The Week Before Christmas

Hank had the entire week off before Christmas this year so I made sure we spent our time doing fun things together as a family.  My mom hosted her annual Christmas cookie bake-off on Monday.

Move over Mrs. Fields.  Mom was serious this year!

 So was Max, oh wait...  He had more fun spreading flour all over the kitchen.

Doesn't Lucy look like she is 18?

Hank was really careful to make his shapes come out perfectly.

The kids did such a great job decorating the cookies.

Sarah was a bit overwhelmed...freaking lip puffer.

Our cookies were almost too cute to eat.  We admired them for a bit and then devoured them.  There is nothing like a good sugar cookie.

The second batch were snickerdoodles rolled in sprinkles instead of cinnamon and sugar.  Delish! 

Tuesday morning we woke up to nearly 2 feet of snow.  I declared it a snow day!

 After getting our warmest gear on we headed outside for some snow angels and snow ball fights.  Hank really loved when I shoveled the snow onto his head.

Max was more than willing to help.

How much do I love Hank's ears!  

My little snow rats!

 Wednesday I had to work most of the day but no worries my kids had fun anyway.  They had the pleasure of Sarah watching them in the morning and Rick watching them in the afternoon.  They were in heaven!

Thursday was a cold rainy day so Sarah and I decided to take the kids to Monkey Island to get some energy out.  There was no one there and the kids (and adults) had a blast.

 Hank and Max earned their 30th sticker on their good boy chart so this was their reward.

 Jack didn't stop laughing the entire time we were there.  I'm really glad I didn't drop the poor chap when I carried him up the steep ladder to the slide.  Good thing there isn't a picture of that.  My face was purple by the time I got to the top.

The boys even got to play some arcade games.  All and all a successful day.

We rested up and got ready for the 2 hour commute to Provo (thanks one lane open on the freeway, ugh) for the Tucker Christmas party at La Dolce Vita.

Lucky for us the kids slept in the car and were ready to party it up.  This craft table was a genius idea for the kids.

Max loved posing for Chloe.

The red frosting was a hit with Mino.

After a delicious meal it was time for the talent portion of the party. 

The Cox family impressed us with a bell routine.

Lucy and Isabel dazzled us with a dance they choreographed themselves.

Hank amazed the crowd with his breaking skills. 

He broke one with his foot as well.  Master Augustine would've been proud.

Grandma Gaga recited some original poetry. 

Cute Cousins

The kids sang Christmas songs and waited for Santa to come.

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"

Once Santa finally arrived he had a face-off with Jack.

Hank was a little nervous but listed off everything he wanted.

Max managed to get on Santa's knee twice, just to make sure he knew he wanted hotwheels.

I love Isabel's toothless grin.  She is the sweetest little girl around.

We tried multiple times to get a good family picture but this was the best we could do at 9:30 p.m.

Here is a much better attempt.

In case I missed you or the card got sent to the wrong address here is the family picture I sent for our Christmas card.

My Christmas Eve post is coming up next.  I know you can hardly wait!