Fishy Family Night

Santa was good enough to leave us a few special presents while we were gone over Christmas. When we got back, Eleanor lost no time in checking under the tree. She and Dad were very surprised that Santa got us a fish tank! They must have been worried that he would take it back, because we headed straight out to the pet store to get the materials to set it all up. You have to let the water sit for about 24 hours or so before putting in the fish, so we planned a Fishy Family Night for Monday.

First off, we picked out our fish! Here they are getting accustomed to the water. While we waited we had fish sticks and goldfish crackers for dinner. I know, but Eleanor didn't seem to have a problem eating fish and getting live fish at the same time...

After a Family Night lesson on being "Fishers of Men" we enjoyed some chocolate whales for a treat.

Then, the most exciting part of all was adding our new family pets to their aquarium. We picked out three guppies to start with. The Red Tuxedo guppy is named James Bond, the yellow Tequila Sunrise guppy is Charlie and the Turquoise guppy is Bluey! I think Eleanor has been more excited about these fish than she was for Disneyland. She's in charge of feeding them every day, Dad has filter duty, and she decided I should watch the tank during the day and make sure none of them get lost. I suppose that could be dicey at times, but I'll do my best!

Merry Christmas

I love hanging pictures on our Christmas tree - suprise! This one of my Grandma's house in days gone by is one of my favorite. It makes me want to watch White Christmas for some reason...

In case you're not on our limited Christmas card mailing list (I only mail to people who aren't local), here is a picture of our card this year. It folds up into a Chinese fortune teller! It was a fitting design to highlight all the good fortune we've enjoyed this year. You can print it out and give it a go, if you like.

Before we do some traveling for Christmas, I wanted to wish all my friends and family a very Merry Christmas! We had a fun time having early Christmas at our house this morning. To get ready for that, Gavin and I spent all night assembling a gift for Eleanor. It was our first time having that fun experience - which explains why we started way too late and didn't get to bed until the wee hours. I'm so glad she loves her new dollhouse, it's kept her busy all day today! Gavin has yet to find his present, but I'll save that story for another post...

A Perfect Time for Pictures

Don't you think it would be fun to sit on your cozy couch sipping hot chocolate and looking at this delightful snowy day family picture on the wall? Ok, since it's -2 today, right now might not be the time. But, wait for a balmy 34 degrees or so and I'll be trying to catch one like this of my own family. As soon as I set that goal last winter, it stopped snowing. There was not a single day when the snow was still on the ground after Gavin got home from work! We'll have to try this again. A good puffy coat can hide my current figure, right?

I Feel Your Pain

Eleanor and I went to see the Nutcracker Ballet last weekend. I think she really enjoyed it. Sunday morning she was dancing around after getting dressed up for church. Then she stopped and said, "I can't really skip when I'm all packed up in tights." Oh, do I ever feel your pain sweetheart!

Big Muscles

We got our first real shovel-worthy snow of the season today and guess who was out shoveling for our family? Ok, I did a little to get Eleanor out the door for school, but this afternoon she picked up the shovel and pretty much did the rest. Look a those big muscles. She was heartily rewarded for her child-labor with plenty of hot chocolate. :)

You Know it's a Small Town When...

I really do like living in a small town most of the time. I try not to make fun of it on most occassions. But, today we went to the Post Office (which is closed at lunch time) and there was a sign up on the door announcing that Marilyn somebody "Had Pasted Away." It was probably irreverent of me to bust up right there. So, I'm saving my snort out loud for my blog!

A Special Treat

We got to have visitors to our house for Thanksgiving. It always feels like a treat to have people stay with us. And thank you to all my houseguests for giving me the reason to do the deap clean that is always needed!

This year we had Gavin's brother Devin with his family Krystal and Addie. Eleanor was so excited to play with her 7 month old niece. She prepared a little basket of baby-friendly toys and wrote a label for it that said (if you read Kindergartener) "Addie's basket of toys to play with." We had a great weekend with a trip to Hammond's Candies, some shopping, great food and company!

How could I have this cutie come stay without just a little photo shoot?

I think we impressed Devin with how well we "live off the land" out here in Colorado. Ok, we dug up some potatoes from our garden. :) These are our favorite funky shaped ones. They look like manatees. And here is Gavin attacking... er, carving the Turducken below.

I am such a bread girl. Of course, we made homemade rolls. After that talk at Stake Conference, if you remember, how could we not?