It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This is the season beloved of the year, sing a rhyme, Christmas time soon will be here!  I love this time of year!  I love the traditions and the fun family activities.  I love the excitement and magic I see in my little boys' eyes!  It takes a lot of work to make it all happen, but this is the kind of busy I love.

We kicked off the festivities by trimming the tree!  Caden helped Clark pick out the perfect tree this year from the Home Depot parking lot.  The boys helped put on every ornament.  Quinn decorated the tree like he had been doing it his whole life.  The boys were so enthusiastic I just let them go to town.  The end product showed all of our ornaments on the bottom 2/3 and front of the tree...it was perfect.

That night I made just a few adjustments after the boys went to bed.  Quinn stayed up late to be the artistic director.

We had some new friends over one night to make gingerbread houses.

Quinn's allergies kept him from getting in on the action, but he was pretty happy to eat marshmallows and Skittles and watch.

Yesterday we started our 12 day countdown.  I have a garland hanging up, on the back I've put activities so the boys get to find out each day what Christmas activity we get to do.  It is so fun, and the boys are so excited about everything!  Last night in Ethan's prayers he said he was thankful that we get to do a fun activity with our family everyday, it melted my heart.  Yesterday the activity included a cowboy photo shoot in Estes Park.  It was a fun outing.

We are really good at selfies.

We got there without shoes for Quinn.  So he got to march around town in Caden's that are only about 4 sizes too big.  It was hilarious to see him walk in the clown shoes.

Last night was our ward Christmas party.  Last minute it was decided that the Primary kids would actually act out the Nativity while they sang the Nativity Song.  We pulled costumes together and it was so sweet and perfect!  It was a dream come true for Ethan to be Joseph while Stella was Mary.  He was so excited, he couldn't even talk about it beforehand without giggling and grinning from ear to ear.

I love Ethan's grin in this picture...he was very good at leading the donkey with care.

On our way home last night Ethan said, "Mom, I'm going to write Jesus' birth the musical for me and Stella to star in."  Oh this child!!!

Caden was a cute little shepherd with his candy cane crook.

 Quinn is so excited for everything Christmas this year!  He screams and points out EVERY decoration we see as we drive around town.  He was so excited when Santa came into the party.

Almost his turn!

But as he got closer he wasn't amused!  He kept saying later, "Santa scared me, Santa is just a guy, Santa scared me!"

 After we got Quinn calmed down, we saw Caden with a big lower lip refusing to talk to Santa.

I asked him later what the big deal was.  He then asked me if that was the real Santa.  I told him I didn't think so.  Then he told me,  "I know it wasn't, that's why I was sad and didn't want to talk to him, when I got up close I could just tell he wasn't the real Santa."  Oh my little over analyzer!

Our elf Snowflake made an appearance again this week.  I don't know what she was thinking hanging like this from the fan with 3 boys in the house.  The mischievous looks they had on their faces as soon as they saw it said it all!  Hopefully Snowflake doesn't get motion sickness!