ChRisTmAs fUn

HOLIDAY RECAP

GINGERBREAD HOUSES - at cousin Hiedi's new house week prior to Christmas. Holly was a good little helper decorating it and Charl came to my rescue when actually trying to build the house. Perhaps I was trying to be too ambitious and it just kept collapsing. Nothing wrong with simple.

CHRISTMAS EVE AT LAYNE'S (...had a nice dinner, acted out the nativity, did a puzzle race ((Rich won)), and opened our Christmas PJ's...)

Tate's 1st Christmas PJ's

CHRISTMAS MORNING AT OUR HOUSE...

the coolest Buzz ever!!!

GRANNY & GRANDPA LOUW'S (more presents, yummy food and playing w/cousins.)

Teresa got Holly this cute outfit for her b-day.

Gwen & Holly with their "Tangled" dolls

more dressups - Rapunzel

Our "New" "Blue" Room

This fall we finally added windows to the wall that would give us a view of the mountains. Had we known this would have been the case when building, we would have done this from the start, but whatever. I didn't want to pay for it, but Charl really really really wanted the windows. (Now that I have the windows, I do really enjoy looking out into our yard and at the Mt. Timp.) Since we had to tear up the wall, I decided to re-paint the walls in blue. I thought I took better pictures of the room, but I must have been distracted (most likely by Tate). Anyway, here is one picture I took and then the others are of the painting we "got" for Christmas to go the wall between the new windows. (I'll take better pictures once I put away Christmas.)

The Birthday Cake

I did make Holly a birthday cake for the "extended family party". Hello Kitty was her choice...okay, I may have persuaded her a little bit because I knew I could the simplicity of Hello Kitty. Here are some pictures from that party.

Holly's 3rd Birthday!

Holly had a birthday, shout "HOORAY". Wow, how time flies. Charl took the day off and we took Anders and Holly to a movie...yes, we went to an actual movie theater...it's been a long while since we've done this. (Granny Louw came to the house to keep Tate entertained.) We saw Tangled. (There were only 5 other people in whole theater since it was the earliest matinee and school was still in session.) Charl and I really enjoyed the movie and I think the kids did too.






Holly is waiting for the movie to start. She is such a cutie and looked a year older, too.

Me, Andersen and Holly...still waiting for the movie to start.













After the movie, we came back home to get Tate and eat lunch. Then we headed back out the door and did a little bit of Christmas shopping. The kids all fell asleep in the car, so Charl and I were able to pick out a painting to go on our newly "windowed" wall without the kids going crazy in an art gallery. Then we went Target and shopped a little more. Afterwards, we went to JCW's (a hamburger joint) and had dinner. Holly said she wanted a hamburger for dinner. We came home and had ice cream...which is preferred over cake. Holly blew out her 3 candles!

Then she ripped into her present.
























She got her first princess doll...Cinderella. It came with 4 outfits. We'll see who does the "dressing" of the doll.

A picture with Granny Louw after their fun lunch/shopping date.

Halloween 2010

This year the kids really got Halloween. Andersen begged to be BUZZ Lightyear for at least 2 months before Halloween. I got the costume a month early and by the time Halloween rolled around, he wanted to be a superhero (Spiderman or Ironman), but this mamma wasn't about to buy him another costume. Now that he's seen Toy Story 3, he's back to being a Buzz lover. Holly was a great Ladybug (thanks Layne for loaning us that cute costume). She kept up with Andersen and Bensen (boy across the street) quite well and I never had to carry her. It was fun to walk the neighborhood with Shante (Ben's mom) and then we stopped at their house after the kids' hands were frozen for some warm food. Tate just got dressed up for a pre Trick-or-Treating gathering at Granny and Grandpa Louw's house, where the kids could see their Pew cousins dressed up too. (He hated wearing the hat! If only he knew I stayed up late the night before sewing (if you can call it that) on the "potatoes".) Charl and Tate manned our house and gave out treats, watched football, and stayed warm. Once the tricker-treaters faded, we took the kids to Keith and Amber's for on last treat. Fun times.

"I don't like this hat!" "Why do you keep putting it on my head?!" (Notice we had to hold his hands.)



Happier without the hat.

A beautful "Sack-O-Taters"