Christmas

The good... The bad... & The ugly...

The Good-
It was a white Christmas
I got a Cricut Expression!!
Tom was surprised by his gifts (for once...)
We read the story of Christ's birth by candle light
Many yummy goodies
The Bad-
Many yummy goodies- I ate them all...
Cancelled Christmas party due to snow
Cancelled Christmas program at church - due, of course ,to snow
Brooke noticed Santa's wrapping paper and mommy's were the same
The Ugly-
Who's children are those greedy little whiners?
Oh. Mine. Right.
And for good measure - I gained 5 pounds.
So proud. So proud.

At least they are cuties. Here they are looking so nice and sweet and inocent in their Christmas Eve pajamas. (I should probably know better than to post on my blog when I am severly frustrated by my children. I mean, Tom's children...)

Biggest Snoman in the World!

This is easily one of the funnest nights we have ever had as a family. We have all this fabulous snow and Tom and the girls started making a snowman. It got pretty big. I joined in and of course, things got carried away. Pretty soon our friends the Rosenlunds and the Clines came over (we needed A LOT more muscle power...) to help. It was wonderful. We used 2x2's to make a ramp and roll the middle section on. Surprisingly enough, no one was crushed or broken in the process. It took two guys on ladders to get the head on. It was so wonderful to be playing as a family and share it with some good friends as well. I sent pictures in to the local news stations, so I'm sure we'll be famous by morning...

The pictures are a little blurry because we didn't finish until late and it was really dark and the camera didn't focus too well.

Stuck...

What do Christmas cookies, icy roads, grandma, grandpa, Wes, movies, midnight, brides, grooms, fairies, hot chocolate, popcorn, diarrhea, and peace all have in common?

Why the Bishop family's day yesterday, of course! We started out making a snow bride, a snow groom and a snow fairy. Then Grandma Beth and Grandpa Albie came and got the girls a couple of hours of cookie making fun. Only it really started snowing. And snowing. And the girls never made it home. I hate to admit how my heart thrilled with secret joy. A whole night... No children... A quiet house... I almost cried with joy! The girls had a great time staying up until midnight, eating popcorn and hot chocolate and watching movies. Diarrhea, you ask? Well, that is the end result when Erin has too much cookie dough... Glad she was at Grandma's house...

Snow Day!!!

It snowed here in Puyallup! It does happen about once or twice a year. The whole 2 inches that fell canceled church, firesides and meetings alike. It was kind of nice... The girls love the snow and pray for it all winter. Here is some of the fun we've had...

Tom and Sam watching the girls play in the snow
Tom, Erin (purple coat) and Alix (snowsuit) jumping on the slippery trampoline. Snow is even better than shaving cream for slipping around...

Brooke throwing snow around.

The slide was also super speedy covered in snow...

"Mom, it's a perfect snow angel."

Erin

Erin, Alix, Mom and Brooke. In front of Tom's beautiful waterfall...

Alix collecting snow for the snow ice cream we make every time it snows. It's actually good and tastes just like real vanilla ice cream...

Snow in Erin's hair. ( I just like this picture, so you get to see it too...)

Brooke all rosy-cheeked and ready for hot cocoa!

(another) Quote of the day:
"Hey Tom, I got my hair trimmed today. Does it look different?"
Tom- "Sure."
"Really? How?"
Tom- "Washed..."

Note to self: Next time, DON'T ASK!

Quote of the Day:
"Girls, time to eat!"
Erin - "What's for dinner?"
"Hawaiian BBQ chicken."
Erin - "My choose to not be hungry!"

Huh. And it's not even mac-n-cheese...

Tom says I put the wrong picture up. He thinks this one is cuter. I love the funny look on her face in the other one. The choice is yours... Which one do you like best?

This picture was so darn cute, I just couldn't wait for a cute story to go with it! Isn't she the sweetest? This is our Sam-o.

In honor of Tom's birthday, this post is for him.
10 things we love about Tom...
1. He's the best daddy ever! - Brooke
2. He makes great waffles every Saturday morning
3. He always makes time for his girls
4. Yet to find something the man can't do. And do it well.
5. Daddy throws me in the air - Erin
6. He's willing to work. Hard.
7. Daddy is a good tickler. - Alix
8. Tom sings to Sam when he gives her a bottle.
9. He lets me go on girl's weekends and stays home with the kids.
10. He has princess tea parties with the girls. In a crown.
We love you Tom.

Wasn't he the cutest little guy you've ever seen?

This is one of his modeling shots. Apparently, he was very popular as a model in Japan!

Best Mom Ever...

Now that I have a daughter that can (sort-of) tell time, I have to resort to much sneakier methods of trickery. You'll note that it is just after six o'clock in the evening. You should also note that all of my girls are down to bed for the night. And have been for 45 minutes. Yup. Early, I know. I'd just had it tonight. I couldn't take one more minute of the people. Just one of those afternoons. So I tell them it's almost bedtime. "Look guys, it's dark outside!" (The only time that's it's a benefit that it gets dark by 4:30...) Smarty pants Brooke looks at the clock and notices that it's not eight. So I changed the clocks. All of them. By two and a half hours. What can I say... I was desperate! I can also say that it worked. Off they all trooped to bed and here I am, finally in peace. Just better not forget to change the clocks before it's time for Tom to go work in the morning. He might be mad to get to work at 3:45am...