Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we gave the kids one present each to open. They were so excited to open even one gift. They each got a new pair of Pj's and modeled them for pictures.

Madalyn & Ethan open their presents.

Yeah!! New PJ's.

Madalyn

Madalyn posing.

Madalyn the ballerina.

Ethan

Ethan uses his spidey webs.

Ethan shows us his Hulk muscles.

Treats for Santa and his reindeer.

Then we put the kids in bed and read some Christmas stories.

Trip to Canada

Ryan's Grandmother passed away in December. At the last minute we figured out that you can still drive across the Canadian border without a passport. So Ryan booked flights for the two of us to fly to Great Falls, Montana and from there we would drive in to Canada. My parents agreed to keep Madalyn and Ethan while we were gone. Which was really sweet of them to keep the kids for the week.

We drove to Dallas Wednesday afternoon and went to Travis' house. He took us to the airport that evening. When we were boarding the plane a lady that worked for the airline told a few people in front of us that the overhead bins were full everyone else would have to check the luggage in that would not fit under your seat. We were not very happy about this but what choice did we have. Ryan knew we would lose our luggage once it was checked in.

We boarded the plane and made it to Denver, Co were we met up with Ryan's parents and his sister Elissa. We were all on the the next fight to Great Falls. When we arrived in Great Falls Ryan and I had NO luggage. The fastest way for us to get our luggage was for us to come back across the border the next day and meet up with the delivery guy. So we made to Aunt Nola's house in Canada at 3am. We did get our clothes the next evening and all was well. We had a wonderful time visiting with all of Ryan's family that was in the area. Friday we drove to Cardston for the viewing and then Saturday was the Funeral. It was a very nice funeral service but the bitter cold made the grave side service short. After the Funeral we had a nice luncheon with the family.

We had a wonderful visit but we were worn out from all the driving. Sunday we went to church which happens to be just behind the back fence at Aunt Nola's house it was nice to walk through the back yard out the gate and be in the church parking lot. After church we rested and the had another great evening visiting with the family. We had great meal and learned a new game called "werewolves". They said it is just like "Mafia" but we had never played that either. Although it was hard to be away from Madalyn & Ethan we definitely enjoyed the visit.

Monday afternoon we packed the car and headed to the airport. We checked in and saw that our plane was delayed for and hour. Ryan decided to go check with the airline to see what was going on. They figured out we would miss our connecting flight in Denver so they gave us vouchers for food and lodging in Great Falls. After we got to the Hotel, Ryans parents called because the plane was still delayed and they were going to miss there connecting flight too. So we all ended up in the Hotel across the Highway from the airport. We walked through the snow filled parking lot to the Flying J and ate dinner. The next morning we caught our flight and made it to Denver. We sat in the airport for an hour and then boarded our next plane. We finally made it to Dallas. The nice thing about the flights home were: in Great Falls they checked our luggage on for free due to our delays. When we boarded our plane in Denver we realized that the guy in Great Falls upgraded us on our flight so we more space to be comfortable.

Streets in Cardston.

Standing in front of Aunt Lois's house.

Me in front of Aunt Lois's house.

The temperature on Friday in Cardston (-22 F).

Grandma Bennett's Children and some of the spouses.

A few of the girl cousins. Hillary, Isabeile and Jennyin the front row. Myself and Elissa in the back.

Elissa and myself talking with Aunt Jeannette and her daughter Hillary.

Cousins Dallin & Bradley

Ryan clearing the snow off the car.

Aunt Nola's house where we stayed.

The snow plow in Taber.

"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree..."

We put up our Christmas tree on Dec. 6th and decorated it on the 7th. This was so much fun putting up a tree in our new home. The kids enjoyed putting on ornaments and did a really great job. I was very pleased and didn't feel the need to move ornaments around to make it look more balanced.

Me putting on the bead trim while the kids enjoy a Christmas movie (Santa Clause 3). They actually watch it year round.

Madalyn & Ethan

Madalyn decorating the tree.

Dad puts the hooks on the ornaments ant the kids hang them on the tree.

Here is the finished tree.

NATIVITIES

I have acquired a few nativities over the years.

This is one that Meme made for the kids. They love playing with it.

This one is a music box.

This one is the kids "Little Peoples" Nativity. They keep this one out all year.

This was my first. The Mrs. Clause on the end was made by my Grandma Eyers. It is very delicate so I had to put it out of reach from the kids.

Christmas on 5th Street

We have had a wonderful month full of Christmas cheer!

We kicked off our celebrating with "Christmas on 5th Street" (at Baylor) the first week in December. They had a live nativity, petting zoo, pony rides, carriage rides, cookie decorating, free hot chocolate, pictures with Santa and a concert. It was a very cold evening, so we had the kids all bundled up ready for some outdoor fun.

Madalyn enjoyed seeing a real camel, but Ethan was a little scared.

They both enjoyed the petting zoo. They had baby goats and baby sheep.

If you are not aware Madalyn absolutely loves horses. She thought the pony ride was the best thing ever. She picked the pony that had glitter on it and said "Mom, I think she is beautiful" with the cutest smile.

Ethan enjoyed the pony ride too. He said "I think the pony likes me".

We had hot chocolate and decorated cookies before calling it a night. It was a nice evening of family and fun.

RENOVATIONS....SWEAT EQUITY...

We have done a lot of work to our retro house since we bought it in July. Here is the run down:

*scrapped all the "Popcorn" off the ceilings

*removed all carpet

*removed all linoleum

*patched bad spots in ceiling

*removed all retro wallpaper

*sprayed new texture on ceilings and on walls that had wallpaper

*replaced sliding glass door with French Doors

*replaced front door

*removed all baseboards

*painted all rooms

*installed laminate flooring in 3 bedrooms and living room

*installed a few new bathroom fixtures

*installed new fan

*CLEANED

*CLEANED

*CLEANED

*MOVED IN

We still more to do but we felt we were finally at a point that we could live in our home and finish everything else as we can. I do have newer pictures that I will post later.