves pretzels, she asks us whenever we drive up to the mall if we will buy her a soft pretzel. She was quite excited about this activity. They look a little burnt and brown because I used half wheat flour. (I was trying to be healthier than donut night, especially trying to avoid the sick daughter!) They were quite yummy and we had a great time making them.

This is a picture of our lovely handiwork! These were crafted by Aaron, Morgan, Paige, and Carson. Morgan tried to make a snowman, Aaron and Paige stuck with the traditional pretzel look, and Carson thought we were still making donuts!

Just thought this boy was pretty funny all dressed up like Bob the Builder

Burrito

Carson and Grandpa Rich have a little game they like to play called "Burrito." It consists of wrapping Carson up in a blanket, and then Grandpa will pull the end so he spins and rolls out. It is a bit rough, and sometimes we tend to have injuries. The little guy still keeps wanting to play though.

While Zach was visiting, we tried to talk him into taking a turn. We almost had him ready to go until Carson hit his head on the floor, and them Zach wasn't all that interested in playing anymore. (He might be the smart one here!) After Zach declined, they decided maybe it was time for Grandpa to have a turn!

After Grandpa had such a great time, Carson decided his Daddy needed a turn. Thanks for Aaron and Grandpa for being great sports!

To Shower or not to Shower....

So, I had thought my little Sunbeam had outgrown a bit of his naughtiness. He has been pretty sweet, even though he can be a bit messy. This morning, it got quite messy. I almost always shower at night because I don't want him to do this.

This morning I got in the shower, fixed my hair, and when I came out it wasn't pretty. He usually gets into food, but today he cranked it up a notch.

I might have to blame my brother-in-law Shae, for this unfortunate event. On Christmas morning, he had a Sharpie. The idea was to put a "C" and "Z" on every toy that the boys opened that was the same, so they could tell them apart. It worked great, and they got along so much better this year.

During the shower, he found a present that was for Morgan, that had not been opened. He took it out of the wrapper, got the dry erase markers out, and tried to mark her present. He must have gotten bored after that, because next he marked my fridge, wall, piano, and rug.

Lucky for me it wasn't a Sharpie, and I was able to get all the marker out...I wonder if I will be as lucky the next time???

Christmas Eve

I know this is old news, hopefully I will be caught up soon. For Christmas Eve, at Aaron's parents house, we always have a lovely prime rib dinner that Aunt Sherry Cooks for us. After an early dinner we play some games with the kids. The grandchildren will never let Grandma Jackie end the tradition of the "Right and Left game!" We do a little talent show (this year Aunt Camille even talked the 3 big Lowry boys into singing Jingle Bells while they sucked on helium balloons!) My camera batteries had died or I would have had a very very funny video to post.

Then the little kids act out the nativity. This year, Grandma Jackie asked if Carson wanted to play Joseph, I was a little worried. He seems more like an unruly cow or sheep to me, but she had bribery. For a few peanut butter cups, he was a darling little Joseph. Almost as cute as his little cousin who played "Mary."

We had a great evening, I only wish I would have been able to take more pictures.

Gingerbread Houses

When we all gathered at my parents house, we decided it would be fun to make gingerbread houses with the kids. It had been a few years since we had made them. We bought 3 kits thinking that each family could work on one. The children had a better idea. The big girls decided to break the grandchildren into the 3 generations they fall into. We have the 3 big girls, the 3 medium girls, and the 2 little boys (and Brinley!)

After we thought about it, we decided it was genius. The little boys could be as messy and wild, and it would not drive the older sisters (who actually wanted it to look nice) crazy. We let all 3 groups decorate how they wanted, the only help was from Aaron and Shae, on the little boys house.

We did have a bit of sampling going on.

I could not get pictures of the faces of these ladies. They were quite into the project.

The dad's step into help Carson and Zach. They (the big boys) had some serious talent. Grandpa Rich suggested they decorate with hot dogs as well, so we did have some lovely hot dog people living at the gingerbread house. We had to toss them out after a day or two, they were not looking well. Thanks for the AWESOME idea MGpa!

Here is my son actually sampling the hot dogs before they were people. I swear my dad gives them to my son, just because he know I hate it when he eats them. He will grab them raw out of the fridge and chow down. I do not have them at my house precisely for this reason!

My son who won't eat chicken, ham, or roast, will got to town on cold hot dogs! So Gross.

The finished projects. On the left the boys house (be sure to check out the hot dog people!) The medium girls in the middle, and the big girls on the right.

Sledding

Before it got too cold to be outside, the cousins LOVED going sledding. Carson and Zach spent most of the time on the 4-wheelers with the dad's, but the girls loved being pulled around in the sleds.

Aaron found a rather large, and very stout, sled at the CAL store. It fit quite a few grandkids at a time.

Just wanted to tell Uncle Shae that we love the bright orange Detroit lions hat!

I am so glad we went sledding when we did, since a few days later it was 0 degrees outside, and now we have almost no snow left. If it is going to be this cold outside, we should at least deserve big fluffy snowflakes falling, (not blowing) to the ground.

Poor neglected Blog...

So, I realize it has been forever. My sisters came, and when that happens, we play, and not much on the computer.

So, now that they are gone, (we are a little bit sad!) and my parents house is quiet again, I will try to remember all the fun we had. I can't start yet, because I lost my camera in my parents house, and so I am waiting to mooch pictures of my mom and sister.

Until then, back to reality, I go.....