A traditional Christmas at This is the Place....

On Saturday we took the boys to This is the Place for their Candlelight Christmas festivity. It was very impressionable and I think it was great for Dylan to realize how Christmas was celebrated many years ago. We learned a few interesting facts about the pioneers. Most of the families did not have a Christmas Tree in their home. There was a tree in the school and in some of the churches. We did make a paper chain for the tree in the schoolhouse . The boys enjoyed the puppet show and the old paper press that made Christmas cards. The live Nativity was my favorite, and of course, the boys loved the train ride. If you have never been, this is a fun family place and we will be back next year for sure.

We had to visit "Father Christmas," Dylan was curious why "Santa looked a little older."

We made a wish list for Santa on old fashioned paper and then put the wish list in the fire so that the ashes could go to the North Pole. Tate would not put his in the fire and was clutching it tightly. Notice the carolers behind the boys. They were so fun to listen to and the Lady behind Dylan put mistletoe above him and asked him to dance in the schoolhouse. Dylan was blushing and hid his face in my coat. I told him that you should always dance with a Lady when asked.
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Dylan in front of the schoolhouse before his embarrasing moment when he was asked to dance.

DYLAN is the VIP....

Today was a big day in Kindergarten for Dylan. He was the VIP! Mom, Dad, Tate, Grandpa and Grandma Green were able to go to his class and share how special Dylan is. He has an amazing teacher, Mrs. Lauritzen, and he enjoys school. His classmates asked him special questions and then we were able to tell the class why Dylan is so special in our family. I loved some of the questions the classmates asked and Dylan's responses. Here are a few:
Max: "what is your favorite food?"
Dylan:"strawberry and chocolate ice cream."
Kate:"what is your favorite toy?"
Dylan: "Batman."
Kale: "What is your favorite game."
Dylan: "Star Wars on the Wii."
SO BOY!

Dylan showing off his "picture board." He helped me choose the pictures and we wrote a few things that are special about Dylan on the stars.

Our Christmas cards are not mailed yet, gifts are not wrapped, and we still have gifts to prepare. The "picture board" has been our big priority and the timing was not the best, however, I think it turned out great and this will be a treasure! WE LOVE YOU DYLAN...

Sub for Santa.....

Our Sub for Santa this year was awesome! We were able to give "special gifts," to a young boy who I met through work. The boys were so excited to give and Dylan even chipped in a few dollars from his piggy bank to purchase a gift. He was so excited to give it to my co-worker and I am sure it created a memory for him. Thanks for all who participated. I know this child will feel loved on Christmas with his "special gifts."

Tis the Season....

Peace on Earth and no wrestling for at least a moment. Mommy's wish :)

Dylan's picture of a Khung Zhu pet. It says "Santa, I want this. Dylan."

Tate and his picture of the blue motorcycle he hopes Santa will bring him. Mike and I were laughing that this picture looks like a mug shot of our little jail bird. Fortunately, he is a great kid so I don't think we need to worry about that.

Mike and I planned the activities we wanted to attend during the month of December. We each agreed the key was to simplify, so that we would create memories and also have the time to remember the birth of our Savior. Last night Santa send a special message to the boys from the computer(a.k.a the northpoletv. check it out on the web). They were amazed that Santa knew their name and had kept "a file" for each of them. Sparky, our family elf has been moving around the house watching the boys and he made a special call a week ago from the North Pole. Dylan has confirmed where the call came from on the caller ID many times. Tonight we went to give Santa our wish list. The boys had written special notes for Santa and asked for their "special gift." Tate would like a "blue motorcycle," and Dylan wants a "Khung Zhu and a RC batmobile car." We completed the night by driving to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and looking at the Nativity Scene. We told the boys why we celebrate Christmas and to remember our "special gift," the baby Jesus. Dylan reminded us that we need to bake a cake on Christmas Eve for Jesus. This will be an activity we have to do this year.

My baby is now a big boy.........

The big news is that Tate is now a big boy. He has the boys briefs to show his great accomplishment and he was so easy to train. We started the Monday before Thanksgiving and he was trained within a couple of days. I am glad we waited and avoided the power struggle that we had with Dylan. We are officially out of the diaper stage!!! Mike and I were discussing how great it is to have no diapers to change. It has been nice to have boys, in the fact that when we are out in public they want to go to the boys restroom and Mike gets to take them. Tate also did not need alot of bribery to train and that was nice. Now when he needs to go to the restroom he announces, "potty training."

Happy belated Thanksgiving....

I wanted to rewind to Thanksgiving since I have not blogged since Halloween. Our family has been living life and it seems that blogging is the last thing on my mind. Dylan made his "feather hat," at school and he wore it everywhere. He took it to the Rowley household for the big turkey day and was so proud of the feathers he had earned by doing positive things in his classroom. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Southern Utah with the Rowley family this year. The boys enjoyed playing with their cousins and Grandpa and Grandma had a full house which made it even more exciting. The girls went shopping on Thanksgiving night and to make a long story short, we completed a journey to Las Vegas and back to Parowan within a 26 hour period of time and about 4 hours of sleep. It was well worth the sleep deprivation for the shopping experience. The men stayed in Parowan and relaxed with the kids :) We traveled home on Saturday and missed the big storm. We were also able to attend our new little cousin's baby blessing on Sunday. Unfortunately, in all the fun I did not snap any photos.