Christmas Part 2: Gingerbread House

This will for sure become a new sparks family tradition each Christmas.  I originally thought I would to make a the cookies and decorations from scratch, but I think that would have been a disaster.   I bought the cutest kit from Walmart and I was really impressed with it.  Now, I don't know why I would ever fuss with making it on my own (even though I am usually that person that tries).  

Braden loved this but really just wanted to eat candy the whole time.  It is hard to explain to a 2 year old, that m&ms are for decorations.  

Ok, here is mom battling herself because the kids want to help decorate and I have to die to the fact that I want to make the house look perfect.   Ooops

Making progress

Our institute adopted student and great friend Liz, joined us for the evening. 

The finished product.  Pretty cute! 

This was not for the gingerbread house, but just a fun little moment.  I made peppermint hot chocolate and needing help breaking up all the peppermints, so Braden grabbed his Handy Manny hammer, and Ella got the other one from his tool box and they went at it.  I think we end up with more on the floor than in the pan and the plastic hammers were not quite strong enough to do much of anything, but it was fun to just let them bang all they wanted to!  

Christmas Part 1

We had a truly unbelievable Christmas season this year.  I think it has been my favorite in a long time.  It is such a fun time with Ella and Braden because they both at an age they can understand Christmas but yet are still not too consumed with just getting gifts.  Everything is magical and wondrous for them.  We really tried as a family this year to plan events to create memories and celebrate the true meaning of the season.  Some of the highlights were going to Silver Dollar City (or Silver Dollar Silly as Ella calls it), putting up the tree, making a gingerbread house, learning about the Nativity, chocolate advent calendars, movie night, the polar express, Breakfast with Santa, and making birthday cupcakes for baby Jesus.   So since I am still catching up on my blog posts I am going to have a few Christmas installments to help remember all the great times we had.

Putting up the Christmas Tree

I decided I wanted to start the tradition this year of giving each of the kids an ornament to remember the year by.  This was the sweet picture to kick off this tradition.  Ella got a fairy, because she is free spirited. loves fairies, dancing and all things princess.  Braden got a truck because he loves trucks and it was one of his first words this year even though now he is talking so much.   This is Beckett's first Christmas so he got a pair of baby shoes.  Well...if I only had a picture to show only a few hours after this picture two out of the 3 ornaments were in pieces!  Oh what super glue can do.  Mom learned her lesson that breakable ornaments are not a good idea.

The Polar Express

We had the incredible opportunity to ride on the Polar Express train in Branson.  We got to go with incredible friends and had such a great time.  We all wore our pj's (just like the movie) and I was really impressed with how great of a job they did making it so fun and special for the kids.  

Tickets....tickets please.   They punched letters in the tickets just like the movie. 

The staff came out to the "Hot Coco" song from the movie with cookies and coco for everyone.

We picked up Santa at the North Pole, he visited with each child and then gave them a bell from his sleigh.  Ella was consistent all Christmas asking only for roller skates and ice skates. 

Braden was terrified of Santa at first, but warmed up quick.

All the kids!  The Rapps, Houstons, and Hampsch kiddos.  We are so blessed to get to have all of these wonderful friends.  I love that my kids get to grow up with each of these people.

Beckett was there too, he even dressed in his Christmas pjs.  He just slept the whole time.

School friends!

Mom this post is for you!

When I was little I have many memories of taking all the toys out of my toy box and then getting in and shutting the lid.   My mom has told me many times about how I used to do this.   Well aparantley my daughter is going to be just like me.  This is the site I saw when I walked into her room.  Ella was all prepared with her pillow in place and a flashlight for when she shut the lid.   A little of her momma with the preparedness of her daddy!

Catch up #4 Thanksgiving

We had an incredible thanksgiving with my family.  They were gracious enough to come to Branson to be with us, so we were very thankful we didn't have to travel!  

Braden was quite the cook!  He gathered many of his plastic food toys, and was stirring them in a bowl.

Cooking with Nana

Beckett's first Thanksgiving!  Thanks Nana for my outfit!

Kids Table

Fun with Cousins

Braden was hilarious!  Do you notice how one eye is totally pressed down by the goggles, but that only make it all funnier. 

Christmas Pjs for everyone

We kicked off Christmas with a trip to Silver Dollar City.  It was a great way to kick off Christmas!

Our new playground! (Catch up #3)

Thank you Nonnie and Papa for our wonderful playground! What an incredible present!   It was a labor of love for my dad and mostly for Collin, but we finally got it put together.  

Tatu's Birthday (Catch up #2)

In October we got to headed to the Texas hill country in Austin to celebrate the birthday of Collin's mom.  It was a wonderful weekend to be with family and to celebrate the incredible woman that Marsha is.

Clydesdales and carriage rides

Ella and Aunt Nat (the birthday party planner extraordinaire!)

Our cousin Ellen who is a wonderful photographer (check out her blog here The Lubbock Life) was so incredible to take some family pictures for us.  Thank you Ellen!

My new favorite picture of Braden

My new favorite pic of Beckett

Major Catch Up! #1

Ok, I have been so behind in blogging!   I contemplated just passing over the last two months and just starting from today, but since one of the reasons I am writing this blog is to keep memories, I decided that I have to at least make an attempt to catalog some of the incredible things we have done this fall.   I will keep the words short and let the pictures do all the talking.   So here we go starting back in October.  Bear with me, it might take awhile to catch up to december!

Our sweet friend Nay-Nay joined us for pumpkin carving.  This was the first time we carved pumpkins with the kids.

Halloween - Ella was Ariel again this year.  I fought her on it thinking she couldn't repeat what she was last year and then thought, why am I doing this, if she is the same thing I don't have to get a new costume.  Braden was a pirate and Beckett was a monkey and a bumblebee.