Playing with presents

The best part of the day after Christmas, is getting to play with all of the fun new presents you received.  Cambrie received a wooden clock that she got to paint however she wanted.  So we pulled out the paintbrushes and finger paints and let the girls go for it. 

Cambrie has the same quirk Jeremy does, when she concentrates really hard she sticks her tongue out. 

But all that concentration was worth it.  Her clock looks fantastic. 

Another present the girls received was H2Goo.  It was supposed to turn their bath water into a giant tub of goo.  I think we had the ratios wrong because instead of goo, we just got small chunks of goo.  It was really strange, and a fun adventure.

Christmas

Christmas at our house begins with Christmas Eve.  We read the nativity story, talk about the true meaning of Christmas, open new Christmas ornaments and leave cookies for Santa.  McKenzie was excited to get the present unwrapping started. 

And these are their ornaments for this year.  McKenzie always gets a snowman, and Cambrie always gets a puppy.  Jeremy and I get a new one based on major activities of the year.  This year it was a runner :)

This year instead of making cookies for Santa, we gave Santa some of our best neighbor goodies that we received.  He thought the peanut butter fudge was delicious! 

Christmas morning came and this is what the girls found by their stockings.  Kit got a new bed, and McKenzie got a teeter-totter from Grandma & Grandpa. 

The girls wasted no time before trying out that new toy. 

Then they started opening presents.  Cambrie got a new headlamp just for her. 

New clothes for Kit. 

A fun book from Grandma about a magic moss covered rock. 

And both girls got handmade turtles from Hannah. 

McKenzie got a big-girl sleeping bag. 

 A cradle for her baby. 

And a CD player with two microphones for singing and dancing. 

Considering how excited she was to open presents the night before we were really surprised when Christmas morning came and she didn't really care about them.  In fact, she was so hungry that the only thing she could think about was snacking, especially on their new lollipops (which turned her face yellow for the rest of the morning). 

It seemed like we kept trying to find McKenzie to have her open presents, she did a lot of hiding.

We did convince her to be the Christmas elf for a bit and deliver packages.  For being so small that girl has got some serious strength. 

This was a year of ski goodies for Jeremy and I.  We each got a new pair of skis.  I got a helmet, and Jeremy got some sweet ski poles. 

His favorite gift however, would have to be his Nerf Gun.  He immediately loading it and started shooting things...and us.  Oh happy husband. 

We also got some goofy things.  I got a caramel apple which I have been seriously craving, and it did not disappoint. 

Jeremy got a glowing Santa nose, McKenzie chose that for him on one of our shopping trips. 

McKenzie with her spoils. 

Cambrie with her loot. 

 Me with my sweet things. 

Jeremy with his gear. 

Later that evening we had our neighbors over for dinner.  Cambrie loves playing with Jacob, and even though she tried to play American Girl doll store with him, he held his ground and they played on the teeter totter instead. 

Jacob also taught Cambrie how to play with a dreidal.  Jacob's family is Jewish so that night before dinner they showed us how they light the menorah and Jacob got to open a new gift.  It was quite a blend of Christmas and Hanukkah that night.  Paul likes photography, so while he was over he asked to take a few family pictures.  We ended up with some that make me smile. 

Christmas snow

Last night as it started to snow, Cambrie opened the door and exclaimed, "Christmas snow!"  I couldn't agree more.  Christmas is in three short days and it's always nice to have a white Christmas.  This morning the girls were supposed to get their Christmas pictures taken, but seeing as the roads were impassable and the snow was just too inviting, we decided to reschedule and make today a play day.  We headed out to our back porch first just so that we could throw our girls into the snowdrifts out back.  Believe it or not, both girls are standing in this picture.  McKenzie didn't approve. 

After playing in the backyard a bit, our neighbors came out to play too and so we walked across the street for some miniature sledding.  While Jeremy packed down our route, the girls hung out waiting for the fun to begin. 

The hill wasn't very long and it wasn't very steep, but for Cambrie it was just right.  She could get the speed she wanted and could still trek up the hill. 

