CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS!

We have had alot of fun this year getting ready for Christmas.

Christmas Treats

I felt like I was constantly cooking last week, but I surprisingly enjoyed it. One of the things the girls love to do is make popcorn balls. The girls, especially Nicole, love to get their hands messy.

Here is the recipe:

4 1/2 qt. popped popcorn

2/3 c. crushed candy canes

1/2 tsp. vanialla

1 stick melted butter

1 lb. marshmellows

Melt the stick of butter with 1 lb marshmellow. Mix an dpress into desired shape. Wrap. You can also add peanuts to the mix.

This is one of Kaylee's favorite parts - smashing the candy canes.

The goo in the bowl - get ready for a sticky mess.

Kaylee can't help but eat some as she makes the popcorn ball. She kept saying, "I can't help it. It is soooo delicious."

I sprayed Pam on the girls hands to help with the sitcky mess, but Taylor put it in her hair instead. Her hair was pretty messy!!

I have no idea how many popcorn balls Nicole made because she just liked to put her hands in it. Just so everyone knows - my children did watch their hands before making these treats, I think.

School Christmas Party

Nicole and Kaylee had a Christmas Party at school. Warren went with Kaylee and Kaylee loved that her Dad was there. Warren said she was pretty hyper when she saw him walk in the room. Nicole also had a party at her school. She was most excited about the present from her teachers: a green marker, blue playdough, popcorn, and Christmas cup. She loved them.

Nicole and I did not have a good morning the day of the party, but she did alot better once she got home. All I can say is, I wish people would mind there own business and not judge or criticize Nicole. She is awesome and does the best she can. We love her the way she is and I wouldn't change a thing.

Christmas Party

A couple of weeks ago, Kaylee had a little Christmas party with her friends. She had a ton of fun and has been looking forward to this for about 2 months.

(Kylie, Ashely Egbert, Kaylee, Brandon, Kate, Rebecca, Tess )

All the kids had a gift exchange and surprisingly ended up with exactly what they wanted because they kept trading until they got the perfect one.

Playing Santa - Kaylee is Rudolph and the Bean Bag is Santa's Sleigh.

The kids painted popsicle sticks to make into ornaments and also made alittle Nativity Ornament. The Nativity was alittle challenging, but they did a good job.

Christmas Concert

Kaylee also had a Christmas Concert at school. It is always sad to me when they can't sing traditional Christmas songs, but they did a good job. Kaylee was pretty excited about the concert and loved it. We had to curl her hair for the day and she loved wearing a church dress to school.

They sang "Rudolph" and "All I Want for Christmas"

I was glad the weather calmed down for my mom to come to watch Kaylee. Kaylee loves to show off her Grandma.

Decorating the Tree

Last year the girls picked out ornaments of their very own and Nicole picked out this dog with a duck. I have no idea why, but she loved it last year. This year Taylor loves it.

Notice how all the ornaments are up where Taylor can't reach them. Slowly more and more ornaments got higher and higher on the tree.

Putting the Star on Top - The finishing touch!!