Christmas 2014

It was a really good Christmas this year. We were very blessed to be able to give a lot to our kids this year because we were very smart and responsible with our money all year long. Now we are trying very hard to make sure they keep it real and don't become spoiled brats. One of my favorite things about this Christmas was my kids participation in our evening singing time as a family. We usually read a Christmas book or have pop corn and watch Polar Express. Anything to get them away from their video games and spend time together. This year Dallin and Addie presented stories about giving and the spirit of Christmas. The stories they picked were really touching. And the coolest part was one night Olivia and Derek announced they made up a song for all of us. They sat together and Derek introduced Livyy then she sang this made up song. It was actually pretty good. And shocker Olivia can sing! Holy cow I did not see that one coming. It was really cool. I hope she joins choir or does something with that talent one day..(maybe I should help her look into that)

Wrestling

Boys started wrestling this Fall. They both took football season off and were pretty rowdy in the evenings. Wrestling has been wearing them out. Its very very hard for them. We were surprised to see how crazy good Derek was at it right out the gates. He is the baby in the family so I thought he might be a little sissy in the beginning but.. No! He started kicking butt and taking names. Dallin is always grumpy and hesitant to try new things. It stems from his need to please every one and he gets worried he wont be the best if its new to a sport. He picked up on it quickly as was getting really good at it. That is until he came home on Christmas Eve with a broken collar bone. (my kids always have the worst timing). He will take a month off to heal but we are going to join again next year. Its so good for them to learn how to use body weight and agility to move another person, and that concept will help them tackle better in football.

Christmas Lights 2014

We only did 2 fun things total this year as far as Christmas celebrating goes... so this crap must be documented. #ahhmemories. We drove up to see the lights at Old Settlers. There was suppose to be a carnival but it go rained out. We let the kids hang out of the windows and the sun roof cause we are cool like that. And at the very end Derek said it was the best Christmas ever. Which is what I need to hear in order to continue attempting these types of family outings especially with a grumpy pre teenager who sucked all the fun out of my evening with his bad attitude. It worked out in the end cause I had him mop the front walkway tiles as a punishment and my house smelled of pine sol for a week. All is well in the Weeks household again.

(Grumpy teen sat in the back and wouldn't look at the lights)

Gingerbread Houses 2014

The month of December I started out happy with high hopes. This is a good type of mood to be in to tackle gingerbread house making. Cause by the end of it I was exhausted and didn't want to do anything else for Christmas. The kids are getting better at it. They have more patience and fine motor skills to actually make it look similar to a house. They still eat 90% of the candy. Which is 10% down from last year. However they like to put each others houses down when they get frustrated cause a gum drop (or two) falls off. I was impressed with Addie's ability to take her frozen obsession and find everything blue or white in the assortment of candy for a perfect Elsa house. Dallin got up on his own and made hot cocoa for every one. He was very funny making jokes and making fun of my lack or patience to take the edge off. Georgia didn't get up on the buffet and eat the houses this year so they stayed on display for a couple of weeks. Who knows what next year's Ginger bread extravaganza will be like. But the future is bright!

Thanksgiving 2014

We spent most of Thanksgiving day at Operation Turkey. Andrew and I wanted to have the older two kids volunteer and see how people less fortunate than us live. Thinking if they saw how homeless people live they will be more thankful and giving during Christmas coming up. It basically didn't go at all the way we planned. It back fired BIG TIME! There were more do-gooders/volunteers that just showed up to feel good about themselves and take a few pic so their Facebook friends could see their good deeds, than there were actual homeless people or people in NEED. Tons of food went into the garbage and money was wasted. Every homeless man and woman already had 12 plates from other volunteers that had gotten to them before we could. It was pretty funny when we drove up to a homeless man holding a sign that said "hungry need food". Addie got out to hand him a plate of food and he refused it. At which point my dad got angry and threatened to get out and kick his ass for not being nice to his Grandbaby. It was all funny by the next day. But needless to say we need to find a better way to teach our kids gratitude.