Decorating for Christmas

We always decorate for Christmas the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I love Christmas and want to enjoy every minute of the season--it lasts for such a short time.  The older kids have now moved away and are starting their own families and traditions, but they still like to help me decorate, which makes me so happy!  Because we went to the Butterfly Pavilion on Saturday, we are acutally decorating on Monday this year.  Landon, Megan, and Denya have gone back to school, and Blake is babysitting, so we are short on helpers this year. 

Britta got a puzzle for a Bingo prize and she got Melissa to help her put it together.  Austin was really surprised because he said that Melissa doesn't really enjoy doing puzzles. We decided that things are always more fun when you do them with someone else.

With Blake gone and Britta and Melissa busy puzzling, Ryan got to decorate most of the tree by himself.  He loved it and wasn't complaining.

Britta wondered how she would look if she was a tree and we put the star on her head.  Silly girl!

Austin has always loved nutcrackers!  He loves to open and shut the mouth and chased the kids around saying they were going to get bit when they were younger.  The first nutcracker Delwyn and I had was one I got as a white elephant gift when I worked at Utah State.  The kids played with it so much it broke.  Austin bought this nutcracker for me when he was a teenager, so it is special to me.  Maybe he had a guilty conscience about the old one.  Either way, this one means a lot to me.

Claire loved to look at the lights!  They are going home tomorrow and I am sure going to miss this cute girl!

Ryan hasn't been too sure about Miss Claire ever since she was born.  He thought babies just cry all the time.  This is their last night here, and he finally decided she was pretty cute and fun to hold and talk to.  He told me to make sure he gets up early enough to hold her one last time in the morning.  Funny Uncle Ryan!

Blake loves to get on the roof and he was excited that he was one who got to hang the lights this year.

The finished project!! It looked very colorful. Delwyn and Blake also set up a system so the lights flashed with music. They had a lot of fun with it. 

I've had this snowman for a long time.  He's so cute!!

The nucracker is actually quite tall.  Maybe his job is to guard the door.

Delwyn's Aunt Thelma made this for us one year when we were first married.  It is plastic canvas needlepoint and it looks nice hanging on a doorknob.

The kids love these little nutcrackers!

I also love snowmen.  Someone gave this to us--it's been such  a long time ago I can't remember who.

A cute snow covered train for Christmas.

My mom had an advent calendar like this when we were growing up.  One summer Glenda and  made one for our kids.  They really enjoy opening a pocket and hanging an ornament on the tree each.  The kids are good at always remembering whose turn it is.  I have thought about making one for each of my kids as they start to have their own families.  Mom still gets hers out every year and does it herself.  If one of the grandkids happens to spend the night during the month of December, they get to do it.

A couple of years ago, I took pictures of most of my Christmas decorations, so I decided to include them in this blog.  My Mom had a Christmas village that I have always loved, and so I started a collecction of my own a few years ago.  Wade bought me several of the pieces when he worked at Kohl's.

I made this nativity set at Relief Society when were first married.  I love the sparkly white color--it looks so pure.

I really love this nativity set.  The picture doesn't do it justice--it kind of blends in with the railing.  The pieces are quite tall and detailed in the way they are painted.

I bought this nativity set when the kids were very young.  It is plastic and very durable, so they could hold it all they wanted and I didn't have to worry about it getting broken.  It plays music and the figures sway back and forth.  I am so thankful for this time of year when we celebrate our Savior's birth.

Butterfly Pavilion

On Saturday, we went to the Butterfly Pavillion.  Melissa was not feeling well, so they didn't come with us.  Britta also stayed home.  I think she thought this would be a good chance to hold Claire all she wanted.  Landon and Blake make such handsome butterflies!

Our happy group!

It is fun to watch the bees--they are always so busy!  There is a clear plastic tube that leads to the outside so the bees can collect pollen.  There weren't any bees in it this time--it is probably too cold.  Ryan has always been afraid of bees and he wouldn't look.  He has never been stung, so we aren't sure what makes him so frighened.  We told him the bees were hibernating, but he still wouldn't come over.

I think Ryan's favorite part was the lobster.  It was fun to watch him walk around and wave his antenna.  We watched him for several minutes.

The butterflies are inside a rainforest area.  It is very tropical and humid.  There are beautiful plants and flowers.

The colors are so vibrant, I had to take several pictures.

