The annual Webb party was December 9th. That morning we got to go clean the church. The kids love having the opportunity to clean the church and Peter asks regularly if it's our turn. After we cleaned the church the kids and I headed to Raft River. Casey had basketball games that day so he stayed behind. It was a wonderful party and it was good to see some extended family. The kids had so much fun playing around with cousins / second cousins. We had a yummy lunch, sang some songs, did our traditional cereal pass along story, and played a relay race. The relay race involved unwrapping and eating random foods. I got pickles, Peter downed a fruit by the foot, Kendal had Oreos and a small wheel of cheese. The foods varied from prunes to V8 and anything in between. It was fun to watch and mingle with family; I love that the family party continues to be a tradition every year! After the party we spent the rest of the day at Grandma and Grandpa D's. We played and celebrated Grandpa's birthday!
Casey turned 34 a couple of weeks ago! He had early morning basketball practice so he could spend the afternoon with us! We took him out to Black Bear Diner for dinner. In December the teachers at Casey's school do a "12 pounds of Christmas" leading up the the holiday break. So they bring in goodies and food for a couple of weeks. He got spoiled with goodies from that as well as a load of student gifts / treats this past week that'll take him forever to get through. Casey also got to go see the new Star Wars on the 15th! Rhett and Aria had some tickets and Casey was able to go see the movie with them!
The kids and I made it to a few games this month. They did their usual snacking and playing around. Alice mostly stays near or with me. I've had to reign her in a few times because she wants to follow big brother and sister. I also have to keep an eye on random stuff that's been left on the bleachers. So far Casey's team has won a lot of games and lost a few games in the mix. He has a tournament this week and will be back to regular games next week.
We try and fit in a few traditions in December. Christmas jammies, picking out and giving toys to Toys for Tots, donating to local charities, trying to do a few light the world service opportunities, holiday classic movies, Christmas books every night, and making treats / cookies. This year the kids and I made gingerbread cookies. I was crazy and did cookies and Pizza on a night when Casey was at games. (He's away a lot in basketball season, however I learned my lesson and will fit it in next year when he's home.) The kids had so much fun making their cookies and pizza. Kendal made the nativity and Peter made a wookie family of us! Alice tolerated the mess and my lack of attention, and has benefited from all of the holiday chaos by getting treats here and there.
Tuesday the 19th! The kids got to wear their pajama's to school! Kendal loved it; Peter kept saying what if nobody else wears theirs. I got to go help out at Peter's class holiday party. I did a relay race with the kids. We did a penguin waddle (balloon between their legs), shovel of snow, (running with a cotton ball on a spoon) snowflake shuffle, (balancing a snowflake as they walked) Rudolph's nose (they had a dab of Vaseline and were supposed to dip their nose in pom poms) and mitten madness (where they had to don mittens and unwrap a Hershey kiss). The kids didn't really get the gist of a relay race and cheated at various parts, however they had fun and it was entertaining to say the least. Alice happily wandered around the party with Mrs. Philips (Oakley's mom - Oakley is Peter's class crush ; ).
We got to have Santa come to our house and visit that night. Kendal and Peter were thrilled he came. They were able to give him their list and received a candy cane. To put it mildly Alice was less than thrilled. When Santa came through the door she started fussing, but when I tried to put her on his lap she started shaking and screaming. She was there long enough for a picture and then we had to take her away and clam her down. Better luck next year.
