The Weekend Before Christmas

All week long both of my girls have been asking to go see Santa and sit on his lap again. This totally SHOCKED me of Caitlyn b/c she was so timid the first time. On Friday night we toured the Ethel M cactus garden all lit up. And it was just our luck that Santa was there. They each told him something they wanted... something they forgot to mention last week. Madisen would like a pink dolly cradle and Caitlyn wants a vacuum. We got to meet up with my cousin Lincoln, his wife ChrisAnn, and thier 2 kids who were in town for the BYU football game. (Too bad the Cougars couldn't pull off this win!)
The kids asked to have their picture taken in front of Santa's reindeer. I think they look so cute all bundled up & trying to keep their fingers warm. Now they're ready for the REAL cold weather at grandma's house this week.

More Snow Pictures

Here are some updated pictures of our snow day. It hasn't snowed like this in Las Vegas since 1979- almost 30 years! We are thrilled to have been part of this 'historic' event. Also, the schools were all shut down today because of the snow! Yep- 6 inches of snows shuts down the city that never sleeps!

This picture Bill took when he got home from work, around 3:15- the job sites resembled ghost towns so it was an early day for him. He was so excited to bundle the kids up & take them to the park for some snow time!
Here they are all bundled up in multiple layers of clothes & socks.
My clever & resourceful husband found this inflatable tub/pool in our garage & put it to good use. They loved sledding! I guess Caitlyn wasn't too keen on walking in it, so Bill carried her the whole time, but it was truly an experience of a life time for them.
Then they built this huge snowman... but you can probably tell by the look on their faces that it was time to come home for a hot bath & some soup!

You wouldn't believe me if I told you...

that it's snowing AGAIN today in Las Vegas! Here is a picture of our backyard at 2:10 and it's still coming down!
Here are a few Christmas crafts from our holiday season! The trees we made a few weeks ago are on the left and today we decorated some graham cracker houses we made this morning!

{Notice that they can't look at the camera because they are too interested in the snow outside!}

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

{It snowed for most of the day yesterday! There were scattered snow flurries when we woke up & by 8:30 the flakes were huge! It was a wet snow so it didn't stick overnight, but it sure did put make it feel more like Christmas!}

but inside it's so delightful!!

Luckily we had a cookie decorating day already scheduled with some of our friends! It really couldn't have been a more perfectly Christmasy day! Complete with the house filled with the smell of freshly baked gingerbread.

Behind in Blogging Because...

I can't believe that it's already the eve of December 11! This month has FLOWN by and now there are less than 2 weeks before Christmas. My 'To-Do' list is still quite lengthy, but here are a few things that we've been up to:

*I helped a friend complete a major marketing project for her husband's business. And by major I mean that we (3 other ladies & I) spent 4 out of 7 nights at her house making a total of 90 dozen (yes, that's 1,080) caramel apples- homemade caramel & all! It was quite a process, but the end result was BEAUTIFUL.

*Our ward held a lovely Enrichment evening. Complete with dinner, musical program and a touching slide show of Christ.

*Attended the ward Christmas party. Another festive dinner with a telling of the nativity.

*Spent at least 8 hours accompanying various musical numbers for the events of the month.

*Bill & the girls had a daddy-daughter date to an ice hockey game. Madisen's version of the evening: "There were people ice skating & they took turns using their sticks to hit the puck. And then it was the kids' turn to sing Christmas songs. There was a man who stood in front of them & waved his arms around. The kids were from a different preschool than me."

*Spent 3 hours in the dentist chair.

*Took the girls for their well visits & are happy to report that everyone is still on their growth curve!!

*Fought off a nasty cold! The girls have managed to stay healthy, but Bill is battleing it now.

*We had some friends come spend the day with us. We made a fun Christmas craft, inspired by this site, played in the sand, played toys, watched a Christmas movie, ate lunch & the ladies helped me deck the halls! It was a perfect day!! We love our friends from the north & wish we could see them more often.

(Who knew 8 kids could fit in this tiny sand box?)

(Madisen hard at work painting her Christmas tree.)

*Had an FHE lesson about the Christmas story by glueing together a paper nativity. We also sang a few reverent rounds of "Christmas Bells" and made edible snowflakes, as seen here.

*And what week would be complete without some mess, or incident with the little ones? The girls had been playing with some soap in their bathroom sink. Someone knocked on the door for Madisen, so I took her down to get her shoes on. Catitlyn was perfectly content, so I left her at the sink. When I returned, this is what I found on the counter & she was somehow sitting behind that bottle on the counter. Sigh. She had climbed up onto the counter, opened the medicine cabinet, taken out the Tylenol & was helping herself to a dose. (Thankfully I returned before she ingested any!) I asked, "What are you doing?" Her response was priceless, "Just a witt-oe bit of medcine, mom. Just a witt-oe bit." And yes, those are soap bubbles. I think there was soap in the cup before she added the Tylenol.
P.S. Many of you asked about Caitlyn's birthday cupcake. I did use a pan- it was a gift, but I've seen them at Michael's. They are made by Wilton. And if you live in Las Vegas I'm glad to share it with you ANYTIME!