They are all so pretty, couldn't decide which ones I liked best.

The butterflies fly around freely.  On one of our visits here when Denya was about 8, a butterfly landed on her shoulder.  We always remember that.

Such beautiful insects!

Denya gets a close up look!

They have a tarantuala named Rosie that people can hold.  No one in our group wanted to hold her, Denya finally decided to do it.  We have all held her on previous visits, but it is always scary!  The workers tell us she won't bite, her biggest fear is that she will fall.  The workers hold onto your hand, so no chance of freaking out and dropping Rosie.

After you hold Rosie, you get a sticker that says "I held Rosie!"  Denya wears her proudly
.

Megan wasn't too sure she wanted to do this!

Landon couldn't be outdone by the girls, so he gave in and had a turn.  We had a fun afternoon. 

Casa Bonita

Whenever anyone comes to visit us for the first time, we always go to Casa Bonita, so we took Megan Friday night.  It's a Mexican resturant with a really fun atmosphere.  The outside is like a big castle and there is a fountain.  We usually take some pictures outside, but it was too dark and cold.  There is a big waterfall with plays, divers, a puppet theatre, Black Bart's cave, an arcade, and a marachi band walks around playing music. They serve all you can eat soapillas with honey--our favorite part of the meal! 

Austin, Melissa, and Claire are standing in front of the waterfall on the bridge.  You can't see the water in the picture.  The sound was so relaxing it put Claire right to sleep!

Our favorite play is the one with the gorilla.  He leaves the stage and runs around the dining area during part of the performance.  The boys used to tease Denya that he was coming to get her and carry her off, and she has always been afraid of that.  She is still leery of the gorilla even though she is grown up.

You can see the waterfall in this picture.

Everyone wants their picture taken by the waterfall.

Casa Bonita was decorated so nicely for Christmas.  There were lights everywhere!

The divers are my favorite performers.  They climb up the rocks and do several different kinds of dives.  They make it look so easy.

One of the divers is a fire juggler.  At the end of his show, he dives into the water with his torches still lit.  We always have a really fun time when we go to Casa Bonita.

Thanksgiving Day

We had fabulous weather for Thanksgiving Day--it was about 65 degrees.  Landon and Megan went for a motorcyle ride, and they didn't even need jackets! Motorcycles are pretty close to the top of Landon's list of things he's grateful for.

Landon and Megan wanted to make stuffed mushrooms for part of dinner.  It involved a lot of chopping, so Denya and Britta were enlisted to help out.  They were delicious!

All of us--  we barely fit around the table!!  Following tradition, each person has three pieces of candy corn by their plate.  We go around the table and each person says something they are thankful for.  Some of the things mentioned:  I am thankful to be a grandma this year, Denya is thankful she has the opportunity to get an edcation, and Ryan is thankful for shelter.  Britta is thankful she can take piano lessons and for the power of music in our lives, Melissa is thankful Austin does the laundry!  Blake is thankful for large families.  Yay!

Have a little whip cream with your pie, Landon!  We had five pies for ten people--pumpkin, chocolate, peanut butter, apple and razzleberry.  Yum!  Pie and turkey are my two favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner.

Playing Bingo on Thanksgiving is a Palmer tradition that Delwyn did when he was growing up.  When someone wins, they get a wrapped gift.  No gifts can be opened until the end.  Then the trading begins!  The kids like to play several cards at once to give them better chances of winning.

Even Claire got in on the fun!

Let the playing begin!

One of Ryan's prizes was a jar of Nutella with breadsticks for dipping.  Austin tried to get Ryan to trade, but no luck.  They both love Nutella!  Austin was the one who got us addicted to it.

Britta shows off her box of mini chocolates.

Austin got the Corn Nuts this year.  Corn Nuts will be favorite Thanksgiving bingo memory after last year when Denya guessed they were one of her prizes and she HATES corn nuts! So when Denya went into the kitchen to get some pie, Austin switched one of Denya's presents (before they were opened) so she had the corn nuts again this year.  It was several minutes before she noticed and made Austin trade back with her. We all had a good laugh. 

Austin and Landon looked so handsome in their sweaters--I just had to take a picture!

Fun family times!  I am grateful that my kids all have such good, close relationships with each other and enjoy the time they spend together.  This was an especially great Thanksgiving.  Wish Wade and Kimberlea  could have been here with us.