most wonderful time of the year (part 1 of 2)

We've been busy the past two weeks and having LOTS of fun! There were too many pictures for one post. So make sure you hit them both. I'll try to be brief.


We made goodie bags for all the leaders during finals week. We drove all over Morgantown delivering them. I'm glad we took the kids with us. I love when they connect with the leaders and the leaders love on them.


Ted helped with all my Christmas letters - stamping and return address labels.

Then, for two weeks in a row it snowed everyday - or almost everyday. Most schools around us were canceled several times. But not Mon County. It did snow kind of crazy one afternoon and they let kids out of school early. So we played outside. I was so excited to have all the snow stuff ready to do - snow pants, mittens, hats, coats, everything!


Sophie HATES hats and mittens/gloves.


She mainly just walked around the yard being barely missed by runaway sleds with crazy boys on them. She stayed on her feet the whole time though. This was her first time playing in the snow, I think. Last year she didn't have any snow gear and I hate being in the snow so that was a good excuse, too.


Ted and Sam


No hot chocolate to warm them up - just a good round of "Just Dance." BTW, Ted is saving up for "Just Dance: Kids!"

Then we started baking . . . and we couldn't stop!


Ben made sugar cookies with the kids. He's obviously never made cut out cookies with a 2 and 5 year old. There was no way he was making an armless or legless ginger bread man. And everything had to be just so. Took WAY longer than just doing what came out.


Flour everywhere.




Sophie pretended to ice her cookies. But when no one was "looking" she was licking the spoons - and the cookies! She had her own special pile of cookies.




Leftover icing.

Moving on to part 2 . . .