12 Days of Christmas

The kid in me is still hanging around, I can't sleep because I'm too excited for Christmas in the morning!!! So here are some interesting facts about our Christmas Season thus far.

Warning - It's kinda Cheesy!

12 - Chocolate Turtles (Thanks Grandma Huffaker!)

11 - (x2) Christmas Cards10 - Years I've had Christmas on my Own

9 - Broken Decorations

8 - Homes I Visited Delivering Meals on Wheels

7 - Boxes Mailed at the Post Office

6 - Empty Tubes of Wrapping Paper5 - Homes I Visited Singing Christmas Carols

4 - Stuffed Hanging Stockings3 - Advent Calendars (Thanks D.J., Rachel & Colleen!) 2 - Sleeping Kids Waiting for Santa 1 - Christmas Tree

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

Love it!!

Here is the car cozy that I made for Hoss. I LOVE it!! I even made his slots big enough for a tractor and disc to fit inside - Hoss is going to LOVE it too!! I am going to change the velcro closure to be a magnetic snap, I used the one I had on hand for the car cozy that I made for my nephew Hyrum, so now I have to run to Jo-Ann's and buy another one.

I've decided this and the crayon caddy will be the item for the January Craft Focus Group. Wait..that means I better make another crayon caddy to have ready, the two I made already got shipped off to Montana! I think I just made more work for myself.....ugh.

December 1st

Lilli had her school Christmas concert on December 1st. Our camera isn't the best so the pictures are pretty fuzzy. Oh well, it gets the point.

As you can see from the pictures, she loves attention. She was up there dancing and swaying, and just enjoying herself. Grandpa Johnson invited us out to eat afterward, and during dinner he also mentioned how excited Lilli seemed to be up on stage. She is so funny!

Mutual - M&M Packages

Last week, the girls from church made a difference. They all pitched in and brought yummy goodies from home, wrapped them, and separated them between five boxes. The very next day, I took those boxes to the post office and mailed them to five different places around the country. Who were they for? They were for five very special men, Lance Albert, Thomas Kamo, Shane Johnson, Jacob Anderson, & Spencer Mitchell. I call them our M&M's. M&M - Military & Missionaries.It's Christmas time and we wanted to show our support and thanks to these special men. I have a soft spot for those serving in the military.....maybe because I lived that life for 4 years. Lance Albert is in Afghanistan, Thomas Kamo is in Iraq, and Spencer Mitchell is stationed in North Carolina at Camp LeJeune. The other two men are serving missions for our church. Another soft spot, my brother-in-law is one of them. Shane Johnson is in Texas, and Jacob Anderson is serving in Mexico. We wanted to make sure that all of these men knew we were thinking about them and that we support them, 100%.The men will receive lots of fun items (mostly food) from candy bars, homemade trail mix, hot cocoa, popcorn, jerky, gum, chapstick, advil, and MUCH more! All the girls brought their favorite snack item and the leaders brought bigger items. Then, we sat down and wrote each one of them a Christmas letter, and included a photo of us all together. May all of you remember those who are serving this country, or your church, during this Holiday Season and always.

*If shipping a Flat Rate Box to an APO address, the Post Office gives you a $2 discount. It's their way of saying THANKS to those who fight for our Freedom and to lighten the financial burden on their families. So go ship a box today!

Slacker Me!

I forgot Halloween!!! I know that all of you have been sitting at home wondering what in the world my kids dressed up as for Halloween! So, I will make you wait no more so that you can actually get some sleep at night!

Hoss was a last minute Cowboy. He was suppose to of been a tractor, but his father waited until the very last minute to make his costume and it didn't get finished. We had to call in back-up (The Christensen Family) and use some of their cowboy gear. Maybe we can get Brandon to finish the other half of the tractor costume for next year!! My fingers are crossed.Lilli was a Rock Star! Shiny, Glittery, Full of Hair Spray, High Heeled Boots, even an 80's Side Pony Tail - yeah, she loved it!

Gingerbread House

I was at Costco one day and walked by one of those Gingerbread House making kits and thought to myself....those are probably really nasty. Brandon walked by the same kit and picked it up and said....here's my Family Home Evening Activity. Since it was Brandon's activity, he was the icing man. Lilli, Hoss and I all got to add the decorations.
Lilli was ready to eat it before we even got close to being done. Hoss had to tell on her and try to get her in trouble.But since Lilli didn't get in trouble like he was hoping for...he had to try it too.Here is the final masterpiece. I'll let you know if they really are nasty.

I'm such a great Aunt!

Look what I whipped up for two of my nieces today...


And I whipped this up for one of my nephews....


Yeah.....I'm an awesome Aunt!! It's a good thing these kids live in Montana and their mom & dad don't have the Internet or else they would know what they are getting for Christmas!

Grape Juice

Every year we go to Shurtleff Vineyard and pick a bundle of grapes for $5. Well, last year they were pretty much all wasted because a bundle is a whole lot of grapes to eat!!
I had a friend, Christy Christensen, teach me how to make grape juice. Who knew it was sooooo easy?!?!?!
Look at me being SUZY HOMEMAKER!!!! It's a good thing you wash them - look how nasty the water is!!

Vale Christmas Tree Lighting

I was in charge of the Vale Chamber of Commerce City Christmas Tree Lighting again this year. Last year we only had about 30-40 people so I was expecting about 50-60 this year. Boy was I wrong! There was probably about 150-175 people in attendance. I'm not sure what the difference was, but something sparked the interest in this town. I was given a budget of $1500.00 to spend on prizes, a tree, lights, advertising, etc. I went over budget and spend $1504.20 - OOPS!!!

This event is the Chamber's way of saying thanks to the community, and to it's members. We PURCHASE items from every paid Chamber Member and give it away during the tree lighting. That's right - purchase items - not ask for donations. However, there are a few businesses that still want to donate and we LOVE them for that! (SK Construction, City of Vale, Romans' Parts & Machinery, Vale Mural Society) We were able to give away 77 prizes ranging from a ream of white printer paper (which the 8 year old little boy that won this item was SOOOO HAPPY!!) to a Family Portrait Package and a 22" TV.

Santa was there to hang out with the kids and we had carolers. I was SHOCKED how hard it was to find carolers! I didn't want to ask my church group because I feel that I am ALWAYS asking them to participate in my many adventures - and I wanted to give the opportunity to another church. Well, I was turned down everywhere I went. Sad, I know, so I ended up asking my Ward's Young Men and Young Women anyway.

There were a lot of things we noticed that need to be changed for future years to come. Lights, we need some sort of light so that we don't have to sit there holding flashlights while people sign up for the drawings. More Hot Chocolate - Logan's Market donated the Hot Cocoa and it lasted about 20 minutes - but again - I was only expecting about 50 people. A Microphone - you couldn't hear the carolers because of the amount of people in attendance. Anyway - lessons learned.

My family went up to the woods to get the tree. The goal was BIG - since the past trees have been pretty dainty for a City Tree. This is what Brandon found - and it's gorgeous! I had some Pre-School classes and Elementary Classes make the ornaments and of course I announced it at church as a family home evening activity. We have received TONS of compliments on the tree and it's size - so GOOD JOB BRANDON!!!! Oh - and I knew the only way Brandon would be willing to go get the City Tree was that we would have to have a real tree in our home. I like fake trees - less clean-up....but we did it as a family activity and took some friends, Jake, Christy, Cope & Ace Christensen, with us and had a GREAT time!! This may turn into a regular family tradition.