Family Christmas Party

 This year's family Christmas Party was tremendously fun!

 This cousin even has festive hair!!

 This cousin was so excited...Santa came early with an acceptance letter to Utah State!  Yay!!

 These boy cousins were so excited they could hardly stand it!

 Girl cousins were waiting patiently for Santa to arrive!

 Moms were planning last minute gift ideas...or maybe just tricks on their husbands!!!

Christmas happiness was in the air...

 even the gingerbread men were smiling!

 After a quick dinner... we heard a knock, knock, knock on the door.

 Santa is here!!

 Each patiently waited for his/her turn...

 Santa even had a small gift...

 Socks!!

 It was fun to tell Santa what we would like.

 Even moms got to visit with Santa!

 You're never too old!

We had such a fun time!  All the moms got cute scarves from Santa! 

Christmas Dance Performance

 Our daughter's first dance performance of the year was on December 19th.  She was so excited for us to see the new routines that her studio has been working on.  This year she is on an older performing team and loves being able to dance with the older girls! 

 The dances were beautiful!

 These pictures don't do them any justice...

 especially considering we ran out of batteries before the second routine....which was awesome!!!

 Next time we will bring an extra set, as well as a camcorder so you can see the whole thing!

 We love our dancer!

She is so fun to watch!

Candy Making with Donna

 Our shooting coach, Donna, has always promised to teach a candy-making session at her house.  This year was the year it happened...it was so fun!!

 We got to make many fine candies...

 but the night started with tree making for the little kids...green rice-crispies treats with red hots!

 We made white chocolate nativity scenes out of molds.

 It was a group effort!

 We made peanut-butter cups, cherry cordials....

 and Donna taught us the art of divinity, or "infinity" as I heard the little ones call it.

 It was lots of fun,

 with good friends,

 good teachers,

 and cooperation!

 Yay for good friends!

 Fudge cooling on the porch....

Oops!!!

Bye-bye Hostess

Hostess is gone!  The company went under last month and the world has been mourning!

I have been mourning as well, not because of the loss of the goodies, but because I have gone to the Hostess outlet here in town for years to buy bread.  Gone are the days of 99 cent bread!  So sad.  Our sweet neighbor, Mabel, bought us a package of ding dongs right before Hostess went under.  She gave them to us for Christmas so we could enjoy one last bite.  Farewell!

Guitar Concert

 Our second oldest has really enjoyed his guitar class this semester. 

 We were able to attend his concert this month.

We enjoyed a selection of Christmas songs!  We are proud of his progress.

First Tooth Out

 On December 8th, at the ripe age of 6 and a half, our youngest lost his first tooth.

He was so excited!  He pulled it out with a piece of dental floss.

1 down, lots to go!!

Shooting Gear

 All summer long our oldest saved his lawn-mowing money so that he could buy his own custom-fitted shooting gear.

 He ordered his gear on August 14th and was told it would arrive approximately 5-6 weeks later.

 After some delays in Sweden (where it was made) it finally arrived on December 6th!

 His new shooting pants,

 and jacket.

 The complete suit.

 Lookout world, here he comes!

Yay!!