Christmas Break 2018

We had a wonderful Christmas Day.  

Santa got Blake a truck he has been asking for since he saw it in Walmart in September.  Mom didn't want to buy it for Blake because she read reviews about the quality of the toy and she didn't want to spend money on an item that was cheaply made.  It's a good thing that Mom isn't the only one giving kids presents.  😉 Blake has been enamored with the gift for weeks.

We had our first Christmas call with our missionary.  It was heart warming to see our boy while we talked with him.  Seeing his facial expressions, body language and hearing his voice made Mom tear up often.  Josh got teary when his siblings talked with him.  We were able to talk for an hour and a half.  It's a good thing Mom wrote down conversation topics.  Josh has never been a outgoing communicator.  Elder Carlson still has that trait.  In this picture, he and his companion, Elder Wade, are trying to figure out how to make the picture and sound work.

Caleb got a barrel of monkeys in his stocking.  Dad played with him and we all learned that there is actually rules to the game.  Who knew?

During Christmas Break, we had our Clark reunion.  Brad, Carrie, Haylee, and Katelyn came from Texas.  We played games, went to the Festival of Lights, went to a movie, had a New Year's Eve party, attended the multi-generational Clark reunion, and went to the Bean Museum.  

Here's Katelyn with Uncle Patrick.  He made her laugh by doing elephant sounds.

A year later, and Blake is still cautious about the area with the giant ant statues and the spider decoration in the corner.

At the end of Christmas break, the kids were restless so I took them and the Bonney kids to the paleontolgy museum at BYU.  I made a picture taking scavenger hunt and split them into 2 teams.  The winning team got to pick where we got ice cream.  Of course, we got to go to the BYU Creamery.  Yum!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Jammies

 Sibling Gifts

Katie made Blake a "dark grey blue" and orange blanket.  He had hinted for weeks that he hoped Katie would make something like this.  The look on his face says it all.

Blake painted a cork bulletin type board, in the shape of a stegasaurus.  We bought the blank shape at Hobby Lobby.  Blake painted it in colors that he thought Kyle would like.

Caleb made a bunch of hair scrunchies for Katie.

Kyle made a longboard deck in a class this year.  He realized it would be a great present for Caleb.  He bought and attached the wheels and grip paper.  He painted the bottom green (Caleb's favorite color) with a wolf stencil.  

The kids also got their ornament that represents their year.  Kyle got a backpacking ornament to commemorate his first trips.  Katie got a book to represent winning the Storytelling Festival at school.  Caleb got a green bowling ball.  Blake got a Thanos ornament.  

Christmas Season Fun

Decorating the Christmas tree.  I kept trying for a few days to work on the lights on the top part of the tree.  Finally, I threw those strings in the trash and bought some new boxes.

 We got to visit Quiet Santa for the second time.  It is such a great experience.  20 min alone with Santa who is trained in interacting with kids who have sensory processing disorder.

 Caleb had a good time doing bowling this season.  It was fun getting him to laugh for these fun pictures

Best concert EVER!

We got tickets to the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square's Christmas concert.  The guest was Kristen Chenowith.  She was charismatic and her voice was !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Caleb had a hard time at church this past month.  He (and his parents) are very excited for the new 2 hour schedule.

Also, can you do this with your legs?

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A wonderful neighbor started a tradition last year.  The neighborhood contributes a few dollars and she assembles kits for each neighbor in the ward.  On the designated night, we light our luminaries and walk the nighborhood.  We are so lucky to live in such a great place.

Caleb's school Christmas concert.  We saw him singing along to most of the songs.