Happy Holidays!

Keaton came down for Christmas on Wednesday morning. It's great to have him here. Christmas Eve brought snow in the early evening. Although it didn't stick, it still brought a bit of the spirit of Christmas. We had cheesy potato soup for dinner and the grandparents came over. We then went to see the lights around town. We missed walking around the Temple grounds because of the rain. After seeing the lights we came home and read about the birth of Jesus in the Bible and watched a DVD about Christ.

One of our traditions is for the kids to open a gift on Christmas Eve. Of course it is p.j.'s. Last year on Christmas Mike remembered that he had forgotten to get me some, but this year I fixed that and bought my own:)


Noah's favorite gift this year was a Minnesota Viking football uniform. He wore it all day on Christmas and the next day. We finally had to tell him to take it off to be washed.....you know how some things get so dirty they might just grow legs and walk away!

Maddie got a bike, but her favorite gift is probably the Hanna Montana barbie that sings "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"......gosh I hope the batteries in that wear out soon!:)

The grandparents were able to come over in the morning after the kids called them by 6:00am. We opened gifts then Mike made a yummy Christmas breakfast. After that the grandparents left and our family stayed in pajamas much of the day. That evening we had a nice Christmas dinner. We all had a great Christmas spending time with each other!

The Forgotten Carols

Last night Mikenzie and I went to The Forgotten Carols. It was a mother-daughter date. We went together for the first time the year we moved to St. George which was 4 years ago. We had a great time and it helps to bring the Christmas Spirit. It was nice to slow down and have some one-on-one time and enjoy the music and the true meaning of Christmas. I have to give "thanks" to Jenny for introducing me to the carols many years ago. It was so long ago that I actually have a cassette tape of them. Funny thing, Kenzie was the only one in the house with a cassette tape player...until she threw out her broken stereo yesterday. Hopefully, Kenzie and I can keep the tradition of going every few years and soon have Maddie go with us.

Christmas Cookies!

One of our Christmas traditions is to make sugar cookies.
I don't mean to brag, but my kids think they
are the best ever! It's not actually my own recipe, but one from a dear family friend. Noah and Maddie helped me today. I even got Mike to help frost a few. Usually he just enjoys them when they are done. They are Keaton's favorite so I will have to set some aside for him. He'll be here on Tuesday. I've included the recipe in case anyone wants to try it. Have fun baking!

Butter Cookies
1 c. butter flavor shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
4-5 T. milk
2 tsp. almond flavoring
4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

Blend ingredients. Roll out and shape as desired. Bake @ 425 for 6 minutes. Don't overbake. They are a soft sugar cookie:) Yummy!

Happy "13" Gage!

Happy Birthday Gage! Gage turned 13 on the 12th. He went to lunch with Mom to Panda Express and then to Barnes and Noble to pick out a book. For dinner he went to Chuck-a-Rama with Dad. Grandparents came over for mint brownies and ice cream. Then he and Dad went to a movie, "The Day the Earth Stood Still". He had a great time and received a bike, game for the WII, basketball clothes, BYU sweatshirt, and a gift card. Wow, we have another teenager! We love you Gage!

SNOW

It snowed in St. George twice this week! Today was the best. It started about 4pm and is still snowing at 9pm. The kids had a ball. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of snow gear so we dug out some very old boots and wore sweatshirts. Maddie made snow angels and threw snowballs at anyone in her way. Gage ran off with friends and came back frozen. Noah and Mom made 2 beautiful and plump snowmen. We loved it and the kids are hoping for a snowday tomorrow so they won't have to go to school:)

Eagle Scout

We have an Eagle Scout in the family! Last weekend Keaton received his Eagle Scout Award. He was the first in both the Thompson and the Knudsen family. We had a small ceremony with only Keaton and his friend. Keaton had all his badges completed before he was 16. His Eagle project was providing bike racks at Dixie College. We are very proud of Keaton's accomplishment!