A White Christmas

Ask and you shall receive, right? Well I guess so! I was just saying the other day how it would be nice to have a 'White Christmas' this year and we definitely will! It's been snowing all day and we should have at least 6" or so by tomorrow morning. Hopefully it won't snow too much so we can still get everywhere we need to be!  *Merry Christmas everyone!*

A Beautiful Drag

Winter is definitely here...there is no avoiding it now. And for those of you that haven't experienced a cold winter (and no my Phoenix friends, I am not talking about the harsh days of 60 degrees) here is the lowdown.

The downsides:
- Chapped lips, dry skin and static!
- You have to 'bundle up'...adding 20 layers of clothes just to keep warm. And let's be honest, when does this ever make you look or feel better about yourself? (Children are exempt from this).
- The kids or the dog go outside and track slushy, wet snow in everywhere!
- You are always cold no matter what you do.

The upsides:
- The snowfall can be very beautiful
- Kids (and adults) enjoy playing in the snow, sledding, and making snowmen
- Hot Chocolate is considered a necessity
- The winter helps you appreciate living in a place where you get to experience 4 seasons

Oh, and little kids do actually look pretty adorable wearing snowpants and mittens and hats....case in point:

*StoryBook Island's Christmas Lights*

Northpole ~ Attention: Santa

This is of utmost importance...Spencer has written his very first letter to Santa Claus. I assisted with some of the 'letters' but the drawing of course was all him. He wants two very specific things for Christmas, Buzz LightYear 'wings' and Buzz LightYear jammies.

So attention Santa Claus and elves: in case this letter doesn't reach you we thought we'd put it online. We're sure that in 2009 you are online regularly and are checking our blog for updates on whether the boys have been naughty or nice. To recap the last year: both of the boys have been wonderful.

Please note, Mason has not yet 'written' his letter but he'll work on it. I told him I'd let you know he would like anything his big brother is getting plus a monkey or two (stuffed will do). Thanks so much Santa. Merry Christmas!

Micah laughs every time...

he sees this photo. Let me break it down for you.

*He thinks it is funny that Mason is standing on the couch (cause he's not supposed to)

*He thinks it is funny because Mase has a 'sweet outfit' on (by the way, now that he has worn his snowboots he wants to wear those constantly...and for the record, the rainboots are easier to get on his chubby feet)

*He thinks it is funny that Spencer is wearing the strainer on his head (which Mason drags out of the kitchen every chance he gets)

*And last but not least, he thinks it is funny that Mason is hitting his brother in the head while they are both laughing.

So I thought I would share the photo with you and maybe you will get a chuckle out of it too:)

Trimming the Tree(s)

We have a total of four Christmas trees in our house...what, too much? Overboard? I don't think so. The boys each have a tiny one in their rooms and we have a fakey (you know, the artificial type) on our enclosed front porch...just lights, no decos and then our real one in our living room. And just for the record, I don't know how all of you that have artificial trees do it! This was the first year I've ever dealt with one and getting it all 'fluffed up' was exhausting! I suppose you get a system after a couple of years in...let's hope so or this one is history.

When we were talking about getting our real one I thought it would be quite the adventure to go into the hills (with a permit of course) and cut one down....but Micah wasn't too thrilled about that, so perhaps when the boys are older. So off to the store we went to find the perfect tree. After about 10 minutes we found the right one and when we got back outside it was like a blizzard had come without any warning - it was crazy!

When it came time for us to put the decorations up I suggested maybe I should put the majority of them up while the boys were sleeping, leaving just a few to do as a family. (I had already done the lights). But Micah insisted it would be fine and we should all do it together. Cut to 'trimming the tree'....it lasted about, oh I'd say 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops. Mason wanted to put the ornaments on but he also wanted to take them off. Let's just say there was a lot of screaming and crying going on by the littlest Odahlen and a time-out here and there. But needless to say, we got all of our ornaments on the tree and Micah and the boys put the star on top! Now, if the tree can just make it to December 25th.....

St. Nicholas Day

When we were little girls my mom decided to start a new tradition for me and my sister and have an annual St. Nicholas Day Tea Party. St. Nicholas Day is December 6th and it was always a great way to kick off the holidays. We would each invite our friends over for an afterschool, kid only (girl only) holiday party. Most times we would decorate gingerbread and sugar cookies, one year we made bird feeders and our last year we decorated gingerbread houses. Of course, part of the tradition of St. Nick is that he always leaves something special in your shoes.

Over the years we have continued to celebrate St. Nick's Day (although sans the tea party) and my friends and I have always reminisced about the childhood parties. So this year I decided to hold our "First Annual, Second Generation St. Nicholas Day Celebration." Two of my besties (Beth and Jen) both live here and attended the original parties as little girls. The crazy thing is that now that we are grown and have our own children - we all have boys!

With my mom's help we held our St. Nick's party on Sunday. Beth and Jen came with their little boys and my sister and nephew also attended. The boys ranged in age from 5 months to 13 years. Each of the boys decorated a gingerbread house and frosted some cookies, they had snacks and social time. And of course, St. Nick left them something in their shoes. We all laughed a little bit about the differences between the old girly tea parties and the first ever boys only party - we had mini pizzas instead of eggnog cake and we had wrestling as a main event.

Oh, and 25 years ago the Rapid City Journal did a feature story on the St. Nick's party - drumroll please...they decided to do a story on the party this year too! They are doing stories all month long about the holidays, traditions, etc. and decided this would be a good topic to feature! The story will run in about a week and a half - I will be sure to include it on our blog and a link if the story is posted online. Isn't that cool?! What a great keepsake it will be for all of our little boys.

Wish all of you with little ones (including the little girls) lived closer to take part in this celebration. But it really is so much fun perhaps you should start it in your family!

Mason had that little tiny birdhouse

to decorate on the tray..isn't it cute?

Jen helping Spencer

Eli working away

The finished houses

Mason stopping for a snack

Spencer and the best gingerbread house ever!

(Notice how much candy is loaded

at the foot of the door...yes, that was intentional).