Thanksgiving
For turkey day we went to Blake's parents house and ate dinner with his family. All the food was delicious, and the company even better!! We hung out and played games and it was all so fun and relaxing! And of course I got up early the next morning to fight the crowds at Wal-Mart!
Tree Hunting
Then We had to go Christmas Tree hunting! Every year we go up to the DeMille's property and cut down a Christmas Tree. However the roads were too muddy to make it up to the top where all the good tree picking is, so we really had to hunt! Blake did a lot of hiking around and finally found the one. We also found one for Brock and Corbin's room. We get a small one for their room every year and next year we will have to start getting one for Daxton and MaKelle's room. We had a lot of fun hiking around and playing in the little snow there was! Dax and MaKelle slept most of the time in their car seats in the truck which was nice cuz I didn't want to have to worry about them being out in the cold or being stuck in the truck! I will have to take a picture of the completed tree and post it later cuz I haven't gotten a picture yet!
Neilson Family Christmas Party
On this same Thanksgiving weekend we got together for a Christmas Party. Every year Blake's Mom's Family gets together for Christmas! Since the family is getting so big, we had it at the church this year and all the kids (old and young) had so much fun. Brianna, Blake's sister, and his Mom did a video of pictures from over the years of a family tradition they have of dressing up as the people in the nativity. And of course Santa Clause came! It was Blake's cousin Jerry and the kids really enjoyed him! It was fun to get together and visit and eat good food!
Decorating
Once we got the trees in and set up it was time to decorate. I really dread putting up Christmas decorations, but once it is all done I absolutely love it! Soit took me 2 days to get it all done, and then I was still doing little things for about 3 or 4 more days. We had to decorate the trees first and the kids had so much fun decorating their own tree. MaKelle and Daxton loved the lights and playing with the ornaments and Brock had to meticulously place each ornament while Corbin just put them all in pretty much the same place where he could reach! All in all it was fun even though it was work!
Moving On
The babies sat in their highchairs and ate at the table for the first time! Daxton pretty much just wanted to chew an a banana peel, gross!
Elf's and Candy Houses
At our house we are fortunate enough to have one of Santa's elf's to watch over us and report back to Santa. Elmur is our little friendly elf who helps us stay on the good list! So Brock and Corbin wrote their letters to Santa and left them under their newly decorated tree. The next morning they were so thrilled to find 3 presents under their tree from Elmur. One for Brock, one for Corbin, and one for all 4 kids! Brock and Corbin got some advent calendars with chocolates in them, and all 4 kids got a gingerbread house. When we finally got around to making the gingerbread house the kids had so much fun! I think Corbin ate more candy than he stuck on the house! MaKelle was even so thrilled about getting her hands in the action. Unfortunately Daxton was asleep and missed out, but next year I'm sure he will be a huge help!!
Dickens!
We got to go down to St. George to the Dickens festival! My Mom helps with the entertainment every year and so do my sisters JJ and Emily. So we go every year and look at all the booths, do a little shopping, eating, and of course we have to see Father Christmas! (he is an awesome Santa!) We also got to stay the night at a condo with my mom and go swimming, yes it was still warm enough, and I even got to go see Twilight with a few of my Sisters! It was so FUN to hung out with them! (We need to do it more often guys!) I was so brain dead and didn't take many pictures except this on of my boys performing on the stage at the Dickens Festival!
Christmas Parade!
We went to Cedar's Christmas Cavalcade Parade and of course it was fun for the kids! My nephew Landon got to dress up like Batman and ride on a float that was a blue train. He was so CUTE!! The kids stood on the side of the street and by the end of the parade they were practically in the middle of the street. Corbin's favorite part was seeing Superman, and Brock's favorite part was seeing the Star Wars characters! My batteries died in my camera so I only got one picture of Daxton with Aunt Bree.
Advent
Every year my family has a tradition to celebrate advent by getting together on the first Sunday of December. We eat dinner, light a candle on our advent wreath, open gifts and talk about the nativity. I had it at my house this year and even though we were missing some of my siblings (who were greatly missed) we still had a good time and enjoyed ourselves. The kids even sang a few songs and put on a program for us!
Shopping Trip
Last but not least my 3 youngest kids and I went up to stay with my Mom and Dad in Syracuse and do a little Christmas Shopping. It was a fun and quick little get away! The drive home however was something I vow never to do again. I was all alone with all 3 kids and had to pull over one too many times to care for crying babies. I don't suggest it to anyone! Sorry you had to endure such a long blog. Next Blog - Christmas!! YEAH!!!!!
