The kids wanted to know what was going to happen now that we were on day 25 on the advent calendar. Luckily there was plenty of stuff given so Isabel could have her creative, fun craft for the day! Surprise! Even though Ben was on the naughty list for a few days, Santa did come to our house! Ben was surprised cause the day before, our neighbor Steve was talking to the kids telling them that he had talked to Santa and told him to stay out of our cul-de-sac or else he would haul him away in his cop car. (Someone said that Steve said he would shoot him too...) Well, Christmas morning came and Isabel rolled over and asked if it was 'morning, you know, when you could wake up' and I said yes. She then asked Ben if he wanted to go see what Santa had brought them and Ben looked at me and said, 'Santa didn't bring nothing, Steve shot him." He wasn't distraught or anything, it was just a statement..... crazy kid. I had to explain that Steve was just teasing (for the hundredth time) and we got ready to go see stockings :)
Here they are in their new pj's from Christmas Eve, looking at what Santa brought them!
The first thing they saw was their snow globes. Santa put family pictures and and picture of them with him inside of it! They are also plastic! Santa is one smart cookie.
Ben was excited for his chocolate candy cane! That is all that he asked for from Santa, chocolate.
I got a picture of Isabel with all the stuff Santa brought! She loves her art stuff and bandaids and electric toothbrush!
Ben's favorite thing was a tie between the chocolate and the fishing pole. I didn't get a picture with him and his stocking stuff because he had to open and play with everything right then.... and it got scattered everywhere!
Then we opened family presents! (Notice the necklace? It's the one from Grandma Morgan from the Philippines) Brady got the kids new hats. I LOVE them. They look so cute in them. The kids got clothes, Kung Fu Panda 2, which has now taken the place of How to Train Your Dragon in Ben's eyes, a punching bag for Ben, 2 pairs of boots for Isabel, and some other stuff. The kids got Brady an angry birds card game. Brady got me an alternative down comforter. It is excellent! I got Brady and I tickets to go see the Harlem Globetrotters in February, a new pillow and some new basketball jerseys (his old ones stunk) and Santa brought him buffalo jerky and some power bars.
Brady and I decided that it was worth me waiting at Walmart on black Friday to get the kids new bikes for $30. Ben's is a little big, but with the way he is growing, it will be fine in a month or so :) Isabel's knees were almost hitting her handlebars on her old bike, so her new one fits her perfect!
The kids love riding in the snow. We only have one rule.... no crying when you fall unless you are really hurt :) They tend to fall a lot in the snow. Luckily no injuries so far. You can see a pair of Isabel's new boots in this picture, and one of her new Hello Kitty shirts. Her other boots are purple sequin ones!
After presents, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Yamashita's for breakfast and more presents. We were all spoiled. Ben got clothes, toys, new spiderman shoes and a cool ride on tractor with trailer! Isabel got clothes, shoes, art stuff, a tangled doll and a leap pad explorer. She loves it because it she can take pictures then edit them! Plus it came with a tangled game ;)
After presents, we all went to Sacrament meeting at Grandma Tracie's ward. We got home later and Isabel looked at me and said, "It was fun to go to church with grandma, wasn't it?"
We had a wonderful Christmas. It's kind of crazy to think that it is over already. We had so much fun this month with our activities each day, that it is sad that it is over. Some of the things we did, that I didn't get pictures of, were; lights at Temple Square, make treats for their primary teachers and deliver them, read Christmas stories, watch Christmas movies, decorate Great-grandma Maxine's door up at the nursing home, cut out snowflakes, make jello santas and snowmen, etc.... The only thing we didn't get to do was snow activities. It's been cold, but no snow yet.
I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and extended family that care about us. I am so grateful for my Savior and for His life and example. It's wonderful to have a time of year set aside, and special Christmas traditions that bring us closer to Him. Merry Christmas!
The kids absolutely LOVE waking up to snow! The first snow this year they were so excited they went out in their jammies! At least Isabel put on gloves and a hat before going outside to get her breakfast of snow :) 
Ben put boots on before he made it outside! We haven't had a lot of snow this year, which is ok with me. We still haven't been able to go sledding yet.... we didn't make it last year either :( Well, the groundhog said 6 more weeks of winter, so there is still hope!
Brady is the webelos leader and the kids had to make a box sled to race at pack meeting. It got stored at our house. All kids need is a cardboard box! Luckily we had 2 big boxes left from Christmas, so I made 2 more cars. The kids are still playing in them.
Nara got her tonsils and adenoids out and got tubes in her ears this past week. Chris came over to fix my computer and brought Nara and Jen and Jon and Tamina were having their ducts cleaned, so Ari and Sarah came to play too! Here they all are chillin' on the couch watching Tangled. So cute! Glad Nara' surgery went good. Here's to a speedy recovery!
We have been getting packages from the Philippines the past couple of weeks. Mom and dad are starting to send stuff home. They could only take 40lbs each to the island, so they decided to just send stuff home instead of taking it with them. We HAVE to air the stuff out. It smells like all of my stuff I brought home from Brazil..... like mold. They sent home 2 nativities this week. Isabel was in charge of putting them on the table so they could air out. She had to make sure all of the figures were looking right at baby Jesus. Isn't she so cute! Notice the Rapunzel dress?? She has worn it everyday for almost 2 weeks now. She told me she wants her hair to grow all the way to the floor, like Rapunzels', and then when she tuns 18 she wants me to color it yellow. HaHa! Her hair is already really long, and she complains about it when we brush it, just imagine if it went to the floor..... At least I don't have to worry about that argument until she is 18 :)
And last but not least, I made treats for scouts and they turned out cool! I figured I should put it on this blog cause I have lots of rice crispy ideas here :) I made regular rice crispy treats and spread them as far as they would go on a cookie sheet. Then I melted some dark chocolate chips and some butterscotch chips (1/2 pkg each) and spread it over the top. Then I rolled them up cinnamon roll style and sliced like you would a cinnamon roll. They turned out really yummy! Chewy and chocolatey! They would work good with just frosting too! You can make anything with rice crispy treats :)
