O Christmas Tree!

I think I must be getting old. See, when I was a kid, it took Christmas FOREVER to come! I remember hearing those "old folks" exclaiming at how quickly the last year had passed, and their surprise, and it seemed, almost a distress, that Christmas was here again. Now I find myself saying those very things! Don't get me wrong, I am no scrooge! I love Christmas, but I do feel like I just put all of those boxes of Christmas things away! And yet, here it is again!
Well, last weekend we pulled out the Christmas tree and decorated it up! The kids love it, of course. On Saturday, Steve took the boys (minus Carter) to a BYU basketball game right here in Chicago, the boys were super excited to go. While they were gone, Sydney, Carter and I set up the tree. Sydney requested that we watch the movie with the people singing Alleluia. It took me a minute to figure that one out, but then I recalled that last year we had watched a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert while we set up the tree. And thus a tradition is born.
On Sunday night, we watched the new David Archuleta Concert as a family and put the decorations on the tree. I LOVE those concerts, and I think the kids do to.
Here are a few shots of the fun...


Carter was especially interested in all of the "balls". Thankfully, we have shatter-proof balls for our tree. We will leave the rest up to your imagination...


Ahhh, David Archuleta...



And then came the grand ceremony of placing the star upon the top of the tree. After much debate, Sydney was granted that "high" honor. Up the ladder Daddy and Sydney went and all seemed to be going well...


Reach Sydney, reach! So close...

Suddenly that honor didn't seem so fantastic any more! You should have heard Sydney shriek! All the while Daddy saying, "I've got you Sydney, I've got you". But, to no avail...


And so, down she came. The star did finally make it up, but Daddy had to do that by himself.
Thus, Christmas season begins!

Pics for Dad

A New Fashion Statement

Carter really enjoys taking clothes out of Sydney's drawers and then attempting to put them on. The boys find this especially entertaining when the article of clothing is Sydney's underwear. The other day I was working on the computer when Carter came downstairs to find me...

Apparently, shorts are not just for the bottom anymore!

Trick or Treat!

Another Halloween here and gone, and we have the mountains of candy to show for it! We enjoyed having some nice weather last night for Trick or Treating, not too cold at all! This year we escorted one Roman Soldier, a Knight in Shining Armor, Rapunzel, A Skittle and a fearsome Dinosaur out and about the neighborhood.

It is always fun to introduce a little one to the joys of Halloween and Trick or Treating. Carter seemed to actually enjoy wearing his costume, and he especially enjoyed receiving candy for his cuteness. By the end of the evening his bucket was getting heavy, but he was not about to let me hold it.


As a side note, I thought I would share a picture of Spencer's pumpkin. This took him several hours, but he muscled through and really enjoyed it. He came away with first prize at the Pumpkin contest at church.

It was such a beautiful night, which made Trick or Treating lots of fun. We especially enjoyed having some special friends (Sydney's favorite friend Ella and her family) to go out with.





And of course the sorting of the loot...


Carter really enjoyed this part! He loved the suckers especially because he could open those himself. He would open one, taste it, open another, taste that. Over and over...

So much fun! Halloween may come with lots of sugar highs, but I absolutely love seeing kids running around in their costumes with huge smiles on their faces! Happy Halloween!