Christmas 2009

I really wanted to do a puzzle during Christmas time this year. I bought this one at Savers. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be - hard to find the edges. I had it almost done and Sarah attacked it. I was determined to finish it and voila!

Sarah and aunt Susan. This was Christmas Eve. We did a family night with stories, games, songs, and good food.

We decided to be brave/different this year. We stayed the night at my parents house (8 miles away!) It was really fun to be there with everyone - minus a brother and his wife. When the 2 babies in the house woke up at 6:30 Ben did too. And then Sarah. I held them at bay, in our room, until 7 and then we woke everyone up.
Waiting in the hallway for permission to go see what Santa brought. This has always been the tradition in our family. We



Ben got a Didj - it's the next level up from a Leapster, which is what he asked for. He seems to be pretty happy with it.

Sarah has wanted a pink guitar for a long time. She also ended up with 2 microphones and a "Barbie singer" outfit!

Playing with her playdough. She really can't get enough of that stuff.

Playing Ticket to Ride - we love this game and I got it for Kannon.

Christmas night we lit the bonfire. Whenever we, or my mom, have garbage wood, tree trimmings, weeds, etc, it goes into the bonfire pile and when there are enough of us around, we light it. Because of the snow, this one was started with boy scout water (or gasoline!)

Ben and cousin Tyler eating lunch. It was cute to watch as Tyler (he's 3 1/2) wanted to do everything Ben did and go everywhere he went!

This adorable kitchen was my big Christmas project. My mom found it at a thrift store for $7. It was bare wood - homemade. I brought it home the week before Christmas Day and started working on it at night. I painted a few coats of the pink paint, and the stove rings. I used spray paint for the sink which is just a metal 8x8 baking pan. A couple of wooden knobs painted black with a silver pen for the markings and new handles on the doors. Kannon added latches to keep the doors from falling open and after Christmas he added a drain. We're still looking for a used faucet for the sink. Couldn't see putting $25 in for a new one! She got cooking pans and utensils from my mom and our neighbor. And Kannon and I found the mixer. She used the $20 from her great-grandpa to buy plastic food. Funny thing is, she uses her playdough as food more than anything!