From Provo with Love

So I guess I never finished our Panama trip posts, life once again got in the way and then the holidays hit. I blame the dollhouse, but that's for another post. 

Below is a email to us from my sister-in-law Michele, while we were in Panama and the kids were at her house. Thank you again Michele and all the family that helped out during our trip!

Hi Camille,

 

I'm assuming you can get email down yonder, so I thought I'd share a few funnies from our day with Jane, Josh, and Elliott.

 

First I have to say that I'd be happy to adopt Elliott any time. He is a sweetheart and was absolutely great this weekend. Happy, easy-going, cute and cuddly. He and Andrew got along great. I think there were exactly two times the entire time that they each thought they needed the same thing, and that was over a ball and the fire truck. May I suggest getting him a ride on toy for Christmas or sooner. He really likes Andrew's. He also really likes our dog :) Just saying.

 

Now for the funnies.

 

This afternoon Jane was complaining that Hannah had gone to her room and didn't want to play with her anymore. After a few minutes of listening to Jane's complaints, Josh turned to her and in a very exasperated Camille imitation said, "If you'd just quit heckling her, she might want to play with you again!"

 

Later I was getting ready to make chocolate chip cookies and trying to use this as incentive to get the kids to eat their carrots. I told Jane that I made pretty darn good cookies and I knew she was going to want one. She replied, "My Mom's cookies are better. She makes the bestest cookies."

 

Five year-olds are pretty funny. Jane is doing great; Josh is having a hard time, but if anyone can coax him out of it, Danna can. I hope all is well with you two. Have a great time and don't worry about home. You'll be back soon enough, and we all know how rare and precious couple time is. So, enjoy!

 

Love you guys.

 

Michele

Twins Christmas Party

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> When I was in kindergarten my mom came to help with our class Christmas party. We made a little clay snowman ornament together. I can remember her helping me add fringe to the snowman's scarf and one of the other moms commenting on how fancy my mom was. I still have that little snowman and it's one of my very favorite ornaments to put on the tree.
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> This year I was able to help with the twins Christmas party. We made not gingerbread gingerbread houses out of graham crackers with enough frosting from a tub to power a kindergarten class for a week. The kids were told not to eat any candy until they got home, so naturally that was strictly adhered to.
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> The kids were also learning the words to It must be Santa. And while it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen, that song got stuck in my head for a week. No joke.
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> It was a good time all around, I love my little Kindergarteners!
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Meet the Cruppets

This picture could be an Awkward Family Photo if these puppets were related, or people, or well, alive. They are also less creepy/starey in person, or in puppet.

I made these little people for Josh for Christmas to go with the puppet theater he got. It is so much fun to make puppets. I'm not sure how many YouTube videos I watched on puppet making but they were all fascinating.

Josh and Jane have been putting on puppet shows for anyone who will sit still. Mostly the shows consist of one puppet giving a long winded explanation of the performance that will never take place. After such a long introduction naturally the puppeteer has a much better show in mind that needs another explanation. The other popular show has two puppets that fight over something until the fight escalates to head butting and both puppets lose interest.

I love that the twins love these little puppets too.

Merry Christmas

From our Boodles to yours!

Halloween 2010

Well, better late than never, right?? Halloween came and went this year in a gust of crafty activity and cold wind. It always flies by much to fast for me because the end of the month and Halloween means the start of cold weather, that Christmas is just right around the corner and we all know it's just down hill from there until Spring.

We headed to Dixon's for the traditional pre-trick or treating cozy soup dinner with yummy sour dough bread and lots of Family. The rain threatened the festivities this year and that is also the biggest reason we have no pictures of Elliott. When we were all suited up and ready to go but it was pouring, and once Ell was out of his costume there was no going back. We did manage about a half hour between cloud bursts out on the rain soaked streets begging for candy, and for that the kids were happy.

I love trick or treating with the kids. Dixon, Danna and I walked with them and they sped from house to house with their cousins asking for treats. I love over hearing the kids commentary on the candy they are given. Jane let a few people know that she was only allowed to have one piece of candy.

I also love the kids costumes this year. Josh was an on and off again robot with a possibility of a octopus in there somewhere. Luckily or me he settled on a robot and so we were able to make his costume together. Jane surprised everyone by choosing to be a Princess and we had a lot of fun making her crown and scepter. I bought a back up costume for Ell just in case we couldn't find Josh's old Nacho costume, it's a good thing too because he ended up being a purple dragon after all.