Christmas concerts and recitals

Lots of caroling this month! For cub scouts we went hay riding and Christmas caroling! Great weather, fun tunes and hot chocolate. Boys had a nice time with their friends and I walked behind them while chit chatting with other moms. Gpa Lowe then came with us to listen to Austin's 1st grade Christmas concert. My favorite song was about the "never ending fruit cake." Wesley conveniently got in trouble and stayed home while Levi went to bed (babysat, staring out his window for our return).I learned patience that night with my oldest. It was later Wesley's turn and we all made it (dad raced back from his weekly temple session in Mesa) for his performance. He didn't smile once, but hopefully enjoyed being on stage and seeing us on that hard cold floor on the front row.
   Boys then played their Christmas piano recital pieces (Austin: Christmas parade, we wish you a Merry Christmas. Wesley: Holly Jolly Christmas, Raider's of lost ark). This was Austin's first recital and he did great! He even forgot the names of his songs right before he played. Cute. Wesley, Mr. Confident, got right up there and played near perfectly. I was very proud of them and all the students that came. I am down to just 2 girls now (besides my boys), so I was grateful that Amy Hall invited us to be part of her recital. She is so creative with decor and really made it a success.  Best part of the night was when Levi accidentally fell into the trash can, off of a chair! so funny!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I do love the Holidays and the simple traditional events that we have started doing as a family. The Ward Christmas party was especially sweet this year with homemade sticky buns and Grandpa Lowe as the Santa! Levi was not a fan of his big beard, although we knew it was Gpa Lowe under neath. My boys were not fooled by it either, "Hi Grandpa Lowe" they said as he approached. Jared went home with a migraine, but it still was a great morning.
    We later met up with Chris and Trisha Mariner for our 2nd annual Gingerbread House/ Chili night. Wesley always gets too much frosting all over his hands and face, slops it all over himself and his board. He later indulged and ate it all with his friend Cade, while smashing it all over his face! Good times. Austin, my builder, had a hard time designing and creating. Jared helped out and it looked nice. Isaac sat back while Jared did most of the work (I took pics and tried to keep Levi away from all the candies on the floor). He shoved 7 jellybeans into his mouth at one point! Good thing he didn't choke. Just sayin'  Love that boy! I also ate too many s'mores bars.

Setting up for the holidays

Annual Christmas tree set up by Wesley and Austin (Isaac was a bit more involved this year, but needs to learn how to read so he can follow instructions). What will I do when my boys no longer want to put up the tree or are excited? It's hard enough to get Jared to string some lights on outside, while we do the rest of the set up inside. Our Christmas is simple. The tree has a few ornaments, we have our Santas lined up on the piano, our humble nativity scene, some adorable "Cowboy Socks" (which we've been doing since 2007 from El Paso), and of course Mr Marshall the elf comes back out on Dec 1st to fool the boys!
    It's getting a little colder too, so we are snuggling up more with blankets and wearing long socks. Austin and Isaac came home from school one day with really cute head pieces! I really liked how Austin then shared his gingerbread cookie "head" with Isaac that he had saved from school.  We made our homemade cards for friends and family and goodie plates of cookies and treats. Austin created a cute phrase, "Merry Christmas from the Wilson's. Hope you're on the good list." Also made it to Wesley's school to decorate cookies and overeat the frosting.
     Portable Santa also showed up via email to tell the boys to be on the nice list (dad was once again on the naughty list for picking his nose! And mom is trying hard not to fart in front of others). They love hearing their names called out by Santa, finding their homes in AZ and then figuring out which toy he might bring them (Wesley: drawing books/ant farm, Austin: scooter, Isaac: popcorn popper, Levi: ball, mom and dad: bedroom lamps).