We've been busy doing a whole lot of nothin' around here.  I say that relatively, since December is always a crazy time at home and at work, but when we do have some time to take it easy, we've all been taking advantage of it. 

The kids like to take my camera and snap photos around the house.  Sometimes I cringe at how the house or myself are represented in them, but I do like the honesty of showing the every-day stuff that you wouldn't normally take pictures of, like this one:  morning garb, doing dishes, hot glue gun on the counter to fix yet another Christmas ornament broken by the kids.




If we don't have any plans on a given day, unless you physically dress her yourself, Alaina refuses to change out of her pajamas.  I will admit, there are days where we just let her stay in them, only to change into a new set before bed.  She also loves this singing Rudolph toy that Mom gave us a few years back.  She runs around the house singing the song all day.







A typical Sunday scene:  Daddy catching up on the Broncos and Cowboys.  I love the wide-angle makes this small room look spacious!




Up until this year, I've been pretty picky about the selection and placement of our Christmas ornaments.  Now that the kids are loving everything Christmas, EVERY ornament must go on the tree, and be rearranged multiple times a day.  What our tree lacked in lights this year was definitely made up for with everything else!




We planned to do candy houses at home this year, and when I saw Rudolph kits at the store, I knew they were made for us!  Look at that concentration.







My plan was to have the houses all set up, then invite the kids into the kitchen to decorate them.  However, once Connor realized what was happening, he insisted that Alaina jump out of the bathtub, so excuse the hair.




You know the kids are focusing when the tongue comes out.




I kept catching Alaina sneaking little bits of the gross royal icing.  Man, that girl is committed to her sweets, even the nasty ones.




Finished product!




Immediately upon completion, the destruction began.  Connor loved being able to bite the head off of the Bumble.




I tried to convince Connor that the houses were meant to be kept as a decoration, but in his mind, what goes up must come down.  Right now.




Connor had the bright idea to take half of the roof off, dump the candy in the house as a hiding spot, then put the roof back on.  He was pretty bummed when the icing had hardened and his dear candy was now trapped inside.




Love this one!







I'm getting a cavity from all of this sweetness!




I hope you're enjoying this Christmas season as much as we are!

Last weekend, we enjoyed going up to Grandma and Grandpa's for the annual Broadhead Christmas experience.  Mom had completed the obscenely time-consuming task of baking cookies to spell out each child's name.  I'm sure Christopher was thankful for his name and Ava was cursing hers!  The kids all iced their cookies and decorated them with sprinkles.  After a few minutes, Kimball said, "I don't want to eat any more.  My tummy is starting to hurt."  I asked him if he had already eaten all of his cookies, and he replied, "Not ALL of them!"  I looked down at his plate to see one "L" remaining. :)

Connor would ice one, then promptly eat it.




Alaina was in heaven.  Grandma had managed to blend her two favorite things - sweets and crafts - into one fun activity.




It is really starting to freak me out that Marshall looks more like a little boy now than a baby. :(  Time flies too fast.




We decorated our individual family Christmas trees.  Be still, my heart.




Alaina thinks I look silly here, but let's face it, I was pretty dang cute.




This Santa toy has enthralled my kids for four years!  They STILL love it!




Long after everyone else had finished their cookies, Alaina was still working on perfecting hers.




Each cookie had to have a bit of every color of frosting, and a smattering of each sprinkle pattern.




Looks like her nose must have had a tickle!










I think Wes has dubbed himself "officially too old for this".




Grandma passed out our annual Christmas story, which is currently residing in my newly-sewn Christmas book bags.  I'm proud of myself to have actually done something crafty, but perhaps not so proud that I left them at Janet's house for her to finish.  Thanks, Janet!  We couldn't have done it without you!!  Grandma and Grandpa also gave the kids each a tin containing ornaments that hook together to spell the kids' names.  Connor and Alaina had been asking to have their own ornaments and ornament boxes, so these couldn't have come at a better time!










On to the nativity!  The three wise men.




Joseph




Mary




In this picture, I can't tell if we're reenacting a Bible story or something more sinister! :)







Award-winning photo faces here, kids!




Last night, I had the grandiose idea to take the family out to dinner at my work for what will probably be the last time, then walk over to temple square to see the lights.  I just typed out a long paragraph about the night in detail, how my kids are apparently not old enough at four and five to walk around for ten minutes, but I deleted it, and we'll just leave it at that.  We walked onto the square, took one picture, then left.  At least we tried.




Always the thrill-seeker, Alaina will make her own fun where there is none.  She pulled her hat down over her eyes and stumbled around her newly-made obstacle course with the help of Daddy's hand.




I'm already started to get nostalgic about working at City Creek, and I still have a minimum of 4.5 months!




About 50 yards from Regent Street parking, Connor's legs somehow stopped working.  Anthony thought he'd just pop him on his shoulders like the old days, but I think what this picture is saying is that Connor doesn't weigh 25 pounds anymore!




As we were buckling our two kids into their seats, Anthony and I were laughing at how we thought the night would go - relaxing dinner, followed by the kids full of wonder at the lights and Christmas spirit - and the reality of it.  Sometimes I really wonder how my parents did it with five kids!