Santa 2011

Here are some pictures from our ward party last night.  

Kate asked for a basketball...

Kate's friend, Nina, got to come with us...

Jack asked for a basketball hoop...

 And Ty was going to ask for a digger until he freaked out...

Santa was really nice.  And I think he likes to play softball during the summer.  Jack told me that Santa had a funny laugh, because he didn't say "ho ho ho!"

Nuts, Crackers, and Sweets

Kate had a dance performance yesterday,  called the Nuts, Crackers and Sweets.  Her ballet weekly ballet class didn't learn a dance for the performance because most of the girls in her class were in the Nutcracker (which you have to pay $150 to perform in).  So, Kate got to go to some extra dance classes on Saturday for a few weeks to learn a dance to perform.  She loved every minute of it!

They were the Naughty Elves and danced to Louis Armstrong's CoolYule.  Wish I could post video of it, but I'm not that smart, so pictures will have to do.

First, the Naughty Elves danced...

 Then mean Mrs. Santa came out...

 and gave them dolls (which they got to take home -- Kate loves it!)

 Mrs. Santa shows them how to hold them nicely...

 Then they throw the dolls at Mrs. Santa and blame the next girl...

 Then they get broom duty and fly off stage...

 and then take a bow (curtsy, I mean).

 Kate's friends, Ada, Nina and Sophi came to watch her dance.

Pajama and Crazy Hair Day

Friday was pajama day and crazy hair day at the kids' school.  Jack has never wanted crazy hair before, but he decided to be "crazy" and try a mohawk.  

Kate went with the crazy braid look.

And Ty was sporting his crazy "bed head" look...

First Snow

We've had two snow storms this month.  The second storm gave us a snow day from school and work, and then a two hour delay the next day.  On the snow day, the kids couldn't wait to get outside and get sledding.

 The kids went down the driveway a few times.

 It took a minute to remember which side of the driveway is best for sledding (salted or unsalted)...

 Then we walked over to the middle school to sled there. 

Ty went down the middle school hill three times before he decided that his feet were frozen and that he needed to cry a lot.  Ty and I came home and warmed up while the kids sledded.

The kids wear their snow pants and boots to school.  They get to sled down the hill on the playground on plastic bags.  They love it!

Christmas Tree Hunting 2011

We went Christmas tree hunting the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We didn't go the day after Thanksgiving because it was raining and foggy.  The Nye family came with us.

We couldn't go tree hunting where we've gone in the past, near Abiquiu, because the fire, so we went to the Caja Del Rio area west of Santa Fe.  We were worried that we wouldn't be able to find a tree, since there were tons of junipers and not very many pinions.  We finally found an area with a few nice trees.  We can't be as picky with our trees in New Mexico.

We went pretty early in the morning and it was cold and windy!

Kate, Annika, Craig, Jack, Ty, Ashley

  This is the Nye's tree...

The kids were warming up in the van when Dave and I cut down our tree.  I left the camera in the van, so we don't have any pictures of the cutting process.  And I didn't take any pictures of the kids decorating the tree either.  We set up Jack's electric train around the train.