Wow - Where Did This Weekend Go?!?

The Christmas season is flying by faster than I want it to. So much is happening, but I don't know if I am really taking the time to really enjoy all that we are getting to do.

Friday evening we spent with my Dad and his wife and my brother's family. My Dad is the King of the S' Mores. He is so excited to have people come over so he can light a fire and roast marshmallows.

Then Saturday was the day the kidlets have been waiting for and I have been putting off all month long - the decorating of the gingerbread houses. I totally take the easy way out and got a kit from Costco. Last year I was the nice Mom and shared my kit with the kidlets and let them help me decorate. This year - No Way. They each got to decorate their own graham cracker house.

Her mouth is so full of candy, but she is trying to hide that she was sneaking the decorations.

We had a small structural problem with Roo's house.

So it became a mid-century modern house.

LaLa decided her house needed to be pink - really pink.

Big J and Einstein did a great job on their houses.

But soon they found a much better use for the frosting.

Ham took the more 'less is more' approach to decorating his house.

Then he had to do a taste test.

Oh that is yummy.

Then Big Daddy broke out the hot chocolate.

You know the kidlets are having a good time when Roo is laughing this hard:

And hot chocolate is coming out of someone's nose!

Then after the kids were in bed I started this:

And when I got half-way through I decided that this is a project that shouldn't be started really late at night after a long day.

Then Sunday evening we spent with Big Daddy's family. His brother and sister-in-law and their two kids came down from Utah for Christmas this year, so the whole family was together.

The cousins had so much fun playing together.

I got to love on Baby Boo for a little while.

The men of the family serenaded us with the traditional barking of Jingle Bells (and I am so sorry I didn't get video of it!)

Then the kidlets had their turn at Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Big J played 'Angels We Have Heard on High' on the bells. I know I am his Mom, but I am really impressed at how well he plays the bells and the drums. He really is good - No really!