Underneath the Tree

Sleeping under the tree is definitely a tradition now. I'm not sure exactly when it started, but I support it, as long as it isn't on Christmas Eve. Sometimes kids are under the weather (instead of the tree) and then it doesn't happen for everyone. I couldn't really find Ivory in the pictures from last year, so maybe she was not feeling the best. Or maybe she gave up trying to share the couch with June. (They often try to pile on there together, with only marginal success.) But it looks like everyone slept pretty well.

This year was even better. Daisy took down mattresses and made up the beds all pretty. (She really could host a little Bed and Breakfast). Isaac and Analena were there too, although Isaac didn't stay to be turned into a pumpkin.

We played a couple games and did some word searches. I think Pearl doesn't want to be left out.

They even let me read a story or two. I tried the Three Trees, but it is literally impossible for me to get through that book.

I caught Nova yawning, but it looks like she might take a bite out of Pearl's face.

Ivory was definitely there this year and check out her cute henna. It's a mud puddle with little dog prints leading away. So cute.

Everything looked so comfy, even I wanted to try out a bed. But no parents allowed. That is the rule. 

It also means I get more sleep than they do and then I'm up earlier and able to take pictures in the morning. Ivory seems comfortable.

That blurry blog in the corner is Beau.

I think the mattresses were the perfect idea. No one even used the couch. And even Analena and Pearl seemed to sleep well. Good thing they are both tiny. 

It was really nice to have everyone there since we left for Idaho the next day. Stay tuned for some Idaho adventures...

Almost as Cute as the Day He Married Me

December is our real anniversary. October is our anniversary observed. And our photo shoot can fall anywhere in between these times. We strive for October, but let's be realistic...that doesn't always happen. The last couple of years, it has been snowy in our pictures because it's been much later in the season when we got out to get pictures. Oopsie.

2021

This was a really fun year. We were out at a cabin just outside Yellowstone, up in Idaho. We went there for Christmas and that is a whole other HUGE post that is hanging over my head. But today you get a taste of the weather we experienced. It was so pretty and very snowy. We totally forgot the picture, so we just pretended to hold it and planned to photo shop it in later. 

Not too bad, huh?

2022

Well...in October, we were on a cruise for our anniversary. We thought about doing a separate photo shoot when we got back, but it hasn't happened. Life is a bit busy. So we opted for a picture from the cruise and a little more photoshop (because you'd better believe we didn't take the framed photo on the cruise. It was hard enough toting around all the stuff for the hermanas.)

If you feel like you missed out on a whole photo shoot for this year, you are welcome to go back and look through cruise photos. It's almost the same thing.

Snuggles

(December 28th, 2021)

Ivory is always looking for weird or creepy things to send to Annie. When she can't find them, she'll make them instead. She took her talents to a teddy bear and let's just say it would scar a kid for life, but Annie is pretty resilient. 

I saw the bear at the time, but I didn't find the photo shoot until later. Yep, my kids are weird. So...Merry Christmas and enjoy these delights.

When Ivory got ready to send the bear, she packaged it up nicely. Don't ya think?

She has real potential. She could make her own line of stuffed animals. After all, with Wednesday being so popular right now, I'm sure there is a target audience for them.  

Sing said the Mother, We Sing said the Twelve

Caroling is a long standing tradition, dating back to when I was a kid. I'm so glad the Hulse's have joined us in our crazy outings. It is something I most look forward to during the holiday season.

We don't actually take that many pictures when we carol. It is a sporadic thing that I can sometimes find on someone's phone. The winner in 2021 was Robyn, who had some on her phone. You can see our goodie plate stack and I ripped a couple pictures from a video, but it is sketchy.

We sang Carol of the Bells and Go Tell it on the Mountain last year. It was truly fun and we sounded pretty professional.

This year, I got a little crazy and added some costumes. It was a pretty silly year in general, but we had so much fun. Maggie put together some choreography to God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and we sang it Grinch style. I chose Stars Were Gleaming and divided up the lyrics and made every dress their part.

We had Shepherds.

Wisemen

Stars

And angels.

Sadly, no Tyler since he was sick, but we added Analena to balance the numbers. Oh, and we saw some Rapunzel lanterns while we were out. I thought they were banned around here and in the picture, they just looks like weird stars, but it is always fun to see them floating around. Until next year peeps...

Urban Dance

(December 11th, 2021)

Last year, Robyn took a urban dance class the first semester, so she performed in the December concert at school. I think she had a really great time in her class. She said some kids didn't take it seriously and some kids were annoying, but...high school.

Regardless, we had a lot of fun going to her concert. You can find her starting on the left with a light hoodie tied around her waist.

They took a group photo at the end. Can you find Robyn?

This is her dance group. I feel like there were more of them in the dance, but maybe some of them didn't stick around at the end. 

It was a super fun evening!