4 Jedi

A couple of Saturdays ago one of the local toy stores were having a Toys for Tots fundraiser. They had some of the Star Wars characters there. So of course we went to go check it out. My kids love Star Wars. It was pretty cool. If you donated to Toys for Tots you got to have a picture taken with a few of the characters. I was worried that Beck and especially Gavin would be scared of the characters in masks but they loved it. We just hung out and let the kids look at the characters and talk to them. It was a win, win for all. We donated money to help someone and my kids had fun seeing some of their favorite characters.

I stole this off of another blog. The idea is to highlight the things you have done out of the 200 items on the list. Mine are in pink and Stephen's are in green! If we both had done it I put it in red! See how many you have done.

1. Touched an iceberg

2. Slept under the stars

3. Been a part of a hockey fight

4. Changed a baby's diaper

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Swam with wild dolphins

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a tarantula - are you kidding? spiders creep me out!

10. Said "I love you" and meant it

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise

15. Seen the Northern Lights

16. Gone to a huge sports game

17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Bet on a winning horse

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Taken an ice cold bath

28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Ridden a roller coaster

31. Hit a home run

32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

33. Adopted an accent for fun

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment

36. Loved your job 90% of the time

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Watched wild whales

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach

41. Gone sky diving

42. Visited Ireland

43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited India

45. Bench-pressed your own weight

46. Milked a cow

47. Alphabetized your personal files

48. Ever worn a superhero costume

49. Sung karaoke

50. Lounged around in bed all day

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Done something you should regret, but don't

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Been in a movie

60. Gone without food for 3 days

61. Made cookies from scratch

62. Won first prize in a costume contest

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Been in a combat zone

65. Spoken more than one language fluently

66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone

67. Bounced a check

68. Read - and understood - your credit report

69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy

70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did

71. Called or written your Congress person

72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

74. Helped an animal give birth

75. Been fired or laid off from a job

76. Won money

77. Broken a bone

78. Ridden a motorcycle

79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph

80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing

82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

83. Eaten sushi

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read The Bible cover to cover

86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

87. Gotten someone fired for their actions

88. Gone back to school

89. Changed your name

90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes

92. Read The Iliad

93. Taught yourself an art from scratch

94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt

96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

97. Been elected to public office

98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

101. Had a booth at a street fair

102. Dyed your hair

103. Been a DJ

104. Rocked a baby to sleep

105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four

106. Raked your carpet

107. Brought out the best in people

108. Brought out the worst in people

109. Worn a mood ring

110. Ridden a horse

111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap

112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe

113. Buried a child

114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play

115. Been inside the pyramids

116. Shot a basketball into a basket

117. Danced at a disco

118. Played in a band

119. Shot a bird

120. Gone to an arboretum

121. Tutored someone

122. Ridden a train

123. Brought an old fad back into style

124. Eaten caviar

125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need

126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant

127. Published a book

128. Pieced a quilt

129. Lived in an historic place

130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage

131. Asked for a raise

132. Made a hole-in-one

133. Gone deep sea fishing

134. Gone roller skating

135. Run a marathon

136. Learned to surf

137. Invented something

138. Flown first class

139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite

140. Flown in a helicopter

141. Visited Africa

142. Sang a solo

143. Gone spelunking

144. Learned how to take a compliment

145. Written a love-story

146. Seen Michelangelo’s David

147. Had your portrait painted

148. Written a fan letter

149. Spent the night in something haunted

150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane

151. Ran away

152. Learned to juggle

153. Been a boss

154. Sat on a jury

155. Lied about your weight

156. Gone on a diet

157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget

158. Written a poem (doesn't mean it was a good one!)

159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox

160. Gotten food poisoning

161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission

162. Hiked the Grand Canyon

163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks

164. Gone to the opera

165. Gotten a letter from someone famous

166. Worn knickers

167. Ridden in a limousine

168. Attended the Olympics

169. Can hula or waltz

170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books

171. Been stuck in an elevator

172. Had a revelatory dream

173. Thought you might crash in an airplane

174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert

175. Saved someone’s life

176. Eaten raw whale

177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint

178. Laughed till your side hurt

179. Straddled the equator

180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing

181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival

182. Sent a message in a bottle

183. Spent the night in a hostel

184. Been a cashier

185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

186. Joined a union

187. Donated blood or plasma

188. Built a camp fire

189. Kept a blog

190. Had hives

191. Worn custom made shoes or boots

192. Made a PowerPoint presentation

193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course

194. Served at a soup kitchen

195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube

196. Know CPR

197. Ridden in or owned a convertible

198. Found a long lost friend

199. Helped solve a crime

200. Responded to a NJP newsletter posted by Sissamom

Kindergarten is so hard!

Hunter is in kindergarten this year and loving it. I have not heard one complaint all year. Kylan is a little jealous of how much fun Hunter seems to have at school.

Here is a cute Santa that he brought home the other day. He had fun telling us how he made it. I like the beard. Kylan says that it looks like he had a shaving accident.


