Christmas in Texas Part 2

We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The kids were so much fun this year. They were so excited for everything. It was great to feel and see the spirit of Christmas from them. I love this first picture. It is a picture of Hyrum and Brandon taking some special one on one time to talk about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it. I am so grateful for a husband who takes time to create these special moments with his kids. This is one of the reasons why I love him and why his kids do too.
Christmas Eve, the kids got bundled up and went outside to dump their reindeer food out on the ground that their cousin Alizabeth gave to them. Each child was given a little bag of "reindeer food." The kids wanted to make sure that the reindeer had something to eat when Santa came.
Next, the kids made homemade cookies for Santa. The kids loved rolling out the dough and decorating. They also loved eating the left overs. Hyrum made a Santa Claus with a "cherry nose." I love that he knew that Santa had a "cherry nose."
Later that night the Christmas story was read by Brandon while the kids acted the story out with little cloth figurines.

Hyrum got up around 7:30. We woke Ben and Emily up since everyone else was awake and anxious to see what Santa had brought.

Hyrum received a Lighting McQueen bike from Santa Claus. Emmy received a Vanity Set and High Heel Shoes. We take shoes very seriously at our house.Ben received a Thomas the Train set from Santa that he packed around most of Christmas Morning.
After the kids explored their big presents, they went through their stockings. Hyrum was so excited over each little thing in his stocking. He wanted to get his picture taken with each item that Santa gave to him. Below is a picture of him with his dinosaurs. The one thing he wanted from Santa.

Emmy found some candy canes,AKA, nummies. She packed those around and went from person to person trying to find someone to open them.Ben decided that he would rather pack around his train then go through his stocking. It took much convincing for him to put down his train to go through his stocking.The fun began! The kids loved opening their presents. Hyrum couldn't get enough. He was always trying to find a present that said H-Y-R-U-M. Below is a picture of Hyrum with his helmet. As soon as he opened the gift that was his helmet, he had to try it on and sit on his bike again. It was too cute!Ben was done opening presents after opening a couple of them. The picture above is a picture of Ben with the airplane Hyrum was so excited to pick out and give to Ben for Christmas.

Emmy would take little breaks from the excitement and then come back ready to open some more presents.After the opening of presents was finished. Emmy went and found her cookie buddy who helped her open her precious nummy! Doesn't she display a look that says, "I am caught!"Also, Hyrum needed to take a maiden voage with his awesome bike. He did such a great job riding his bike. He really just got on and took off. I love the look of determination and focus on his face. I think the tongue might even be sticking out.
Later that night, Ethel made a deliscous dinner. Everything tasted great. It was the perfect way to end Christmas!

Christmas in Texas

We spent Christmas this year in Dallas. We arrived late Friday night and spent Saturday getting ready for Christmas.

Saturday morning, we went outside and put the Christmas lights on Brandon's parents house. Before we put the Christmas lights out, we decided to rake all the leaves on the ground. The kids had a blast playing in the pile of leaves. They really enjoyed themselves. Brandon would make a big pile and the kids would each take a turn running and jumping in the pile.

On Sunday, the 21st, we helped decorate the tree. Brandon's mom, Ethel, each got the kids a special ornament.

Ben loves his train ornament.

Hyrum got a car ornament.

Emmy got an angel icicle.

The kids really enjoyed decorating the tree.They were very anxious to be big helpers. Ethel would put the hooks on the ornaments and then the kids would walk very carefully and take them to Brandon to have him put them on the tree. It was really cute to see their excitement as they would help put the ornaments in just the right spots.

Preschool Christmas Program

On December 18th was Hyrum's preschool Christmas program. When we arrived, all the kids were sitting so patiently waiting for their parents to come. I think the pictures below really display Hyrum's enthusiasm. Below is Hyrum and his good friend Macey

Hyrum was so excited to come up and give us his recent projects. He was so cute. You could tell that he was so proud of the hard work he had put into the art projects, worksheets etc. that he was giving us.

To start off, the class did their Bungalow song. Each child gets to make up part of the actions to the song when it is their turn. Hyrum told me that you have to think of something that no one else has done yet. For his turn, he decided to have the class jump up and down.The next part of the program, we were able to watch a video which showed us what a typical morning was like at preschool. It was fun to see what part of a day is like at preschool.
L to R Hyrum, Aleece, Hailey, Ms. Tami, Kelsie
Bottom Row, Macey, Lexi, Maggie and Boo (notice Boo and Hyrum share the love for Dinosaurs)

Afterward, Ms. Tami had yummy sugar cookies as a treat. I wonder what he was thinking about.
The party ended with a gift from Ms. Tami. Hyrum was so excited to open his present. Ms. Tami gave each child a nativity to help them remember the true meaning of the Christmas season.Ms. Tami is such a great teacher. Hyrum loves her so much! He is constantly talking about how wonderful she is. He thinks she is the best!