Christmas cracker houses

Hmm...that title just doesn't seem right....

Every year at Christmas time we feel the need to eat tons of candy so we tend to create traditions around that need. Hence, we decorate "Christmas houses."

Yes, we have graham crackers, frosting and lots of candy. We stick them all together and try to make it look in the fashion of a house.

Then we eat them...the houses not the kids.

This was Mark's real atempt at structuring a house. It wasn't to bad for a three year old. But as soon as he realized that he was able to keep the candy that was on his plate and/or crackers, it became a pile on the candy session for him.

Ben was so serious about it. He wanted it to look great!!

Luke is now a pro at the cracker stacking. I think he likes to show off his artsy side of him with these sculptures of candy.

James also is very proficient in getting the most square footage for complete candy coverage.

He totally knows what this is all about.  "But I just want to eat it already!!!"

 

Cory says he's not very artsy. This is proof that he is LYING! It was amazing!

Bravo Luke! Bravo!! >insert padded opera clap<

James was ready to eat whatever he could get in his mouth. The light photo bombing his picture has become very common since he has grown 4 inches since August!! Seriously!

Fantastic attempt Mark! I'll just squish your cute, dimpled cheeks and call it good. muah!

Ben worked on his house right up until bedtime. He wins the award for getting the more candy on his house. It was amazing. And it was eaten in less then 12 hours. And people say my kids don't have any initiative! Ha!

My modest abode. The cinnamon bears were delicious, but, strangely the rest of my sugar slowly disappeared without my help. HHhmmm....

 This is one of my favorite traditions that I look forward to doing for as long as I can. I love it!

Awards Night

This post will not be the normal, exciting post that I generally have. A post full of witty writing and subtle humor sprinkled delicatly throughout the post. Nope. This post is just to help me get my post numbers up. I really want more posts this year then last year. >sigh< I don't think I'm going to make it. ..sniff sniff...

Ok it is also to say that James finished his first semester of Shakespeare class!! He finished seventeen plays and is well on his way to finishing the ten steps of the class.

Yes. They look so...thrilled.

 Luke finished TJYC level 1 at our Washington County Commonwealth. Hallelujah! There should be an award for parents of these kids that take this class. It is intense! Remember that stack of books that Luke had to read? Well he did it! He actually finished the day of the deadline. He also had a paper to write with several of those books. Not to mention the oral exam at the end of the semester and an 11 page essay final that made me more nervous them him! Woo! Way to go boys!

Ah thank you for gracing us with your smile, Luke! Remember that smile when you are knee deep in TJYC level 2!

James just thought it was awesome that it looks like he had light shooting out of his nose. We are a classy family.

Redemption photo for James. He is such a cool kid. :)

Ben just wanted in on the photo action. Silly kid.

Silly Mark

 My little Mark is quite the singer.  This was his compilation of his favorite songs. He kinda mixed up the lines from several songs. It gives me a good laugh.



 And here is his dancing side. This song is played SO frequently at our house. Luke taught the dance to Mark. Thats right. All of this is Luke's fault!! ;)

Family pictures

I am blessed to be friends with a great photographer. She graciously took our family pictures this year. She is very reasonably priced and did I mention how talented she is?! We had a great hour with her and I am very happy with our pictures.

We added this picture to some of our family's Christmas cards. We had to show our true selves..we're never gathered together, standing still and smiling you...you are more likely to have us making faces at you and being silly.

My boys! I love them!

The Luke.

Chef James

The handsome Ben.

Shy, mommy-loving Mark.

Ben loves to get his picture taken.

He gets those icy blue eyes from his Dad.

I wanted to give a picture to Cory for Christmas.  This is what he ended up with. Not the most exciting gift, but I'm happy with it. Thats saying something since I rarely like how I look in pictures.

 Thanks Camille! We love them!

Happy birthday chef James!

 

James turned 13 recently and we were so excited to be able to celebrate it with my sister Katy and her kids. I love her kids! They are AWESOME! (Hi Rissa!!!)

Among the usual happy gifts of toys and books, James received a scholarship to an online cooking school called Top Chef University. James talks about cooking daily and has learned to prepare a wide variety of dishes. This is his opportunity to step it up!

James' reading his acceptance letter. He was SO excited!

James' first assignment was to make chicken noodle soup.  This included dicing the veggies and crushing the garlic. Here he is sweating the veggies.

He prepared the chicken broth and used bay leaves and fresh thyme. The house smelled SO good. Everyone needs at least one of their children to be enthralled in cooking so that you can smell those yummy smells and know that you didn't have to prepare them!

Here is James with his first big masterpiece. Chicken noodle soup with a Parmesan cloud of cheese. I didn't help at all. I stayed out of the kitchen the entire time. Oh that soup was YUMMY!

His next assignment is for Potato Leek soup.

Happy birthday James! I'm one lucky mama!

More chairs...

 I have decided that painting chairs have been my best therapy this year. I have so much fun with it.  I am not an accomplished artist, I just love to doodle. I now just doodle with paint.  Here are some of my latest doodles.

This is how the chair started. My sketch didn't look anything like it.  After about 14 hours of working on it (even if it was enjoyable time)  I decided that I didn't like it. At. All. I re-primed it and the new look of the chair I LOVED.

The new design of the chair flowed very easily. I enjoyed every moment on this chair. The red was so RED that I would gaze at it. I love that red!

I love this chair too! The swirls and checkers remind me of a Dr.Seuss book.

I sent this chair home with my mom and dad. The leaves on the top and legs even have pink in them. The layers of the leaves were a new technique for me. I am loving learning all of these new ways to paint.

 Thanks for looking!

My brother's concert. Go Ray!

 I am fortunate to have an amazing brother. A brother that gives me the opportunity to meet people that I probably never would have been able to meet otherwise.
My brother, Ray, is the conductor for the North Las Vegas Stake symphony. Thousands of people attend his concerts. If you want a good seat, come early! My favorite concerts of his are usually the Christmas ones, but this concert easily trumped them all.

Last month, Ray had Jenny Oaks Baker as his guest.  If you are unfamiliar with Jenny Oaks Baker, this is a great opportunity for you to discover her!! She is an amazing violinist. I have all of her albums and have heard her in concert before. After the accident, I would lie in bed and listen to her Disney songs and daydream.

Besides a splendid concert, I was able to spend some time with my family. Which I love. My Aunt Joyce even traveled up from the Phoenix area.

I love the cousins getting together. The feelings of friendships that are always there no matter how much time passes.

Afterwards, I was able to meet Jenny Oaks Baker. She was so gracious and elegant. She won't remember me in 5 years, but in 5 years I will totally remember her music during my hard times.

Ben loved the concert! When he met her, he told her that she played so beautifully. It was sweet.

Dr. Brown -aka my brother- with Jenny Oaks Baker.

Everyone!!

 Ray's Christmas concert is December 9th! See you there!