Warming up for Christmas!

Around here we're fortunate enough to get time off school before Christmas.  This year was different than previous years in that the kids were BORED and didn't want to go do anything.  Carson especially seemed like he just wanted to go back to school.  To try to help them we did a handful of crafts. 

They LOVED making their snowflakes but we ended up needing hot glue instead of standard glue so they couldn't do it as independently as we'd have liked.  Kayda's is the top right, Carson's is left and Dillon's is the bottom.  

We decided to try making cinnamon ornaments again and it worked out really well! The kids had a great time using the cookie cutter to cut them out and an even better time decorating them!

Carson's favorite was making the no-sew penguins.  He thought they were a blast to play with and I had to keep tracking them down around the house.

Dillon and Kayda took it upon themselves to make a nativity out of legos.  I thought it turned out pretty well!  The sheep are my favorite part!

They also colored nativities, I tried really hard to make sure we talked about Christ more this year and the kids loved talk about him.  Kayda was especially interested and wanted to read about it straight from the Bible. She was the only kiddo who didn't actually finish her nativity.  Her hand got too sore and then we forgot about it.

Of course we HAD to make sugar cookies.  I was very relieved when I brought them to Christmas Eve dinner and they disappeared!  I seemed to be the only one eating them at home!  The kids LOVED cutting and decorating.  Dillon cracked me up because he wanted to be sure there were the same number of gingerbread men as there were gingerbread women so they could all be married.

One night we went to a live nativity story that was put on by a local church.  It wasn't all lined up exactly as I would've thought but it was close enough for the kids.  They got a kick out of it, even if it was REALLY cold out.  They had a market place, King Herod, the angels singing for the shepherds, live animals at the manger and the story was told as you went from one scene to the next.

Last but not least we HAD to do gingerbread houses!  I cheated and used graham crackers and hot glued them together!  Kayda was very meticulous about her house.  Everything needed to make sense and she wanted it to have a very specific look.  Dillon made his into a fun house with a pool and everything.  Then there was Carson.  His favorite candy to use was the gummy bears, he had them sliding off the roof and falling into piles and he gave his house a mohawk.  Pretty soon Dillon and Carson were talking about the traps around their houses and creating elaborate stories about what would happen if people came to visit.  Kayda made it quite clear that she would never go to their houses and  that she didn't think they should have traps.  

Camano Island State Park

We spent 3 days up at a cabin at Camano Island State Park with Grandma and Papa H, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Pat's family and Aunt Anna and Uncle Scott's family.  We got there ahead of everyone so we got the cabin all set up and headed down to the beach.  Immediately after getting there Carson fell and skinned his knee so then it was difficult to get him to do much of anything.  Of course Kayda slipped shortly thereafter and skinned her ankle.  It doesn't make for a very fun time around the saltwater.  

 Dillon was determined to play in the water... Until he touched it the first time and then he wasn't so inclined.  He didn't realize just how could it was!

 They had a great time finding all the tiny crabs, most were smaller than quarters.

 Of course, you can't be on a rock covered beach without throwing them.  Dillon, Kayda and even Carson worked on their rock skipping skills with Daddy.

 At this point Carson is pouting because his knee hurt and he wanted to go back to the cabin.  Look at that lip!!!

 A couple of hours later the cousins started to arrive.   We headed over to Cama Beach State Park to hang out with the extended family.
The boys got a kick out of Chase's hat popping off when Carson tried to squeeze in for the picture.

 Dillon was photobombing Kayda and Ella.  Kayda was pretty aggravated.

 These girls are the best of friends, despite only seeing each other every few weekends now. We have gotten into the habit of letting Aunt Sarah know when we're headed up to Grandma and Papa H's house.  That way they can spend time together.  Ella will often call to ask if Kayda is coming up.  Even calling Grandma at times in the hopes we'll be up there.

 You can't find a big driftwood log without returning it to the water!

 Carson spend a good portion of the first day collecting skipping rocks and pretty rocks in his pockets.  At one point he had so many rocks in his pockets that his pants started falling down.  That's when he decided to start collecting them in the drink pocket on his chair.

 Kayda has really come to love playing any kind of board or card game.  She was delighted to play with Ella.

 And was overjoyed to play phase 10 with Aileena, Ella, Grandma and Nathan!  I was so pleased to see the older cousins join in! They were really great about hanging out with all the younger ones.

 There was a giant chess board down from the cabins.  The kids spent more time there than even out on the beach.

 The second day was windy and cold.  It wasn't so bad by our cabin up in the trees but down on the water it was COLD!  Daddy got chilled so he decided to take a nap in the car when we got back to our cabin after a trip down to the beach.

 It was cold enough that we decided to have a fire and midday smores.  The kids thought that was quite a treat considering they're usually reserved for bed time!

 Dillon was having a pretty emotional day on Friday.  He didn't want anything to do with anyone because he felt like her was being left out.  He was feeling very sensitive and his cousins were all off exploring Stanwood.  He couldn't handle being looked at or talked to so he flipped his sweatshirt around backwards and covered his face.  Of course we kept talking to him!

 Friday they also had a Toy boat building workshop so we were able to go down there.  The used old hand-cranked drills to put in the masts.  Then there were all kinds of other goodies to use: bottle caps, corks, fabric, string, glue, nails, Popsicle sticks etc.  They had a great time building them, even wanting to put them in the water.  We figured all their hard work would be ruined so we kept them from doing that.  The waves from the wind were a little too intense for toy boats.

 Carson would only take this picture with his boat after I told him it was the only way Grandma and Papa G would be able to see his boat.  So he agreed, but specifically told me it would be with one eye.

 While we were hanging out at our cabin a bald eagle flew into a tree right next to our camp.  The kids had a hard time spotting it in the trees.  After maybe 10 minutes.  The sound of its wings was incredible.  That's when the kids finally got a good look at it.  It's hard to miss when you can hear and see it maybe 30 ft from you!

 Little miss Eliza is our youngest neice, or for the kids cousin.  We didn't get to hold her much for fear of getting her sick.

 Carson and Brett spent a LOT of time together on this trip.  Carson has now decided that Brett is his best friend and that we need to live closer to him.  But sorry, no way are we moving up to that city.  I would love to be even smaller than where we are now!

We were able to get the younger cousins to agree to a picture.  Since I know they are going to grow and might not remember what each of them look like.... We have Mikey, Dillon, Chase and Brett in back.  Then Ella, Kayda, Carson, Eliza and Peyton in front. 

The kids had a wonderful time and even now Carson keeps saying "Lets go back to that place next day"  He doesn't seem to like the word tomorrow!  He is ready to go on his next camping adventure, especially if his cousins are around.  None of them were happy to leave but we needed to be sure to be back for the flag football game.