Then Thursday Beck, Gavin and I got to go help his class make their "Gingerbread houses" I thought that using milk cartons was a good idea for these little kids. His class had fun making the houses but they had a hard time putting the candy on their houses and not in their mouths.


If you look closely, you can see Santa getting ready to go down the chimney.


After the houses were done Beck got to sit with Hunter on the rug and listen to a story.


Then Hunter came home with this homework. He had to cut out the money amounts, attach it to different things and then play store. This was perfect for Hunter because he does this all the time.

We are Cookie Monsters

We all love cookies at our house. And homemade is the best. We decided to make some cookies for our treat on Monday.

After we cooked the cookies, Stephen frosted them.


Then the kids decorated them.


Don't they look so good? How many sprinkles can you get onto one cookie?


Here is the group with their creations. They were so good.

Now that I have thought about it a little longer....

I did that Christmas tag last night right before I had to go to work. So I didn't think very long before I answered. Although all of my answers are correct I have a couple of different answers for a couple questions.
First, my favorite tradition:
When we set up the Christmas tree we drag our mattresses out and sleep in the living room with the lights on. We always do this the first night that the tree is up and then several times before Christmas.
Next, my favorite Christmas song:
I do love Little Drummer Boy but I also love Which Child Is This? I couldn't really pick one favorite song because I like a lot of them.

Another question that I think would be good for this tag is Do you have a fake or real Christmas tree?
We have a fake tree because my mom is allergic to real trees and she came to our house for our first Christmas so we bought one that year. I was going to have a real tree after I got married because we always had a fake tree growing up but it is so much easier and cheaper to just put up our pre-lit Christmas tree.

Christmas Tag

Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate all the way. I am not a big fan of eggnog except I did like my mom's homemade eggnog growing up. I used to even prefer hot cider over hot chocolate until Stephen's hot chocolate came out with all of their different flavors. It is soooo goooood.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree?
Wrapped. Who just has them set under the tree? Christmas morning would take like .2 seconds if you didn't have to open your presents. That is part of the fun to see the pile of presents and try and guess what they might be.

Colored lights on tree or white?
Colored lights on the tree (I love my pre-lit tree)

When do you put your decorations up?
Thanksgiving weekend

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Raviolis of course!

Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
We always spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents that lived close to us. My grandma would make all sorts of homemade candy and dipped chocolates and oh see what you did...now I am missing my family. Anyway, we always had a lot of good food and family. The grandkids would always put on a nativity scene for everyone and then we would gather around my grandparents Christmas tree and would each open some gifts that my grandpa would hand out.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes, we open family gifts Christmas Eve. Then Santa Christmas morning. This is something that my parents started when I was growing up. The kids weren't as appreciative of the family gifts when they were mixed up with the Santa gifts.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We each get to pick out a new ornament each year so our tree has lights and then all of our ornaments from each year. We used to put different plain colored balls on the tree also but we have enough ornaments now that we just use the ones that we have gotten every year.

Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Growing up I loved the snow and didn't care that it was cold. But now I don't like the cold or driving in it or the ice on the roads. I think that it is really pretty and do like to play in it occasionally. So, neither. I think that I would miss it if I lived where it didn't snow. If it could snow just in our yards and not the road or sidewalks, I would be happy. And oh, I forgot, I hate, hate, hate shoveling it. So, maybe I am leaning toward the dread part.

Can you ice skate?
No, I actually have never tried and don't plan on it. Sad that I don't take advantage of the ice arena just a couple of blocks from me. Growing up there was an area behind our house that would freeze over and we would skate around with just our shoes, but that doesn't count.

Do you remember your favorite gift?
I don't have a specific favorite gift. I don't think that I have ever gotten something that I didn't like. I am pretty easy to please. When I start thinking about it, I have had a lot of good, favorite gifts every year from when I was little to including last year.

What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
The focus on Christ and the emphasis on selfless giving.(this was Shauntae's answer but I agree) It is just a time to remember what this life really is about and I love the feeling of love and giving that most people have at this time.

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Almond Roca, not sure why this is a holiday dessert because you can get it all year round. I just usually get it for Christmas and with the price of it that is the only time we have it.

What is your favorite tradition?
I can't pick one so I will tell you a couple. The first one is the same as Shauntae.
We open our gifts one at a time. It's nice to see each individual reaction plus makes Christmas morning last a little longer. It makes all the work and time that has gone into this morning worth it.
Second, I love to look at Christmas lights. I love driving around this time of the year and looking at all of the lights.

Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving?
Definitely giving. I love to watch people open gifts.

What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Little Drummer Boy

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yum

Ever recycled a Christmas present?
No

There you go, now you know a little bit more about me and our Christmas traditions.

Piggy Kylan

Kylan had a play at school where he was a pig. He had to come up with his own costume and make it. This is what he did.
We bought a pink shirt for a couple of dollars and then he painted it to make it look dirty.


Then we got some really big pink stuff, I don't know what you would call it or what you would really use it for. He twirled it to make a tail and wrapped it around to make a nose.

Isn't that tail so cute.

He had a lot of fun and the play was really cute. It wasn't for parents and families, just school, but Kylan reenacted his part for us and it was really cute.