9, 10, 11 and 12 days of Christmas

 It was a cold, windy, snowy night and we did not hear the bell.  This was on the porch and we think it goes with the group but no tag.  It must have blown off.  

 10 ladies dancing.

 11 pipers piping.

12 drummers drumming.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

We loved this and the reality of the gifts on each day.  Such planning and then delivering each night.  I will do this for someone because it was so fun for us. 

On the last day, tucked next to the ice cream drumsticks was a Christmas card telling us who it was.  It is the dearest family in our neighborhood.   

6, 7, 8 days! I am doing this for someone next year!

 I thought I had it figured out today with the brown eggs.  (I was wrong)

 Also in the basket was an omelet recipe.

 A swan swimming in the puzzle.

Chocolate milk and attached in the handle is the Old Maid card game. 

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

5 Golden Rings

Rings of Pineapple, of course, Golden Rings!

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

2 more days

Kim has gone to Washington and gotten Colby and his dog, Roofus and brought them back to Utah.   Now when the bell rings we have a dog barking to also let us know what is happening.  Also due to yesterday's note no one is spying and in fact the front shade is closed.  We want these creative gifts.  

Attached to the french bread was gift cards to Chick-Fil-A.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Let's Spy and See Who It Is!!!!

On Day 2 it was announced that someone in my house was going to peek out the window and try and find out who is doing this.  When the door bell rang and the package was left, nobody was spying and good thing because they left a gift and a letter.  The letter said this:

Twas the first day of Christmas

and all through your house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Then suddenly one little soul did appear,

It's your Christmas friends bringing holiday cheer.

Now beware of this warning your friends will be here,

But  you better not look, or we'll disappear.

Then all our gifts that were carefully planned,

On some other porch will surprisingly land.

This glad Christmas season is so full of fun.

We're happy to share with your family, then run.

How grateful we are that you're playing our game.

You'll now find that Christmas won't be the same.

The song that we sing twelve days in a row

Won't get tiresome with treats from friends you know.

But to keep up the mystery and the fun,

You won't know who we are until we're all done!

Can you see where this is going?  Yes, a very literal translation of the song.  2 packages of Turtle candy tied to Dove Soap.  Also start noticing that all the tags are so cute and the ribbons are matching are oh, so sweet.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Ding Dong says the doorbell

The doorbell rang.  Jake went to the door.  No one was there but there was a package. We look at this odd package...... I wonder what this is?  It looks kind of strange.  It is a bird attached to a can of pears with an air freshener?  What?

Our family is in for a treat this holiday season.

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

Thanksgiving Memories

 We played BINGO on these cards with the cutest pictures.  Take a look at them, you might fall in love.

In the fall I had a craving for plums that we used to can when I was a teenager.  I looked at so many stores and could not find them anywhere so I called my mom.  She had already done all her canning but because she is so good to all her kids and me she went and found some plums and canned them for me and brought them to me at Thanksgiving.

Favorite Pictures of the Day Thanksgiving

Shannon was in charge of the 4 salads in the salad bar.  She gathered the ingredients and prepped them and set them out.  She did a great job.

Dad aka Grandpa was in charge of the potatoes.  Mom aka Grandma is melting butter.

Faith brought alot of coloring books and markers and she entertained, visited and kept the masses downstairs.  This was the sweetest memory of the day.  She kept everyone calm.

As we neared eating time and we were carrying everything downstairs, Faith wanted me to come down and see everyone with their forks and knives up.  They did it over and over as each person came down and groaned when it was not me.  When I finally came down they cheered!

Love this Niece

When Emily has training at Camp Williams she comes and stays with us.  What a delight to get to know her.  She has been through boot camp and training so she knows she can do hard things.  That is my favorite thing about her.  She is talented, strong and easy to talk to.  She likes everything I cook. In the top picture she is picking out smelly wax cubes to warm in her dorm to make it smell good.  Trust me I have enough to share. :) (small obsession)  She misses her mother and I hope when she comes I can fill that void a little bit.

Gift Exchange Apron

I did not think I took a picture of this apron, but surprisingly I did.  I made this for a gift exchange at work.  Of course I used Westlake Blue as colors.  I put the colors of this one together myself!

The Thanksgiving Table

When I was planning this holiday meal I got excited for the table decorations.  I had gourds, lanterns, burlap ribbon, some greenery and the cutest salt and pepper shakers shaped like pumpkins sitting in a wagon.  When my sister, Shannon got to my house I turned the tables decoration over to her completely and she did not disappoint.  They looked so good.  Also, when I was thinking of this holiday together I decided to make everyone a matching apron.  I saw Thanksgiving fabric at the store and when I went back to buy it it was too expensive.  I was just standing there trying to figure out what to do and lo and behold as a total surprise that day, my twin sister, Faith who can put fabric together like no other, came strolling by.  She picked out the fabric for the aprons and I made them and they turned out great.  I even made my dad one as he is the biggest help in the kitchen, the dishwasher and the potato peeler.

Pizza Get Together

The night before Thanksgiving we all met at Faiths for pizza and salad.  I like how we did this.  Every family brought what their family would eat and we set it out, shared and enjoyed.  

Then we played BINGO.  FUN!

Best Thanksgiving in a Long Time

There is going to be quite a few posts about this.  I have wanted this for a long time.  Look at how many people were at my Thanksgiving table.  

The picture I wanted to get but I did not was all of the cars out in front of my house.

For years I have gone on a walk on Thanksgiving and have seen driveways and streets littered with cars. How I wanted this.  This year I got it.  This is what it would have looked like if I had taken a picture.

Car One- Kelsi

Car Two - Mine

Car Three - My sister

Car Four - My sisters' husband (yes they live in my town and yes they live together but they had to bring
2 cars for the food sake!)   (I think she knew I was doing a car count!)

Car Five - My mom and dad and brother from WA

Car Six - My sister and her family from Kansas

Car Seven - My niece who is attending Weber State

Car Eight - My nephew and his wife and my niece who live nearby also.

Total number of cars outside of my house on Thanksgiving Day - EIGHT

I wish I had gotten a picture because this was one of my dreams.

Cake Boss Cake

 What a fun birthday I had,  One of the things that made it special this year was this little cake.  

A Cake Boss cake made popular from the show on TLC but it was sold in our local bakery.  

It is both a mixture of white and chocolate cake with a fudge center and delicious frosting. 

Wow, this was good.

A Beautiful Sight

The first snowfall is always pretty, until we get sick of driving, scraping and sliding.

Treat the Good Graders

Amazing grades gives them a choice where they want to go eat.  

They are both always doing their homework.

Plus they are fun to be with.

(Jake is running in Boise today.)