Our Christmas Party, and Christmas Day...

So... it all started with a nice Christmas fondue dinner (we totally stole that as our new Christmas tradition, Jeni) and making a batch of cookies for Santa. Ian and Mae had a great time decorating the cookies--and eating a bit of the frosting too. Mae was VERY excited to be decorating the very cookies that Santa would be eating that night. I tried to convince her that Santa liked chocolate cookies, but Lindsay was in favor of the nicely decorated sugar cookies--they were yummy too.


Being our first Christmas on our own we were very excited to get our kids started with some traditions that we hope to carry on through the years. We all dressed up and preformed the nativity while I read from Luke chapter two. Lindsay came up with great costumes for us all, and, as you can see, Ian had lots of fun with it--Mae took her role as Mary very seriously.


Though Ian kept tugging his head gear off, he and Mae really enjoyed playing their roles. I think that they both make a great Mary and Joseph.


Christmas morning came and so did SANTA! Mae got a really cool Madame Alexander doll (which, obviously, she loves) and Ian was totally excited to get right to work on playing with his new train set. Mae also got to open some great toys and clothes from our family (thank you all) and she even got some Barbie: Island Princess breakfast cereal from me--I love getting everyones favorite cereal. Lindsay got Captain Crunch Berries, Ian got Peanut Butter Crunch, and Lindsay bought me some Reece's Puffs...Mmmmmmm!


Ian was so occupied by his train set that he wouldn't stop to open anything else. Mae had to open a few of his toys just so that they would not go unnoticed. I helped Ian with his train set most of the day--if Lindsay or I ever heard a loud scream and a whine from his bedroom we knew that he was having a hard time getting the train to stay on the track. He is getting the hang of it, though.



Ahhhh, the Christmas mess! Add to this some animal crackers ground up into the carpet, a few orange peels, a pile of pine needles, and boxes galore--we couldn't even see our carpet for a few hours!


Though he thinks of himself as a superboy at times, Ian couldn't keep up with his own will. He finally gave in to fatigue on his bedroom floor cuddled up to his blanket while playing to the last moment with his new train set. What great kids!

What A Week!

So it all started with spending some time in Beaver with Brad's family. Sean went in to the MTC (see earlier post for pictures) and we all had a great time eating good food (as usual) saying goodbye to Sean, playing volleyball, going tubing, and hearing Sean's farewell speech.


From there we went to Centerville to see Grandma and Grandpa Campbell. Mae and Ian had a great time wreaking havoc in the house (Ian nearly gave Grandpa Campbell a heart attack when he hammered his nice Sony widescreen HD TV with his new tool set--that was given to him by grandma and grandpa. Luckily Brad caught him before any damage was done). We all had a great time seeing all of our Centerville family and we can't wait to get together again.


After a visit to Centerville it was back to southern Utah for a St. George stop. The kids loved the pool (which had been heated to 98 degrees--soooooo nice!) and Mae swears that she has now learned to swim--in the shallow end at least. Ian loved the warm water and generally likes the out-of-doors anyway, so the pool was a perfect fit for him.


Even a nighttime swim was in order for us crazies! We all had a great time with the family and while Brad went to the BYU game in Vegas, the kids and I had a great time at the family party. Mae and Ian got plenty of candy from the Pinata to last them the ride home the next day, and we escaped with a few good pictures too. Brad was relieved that BYU football player and future Oklahoma City Missionary Ethan M. blocked the potential game-winning field goal. He thought that he was going to be in for a VERY long drive home (not to mention having to endure the smack talk from my side of the family)


After having driven for about two hours of the twenty or so it took us to get back to Stillwater, Mae asked, "When are we going to get to the airport?" IF ONLY that is where we were headed. The trip was longer because we pulled a small trailer back to OK with us (with a new stove and rocking chair for our house) Mae asked constantly how much longer it would be until we got home. We felt bad for her, but she did well and was a great little traveler.


Ian was a good little traveler as well. He watched Nemo, Cars, Barbie: Fairtytopia (for a minute or two anyway), Mickey's Christmas, and who knows what else. We were able to split the drive over two days, so the kids were awake for a large part of the time. When we finally got home the kids were relieved to see their toys. Ian got right into his truck and cruised around the house while Mae retreated to her bedroom, turned on her music and lined up her Barbie's and dolls for a much-needed reunion.

In all, the trip was great. We hope we can make it out to Utah in July--but we will have to get over this trip first!

Wow! They called him on a mission...

Sean went to the MTC last Wednesday and a few of us got to see him off. Beforehand we ate at Ihop and the kids had lots of fun.

I felt bad for Mom and Dad because they mentioned that all of the missionaries who are in the MTC over Christmas don't get to call home. Bummer!

Ahhhh, Christmas time!

I predict many nights of hot chocolate, warm fires, and fun Christmas movies on the horizon!




I just wanted to post a quick picture of our tree setup--not the best picture, but it makes our home feel wonderful!

Another ER trip for the Foster's

The Culprit:



Yes, the piece looks rather unassuming, but it has been the instigator in TWO ER trips (broken arm the first time, and two stitches to a lip this time), many a bonked head, and has caused countless stubbed toes and bruised shins.

The unfortunate, now injured recipient:



Yes, that is an attempt to smile in the second picture. We are convinced that Ian will forever have a mental complex about hospitals, doctors, and nurses because of his many early trips to see the doctor about injuries he has sustained in his first two years.

Let us know if you are at all interested in taking the dangerous piece of furniture off of our hands.