Christmas Morning

This is what the girls woke up to Christmas morning! They were quite surprised to get these vanity desks!

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we invited my in-laws over for dinner and to celebrate the festivities. My mother in-law had a 6:00 AM flight the next day to head to China to spend a week with Erica and Jeff before they come home. I made a large ham and tried to make my yummy home made rolls. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking straight and ending up burning the rolls! Drat! Wes then proceeded to go to 3 different stores to find some rolls to compliment our little feast. The food issues aside, it was a wonderful evening.

We ate, exchanged gifts and laughed! Adelle received from Grandma and Grandpa a my little pony bus with ponies. Adelle has been asking Santa for this toy and was quite excited. Lydia received two new Webkinz. A frog and a white cat. I got a 22" computer monitor that I just LOVE. It is super great, especially when I am working from home. Thank you Ellen! She camped out overnight at Office Depot to get this goody! Wes received a gift card to Tandy Leather and a Dress Form.

I bought Ellen a fun necklace and gave Bill and Ellen and updated family picture. The boys also got gifts from their parents since Ellen was leaving the next morning. The funniest part of the evening was that everyone was hugging each other when they received a gift and me trying to capture it on my digital camera. The Oates are generally not huggy people and I just had to have the moment. My slow camera just couldn't capture it in time! Everyone thought it was hilarious.

Wes made me a beautiful, Asian top which I just LOVE. It was actually the second one he made because the first one ended up being to small when he fit it on me, hence the request for the dress form. He isn't happy with the Simplicity Patterns right now. There actually was a skirt that he made as well, but it was too small and he hasn't had time to make another one yet.

There is a funny story to that present too. Ellen requested that I open the present on Christmas Eve so she could see the finished product. Wes handed me a present thinking it was his creation, but alas it was a sweater he was hoping to surprise me with. It hasn't been his Christmas for presents, poor guy. I absolutely adore both presents!


We then sent the girls to bed in Lydia's room and advised them to stay there so Santa could come:)

Wes and Kyle in our cozy, little living room.

Dustin, Devin and Bill.

The girls with their presents.

One of the hugging moments I couldn't quite capture. I love Ellen's expression.

Wes opening his gifts.

Bill opening his present from Ellen's mom.

Me in my new top :)

Extended Family Christmas Party (Wes' Side)

Every year Wes' side of the family has a very large Christmas Party. Wes' Uncle is.... well let's just say they do pretty well for themselves. They are very generous. There is usually a very large food buffet with crab, shrimp, roast, ham and a lot of sides and desserts. It isn't a night to be on a diet, but who should be at Christmas right? There is a fun game they play every year where you have to guess how many items are in a jar. This year there was a jar of Tootsie rolls, a jar of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and a jar of colorful paper clips. The 3 people who get the closest win a prize. They also had a special jar just for the kids this year. It was filled with crayons, markers, and other drawing tools.

We didn't do to bad. I won second place on one of the jars and won a digital picture frame. Ellen won first place on the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. She won the jar of candy and a GPS system for her car. Wes won third place and received a Movie and Dinner Gift Certificates to one of the Larry H. Miller complexes. Woo Hoo! Date night! Lydia won third place for the kids jar and brought home a wonderful crayola pack of products. It was chalk full with a lot of fun things including scented markers and silly putty.

Ellen made the girls beautiful barbie dresses! Both Lydia and Adelle absolutely loved them!! I am quite impressed with how well they turned out! Go Ellen!
Then Wes' uncle had the yearly game of giving out Cash. That is right! Cash! He really is so generous to all of us.

It was wonderful to see family that we don't regularly get to see, especially Wes' Grandparents. They are really getting older and we cherish every moment we get with them.
Adelle in front of the Christmas Village.

I wasn't surprised to see Lydia by Rolo, the dog. She really would love a dog, but it isn't going to happen.

Adelle really wanted to ride this elaborate rocking horse. It looked expensive and I wasn't sure if it was a toy or decoration so I said "No".

Wes hanging out.

Wes' grandparents.

Wes' Parents, Bill and Ellen.

Now this is a Christmas Tree! It is probably twice as tall as our house.

