We must have been nice this year

because Santa was very good to us. Here are some of the highlights.

iPod Touches for Bryan, Jenn, and Leslie
Disneyland Money for Katie
Foot Massager for Dad
Nutcracker Family for Emma Kate
Books for Grant (a boy after my own heart)
A Bengals Jersey for Ty
A Halloween Jack-o-Lantern- with a shirt wrapped inside- for Me
A new bed for Luna (but she still prefers to sit on the love sack)

We have a family tradition of opening new pajamas on Christmas Eve. Here are they guys in their new pajamas: Grandpa got Benjamin Franklin's, Bry got Guitar Hero, and Dad got Smiley Faces. Don't they look good?

Merry Christmas to all...

"Good tidings of Great Joy"

"wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn"

"and they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger."

and to all a good night!

I'll be Home for Christmas

In Richmond, Virginia (aka home) it snows about once a year. We get a couple inches and everyone freaks out. The grocery stores run out of milk and bread because everyone thinks they are going to be snowed in, school is canceled for days, if not weeks, and it's a regular merry holiday for all.

Yesterday it snowed approximately 1 foot in Richmond, which means great excitement and paranoia for all good Richmonders. Except for those of us that were supposed to fly in today. All flights to Richmond CANCELED. Thus we are still in Provo, pouting and bemoaning our terrible fortune.

This is most definitely not the first in my book of horrific flying experiences while traveling during the holidays. You would think I would get used to it, and even plan for it, but every year I hope that this time it will be easy and problem-free. Not so much.

Luckily we got on another flight arriving on Sunday, and we're crossing our fingers that the weather cooperates. If that doesn't work, we'll move on to Plan C. Somehow we will make it home for Christmas!

Welcome 2010

As of today, my classroom looks like this:


And, it's not just my room. Every 3rd-6th grade classroom in my school looks like this. When I was in fifth grade (in 1995) I had my first classroom with computers. There were 6 of them and they were monstrous. I'm not exactly sure of the capabilities of those machines, but I do know they were perfect for Troggle Trouble Math and the Oregon Trail. Oh, the good old days. I also remember that we used Hyperstudio (does that even exist anymore?) to make State Reports. I remember thinking how cool I was to be able to make a project like that on the computer. I'm pretty sure that any first grader at my school could make a project just like my fifth grade state project.

I love how technology is changing education. My kids are on the computer doing activities and programs for at least an hour every day. They have made some amazing projects and are continually teaching me cool things these machines can do. It makes school so exciting and modern. I'm pretty sure I would have died if I lived in the days when "school" was a one room deal with only chalk and slate- gross.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Bryan's Grandma makes an amazing Gingerbread House every year for his family. This year since we're far away from Grandma we decided to try our own. Let's just say I have a much greater respect for her Gingerbread skills now. And, we even had a kit!

Working Hard

I tried to explain to Bryan that Christmas was not an appropriate time to be violent, but he was positive that the candy canes were meant to be guns. Boys...



I turn my back for one second and catch these two messing around

The finished product!



My sweet husband thought it would be funny to put a bunch of frosting on my foot without me noticing (I was really into the gingerbread.) This is me realizing that I just got gooey white goodness all over my feet and our carpet. Great.