Snow Day!!

Yesterday it snowed in Henderson! And not just a little bit - we ended up with 5 inches at our house!!! It took Justin 3 hours to get home (it normally takes him about 30 minutes). The kids loved watching the snow falling outside the front window. And they especially loved playing in it. I was planning on finishing my Christmas shopping last night, but decided only crazy people would try to go out in the storm.

Earlier in the day the kids (Madison didn't have school because of parent-teacher conferences) convinced me to take them to the park. They had a lot of fun even though it was SO COLD and we ended up coming home after about half an hour because it starting raining. The rain turned to snow about an hour later.

Joshua wasn't too sure about the snow. He was fascinated by it, but did not want to walk through it and didn't like it when it stuck to his gloves or coat.

Madison and Jordan had a snowball fight and then built this tiny little snowman. They named him Frosty.

The snow is the really wet and heavy kind and we went through every jacket, coat and pair of mittens we have for the kids (we aren't especially prepared for this kind of weather). They also soaked through their tennis shoes. Last night I had to throw everything in the dryer so they would have shoes and coats for today. School was cancelled all around the Las Vegas Valley. Madison was really excited to be able to stay home and play today.

Later Justin made this great big snowman. I love his bucket hat!

We still can't believe we got this much snow, but we sure have been enjoying this very rare sight in Henderson. Isn't it beautiful?

December Madness

The last week has been super busy for us. We did a lot of fun things, but I am looking forward to a week that is not quite so busy! We started out by making gingerbread men for Family Home Evening last week. The kids had a lot of fun covering them with sprinkles and making a huge mess!

Then we spent the next 3 days making, decorating and delivering ornament cupcakes to our neighbors, friends and the kids' teachers. We ended up making 170 of them! I didn't get a whole lot of sleep for those 3 days, but it was worth it because they turned out so cute and were yummy too! Madison and Jordan loved delivering them and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

Madison made the Sparkler Cheer Team at her school (I think I forgot to blog about that in September). There were over 100 girls that tried out for the team and only 30 made it! On Saturday they marched in the Henderson Winter Parade. It was a little bit cold and windy, but the girls did fabulous! They were so cute!

Watching the parade...

After the parade, Justin and I went to his work Christmas party at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse - Yummy! The girl we got to babysit just turned 12 and hasn't been babysitting for very long. We were a little nervous leaving Josh with her because we were afraid he would spend the whole time crying (he's a little bit of a momma's boy), but he only cried for a few minutes and she did a great job! Jordan must have had a lot of fun playing with her because after I left to take her home he wanted to know if we could invite her over for a sleepover! He's such a funny kid.

Finally, last night for Family Home Evening we made gingerbread houses (really just graham cracker houses). Josh ate all his frosting and candy - not a single piece made it on his house - and enjoyed every minute of it.

Jordan filling his house with "people".

All the "people" in his house!

Our Gingerbread Village

Madison's Academic Award

Madison received an award today at school for having straight A's - she was one of only 3 from her class to get this award. Along with a certificate she got a bumper sticker (lucky mom and dad) and a gift certificate for a free kids meal at Applebees. We are really proud of her for working so hard!

Sorry about the pic - our camera doesn't do well in the gym's fabulous lighting. Madison is on the left in the front row. Her teacher, Mrs. Leonard, is standing behind all the kids and the principal, Dr. Larson, is on the right in front of the kids.

Family Pictures

We finally (after talking about it for months) got family pictures taken! Yay! Grandparents can expect copies as part of their Christmas.

Our Little Family

Madison (quite the little poser)

Jordan (don't you love his mischievous grin!)

Josh (he wasn't too happy to be getting his pictures taken, but

we managed to get a few cute shots)

Our 3 Little Monsters