Arnold Family Christmas Gathering

 Cameron and his new stuffed friend, Baymax (from his favorite movie, Big Hero 6) all ready to head out to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas.  Thankfully the roads were mostly plowed and we didn't have too hard of a time getting out there!

 The boys enjoying their croissants and hot chocolate.  Cameron needed new clothes afterward!  He had hot chocolate all over himself!

 Kenzie, Megan, and Aubrey eating downstairs in the play room.

Cameron was happy with his new Duplo blocks.  Parker was busy enjoying his new Magic 8 ball (and kept asking me, "Mom, is it true?"), and Kenzie was happy with her jewelry making kit and ran off to play with the girls.

 Parker and Cameron got massive nerf guns as their presents from Grandma & Grandpa.  Uncle Wes had fun helping Cameron with his.

Here's a video of the boys shooting their guns in the spare bedroom.  All those darts, and by the end of the night we'd only lost 2 and had 2 rip!  I thought that was impressive in itself.

 Snacking all evening on cheese and veggie trays.  We always try a few kinds of cheeses.  This year I bought a Munster from France, and it was stinky.  Some people loved it, and others hated it, but everyone agreed it smelled very bad!  We were grateful for the domed lid on the cheese plate!

 Uncle Arnie tried to lay down in the little play room.  Cameron wasted no time covering him with play food.

Here is a random video of the ducks waddling about in the snow.  It was quite the White Christmas!

Christmas Morning

 

 Christmas morning!  I'm sure it goes without saying, but the kids were very, very happy.  They loved every single thing they opened.

 Here's a happy Kenzie with her Lego Friends jet.  That lego city in her room keeps expanding...

Parker was so excited that he couldn't sleep.  At 2:00am he was standing in the hall saying, "I can't go to sleep."  I told him he had to actually lay down and close his eyes.  He tried to tell me, "I already tried that and it didn't work!"  He was the last one awake on Christmas morning because he'd been up so late!

Here's just a random little clip during present time.

Kenzie with a million owls and legos, just like she wanted!

A happy Parker with all his new toys.

Cameron was very possessive of his new kitchen!  At first I stacked some presents next to it, and he wanted those out of the way!  He tolerated this picture for a second, but then we had to clear it out and let him cook.  (He had been cooking on a cardboard box, so we were excited for him to see his new fancy kitchen.  His first words when seeing it were, "What the heck?"  When Daddy told him it was his, he was very happy and got right to work!)  It was a great morning.  They're fun kids!

Christmas Eve

 I don't know what Kenzie thought was so funny, but I thought this was an accurate picture of the goofy family I live with!  We had a little Christmas Eve dinner of roast beef, potatoes, brussels sprouts (yes, my kids eat them!), and rolls.  

 I love watching the kiddos exchange the presents they picked out for each other.  This year, Parker was so excited to give Kenzie and Cameron their presents that he eagerly handed his presents out first and was the last to open his own.  Here Kenzie was hugging him and thanking him for her toy owl that hoots little songs.  She was thrilled.

 Here Parker was showing an eager Cameron the drill set he'd picked out for him.  It's blurry because they were both wiggly with happiness.

 Parker did finally get to his own presents, and was very happy about the nerf bow from Cameron and legos from Kenzie.

Cameron went to work with that drill!  He also got a hammer from Kenzie.  They obviously know their little brother enjoys being, "Fix it man."

Cookies for Santa

I really enjoyed having the kiddos all in the kitchen last night.  They were all eager to help make and decorate cookies for Santa. 

 Cameron cut out some of the cookies, and then he played with the leftover scraps of dough for a bit.

 Kenzie's turn to roll out cookies.

Everyone helping decorate.  Sprinkles everywhere!  They each picked a special cookie for Santa's plate, and then helped themselves to a few of the rest!

Christmas Houses

 Sunday evening the kiddos continued their tradition of decorating a little graham cracker house.   Kenzie insisted on doing everything by herself.  She is growing up too quickly.

 Cameron placed all the candies himself!  (He licked each one before he placed it, too!) "I want to eat this," he repeated over and over.  Quite a few candies were eaten as he decorated, and once he was done he continued to take candy back off it and eat it.  

 Parker with his finished house.

 Cameron yelling, "Ta-da!"

Kenzie with her completed masterpiece.  Our counter is a lot more festive now!

Kenzie's Dance Recital

Thursday night Kenzie had her dance recital.  She has been clogging for a few years now, and still has fun with it.  Parker and Cameron are good sports about coming to watch their big sister, which is very cute.  As each dance number started, Cameron kept asking, "Where Didi?"  He was excited when it was finally her turn, and spotted her before I did!

 Here is a short clip of the end of her dance.  Kenzie is on the left.

Giving Daddy a hug afterward.  Notice the awesome rainbow socks she chose to wear.  I like that she always finds a way to add her own style to the costumes.  

My Favorite Bookmark

Today is Kyle's birthday, so since I've been trying to post random memories each year, I thought I would take a picture of this little note.  I've had it in my scriptures as a bookmark since I was a teenager.  Kyle drew this one week when the speaker droned on and on long after the time sacrament meeting should have ended.  I still remember how bored we were, which made this note hilarious to me.  It still makes me chuckle, actually.  Happy Birthday to my goofy little brother.

Snow, and Lots of It

 The winter has been mild up until now!  The kids were very excited to see the snow today.  It took 45 minutes for me to take them to school and get back home this morning, though!  (Normally it's under 10 minutes) Anywhere else this would have definitely been a snow day from school!  Crazy Utah.

Kenzie and Parker ran around after school.  (Cameron, who is still fighting a cold, was taking a nap.)  At least now it feels like it's almost Christmas!

Festival of Trees

It has become a tradition for us to walk around and see the Festival of Trees each year.  This year we circled the full parking lot for so long that Cameron fell asleep, and he wasn't too happy to be woken up and stuck in his stroller.  He was a bit grumpy.  Kenzie enjoyed it, but Parker cracked me up looking around at the trees. "Well," he gasped after the first row. "This is very interesting!"

Here's Parker with the Zelda tree, which he also found interesting!