Lydia winning her crayola bucket of stuff!

Ellen with the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and GPS System.

Wes in the great Cash game.

The girls with their barbie dresses!

Devin with his new gal, and Ellen.

Wes, Kyle and Dustin. I really like this picture of the boys!

Lydia's School Christmas Performance

Last Thursday Lydia's School had their large concert for the parents. It was at 1:30 PM. I got there about 10 minutes early and could hardly find a place to sit. The place was a zoo! They even ran out of chairs. It was good that Lydia's class was the last to perform because some of the parents had left by then and I could get closer. Lydia's class played the recorder for a number. They also did a fun little country number (mind you I don't like country, but they did great!). Lydia was one of the three "soloists". The "soloists" didn't actually sing at the beginning. They mouthed the words of the song in a silly way! I got some great video and I will try to post it if the file isn't too large. We enjoyed seeing her and she seemed really excited to see us at her school!

A Birthday Wish for Erica

Erica my girl, we have a special birthday message for you!! Just click on the video above.

White Elephant Gingerbread House

At my work Christmas Party last week we had a white elephant gift exchange. I ended up with a Willy Wonka Gingerbread House Kit. My coworker informed me that it was a year old, but otherwise nothing was wrong with it. Gingerbread and sugar loaded candy can't go bad, right?

Adelle and I decided we were going to make this magical gingerbread house, even though Lydia was away visiting her Grammie. Well the candy looked and tasted well enough, but the Gingerbread...well, let's just say it had a very stale smell to it. Wes could smell it across the room. It even was slightly damp. Not really damp, perhaps moist.


Well Adelle and I started out on our project, just the two of us.

Can you beat that smile?

This is as far as we got before the roof starting sliding off the house. I think it was because the gingerbread was not quite what it should be. We decided to end the project early. The poor house was disposed of in our garbage can.

We were left with all of this wonderful Willy Wonka Candy. We now have nerds, runts, bottelcaps and sweettarts! But Alas, the White Elephant Gingerbread House was not what we had expected.

Icicles for the Snow Princess

This morning Adelle was looking out of the window and was quite taken with the large icicles hanging off the front of the house. She said to me within Wes' earshot "I wonder what it would be like if daddy were to get me an icicle". Wes commented that she was just like me in asking for something she wanted indirectly. Hey, what is wrong with not being direct? Anyway, he got her one. I asked her to please put in the shower so it wouldn't melt all over the carpet. She was quite surprised later to see that it had almost melted away.

Winter Visitor

Saturday our little house and area were hit hard by a snow storm. I was really glad I had no where to go. It is common for this time of the year for us to get a blizzard like storm. Well, Adelle and I were just hanging out when we noticed our cat acting strange. We looked out the window to see a bird eating our birdseed bell. We bought it at the Tracy Aviary a little while ago. I couldn't believe that in the middle of a blustery storm this bird was trying to eat. He must have been really hungry! I am glad though that he had something to eat to keep him alive this winter. Can you see all the snow covering a lot of the seeds?

Oh, and this is why everyone had tummy aches!

I thought I would try to add some video to my blog. This is a funny moment from the Gingerbread House making.

Gingerbread House

Ahh..Gingerbread houses and all there sugary goodness. Last Sunday my little family gathered around our small table to make this very small gingerbread house. I picked up this gingerbread kit at Wal-Mart. It is a Wilton brand and may I say VERY small. I have decided that I like the Costco Houses much better. But anyway, on to the memories.


We split of into teams and started decorating. Wes and Lydia were a team and Adelle and I were a team. I had the superior frosting piping this year so Adelle and I won, but who is counting. It is always so much fun to get our fingers all sticky to make our little house which we proudly display in our living room the rest of the Christmas Season.

Someone has a CRUSH on Lydia..

and I don't mean just a little crush. This is one of those BIG crushes! Sure there have been boys interested in Lydia before. In first grade Lydia was picked on by a lot by boys, we spoke to the teacher and she said it was because Lydia had such a pretty face.

Last year one boy kept chasing her and her best friend. He would try and grab the girls, hold them down and kiss them. Needless to say the principle and the parents had to get involved.

