Thursday, December 29, 2011

The Nativity


The kids dressed up to do the annual Nativity. Jay read the story, the audience sang, and the kids did their best to come in on cue.

the donkey

Joseph



Angel

Mary riding the donkey














Shepard







Angel





Wise Man



Wise Men

Wise Man

AND more Christmas Eve!

Stacy set up a scavenger hunt for the kids. They each had a set of clues to find and follow. The chase sent them all over the property, racing to find their prize.
Addison

Kiera

Turner

Nikolai






Trenton

Gavin

Aleksi




The last clue had the kids find the "old cowboy who lives here."



For Christmas Eve dinner we always do steaks, just like my grandparents did while we were growing up. We set the tables with center pieces and Mom's china. We had a full house this year and enjoyed the meal and conversation.



More Christmas Eve Fun


We played "hand and foot" after we had lunch. We made it through two rounds before we had to start getting ready for dinner.
Chelsea and Turner

Christy and Trenton


Kimberly

Mom


The big boys did some clay pigeon shooting. The little boys thought that picking up the used shells was just as much fun. They gathered them all up and divided them equally, thrilled with their treasure.






Roasting Hot Dogs on Christmas Eve

A new tradition! Roasting hot dogs in the fire pit for lunch...although hot dogs are not my favorite the kids loved it and it was such fun to sit outside, enjoy the sunshine, and watch the fire. The only thing missing was marshmallows....maybe next year.

Trenton

Me, Kimberly, and Turner

Chelsea and Gavin

Gavin and Mom


Nikolai

Trent breaking into the sushi...nothing says Merry Christmas like hot dogs and sushi.

Addison and Christy

Gavin

Nikolai

Gavin and Nikolai

Aleksi said he had a hot dog...but we must not have caught it on film...

Saturday, December 24, 2011

A Christmas Baby!

None of us will ever forget the Christmas that Stacy joined our family. We woke up to find our parents had gone to the hospital and we weren't allowed to open presents in the morning as usual. That was tough for us to understand, since we were all under the age of 10. However, Stacy has more than made up for those few missed hours of present opening.

Here is a list of things I love to remember about Stacy:

1. She was such a cute baby. She had jet black hair and a lot of it.
2. We called her Bugsy for a while because she loved to squish the bugs outside.
3. She had a tiny pair of cowboy boots that she loved...and they were adorable.
4. One year she got a Mickey Mouse t-shirt from Grandma Closner and she said she didn't like it. Grandma took it back.
5. She's never been afraid to say what she thinks and share her opinion.
6. She loves to laugh...and she has a laugh that fills the room.
7. She quickly grew taller than all of us.
8. She and Christy and Andy were inseparable.
9. She was born on Christmas...and every year growing up she demanded to celebrate her birthday on Christmas.
10. Now that she's all grown up she is such a fun sister. She is always happy, smiling, and telling jokes. She wears tall heels, shirts with sequins, and big jewelry. She has an infectious laugh (I know I've already mentioned this, but you've got to hear it) and she keeps us all smiling.

I love you Stacy! Have another happy birthday!