Very Merry Christmas!

Ella has been wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas the past couple of days. This has been the best Christmas for our little family; Jackson and Ella made this Holiday seem so magical! We have had fun attending parties, making goodies, delivering gifts, singing Jingle Bells, and just talking and getting excited about Christmas.

Last Christmas Eve we started the tradition of pj's and a movie. This year we continued it with new jammers and Toy Story 3. It was a fun night, but the kiddo's were a little upset there was only 1 gift to be opened that night. Santa's arrival was much anticipated. Ella was up 3 times before she actually fell asleep to see if Santa had come to eat his brownie.

When I was growing up, even in high school, I felt it was my duty to awaken all my siblings on Christmas morning. This Christmas Mike was a little bugged when I announced at 6:45 I was waking up the children. I could not wait to see Jackson and Ella's excitement! With every rip of paper Jackson would gasp with excitement and when he would open it Jax would say "Cool, Cute!" Everything Ella unwrapped she wanted to try it on. At one point she had on several layers of princess and Hello Kitty clothes. The little lady requested everything Princess this year and Jackson our little All Star stocked up on games.


We also got this fun table: air hockey, table tennis, foot ball and pool. We had fun playing hockey and were impressed with Jackson's mad skills!


This was our Cheer Leader/Princess. (After every new princess dress Ella tried on she said, "Mom, I'm getting married today.")


To complete this amazing Christmas we also got our TV replaced. A couple of weeks ago the screen went out and when the repair man finally came (two weeks later) he told us it was the most expensive part that went out and that it was looking like we would be getting a replacement TV. A week later we called and they told us the part we needed was no longer made and that they were recommending a new TV for us. So, we had to wait for that to get approved which could take up to 8 days because of the Holidays. To our surprise later that day they called and gave us our authorization number to get a replacement. We busted a move to head over to Best Buy. All of us were excited, especially Ella and Jackson. They were very concerned about our broken TV and I was looking forward to sleep in my bed without cracker crumbs. After a couple of buggy hours (that's another long story) we came home with a slightly bigger and better TV. We are back in business!

We had a Very Merry Christmas and hope everyone enjoyed a Magical day as well!

So Lately....

We've been getting ready for Christmas! Last night for FHE we checked out the ginger bread houses and nativity scenes at the Idaho Falls Museum. In previous years the houses were shown at the LDS Visitors Center, so we actually went to the Temple first. As we got closer to the temple Ella said "Look, there's Tinker Bell!" In her mind the Temple looked a lot like the castle on the Disney movies where Tinker Bell flies up on top! (We do teach our kids all about the temple:))

There weren't very many ginger bread houses to ooh and awe over but this was Jackson's favorite. He especially liked the Santa on top of the roof!




Speaking of temples, Ella can sure belt out "I love to see the Temple" and we love it! She started out by learning the first half of the song and ending with "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen", but a couple of weeks ago the little diva wowed us with the whole thing. We are amazed she can remember the big words and stay on pitch. It is fun to accompany Ella on the piano, and we are still trying to work up her courage to sing in front of others.

In my last post I blogged about how sick Jackson was. Turned out he had Scarlet Fever! Ugly, creepy, and scary are a few things that came to my mind when we found out. I had no idea this disease was even still around. Scarlet Fever is actually a form of strep throat. The Dr. changed Jackson's antibiotic, (it is VERY nasty) and gave him a steroid. It took a couple of days, but Jackson was soon back to his happy, smiley self. I don't think he is 100% yet, but he is getting there.

Last weekend was our ward Christmas party. Jackson and Ella were very excited to see Santa again and had no problem climbing up on his lap and sharing their Christmas list with him. We are in the final stretch and the count down for Christmas is on at our house. Merry Christmas!

One Sick Little Boy

Yesterday I received a call from Jackson's school telling me he was sick and throwing up. So I ran over to the school, bed head and all to get my little guy. I found one sick little boy; he had thrown up 4 times in the lunch room. I asked what sickness was going around the school and was told strep throat was spreading through the first grade. The Dr. said Jackson has strep throat, an ear ache and has been sporting a fever. Poor little Jackson does not feel good. Today he has taken a few sips of red Gatorade.

We are very careful with Jackson. Sickness can trigger seizures and we would most certainly like to avoid that. If Jackson or Ella are sick we keep them home until they are better and would appreciate the same courtesy. Hopefully we can all enjoy a Happy and Healthy Holiday!

Jacksons Christmas Program, 2010

Last night was such a treat! Jackson's school presented their Christmas program. It was nothing compared to the Hamer Elementary productions I starred in when I was in grade school. Jackson's class sang two songs and recited a poem. Jackson stood on the stage with his tree hat and a smile stretched from ear to ear. I just love this little guy!


After closer inspection of his tree we noticed he had drawn basketball hoops all over it instead of coloring. We know what's on this little man's mind!

T.V is Broken!

This morning Jackson wanted to call grandma. I assumed it was to talk to her about his Christmas Program last night but the first words to come out of his mouth were "The T.V is broken". Apparently the kids are as hooked to the television as I am. Ella is camped out back on my bed, hollering with frequent request for juice and snacks. It all started with a weird noise and ended with sound but no picture. Thankfully we extended our warranty when we purchased our LG T.V two years ago. We will be without our big HD T.V for almost two weeks. I am hoping we make it:)

Santa!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we took the kiddos for a Santa visit. This was Ella's first experience with the big guy and Jackson's 2nd. (He wasn't much of a fan when he was little.) Ella's list is quite long and growing longer every day. At the top is a Cinderella dress and Cinderella and Rapunzel shoes. Plus earrings, princess dolls, a pink shiny dress and everything she sees that she likes gets tacked on too. Ella is so funny; about 10 times a day she will say to me, "So, what do you want for Christmas mommy?". I have a feeling this will be an exciting one for her! Jackson on the other hand was very laid back and was just happy to see Santa! Ho, Ho, Ho!

Rock Stars!

Who doesn't want to be a Rock Star?! My friends and I went to a craft fair a couple of weeks ago and noticed at one cute booth a gal was doing colored extensions. My all time favorite color is green and I had been wondering about clip in extensions for awhile. For one strand of hair it was $7, and she cut that strand in half and glued it into two spots. One strand is gone, but I still have one up front that I love, love, love! I was very nervous but so glad I did it!