Christmas Morning, continued...

Some Christmas morning pictures: Our stockings all set out, after Santa had delivered his goodies! Greg's new white hat (his old one wasn't quite white any more). The SISTER PRESENTS: Avalyn with her presents from her sisters (Briley - Strawberry Shortcake figurine, Shallon - Tinkerbell puzzle). Shallon with her sister presents (Avalyn - Whale stuffed animal, Briley - Dora Kaleidoscope). No pictures of Briley with sister presents because she wasn't cooperating (Avalyn - Tinkerbell megaphone, Shallon - Disney Princess puzzle). OK and I just have to express my love of the last picture of Shallon, it is by far my favorite Christmas picture! The look on her face is priceless, that is pure joy that only a small child can have. I love it and I'm sooooo glad that I actually captured it on film (or whatever you call it when it's on a digital camera)!

Christmas Morning!!!

Here's our Christmas morning video: (please ignore my crazy voice, I have a sore throat)

Nativity

Here is the Severts' Nativity, "acted out" by all 6 grand-kids!

Cast:
Avalyn - Mary
Tucker - Joseph
Briley - Angel
Carson - Shepherd/Wiseman #1
Luke - Shepherd/Wiseman #2
Shallon - Shepherd/Wiseman #3

There was no need for an Inn Keeper, since the kids weren't really, so much acting out the Nativity, as they were just standing around looking cute in their costumes. And they were very cute as you can see! I'm sure as they get older there will be a lot less standing around looking cute and a lot more crazy interpretive acting (Severts' family home movies). And yes that is Avalyn's Piggy playing the part of Baby Jesus. Next year we will have 2 more additions* to the cast maybe one of them will be a better fit for that part. :)

*It has been brought to my attention, that when I mentioned "2 more additions" to the Severts' Family, I did not specify that I am
NOT PREGNANT. The 2 additions are via my 2 sister-in-laws, Lindsay and Natalie. :)

Activity Advent, day 24

day 24:
Open 1 Christmas Present

When I was a kid, my brother and I always got to open 1 present each on Christmas Eve. Greg's family had the same tradition. So we have decided to carry it over to our family.

It wasn't always jammies for Greg and I, but I think that it will be for our kids. They just look soo cute in their brand new jammies!

Activity Advent, day 23

day 23:
Go with Daddy to Mandalay Bay Shark Reef

Santa was hanging out at the Shark Reek!!!

Activity Advent, day 22

day 22:
Go with Daddy to Las Vegas Children's Museum

All the kids (minus Shallon) went with their dads (plus Granddad) to the Children's museum. They had lots of fun!!! And the kids did too!

Activity Advent, day 21

day 21:
Look at Christmas Lights

We all loaded up into the car to drive around Summerlin and look at Christmas lights. And we have decided that Las Vegas is pretty scroogy. Not very many houses had lights up or any visible Christmas decorations up. We did find one house that went all out, so of course it was our favorite. Both pictures are of that house. Yay, there is Christmas Spirit in Sin City!

Activity Advent, day 20

day 20:
Pick out Dollar Store Presents for Sisters.

So today we went to the dollar store and the girls got to pick out 1 present for each of their sisters. And the trip was a success, thanks to Aunt Natalie. Not only did she take the picture for this post, she also helped me separate the girls so they could secretly pick out the gifts. Then when both Avalyn and Briley decided that they had to use the restroom immediately and the restrooms were out-of-order and there was a super long check out line, Natalie offered to wait in line and pay for the gifts while the girls and I tried to find a nearby restroom. Thanks Natalie, you are a lifesaver! And you may be asking yourself, "Where was Greg during all of this?" Well, he and his brothers got tickets to the Las Vegas Bowl, enough said. You'll have to check back for the Christmas Day post to find out what the girls purchased.

Activity Advent, day 19

day 19:
Go to Grammy's House

Across the desert and over the mountain, to Grammy's house we go. I know, that was totally geeky, I'm sorry. So this is the beautiful sight that we arrived to tonight, Grammy's house all lit up for Christmas. These pictures don't even come close to doing it any justice, but I tried.

We are sooo excited to be at Grammy's house this year for Christmas. Mostly because we get to hang out with all of Greg's brothers and their wonderful wives and children. We can't wait to see everyone!

Polar Express

Avalyn had a Polar Express Party for her last day of school before the break. The party was complete with jammies, hot chocolate and a super hot conductor. Avalyn's teacher, Mrs. Dean, asked Greg to help out, by playing the part of the Conductor. Greg had fun reviewing the movie to help get down a few of his lines. And Avalyn loved having HER daddy as the conductor!

Activity Advent, day 18

day 18:
Watch a Christmas Movie

"Santa Claus is Comin'-to-Town," was the chosen movie this year. The girls and I changed into our jammies, popped some popcorn and snuggled up on the couch together to enjoy this Christmas classic.







Shallon has been very affectionate lately. She loves to give "kisses," also known as headbutts. Here she is giving Briley a "kiss."

Activity Advent, day 17

day 17:
Deliver Christmas Goodies

So we stuck to the advent calender and braved the snow tonight. We delivered our Christmas goodies and we made it home safely.

Snow!!!

So this was our first snow here, in the 3 winters that we have lived here, in beautiful Southern Nevada. The kids thought that it was the best. Even though it was totally freezing, they wanted to play outside.

The boys in the pictures are Nathan and Steele, 2 of the boys that I watch during the day. And the last picture is of our backyard, where the snow first started to stick. I tried to get a shot of the front of our house with snow on it (a once in a lifetime, kodak moment for our house), but it didn't work out. Oh well, maybe next time, haha!

Activity Advent, day 16

day 16:
Make Christmas Goodies














We made Snow Ball Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Turtles this year. The girls were actually helpful now that they are older. And they really had fun helping mommy make all the goodies. Maybe next year Shallon will be able to help, too.

Activity Advent, day 15

day 15:
Make Christmas Cards

I am such a slacker. This was actually earlier in the advent calender, but when it came up, I didn't feel like doing it, soo . . . yeah . . . here it is. And money's a little tight, as usual, so I'm not going to be sending it out, sorry. If you don't mind, just consider this your Christmas Card from us! Thanks, and I'll try better next year.

Actually, I could probably just update the pictures and put 2009 on it . . . . . umm, pretend you never saw this card. ;)







ps. I totally copied this design, but I can't remember where I saw it, so I can't give proper credit, sorry. All of the paper was from Shabby Princess.

Activity Advent, day 14

day 14:
Hot Chocolate

Tonight we enjoyed some delicious Stephen's hot chocolate. Soo good! I tried to get the girls to let me put whip cream on theirs, but they resisted, so more for me. :) The girls also got to enjoy some ice cream with their hot chocolate, luckies!!!