Count Down to Christmas Days 6 and 7!

Tag 6: Scavenger Hunt

My kid's are crazy for maps, scavenger hunts and all things involving clues.  They have been known to create their own just to get their "fix".  This time, I thought I would oblige them.  Billy was a HUGE help as he came up with all of the clues.  He was pretty clever finding Bible verses with key words to help the kids follow a trail to their suprise.  Isabel surprised us all by quickly figuring them all out.  Usually Collin is the one to take the lead.

The suprise?  Fuzzy slipper socks, of course!  I love them!  With all of my heart!  My kids out grew theirs, so I thought it was time for some new ones.

Tag 7: Sweet Treat

Wednesdays are tricky because we are booked with activities.  It makes it hard to do something special, so I made it easy on us with Wednesday being a little gifting day for the kids.  Today's was a sweet treat for them to have.  Now, if you know my kids, Isabel eats her candy IMMEDIATELY  every time!  It never lasts long for her.  Collin is still hoarding candy from as far back as Easter.  Yep.  I don't know where we got that kid.

The best part for me about this time of year, is that any candy not eaten by December is used to make our annual gingerbread houses.  And then promptly thrown out after being admired and photographed.  Collin doesn't mind to much because I always start his collection off again in his Christmas Stocking.  I'm such a thoughtful mommy.

Christmas Countdown Day 5

Tag #5: Play Minute to Win It

Have you ever seen this show?  We love it, but don't watch it very often. We would rather play it!  We won't be winning millions any time soon, but it is a VERY fun activity for parties or even a night it.  Forget the boring board games!  We only have a Minute to Win It people!

We found some great sites with the videos for each game online and have them downloaded on our laptop.  Whenever we feel the urge to play, we can hook it up to our computer and off we go! 

**Disclaimer: most of these games are very fast paced and my poor camera cannot keep up.  I did the best I could with pictures.

Interesting facts for the evening:
Unrolling rolls of streamers is a great arobic workout

Billy and I make an awesome conveyor belt to move ornaments to the tree...might have to decorate this way next year

Collin and Isbel STINK at tossing cookies with a tray and catching them again.  They are very good at throwing them across the room.

Isabel is the master at moving a pretzles from her forehead to her mouth without using her hands.  And looks stinkin' cute doing it.

Collin has really good balance with his teeth.  May be a super power.  I'm not sure.

Christmas Countdown Day 4

Day 4 Tag: Go Book Shopping

Today was the library booksale.  I have always loved those, even as a child!  I can remember coming home with BOXES of new to me books to read.  I am a VERY fast reader, so I have been longing for some new books myself.

We sort of forgot that today is also the "big" Christmas Parade.  So getting to the libary was a bit of a challenge.  What is it with us driving around randomly this weekend?  Our 10 minute library trip took more like 30 because all of the streets were blocked off and we had to go the long way around.  Isabel was ready to give up and go home, but I'm glad we didn't because we got this:

All of this loveliness for $18.  The funniest part was the the sweet older gentleman volunteer who was adding up our total for us.  He looked SO confused.  Billy had to walk away and let me deal with it.  The man could not get any of the prices right.  Some were too high...some were too low...I kept my fingers crossed that it would all even out in the end.  It did and Billy relaxed that we did not overpay.  LOL

We finally made it back home and started to decorate our house for Christmas.  And noticed that our tree has a lean.  Yep.  It leans very noticably to one side.  LOL  Billy wondered why we didn't notice it when we picked it out.  Isabel guessed it was because it was on a bit of a hill.  And suggested we all lean sideways so we wouldn't notice it.  That or make our own hill in our family room.  Smart girl.

I actually got Billy to do the lights on the tree this year.  Usually he tells me to do it.  We have a mish mash of several kinds of lights.  He is pretty proud of it.  :)    Collin and Isabel helped put up the ornaments.  It completely looks like some kids did it.  Mostly hung near the bottom and in clumps.  I love it!

My favorite decoration is the Mickey Mouse singing clock tower set.  It plays different songs and Mickey and friends come out to sing them.  I had one when I was younger, but stupidly got rid of it.  My mom replaced it for me a few years ago.

We also have some special holiday books we like to read and only get out at this time of year.  I can't wait to dive into them.  The two in the back are from my Grandma from when I was a kid.  I'm hoping to share them with Isabel's class this year...