McKenzie still didn't approve of our activities, she was too cold, but we dragged her along for the ride anyway. 

Here's Jeremy heading down to meet Cambrie at the bottom. 

And just for kicks we hefted Cambrie up into the tree for a picture, "Hi!".  I hope the snow sticks around for Christmas!

Cambrie's First Ski Trip

Yesterday was Cambrie's first day up on the slopes.  Jeremy had the day off, the weather was beautiful, and Jeremy and I had discount tickets that we thought we should use, so on we went up to Eldora.  It turned out to be the perfect situation for teaching a kid to ski.  The parking lot was directly below the bunny hill, in fact we parked at the bottom of the bunny hill, so it was super quick to get up to the magic carpet and very convenient to get in and out of car during the day.

 

We decided that instead of getting a sitter, McKenzie would just hang out with us.  She was a great little helper and wanted so badly to go skiing with her sister. 

Sorry sister, maybe next year. 

The night before Jeremy had gone over the basics with Cambrie about stepping in and out of her skis.  She did great at home but once she got on the slippery snow it was a bit tougher and she needed a little extra help. 

Eldora has a magic carpet for the beginners.  What a great idea.  Cambrie could step on all by herself and get herself off.  She needed help moving from the exit point but it's hard to get moving when you're on those rubber mats, trust me. 

Even though Jeremy and I have both been skiing our whole lives, we've never had to teach anyone before and weren't quite sure the best way to do it.  So Jeremy decided to just put her between his legs and start by giving her rides down the mountain so that she could get used to the sensation. 

After a couple times down with Daddy, Cambrie wanted me to go down with her.  About half way down she wanted me to let her go.  So I did.  She cruised all by herself for a bit, then when she started picking up too much speed I'd grab her from behind and we'd reset. 

She thought that was a blast until she got away from me up top as I was getting off the magic carpet and she started down the hill all by herself.  I saw that she was heading straight towards a pile of ski school kids and that she was going to crash into them pretty hard.  Luckily she decided to fall down before she rammed them, which I thought was a good choice.  After that she made sure that I was right with her even after I let her go.

  After a few more runs we decided it was time for lunch.  The girls took off their snow gear and hung out in the back of the car while they ate.  They were very happy to be warm and to take off all of that extra bulk.

At this point Jeremy and I decided it would be a perfect time for us to go try out our new skis.  I set up the DVD player for the girls in the car while he went exploring.  Once he was done he came back for babysitting duty while I took my turn.  The snow wasn't great, but the mountain is a lot of fun.  And my skis! Oh my skis! Love them!  They are quick, they are fast, and I can't wait to see what they do in the powder. 

By then the girls' movie was over and it was back up to the bunny hill.  Cambrie did much better this time and kept getting braver and braver. She kept asking to go on the chair lift, but we told her she had to learn to stop by herself first.  So she tried it and did a pretty good job actually.  Not good enough for the chair lift, but closer.  She was so disappointed when it was time to go. 

McKenzie desperately needed a nap and was becoming more and more miserable.  I have to say though I was shocked that the girls lasted until 3:30.  I thought we'd be out of there around 1:00.  Not that I'm complaining, I'm just excited for when we get to go again!

Hammond's Candy Factory

To beat some stuck-at-home-because-it-is-cold-and-snowing-outside blues, McKenzie and I joined some friends at Hammond's Candy Factory this morning for a candy tour and candy shop stop.  It was actually really cool watching them make the candy.  The candy cane goo had to be pulled like taffy, layered by hand, twisted by hand, cut with scissors, then bent into a candy cane shape also by hand.  It was kind of hypnotizing to watch as a matter of fact.  I didn't know if I could get a good picture of Kenzie watching the show, but she turned and smiled like a pro. 

After the tour we each got a free candy cane.  I tried getting a picture of McKenzie holding her candy, but someone had just opened the doors to the candy store and I completely lost her attention at that point. 

We ended up picking up some candy for gingerbread houses, and I got some stocking stuffers.  She looks like she just robbed the place :)