Gingerbread Men

Grandpa decided he wanted to do gingerbread men with the boys. They were so excited! (I was too...the boys occupied for an hour....sign me up!) They helped mix the cookies and clean the bowl (Michael especially enjoyed it). Eric knew exactly what to do, and helped cut the cookies. Decorating was fun--to see their personalities coming out. Eric did a very meticulous job decorating 1 cookie while Michael had help and threw together 3 really fast. They had such a good time, thanks Grandpa! Here are some pictures:

Mixing the gingerbread.

Cleaning the bowl.

Michael still cleaning the bowl.

Eric (and Grandpa) cutting the men.

Michael (and Grandpa) decorating the men.

Eric decorating his man.

Eating the man.

You can't make gingerbread men without eating them, of course! They actually turned out really good--and thats coming from me (Lisa) who doesn't care for gingerbread much!

Santa

Here are the boys at their yearly visit with Santa. For the first time, Eric new exactly what to do and what he wanted to tell Santa. As we waited in line at the ward Christmas party, Eric could hardly wait! He was excited, and determined to tell Santa what to bring. What does Eric want? Two Nintendo DS systems with the Zelda game, so he and Michael can play four player with Matt and Suze, and a HotWheels set. Michael was just happy to get a candy cane. What does Michael want for Christmas (not that he told Santa about it)? Presents! Enjoy the pictures!

Oh, Christmas Tree

Time to choose the family Christmas tree again! I grew up with a fake tree...you just get the tree out...so this is a tradition that is somewhat new for me. Its a process, as there are 3 generations choosing the tree for one house. It has been interesting for me to see the family dynamics and the debate that can occasionally occur over which tree is "the tree." Grandma loves the Noble Fir variety, so we choose among those available. To me, a tree is a good one if it "looks right," I don't care what variety it is as long as it has the right look. Sometimes there is much debate over "the tree" but this year it seemed like there was more playing around than actual tree choosing. I must admit, it was a little more like peace on earth than in some years past. Here are a few pictures:

Jim, Grandma, and Grandpa "looking."

Eric having fun.

Michael and Brian, Eric and Erin: shortly before they started to have the boys kindof dogfight, while on their shoulders. No more choosing trees, just running around on shoulders, playing.

I like this picture of Michael. The shadow is all wrong, but if you ignore it you can see the face he's making. I love how he holds his lips like this.

Here are a few more shots of the boys, for your entertainment!

Hot Lunch and Christmas Cards

Hot Lunch

Eric always wants to buy lunch at school.

"Mom, can I buy hot lunch?"

"No, I packed you a lunch."

Well, today was his luck day! We woke up a little late, ate fast, and as we're rushing out the door to barely make the bus I realized I didn't pack him a lunch. Poor kid. His mom is not a morning person, and I woke up with a pretty bad cold (I'm blaming the lack of a sack lunch on the cold, and my being up late last night--see "Christmas cards"). But, he lucked out today because I gave him some money to buy lunch. His teacher told me that he kept talking about it all morning, so I know he was excited.

I decided that since I didn't get the kids I watch until around 1 today that I'd go and make the surprise even better by eating lunch with Eric. Despite the fact he didn't notice I was there as he walked right by me, he was excited to have me sit next to him. It was fun to see him around his peers, and watch him at recess for a few minutes. I even learned a few things about him too:

1-He chose to have strawberry milk over both the plain and the chocolate variety.

2-He ate all of his "good food first" before eating his little pie. What a good boy!

3-Given the choice between noodles and rice, he chose the lo mein noodles. Who knew?

4-I knew he was a slow eater (Jim blames it on me), but I didn't realize how slow he was compared to his friends until I saw it myself. He was the last one out of the lunch room!

Eric with his class eating lunch.

Christmas Cards

I am trying to "get everything done" before we leave town tomorrow to go and bless our new nephew in Provo. So, I asked Jim what he thought about what I was going to write on our Christmas cards before I printed them all...the first step to finishing the cards I'm making this year. 2 hours later, after much friendly debate, we were agreed on what we would or wouldn't say. What an ordeal! I thought it would be a quick read-over and print...who knew Jim would care so much? I was glad to have the help, but I guess our cards have always been the year "according to Lisa" so they've been my style. So, its good that Jim added his 2 cents (more like $3.00) which made it is more of a family Christmas card. Don't get the wrong idea. I was glad for the help. I was just surprised at his take on summarizing the year, and at his editing style. I like to use commas,,,,,,, and Jim is a good editor. I do have to say that what was said in the paragraph about him is what HE wanted to say. I did not put words in his mouth or tell him to write nice things about me...he did it on his own! What a great husband I have! So, now I have you wondering about it and you'll want to actually read our card to find out what I'm referring to!

Have a good day, anyone who might really be reading this. I'm going to take my nap now.

Winter's First Snow

We wanted to give everyone a chance to see us this morning. Here are some pictures of the boys in this winter's first measurable snow (and snow fight, for that matter). 2 days ago, it was 75 degrees. Today we woke up to this. The boys and Jim think this is pretty cool. I can't wait to go home for Christmas!

I love the look on Michael's face! But, he did get his brother too, it was an almost-fair fight.

Jim was teaching the boys about different types of snow...I think all they care about is that they have some to play in!

They look cold, don't they? Yes, we went in after these pictures.

Here is another picture from today-of Michael meeting our first Vinton cousin! Matt and Suze had little Alexandre Beralus Vinton not even 3 weeks ago, and they are here for Thanksgiving. I didn't get a very good picture of Eric with Alex, but here is a cute one of Michael and Alex. Michael was excited to see his cousin and says "oh, he's tute!"

Here we are!

I'm starting this blog as a desperate attempt to send a document that is too big for sending by email. It's not working as easily as I hoped. But, now we have a blog, I guess. Don't expect great things, I'd rather scrapbook or actually write a journal I think (maybe I could print this out as my journal???). You can check and check all you want, but sorry if I never update this again. And, if you see "nativity puppets" you can know how happy I am that I finally got it to work! Have a good one! -Lisa