And now Christmas!

Christmas---in my head it's a beautiful time, full of cozy evenings wrapping presents in front of the fireplace.  Hot Cocoa for the kids when they walk in the door.  Family snowballs fight, with laughter and inside jokes.  Instead, I was working right up to Christmas Break on a long term sub job.  My kids loved it--they were in my classroom A LOT, to the dismay of their actual classroom teachers, who were trying to squeeze some 'educatin' in their brains.  So needless to say Christmas decorations were barely in place, with barely wrapped presents, that were barely bought, under the barely put up tree.  The day after Christmas my sister Holly and her kiddos came to stay and we had a busy, fun, happy break, and our good times were even set to the musical stylings of Carter Michael Noftle Big Tough Awesome Wiggly (note it's not straight anymore, it's wiggly, and he also eliminated the Power Rangers All The Colors part---his decision not ours, who are we to mess with his name?!)
The three oldest got IPOD touches, big hits, and Sammi generously gave her old version to Carter and Zoe to share.  We enjoyed two weeks of easy to transport children (Jax let Carter use his DS!) until Carter and Zoe lost Sammi's old IPOD touch--they blame Addalynn, I don't!  Santa must really love Zoe because he brought her a live animal---a male cat named Yardly.  Santa got him from a local shelter and he has turned out to be a great cat so far---let's Zoe mess with him as much as she wants to!  Carters' drum set is also loved.  However this year the "Piece de la resistance" was the Mom and Dad gift, one they have been saving for a LOOOONG time(5years) a massage chair.  Next year we are going to ask for the time to sit in it!

The house wasn't robbed--this is just what is looked like by 8 am Christmas morning!  Sammi and Sierra are claiming they never fell asleep at all.  I know they woke us up at 4:45 am  asking if we would let them go in--we did NOT.

Christmas Eve or Day (how quickly I forget) at Grandma and Grandpa's.  Jackson discovered a love of the "farkle game".

Zoe and Yardly.  Can you tell he's a patient cat??!

Carter Jammin in his Jammies.

Dad's 60th birthday party at Allred's.

More party goers!

Bead crafts on New Years eve---beads are hard...that's all I'm going to say about that.

Poppers at Midnight

The men were particularly energetic this New Years.

Poppers, popping

Playing farkle---Jax would like the world to know he had a 4000 point roll.

New Years and Sydney did not mix--poor girlie did not feel well.