This crush is different though. He is a boy in our ward and I saw him last night when I want to the Cub Scout Pack Meeting. I am currently serving in the Cub Scouts if you're not aware. Anyway the boy comes up to me and says "Can I date Lydia, when I am 16"? I advise him that when he is 16 he can ask her himself. This boy is quite smart, says right what is on his mind, and VERY hyperactive!

Later in the evening the boys were making Christmas cards and this boy wanted to make a card just for Lydia. He proceeds to draw himself and Lydia standing under mistletoe. The boy asks me if I know what it means when two people stand under the mistletoe. He tells me that he is drawing what their house will look like when they are married. He asks me what her favorite color is. I tell him I'm not sure. He thinks it has to be pink and he proceeds to decorate the front of the card with pink and blue puff balls because his favorite color is blue and her favorite color must be pink. He says it has to be a perfect card.

He then asks"Does Lydia talk about me"? I say "Well, she says you are in her primary class". He is excited that Lydia has spoken about him before. He gives me the card and asks if I will give it to her. I say I will.

As we are cleaning up for the evening. He comes up to me and asks "Do you think Lydia will have a crush on me after she gets the card". I say "I don't know". So I take the handmade, puff adorned, wet with glue card home with me. I am just laughing all the way home in the car, and by laughing I mean cracking up, laughing out loud until my stomach is hurting.

I bring the card home to Lydia. She doesn't freak out. She is aware that this boy has a crush on her and even tells me that he whispers in her ear during primary class that he wants to marry her some day.

I am hesitant to ask, but I do ask "So..what do you think about (the boy)"? She says that they are "friends". I am going to have to keep an eye on my girl and the boys around her. Does it really start this early? Thinking back to my own childhood I guess it does! Wish me luck

It Pays to Clean your Room

On Saturday Lydia was cleaning her room and she decided to rearrange her furniture. She moved her toy box to the other side of the room and what did she find? The $20 she thought she had lost on her birthday! See it does pay to clean your room. She was super excited! Her room looks great now! It is even dusted and vacuumed which should help her dust allergies. Maybe now she will also have room for a present that is coming her way.

My Favorite Christmas Music

So I have been listening to my absolute favorite Christmas Album these past few days. It just makes me smile when I listen to it. To me it is everything Christmas. It wraps up all of those feelings and puts it into music.

What is my favorite Christmas Album you ask? "Through the eyes of a child" by Bob Gandy. I absolutely love it! I even brought it into work this morning so I can listen to it while I work.

You can actually listen to samples of the CD on http://www.bobgandy.com/. It has such a great mix of old favorites and some new original songs.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

"Mommy! It's on Fire!!!"

Yes, these are the words I heard yesterday morning. No it wasn't my Christmas Tree or my house, it was Lydia's toast. I know, I have to explain. Our toaster broke a few months ago and it just hasn't been on our list of things to replace. We just keep forgetting, or when we see a toaster it is one of those super expensive ones that we can't justify buying.

Anyway, Lydia can make several things by herself. Scrambled eggs on the stove top, she can mostly make macaroni and cheese, and spaghetti o's. I have learned how to toast bread in the oven and I figured Lydia was such a capable girl that she could make it as well. I advised her to turn on the oven to 350 and to place her toast right on the oven shelf. I advise her to use oven mitts. Well suddenly I hear "Mommy! It's on fire". I come in and see one of Lydia's pieces of toast had fallen down below and is slightly on fire. It wasn't blazing by any means, but there were little flames. I grabbed my oven mitt, yank out the toast, blow it out and put it in the garbage.

I say to Lydia "No more toast in the oven". How about you just have a plain peanut butter sandwich instead of peanut butter toast". Poor shaken Lydia heartily agrees.

Later at church I notice her wrist is red in one spot. Come to find out she had also burnt herself. Poor child! Maybe we should ask Santa for a toaster :)

Oh, last night we also decorated our gingerbread house. I will have to post pictures soon.

It's Beginning to look a lot like....

