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

As I mentioned before we started baking and couldn't stop. Let me remind/inform you that I have made three (count them, three!) batches of homemade cookies EVER. And that in the past 2 months. So I was invited to a cookie exchange where I had to bring at least 6 dozen cookies. Kind of inspired me to do something better than a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough from Sam's.

I started with oatmeal cookies and then moved on to chocolate chips - which were my fluffiest (if that's how you describe cookies) and yummiest yet.




Ted helped.


Then he "washed" the dishes in the sink.


We baked all weekend. Chocolate chip cookies. Oatmeal cookies. Lemon bars. Peanut butter fudge. Seven layer cookies. Shrimp dip. Ben made most things. But I helped. And it was fun! I might do this again next year.

Then we hosted our annual "Christmas Vacation" party. Cameron, Sarah, Looch, Gina and Derek came over. Most of them had never seen the movie in it's entirety - can you believe that? You had to come dressed in character . . .


Ben loved being Cousin Eddy.


And so did Cameron.


Derek was Clark at Christmas dinner. Looch was Clark some other time. Sarah was "fried pussycat" (brilliant!). I was Ellen at Christmas dinner (can't really tell). And Gina was Audrey. Next year, everyone has to dress like someone from the dinner scene. So fun. LOVE that movie. It's the ONLY movie I will watch over and over and over again.


Then I went to my first cookie exchange! WOW! So fun and I cam home with some serious cookies!




I took the kids to the Wow Factory. It has awesome pottery that you can paint on your own. Great stuff. We did ornaments. We were too late for them to be done for this Christmas - they had to be left to be glazed and baked. But the ornaments were 50% off by the time we painted them. So it will be fun to have them for next year. Ted picked the hardest one and left a lot to be desired. Sophie mixed her colors together for her standard gray color. It was so fun though!


Last night (Dec 22), we did our annual "sleep by the light of the tree" sleepover. We let the kids open their Christmas pj's (which are not Christmas themed) and slippers. A little secret: Sophie picked out those very slippers at Old Navy earlier the same day!! I know - horrible.


So, we drug both kids mattresses downstairs and put up the air mattress. We watched "The Grinch" for about an hour. Sophie could not sit still and then could not lay quietly. She lasted until about 8:45 when we took her back upstairs. She was out within minutes. She just needs her own space. I ended up planning a last minute, early morning trip so I slept upstairs. The original rule was that you had to be in a big kid bed to do the sleepover. I think I'll change the criteria to age 3 minimum.


So the boys won the award for actually doing the sleepover. Good times.

We are opening presents tomorrow morning (Christmas Eve morning). That gives the kids a chance to play for most of the day before church. Then we'll head to the grandparents after that. I am SO EXCITED for Christmas this year. Both kids will be so excited I think. Can't wait to share it with them. This has really been a fun few weeks leading up to Christmas!!