Santa Clause Came to Town!

Leslie planned a Santa Party for Saturday morning. She wants to make this into a tradition for family members who are around. Santa came to visit and pulled gifts from his sack. Mark was much more interested in playing with the


ball then sitting on Santa's lap and Hailey started crying the minute he walked into the room. Caleb just wanted to pull his hair. Still, the party was a success and Santa even had a gift for Dad and Todd.







Leslie's folks were here for the weekend and they helped her prepare the homemade donuts for the party. Diane glazed and Richard cooked while Leslie cut out donuts.
Play time, including ringaround the rosies was a big success too.

IT IS FINISHED!

Dec. 10, 2009 - Well, our gingerbread creation is done. Brett and Dad and I stayed up until midnight last night and then I finished the last few things this morning. It turned out great - so fun. I could not have done it without Dad and Kyle and Brett. They were immeasurably helpful. Thank you Thank you!
The details we put in this year are the,
funnest part, so enlarge the photos so you can see them. I really like how the fountain turned out, complete with frozen falling "water" and blinking
lights. The North Pole Postal Service mail box was fun to make and I like the pile of coal in the barn for naughty boys and girls. The "days till Christmas" numbers are magnetic so they can be changed each day. Brett designed the sleigh at left and Dad made the wind sock which is a wonderful "sleighport" detail. Notice the doghouse below that Zachary and Eric made. And thanks again to Shanalee for the dog. I forgot to put the dog's name on the doghouse before it was cemented down and now I can't reach in to do it. However, I would like suggestions for the name of the dog. What would Santa name his dog?
It is nice to have it finished and tomorrow Dad and Kyle will carry it into the museum. Thank you to everyone for all the great ideas. It was a lot of fun. (but I'm not sure if I will do it again, I might be getting too old for this kind of stress)

My life is gingerbread!

We are making great progress. Monday I worked on the house, especially the inside. Brett came over in the late evening and helped Dad put on the roof and start the shingling. Dad also did the electrical work.
We plan to light the runway, the fountain, and the light posts. Yesterday, Tuesday, I worked on the barn. I think the reindeer names are a nice touch. Brett came over again in the evening and he and Dad finished the shingling and did the masonry work on the chimney. Brett also designed and built me a sled for Santa. I started getting all the little things ready like the signs and the mailbox, the runway and the candy fountain. The end is in sight!

gingerbread update

Last night Kyle came over and David was home from Tithing Settlement, so we got a lot done. The Workshop is almost complete and the barn and house are up and started. I have 5 days counting today. Wish me luck.

Big Weekend for Katelyn

Katelyn was baptised by her dad on Saturday December 5. She looked beautiful. I loved the way Tiffany fixed her hair, and the little baptism outfit her Grandma Murray made for her was perfectly gorgeous. She radiated. I'm so proud of Katelyn for her decision to be baptised.
Katelyn has lots of Priesthood support!









The baptism was in the morning. In the afternoon katelyn had her Suzuki Book 1 Recital. She did very very well.
We do love you Katelyn!

More gingerbread

Santa's Workshop is almost finished. David finished the shingling this morning. Now I can finish up the dormer windows and I'll do the side door later. Next I'll do Santa's house. I have to turn this in one week from today. I hope we get done.

Happy Birthday David

I took David birthday shopping after Thanksgiving and we bought a new camera to replace the one dropped in the water at Zion's. It is a nice camera as you can tell from these very low light level photos - and all the ones at the Thanksmas party too.
Be sure to wish your Dad a happy birthday. He's practically an old man!

The Thanksmas Party

Grandma Schwieder's Christmas gathering was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was also Grandma and Grandpa's 59th Wedding Anniversity. The family gathered to celebrate both.
These are my favorite photos from the weekend - both at my house and at the party.







Everyone played games to receive their gifts. The kids had to shake doubles. Many of them had no idea what doubles were, but they were willing to shake the dice.
Grandma put together a video of old family photos and video clips. David was the star and the other siblings complained that there were more photos of him. Of course there were - he is the best.

Gingerbread update

The construction on Santa's Workshop is going well. We had some trouble with the tower, but it is now standing. I failed to get photos of Zachary and Eric helping me decorate the doghouse, but I'm sure there will be doghouse photos later. David thought we should skip the dog house this year. He claims there aren't dogs at the northpole. I told him his daughters would disagree.