Let Christmas begin

We bought our tree on Thanksgiving weekend like we always do. We found our most beautiful tree yet at Flagstaff Farmer's Market for only $25. We were very excited. We decorated it on Sunday night. I somehow failed to take any pictures of the event or of our tree at all this season. Chad kept telling me that I needed to but I never got up from the couch to do it. Oh well. Just know that it was beautiful. We also hung Christmas lights on our back deck instead of on the front of our house because more people see our backyard than front yard.

The boys love crafts of any kind and for any reason. I found some cheap wooden ornaments at Michael's that the boys painted one Saturday evening. It was all I could do to keep Tyler from eating the paint. I kept catching him with the paint laden brush in his mouth.

We hosted our 4th annual Graham Cracker House Decorating party this year. Amy Studley helped me make the houses a few days before the party. I had each mom bring some candy and I supplied a bunch of candy. The original plan was to have one giant party for both boys and their friends. However, the stomach flu thwarted that well laid plan. Cole started puking the day before the party so I spent the morning bleaching my house for Grant's friends and postponed Cole's party to the next week.

Grant invited his friends Nathan and Samuel. There is a marked difference between a party of four and even five year olds and a party of six year olds. Little candy ended up on the boys' houses. Most ended up on the foiled cardboard around the houses, having been thrown there with great laughter and declarations of bomb attacks over and over and over and over and over and over. You get the point. I have never heard so much laughing and joking. I'm just glad there were only three of them.

Cole's party was a success as well. This one was much more mild and had moms present. Cole invited his friends Carter Peterson, Boston and Charlie Schultz, Tyler Buxton and Zachary Studley. The boys made beautiful homes, ate way too much candy and then had too much fun playing dress up and guns while we moms talked too long and too loud about everything under the sun.

This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. The boys love it and I enjoy hosting it. I hope to keep this going for many years to come.