Christmas Eve With the Blascos

Sunday afternoon before Christmas, we had some fun festivities at my parents' house. They made a delicious dinner - a "standing prime rib" roast, stuffing, sweet potatoes, vinegar salad, homemade mashed potatoes and rolls! And I brought dessert of my famous sugar cookies (funny thing...I brought 50 cookies and they disappeared really fast....later that night my kids said "Mom, we didn't get any cookies!". So the adults devoured them all!). It was all delicious! (Bernice was even decked out in her black dress!)



After dinner, we pulled out the gingerbread houses. My mom had found these wonderful pre-built kits and she also bought like 20 lbs more of candy! Each kid had their own house and their own bread pan FULL of candy to decorate with! She also made homemade frosting that was much easier to spread than the glue kind the kits come with. They were in heaven being creative with all that candy! Mike and Lyric totally rocked with their design. Jordyn wanted to do her own thing....and Lexi wanted to do it EXACTLY like the box showed. Peyton and Paxton were....well, they did what 2 and 3 year olds do.

After putting on the kids' matching jammies from my Grandma and Grandpa, we did the line up of presents. My mom researched a ton and wanted fun, different presents. Not just barbies and toys. So she settled on some stilts, which are really fun/funny. And a sort of jump rope type game (see Lexi's pic of her trying it). They also got beautiful kites!


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We did a few other gift exchanges. Unfortunately there were only two of the five kids in attendance, so Lindy and I exchanged gifts for our families. Lindy got Tucker and I an awesome basket with treats, including movie tickets and a Red Lobster gift card! She also got the girls "I LOVE DANCE" bags with cute Hello Kitty treats inside. Very fun.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for all the work, thought and preparation you put into a fun Christmas family evening! We had a great time!

Christmas Pictures with Grandma and Grandpa!

My mom has made it a tradition of sorts to coordinate the grandkids' outfits for Christmas (among other holidays). I personally LOVE it. Not only does it save me stress, but I love seeing her creativity in putting such a cute scene together. I love how these pics turned out from Heather Dunn's studio (right here in Kingsburg)! Sooooo cute! And the pic of my dad and Paxton....I mean, have you ever seen anything cuter???? The only thing that would have made these perfect is if Alyson could have been in them. Next time! (Thanks Mom!)

And these are right after church.......The Maxfields and The McLeods

Happy 5th Birthday Lyric

My niece Lyric turned 5 on December 14th. She'd been telling me for months that she wanted a Hello Kitty birthday cake....so that's what Aunt Jamie made her! We had a little gathering here at our house for Lyric to celebrate her special day. Five is such a fun birthday age, and Lyric is such a sweet and smart girl.

Christmas Piano Recital

Dec. 12th: Jordyn and Lexi have two piano recitals per year, so they are getting very used to performing! They don't even act too nervous anymore! Their Christmas recital was a couple weeks ago and they did a great job, as usual. We have the world's best piano teacher, Mr. John. We LOVE him!

We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa attend, and treat us to Cheesecake Factory afterward! Daddy and Peyton stayed home since she had been at the hospital ALL day long.

Harmony Christmas 2009

For those of you interested....

Here is our 24 minute performance, which includes six songs. We practice from September through December, then perform 12 times in December for our Christmas program.

Enjoy!

My Brave Little Lexi

(Lexi's the front middle, sitting on the stage)

Last week Lexi came home from school horribly emotional. I immediately knew something was bothering her. When she gets nervous, she gets REALLY irrational and whiney.

So I wasn't surprised when she told me she had been asked to introduce a song at the next day's Christmas Program for her first grade class. She was crying saying she didn't want to do it AT ALL! But she hadn't told her teacher that, so her teacher thought she was perfectly willing.

I thought for a minute and then said "Lex, you don't have to do it at all. Let me just give you an idea to think about before you decide though".

I went on to explain to her that when I was seven, I was asked to give a talk in church. I was painfully shy, so (for some reason) my mom offered to buy me a Crystal Barbie (one I'd been wanting, she even had earrings!) if I gave my talk. I decided to do it and even though I whispered the whole thing, I got my reward! I remember feeling so proud, and after that I didn't mind talks so much!

So I offered her a double scoop of whatever ice cream she wanted on a special date with just mommy if she did it. Her eyes lit up, and then she kept crying.

I told her she didn't have to decide that night, and could tell me the next morning. Later, I heard her practicing her part in her bedroom all by herself. Made me smile.

The next morning, (after asking me several times if she could still get the ice cream WITHOUT doing the part), she finally announced that she'd be doing the part! Once she decided, she didn't complain again!

It was so CUTE. She (another girl) said:

"Hi, my name is Lexi. Hi, my name is Mackenzie. We're from room 10. Our next song is All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" and then they pointed at their missing front teeth.

I'm proud of you Lexi!! You did an awesome job! Oh, and we DID get our double scoop ice cream after school just as promised!

Pey's Weekend Trip to the Hospital

Last Friday night, Pey's cold had taken a turn for the worse. I stayed home from our ward Christmas party with her, and watched her breathing. It worried me.

After a few hours of deep retractions, I decided we should go to the hospital. I'm not normally a "run to the dr." kind of girl, but I knew we had nothing at home that could treat her breathing issues.

Come to find out, her oxygen levels were low (satting in the 80's), even after breathing treatments and so they decided to admit her. It sounded both relieving and annoying. Not exactly what we'd planned for a busy Saturday in December!

So Tucker and Pey spent Friday night in the Selma Hospital.....with hardly any sleep. I came to relieve him in the morning and spent the day with Peyton. It wasn't too bad and I could tell she was feeling better by the afternoon because she was running around like a maniac. After all the x-rays and testing, they determined it was Bronchitis (no RSV or H1N1). They sent us home with some albuterol and oral steroids to open her lungs.

Cough and congestion lasted all this week, but her breathing has been better. So glad Pey Pey is okay!

Second Grade Field Trip

Last week, Jordyn's second grade class took a field trip to see a stage play of "Peter Pan". Jordyn was SO excited for this trip. She loves plays, and she also loved that I was going with her! It was fun to have a special trip with her.

It was a cold, rainy day, and I don't remember the last time I rode on a school bus! It brought back memories of my cheerleading and tennis days and the HOURS we'd spend traveling around the valley to games!