Winter Update

Time for an update...

I figured I would accomplish a whole list of "I'll do it over Christmas break" tasks and so far I haven't gotten many checked off the list. I guess there's always Spring Break, right? One of my items was to update the severely neglected blog...so here we go!

(I just may go back and do another post about Halloween, we shall see!)

This little diva LOVES to play on the iPad and it's not too often that she gets it all to herself...It's amazing how fast she has picked up on how to slide her finger across, press buttons, and maneuver from game to game. Incredible.

Our annual Christmas tree hunt was a huge success this year. We had beautiful weather, no snow to trek through, and found a wonderful 12 foot balsam fir tree. The kids got to see Santa, meet some reindeer, and enjoy some cookies and cider.

The finished tree...the first time. Let's just say that I put the tree up TWICE this year. Yeah, won't go into too many details to spare Darren's feelings...but whenever I see our new heavy duty tree stand from now on I will remember Christmas 2011!

The first weekend of December we ventured up to Fargo to do our Glur Christmas with Darren's mom, Susan, being home from Phoenix. Unfortunately I wasn't in a picture taking mood as I have no pictures of the annual limo ride or any family pics to share. Next year. I did, however, grab the camera to steal a shot of these two cutie patooties sleeping so peacefully. That's Landon on the left and cousin Sam on the right.

Landon gave Grandma Susan a lesson or two in how to use the iPad.

Gingerbread houses are so much more fun to make with a two year old!

The weekend before Christmas, we celebrate with Darren's dad and his wife. The kids were spoiled...again...with some really cool gifts. Landon got a full size hockey net for the driveway and Addison got her own pink four-wheeler. Darren and I were spoiled with a brand new Keurig coffee machine. Love it.

The lack of snow this month has been very interesting for playing outside. It's crazy when the kids can get bundled up and go to the park in December and play on the swings and slides. We have yet to see any snow piles to play in, but no one in the Glur houseold is complaining. In fact, it snowed a few flakes this morning and when Landon looked out the window and saw the snow he said, "Why is it snowing mommy? Tell it to stop!" I told the snow to stop and sure enough, a few hours later it had stopped and the snow was completely melted. Landon claims it's because WE told it to stop.

Once again, we spent Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's house and spent Christmas Day at my Aunt Susan's house. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. Every year gets crazier and crazier at my mom and dad's house as the grandkids get older. This year was especially crazy in the fact that Ashley, Loren, and Jackson moved into their new house on Friday and we finished cleaning and moving them out on Friday night. Now there is a nice big playroom downstairs at my mom and dad's which kept some of the craziness downstairs this year. Hmmm...wonder what next year will be like on Christmas? Crazier yet?

I'm sure my Grandma won't approve of this picture, but it's the only one I took. This year was especially hard for them as they had a house fire just a few short weeks ago. They lost the top floor of their house and are very lucky to have gotten out of the house safely. Right now they are living in a condo in Buffalo until their house can be repaired and restored. They lost all of their photos due to the smoke and heat damage and so each member of ouf family gave them framed photos to hang up to replace the lost ones. They were very touched.

Annual attempt at a kids/grandkids picture...fail...again...

Fred, our crazy little Elf of the Shelf, must have had good things to report to Santa this year, because the kids were definitely rewarded!

Before...

And, after...

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas...and a Happy New Year! I am enjoying my last few days off with the kids and trying to get a few more things checked off my list. It feels good to have the tree down, decorations put away, and house clean and in order again. The office is on it's way to being reorganized and next on my list is to tackle the dreaded job of getting my Thirty One receipts, mileage, and tax info ready to go. Yuck. On a positive note, Darren and I decided that we need a little vacation away for a a few days and are headed to...

VEGAS! Can't wait! We'll be gone January 12-15 and looking forward to some sleeping in, nice meals without screaming children, shopping, relaxing, a few shows, and time together!