Christmas!! So yesterday was the big day to decorate the house. We cleaned first and then I went under the stairs to pull out all of the Christmas Decorations. The funniest thing that happened was when I pulled out the tree. Adelle and Lydia looked bewildered at how small it is. I just reminded them that they are getting bigger each year. Granted it is a pretty small tree. I think it is less than 6 feet tall. I don't need a ladder at all to put on the star. There are times I consider getting a bigger one, but then I remember that the circumference of the tree would be larger as well. We have a pretty small living room so this petite tree works well for us.

I bought the tree 8 years ago when I was living in a small apartment in Bothel, Washington. I decided that I was going to celebrate Christmas whole hearted! I went to the local department store and picked up a tree and a copy of Charlie Brown Christmas on DVD. I absolutely love the holidays and am quite sentimental. I think that is a trait I picked up from my dad.

Every year the girls and I love putting the ornaments on the tree. Wes participates as well, but I don't think he gets quite as excited as the girls and I. I love pulling out each of the ornaments and remembering where they came from. It was a family tradition growing up to get a new ornament every year. It is one that I have carried on with my kids. I actually have some of my original ornaments. I even have the ornament from my very first Christmas.

We pick up ornaments when we go on vacation, like our little crab holding a Christmas tree from our Oregon Trip 2 years ago. The tree almost becomes a scrapbook of our adventures and memories. There are even a few sweet handmade ornaments from Lydia. I have even added this year some antique ornaments that my grandmother gave me last year.

My grandmother Walter no longer puts up her tree so she gave it to us last year along with all of the trimmings. Sarah picked up her little tree from us yesterday. I went through the ornaments and found some beautiful handcrafted glass ornaments. I think they must be from the fifties because one of the boxes actually had a price tag of .49 cents. Can you imagine?? I placed these gems near the top of my tree so my cat can't use them as her toys. They add a nice touch to the tree.

We were tired after all the preparations and spent the rest of the evening watching Rankin and Bass' "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". You know, the old TV specials with the stop motion animation. We also watched the original cartoon "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas".

We are planning on decorating our Gingerbread House tonight after church! I will have to post pictures.

Here are some fun pictures of the girls from yesterday:

Adelle holding her new ornament for this year. It is a little cat that is also a bell.

They really are getting tall compared to the tree.

My precious girls! I am really excited for the festivities to come as well. There are Christmas parties, visiting of relatives, the giving of presents, and of course the Christmas Music!

I also wrapped all of the extended family presents yesterday and they are sitting under our tree. Now I just need to wrap Wes' and the girls' presents. I am also done shopping. Woo Hoo!

Kids say the funniest things

So last night when Wes was getting Adelle ready for bed he was pretending to be a horse. Well Wes the horse collapsed and said that he couldn't go on unless he had some carrots. Adelle asks me if she should get some carrots out of the fridge. I hear the horse call out that he doesn't want real carrots and that Adelle needs to use her imagination. I went back to blogging and I hear Wes the horse saying that he needs oats now. Adelle comes over to me, grabs a hold of me and says. "You're Oates. C'mon". I laughed so hard!!!

Family Pictures

A couple of months ago Jamie Petersen (Sarah's sister in law) came and took some pictures of my family and my extended family. Here are some of my favorites!!

Thanksgiving Dinner at My Parents

Sunday morning Lydia came home. Yeah!! Sunday evening we headed to my Dad and Julie's house for a Thanksgiving Dinner. It was wonderful to see everyone again! I forgot to take pictures during dinner. Drat! I got some afterwards though :) Lydia suddenly doesn't like to have her picture taken. She hides whenever I pull out the camera.

Allie, Matt and Cedric reading.

My grandmother Walter and sister Sarah.

Guess what Adelle found in the living room? Presents! Grandma Julie likes to get her Christmas shopping done early like me :)

Adelle loved looking through the presents to find ones that are for her.

Lydia couldn't resist looking as well.

Cedric and Adelle playing piano together. The girls love seeing their cousin and had a lot of fun playing with him. The best part of Thanksgiving of course isn't the food, but seeing family! I love visiting with them.

Julie loaded us up with a lot of leftovers and I have been trying to use left over turkey as much as possible. I have made Turkey Noodle Soup and a turkey salad for lunch. Now what to do with the dark meat and ham :)