Santa came to our ward...

Solace and Ender LOVED it! Armour, not so much! He was a bit afraid of Santa and wouldn't even go to him. I had to have Solace hold him to even get him to go close for the picture. Nice...

Christmas Programs

Two nights ago S and E had their preschool program. Solace said a line and they both sang all the songs. It was great (I forgot my camera of course). But Ender was a star and Solace was a shepherd in it.

Last night we went to the ward Christmas party where we had dinner, the kids nativity program, and a visit from Santa. In this program, Solace had a scripture to say: Luke 2:1 "And it came to pass in those days, there came a decree from Ceaser Augustus that all the world should be taxed." She had a hard time remembering the words "Decree" and "Ceaser Augustus", but memorized it weeks ago and has been practicing non stop. Here is a video of the performance last night.

And with this huge blog, I am caught up: Johnson Grandparents visit part 4: Bowl and Pitcher

And this is where we got the most awesome pictures, so please excuse the long blog, and enjoy the Johnson family in pictures.

Everyone but me. Come on Grandma
Throwing rocks...an action shot
Intensely trying to break rocks after dad showed her how.
I just want to get in the water mom!!
Look grandma and grandpa, I am going to throw this HUGE rock in
(note the rock E can hardly carry on his own!)
Dad, this big rock makes me a bit nervous...
Look mom, I can fly!
The boys with their grandparents

Obviously, this pic shows the reason you never see pic of me.

Finally someone helps me play in the water!
E.
Still breaking rocks...
A and dad

Success at last: Look at my designs of broken rocks!

If dad can do it...
So can we!

Johnson Grandparents visit part 3: Manito Park

We visited Manito park-there wasn't much as far as flowers, but it was still beautiful!

Everyone but me Silly faces picture
A and his dad and grandpa
This pic cracks me up! We were trying to get a pic of E and Grandma, and S snuck in behind them and posed and it turned out to be just the cutest pic ever!
Wes and his parents

And you thought I was caught up!! AKA JOhnsos Grandparents visit part 2: the DQ

So, we stopped at the DQ when Anne and Steve were visiting in November and for some reason I got a lot of cute pics there, so here they are.

Grandma and the kids A and Grandma
E and Grandpa
S and dad
Growling
Stealing dad's hat.
Growling again

Cakes of the past

S's first birthday-Elmo S's 2nd Birthday-Dora
E's 1st Birthday-Bathtub fun
S's 3rd birthday-Princess Party E's 2nd Birthday-ShrekS's 4th Birthday-Halloween/Witch

E's 3rd Birthday-Dinosaur Volcano Island themeA's 1st birthday-Mickey Mouse-2 cakes cause he and a friend share a birthday and shared a party. But of course each kid needed their own cake to dig in to.
What would a cake blog be without including the cake I made for my dad's 50th birthday?!

My cakes aren't perfect, but they are unique and specially made for each theme and birthday. So, now do you see why Solace's cake this year feels like a major cop out?!

PJ Party

So. Solace had a Pajama party for her birthday on Saturday. It was great. We made breakfast (I use the word We loosely there as the truth is that Wes made breakfast), then decorated pillowcases, made cereal necklaces, and ate cake and ice cream. It was a great party! Here are the pics (There are no cake pics as I did not make one this year-I just bought one at Wal Mart that she thought looked good-total cop out! Maybe I will post the past cakes in another blog just so I feel better...) Enjoy the pictures!

My attempt at a pic of all three kids smiling and looking at the camera before the party started. This was the closest I got... S & E in front of her poster about her from school.
The birthday girl!
Running around at the beginning while we waited for more kids to arrive (note dad in the background cooking).

Two buddies with their cereal necklaces. FYI, this pic is funnier if you know that the only way I could get them to look up was to take the bowl of cereal and hold it up above the camera. That is what they are both looking at!
Opening presents. Wow-her friends were generous!
Blowing out the candles.
Eating cake and ice cream.