Christmas Party

This year we had a great time at our church Christmas Party. It was so well done; I am amazed and grateful for our fellow ward members who volunteer their time and talents for our benefit and enjoyment.

We started the evening by making a visit to Santa. Paige was so excited she almost forgot what she was going to tell Santa she wanted for Christmas. This year, Ashley, was one of Santa's helpers. She was thrilled to do this and she shared lots of stories about how cute the kids were or how some were so scared they cried.

It is also extra special to be able to visit Santa in the company of friends.

After Santa, we headed to the cultural hall for a wonderful Christmas dinner and program. The theme of the Christmas party was "Christmas Around the World." The program, taken from scripture, told the story of the Savior's birth and his gift to mankind. Parts of the program were spoken in different languages. We also had song and dance from other cultures. I was also able to put to use what I have been learning in my ASL class, and do a short and easy bit of ASL interpreting. I hope I can keep getting better.

Here are Paige and Dave at our dinner table. The decorations were beautiful. For all the celebrations, traditions, and parties that come with the Christmas season, I am so grateful for our church gathering--a place that we, as a family, can celebrate and feel the true spirit of Christmas.

Pizza Party

Paige told me the other day that we have been having a lot of parties. I wouldn't necessarily agree with that, but we have been doing some fun stuff.

Last week, Ashley and her friends from Activity Days came over for pizza and hot chocolate. Earlier the girls worked on a service project and went caroling, then they came over to our house to eat and end the evening. What a great bunch of girls. I am so glad that Ashley has such a good peer group.
Not to be left out of the evening festivities, Paige had her friend Zachary come over and play and eat pizza with us.

I love this picture. Paige and Zachary are a creative duo. One of their favorite games is "spies." They dress up as spies and solve a bunch of mysteries.

Brrr!

Winter came to Chicago this past week.

Here is my little Paige coming home from school.

(Of course, I'm not complaining because I can't win that contest with a sister who lives in Montana!)

Cake Balls

Cake Balls...I don't know, to me there is just something weird about that name, but for a dessert they sure taste good and are so easy to make.

Making cake balls has been on my to-do list for a while but I just never could seem to get around to it. Well, my friend, Kori, who is way more motivated than me, recently made some cake balls and one taste of her's was all the motivation I needed to make my own.

Ashley needed 2 dozen treats for a caroling activity, so I put her to work and we made red velvet cake balls dipped in milk chocolate. They were yummy and we look forward to trying some different cake, frosting, and chocolate variations.

Rock and Roll Forever

Last night was Ashley's 5th Grade Musical, called Rock and Roll Forever. It was pretty cute, the kids all wore varying rock costumes from poodle skirts, to sequins, to concert t-shirts, to elvis jumpsuits. The music was very crowd friendly. We rocked out to Blue Suede Shoes, Surfin U.S.A., Tutti Frutti, and I Want to Hold Your Hand.



Ashley went for the "rocker look" with an electric guitar t-shirt, a long blonde wig, sequined jeans, and sunglasses. Her friends told her she looked like a "bad Hannah Montana."


Honestly, seeing Ashley hanging out with all her friends just reminded me how fast she is growing up.


(Also, the low quality pictures are because I forgot the camera and we had to use Dave's phone.)

Posing for a yearbook picture

Ashley and her good friend Maggie---"Rock on"

O Christmas Tree

The tree, the nativity set, and a wreath on the door are the only Christmas decorations making an appearance at our house this year. I feel like this is a respectable effort considering we will be in Utah for Christmas and basically will be gone for the last two weeks of December.

We are looking forward to celebrating the holidays with family, but I am trying to keep a few home-based traditions alive. We have already gone to the city of Aurora Festival of Lights and I'm hoping to squeeze in the making of Christmas sugar cookies, as soon as I kick this horrible cold I have!

A Blessed Day

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love family, friends, food, and cooking--it's a perfect day. This year was even better because on top of all that we also got to celebrate a birthday with presents, suprises and singing. Yep the biggest turkey in the house celebrated his birthday on Thanksgiving this year. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!

a GPS so he won't get lost

Who needs a birthday cake when you can have your favorite coconut cream pie?