Arrival of St. Nick

Not to be confused with the Big Man, Santa...(I know I am just a little behind but I had to post this before Santa's big night).

The boys put out their shoes before going to bed but weren't quite sure why...

St. Nick was here...and left the boys a new Christmas train...

All snug in their bed...

We had to remind the boys when they woke up to check to see if St. Nick came...but once they did, the excitement started to show!

Charlie and his Tatohead...he loves Tatohead!

Henry was only interested in the train!!

Checking out the other gifts...

Charlie checking out Santa's workshop...

SANTA!

Finally getting a turn with the controls...

Both boys really enjoy their new train, every morning it gets played with first thing... (will be hard to put away when Christmas time is over)

Causing trouble? Not Charlie...

Playing dominoes...it is scary how good Henry and Charlie are at dominoes...

Thanks St. Nick for great presents!

Clovis Christmas Parade

This year we decided to bundle up and head out for the Clovis Christmas Light Parade. This year's theme was "A Windy Christmas" and of course there wasn't any wind to be had...which was very good because the temps weren't very warm! We took our hot chocolate and found a spot right in front of the courthouse...the radio station that was commentating was right next to us...which at first seemed like a bad thing because it was so loud but was the parade started it was awesome...all of the entries performed in front of us because we were next to the judging area!

Waiting for the parade to start...

The boys received a light saber from a guy who said they would get more use out of it than he would...they loved it of course...

Horses...

Charlie's fav...Frosty...

His reaction...

Lots of lighted floats!

Hot Cocoa break!

Only in Clovis...

Hot Air Balloon...that was nice and toasty!

Of course...Joe's...

Santa? Nope...the Grinch

And finally, Santa!

Like Momma Like Son

Charlie loves to take pictures...says "say cheese" and takes your picture...thank goodness for digital cameras...we get a lot of pictures of the carpet, of feet, no heads, and blurry streaks but he has a lot of fun!

Taking Momma's picture.

Pictures of the stockings...

Another day...documenting Henry's progress on Lowes' project...

For The Birds

I  had this brilliant idea to decorate a tree outside for the birds this year. Outdoor Rec on base was giving away real Christmas trees to families and when I heard they had a few left on a day I had a meeting on base...I decided to stop and try to get one while the boys were playing with friends. I chose the smallest tree they had and since I didn't load it into the car I was unaware of how big it still really was...

Carrying it around back wasn't the problem...getting it to stand up was...luckily the boys had fallen asleep on the way home so I didn't have any extra hands helping...

After propping the tree up with different bricks and rocks in a flower pot I filled it with dirt and this seemed to work...it must have been a sight to watch...trying to balance the tree, reaching for more bricks, running to get more when it still won't stand up...it falling over and dirt going everywhere...yes I was cursing myself for this BRILLIANT idea.

The next day, Henry enjoyed decorating pine cones for the tree with PB and birdseed...

Then we popped some corn and strung cranberries and popcorn for garland...

Time to decorate!

All ready for the birds...

Of course a few mornings later, the strong winds came as they often do in NM and our tree fell over...but the birds didn't mind...

Cookies Cookies & More Cookies

As most of you know I tend to go a little (just a little) overboard with the cookie/holiday baking during the month of December and this year was no exception! All in all we, my two wonderful helpers and I probably baked somewhere between 750-800 cookies! WOW...when you do the math it sure seems like more...we made 14 different kinds, short of my list of 22. We sent cookies to family and friends, Peter took some to work, I hosted a cookie swap, we baked for the single airman on base, and we have enjoyed our share. Needless to say we still have quite a few left...

The cookie baking process lasts for a few days but I only took pics during the beginning stages...when my help was still interested...they learned quickly that most doughs are roughly the same and typically when the mixer stops for a longer period of time there is a greater chance of getting a taste!

Momma had her apron on so Charlie needed his!

Measuring...

Ready...

Henry decided to join us...you can see how excited Charlie is about it...

Scraping the beater...

With the dough in the frig to chill...time for a taste test.

Waiting for quality control...

 Crushing the candy canes for peppermint cookies.

 Ready to decorate.

I didn't get any pics of final products or amount...you will just have to take my word for it! :)

Our Gingerbread House

You need a little patience to decorate a gingerbread house but you need A LOT of patience if you choose to decorate one with a 3.5 yr old and almost 2 yr old!!

Henry brought out the gingerbread kit this morning and got both himself and his brother VERY excited about making/decorating it. I was definitely not in the mood to start this project @ 9am but after getting a few things done around the house, I opened the box and began to read the directions...(and was amazed at the time this project was going to take)!!

I was able to distract the boys while making the frosting and getting the four walls put together...then we had to wait 1 hour...the roof went on while Charlie was napping...then the waiting game again for 2-3 hours. Henry sat for periods of time at the table watching the frosting dry saying he would just sit and wait here for the timer to ring...We made it 1 hr and 45 minutes before beginning the decorating.

Henry insisted we start because it HAD to be done by the time Daddy came home...he was making it for him!

We started out following the directions for one of the houses pictured and then decided it would be more fun to do our own thing. I also learned very fast that it didn't have to be perfect to be fun and exciting to do with your kids...we used almost all of the candy that came in the kit the rest hit the floor and still needs to be vacuumed up!

Getting ready to decorate!

Starting with the front door.

Henry did most of the decorating on his own...and all of the designing...Momma just helped with the piping, the cutting, and the holding...

Charlie got a little bored, mainly because he wasn't given many jobs to do so he told over camera duty...I had my small camera because my battery was charging on the big one but it all worked out. Charlie captured a few decent shots...

Letting Charlie decorate a little.

Getting so good he even started using the piping bag...

 Finished house...

After finishing, Henry said "let's do another one"...not til next year Henry...not til next year...