Merry Christmas!

We hope you all had a wonderful and blessed day yesterday.

Here are some of the goodies we made this year. Chocolate covered marshmallows for all of the kids at school. Chocolate covered pretzels and caramel corn for teachers and friends. My Grandmother's recipe for Chocolate eclairs for me! Ok, I did share some with Karl and Steph but I ate most of them. I only make them once a year because they are my absolute most favorite ever.

We did manage a gingerbread house which is actually more chaotic now then when they were little. Now they want to do it ALL by themselves which is rather messy. They love it though. And why sit back and admire it when you can eat it. You really should eat it before it gets stale you know:)

We attempt a "fancy" ham dinner for Christmas each year. This is our first year with a tablecloth and perhaps our last. Levi's sparkling grape juice went all over it. And then somehow he (Levi) managed to tip David's as well. At least they didn't set it on fire with the candles. I will civilize these boys yet, I know I will. Perhaps you could help with ALOT of prayer:)

Poor Cody says we spent too much time in the kitchen...It's time for a rest.

Picture this!

I thought this was supposed to get easier!

Guitar Hero

Where has my sweet child gone?

Now, you have to understand that this boy got this guitar a year ago and couldn't have cared less about it (even though he asked for it). All of the sudden it is his most favorite thing. He won't let anyone else touch it or play with it. Only Chris is allowed because he tunes it whenever he is here. Eric can't play a single cord. Nor does he want to because he just doesn't have the patience for all of that. He just wants to look really cool and make a lot of noise.

Chopper 16

Chopper 16, our local news helicopter was in the parking lot of our Walmart this Saturday. I was actually out by myself but I ran(well, drove) home to get the kids so they could see it. Captain Willie was so nice! He showed us all around and inside the chopper. The boys loved it.

Here you can see some of the video equipment. Through the window is the photojournalist that travels with Captain Willie. He says he has the best job ever. He gets to ride in a helicopter, watch TV, and play video games (the camera controller is much like a game controller) all day!

Tag, You're It!

Go to your 6th file of pictures and pick the 6th picture and tell about it.

Heres mine.

April '06 Eric's 6th Birthday.

Until he was 7 Eric celebrated each birthday in a different house that we lived in. His birthdays lined up so that he had a birthday in each and every house that we lived in. This was his 6th birthday and sixth house. Poor kid...it's a wonder he survived:) I recall having high hopes for this cute little racetrack cake. All I remember is that I was extremely tired when I tried to make it and it didn't come out much like I had hoped. It doesn't appear as though Levi was worried about it. 3 years later and he is still the first one with his hands in a cake. David adored that Spiderman shirt. I practically had to peel it off of him to wash it. Ah, fun memories!

Now you do it!

Happy Birthday to me!

Facebook completely ruined my anonymous birthday thing I had going so now everyone knows it's my birthday. It was a pretty boring day until my wonderful husband came home. He set this big box down in front of me that was wrapped in pages from a medical journal!! Inside was a little tiny box containing an ipod nano. WooHoo! Now I can finally join the ranks of technologically inclined people out there. Even my mother-in-law has had one for quite some time. I got the black one, thank goodness, because the other colors are just a bit too bright for my personality. As much as I love the orange and red, let's face it, if anyone I knew saw me with one of those they would think I had gone off the deep end.



Well, enough of my pointless rambling.
I am going to go have dessert with my kids then figure out how to use this thing.

Wish me luck...I'm going to need it!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving

The Business Expo

Here is Eric at his Business Expo on Thursday. I think that this is the most fun kids can possibly have learning about economics. The kids sold everything from desk cleaning service to sports instruction and math tutoring as well as ornaments, jewelry, caricatures (really impressive art from a third grader, and joke telling. The Superintendant from the Board of Education even came out and talked with each child individually and "bought" their products. The kids were so proud of themselves. I wish I had this much fun in school!

The Loot---Eric made $47

Here are some pictures of the chaos

Eric's business expo

Eric is studying economics in Social Studies. To drive home the concept of supply and demand the kids have been hard at work over the past 6-7 weeks on a business project. First they had to interview someone in business (thank you Uncle Karl) about their services, who they serve, costs involved, marketing, and human and physical resources required. After that they decided on a good or service that they would like to provide and built a business around it. They had to survey their target population (third graders), detail a business plan and create advertisements.
Eric's company is called Cookie Attack and he is making pumpkin cookies. I tried to steer him in every other direction but cutouts but this is what he had his heart set on. From top to bottom it was his work. This Thursday they finally have their business expo. The four third grade classes will set up shop and sell to each other with "money" that they earn in class. Tonight we started on the cookies. Eric did so much of it himself...casted hand and all.

This project has been so much fun and Eric has learned so much. I think he understands supply and demand better than I do. I am so proud of him for the work he put into this project! I can't wait to go "shopping" on Thursday!

Birthday boy

Here are some pictures of "sweet" David as he was getting ready to open birthday presents.