It was an ecclectic day today.  That is the best way I can describe it.  And I have alot of work to catch up on!

Christmas Countdown Day 3

Today's Tag: Cut down a Christmas Tree

We have only cut down our own tree once before.  Generally we juggle between a fake tree and picking up a real tree at the last possible minute. I knew the kids would love it.  What I didn't know was....

The place Billy picked was EXPENSIVE!  $80 for a tree and then you hade to pay extra to have it shaken....drilled....tied up...loaded...Yikes!  So we hopped back in our vans and got out our cells and started searching for a more reasonable price.

Isabel would need to go to the bathroom.  With no bathroom in sight.  And couldn't hold it.  It was my first experience trying to help a little girl pee in the woods.  I did not enjoy it.  Neither did she.

The tree farm we went to was cash/check only.  And we don't generally carry cash...

That THEIR idea of the perfect tree and MY idea of a perfect tree were two totally different things. LOL  Collin spent most of his time repeating what he heard daddy say:  Yep, not quite as tall as I was hoping for, mom...and....well, I guess we could put the bare spot against the wall....LOL

A Christmas Tree Farm is FULL FULL FULL of  "Harry Potter Wands" and we needed to collect and practice with every single one of them.

Billy will pick on the kids (pretending to throw them off the tractor) until they scream and I give him the evil eye.  And then he will continue to do it.

Okay, the last one I could have guessed. 

We ended up going to the place we got our first tree at several years ago.

I forgot how lovely the family who owns the place are.  Seriously sweet people.  When we got there, we remembered that they don't take debit cards...cash only.  We didn't have enough on us and were going to leave, but the owner offered for us to go ahead and get our tree and just send her a check later.  Honestly, terrific people there!  The trees were only $25 and you got to take a hay ride to the trees and they took care of the extras (shaking, drilling the hole and binding it to take to your vehicle AND helping us get it secured) for free.  Then Betty (the sweet owner) asked if she could give our kids some candy canes and told us to head down the street to see a wonderful light display that we could drive through and see Santa.  Too much fun!

It was everything I wanted it to be.

Christmas Countdown Day 2

Day 2 Tag:  Play a game

Now that might not sound very exciting, since we play alot of family games together, but step 2 was FINDING the brand new game mommy bought.  And not just any game.  A NARNIA game!  Whahoo!  I have been feeling sick, sick, sick the last few days, so I was not overjoyed to play, but I put on my happy mommy face and did it anyway. 

Daddy won, but I made a valient effort to help the kids and get Daddy turned to stone by the White Witch.  LOL  It was a fun game and I think we will be playing it often.  I was lucky enough to find it at a consignment shop for under $5...and everything in the box looked brand new.  Very exciting since we have never seen that game before and are HUGE Narnia fans.

Isabel In Wonderland

I am still wending my way through my November Kit.  Sad, yet good at the same time.  LOL  I do love the papers in my kit and am looking forward to using them up in the next few weeks during our December break.  I just wish I had more time to use them up!

The pictures of Isabel's birthday combined with a Sketch Support Sketch (from book 8) were perfect for my November kit.

We started our December Countdown yesterday!  First up was writing a letter to Santa.  Yes, my kids still believe in Santa.  Firmly.  And we are just fine with that.  I found some cute printable paper for them to use and they got right to work. 

Isabel did not have to do much work.  She put down four "suggestions" and called it a day: Movie, gum, Polly Pocket, Barbie game for the DS.

Collin, however, got straight on the internet so he could write down the item numbers to every lego set over $50 that he did not have yet.  Every. stinkin. one!  (His reasoning:  Santa needed a good amount of ideas.  And Collin could fairly easily (in his mind) earn up to $50 to buy the other sets.  Over $50 was WAY harder.)  His list is huge!  He did tell Santa to just pick one thing off of it, but we still had a good talk about being selfish.  He will be revising his list tonight.

Pictures tomorrow of Day 2: Game night!  And I bought a new game: The Chronicles of Narnia.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I LOVE this time of year!  I love the surprises...the yummy treats...the anticipation...the excitement of the kids...and VACATION DAYS!

It is December 1st and we are counting down at the Hardy House this month.  :)  The rest of the house is not decorated (yet), but our countdown stockings are up!

Every day the kids take turns pulling out a tag telling what little special thing we will do that day.

December 1st:  Write letter to Santa 

We have a month full of fun things planned and I can't wait to share them with you!