and to all a good night!
Knowing that tomorrow night (Xmas Eve) will be crazy and the chance of getting these two all nice and clean before bed is slim to none, I am posting this great pic now...plus, it is guaranteed there will be NO time in the next two days to do so.
Here at the Mantle home we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011! Sending love and warm wishes to our family and friends near and far...
Baking day 2010 was missing a few people (Grandma, Amanda, and Katelyn) but my mom, Ella, and I still managed to get a lot done - peppermint bark, puppy chow, sugar cookies and an entire Gingerbread house village - as well as a break to catch the movie "Tangled", which was wonderful. With the "Glee" Christmas Album blaring in the background we were hard at work from noon-8pm (including movie break). Always a fun day!
14 kiddos in their jammies watching The Polar Express, decorating homemade gingerbread men/women, eating lots and lots of yummy treats, and playing to their little hearts content = one very successful playdate at the Mantle's.
We (Ella and I) love having big playdate "parties" at our house and our latest was this last Wednesday to celebrate the holidays "pajama party" style. The kids had a blast and I am pretty sure the moms did too. It is alway nice to see my beloved girlfriends and our every-growing families. Thanks for coming!
Ella is so intrigued by everything Christmas...she loves the decorating, the baking, the gift giving (and receiving), the music, and the shows...just about everything except Jolly Ole St. Nick...she is petrified of that man. So we make sure Christmas is much more than that (well, duh, of course it is) and have many other traditions going on. She is really taking her own role as the baker, decorator, singer and gift giver this year and it is so fun to watch. We are haivng a "Polar Express Pajama Playdate" this week and she is so anxious to prepare for it....she will make gifts for her friends and help me bake all the goodies.
Ella has already gotten a headstart on the baking and gift-giving this past week...
A family tradition of mine growing up was to take all the ladies of the family out for a Christmas show each year. It was usually just a few of us and I remember each event fondly. The Nutcracker Ballet was one show that we saw more than once and was always my favorite...oh how I longed to be one of those beautiful ballerinas.
This year I decided it was time for Ella to experience the magic of this holiday tradition and I invited a few friends and family members to come along (23 others to be exact). Yes, I ordered 25 tickets to see the Nutcracker on Sat. Dec. 11th 2010. Some of us went out to dinner before hand and then all met up at the Mesa Arts Center just in time for the show. Each little girl was dressed in her Christmas best and they all looked precious. It was such a joy to see all of the little girls' faces light up as they watched the ballerinas. Although Ella doesn't seem to have any desire to be a prima ballerina, she still was entranced by the lovely dancers and the story of The Nutcracker. Can't wait for what each year holds for us as far as this tradition goes.
All ready to go.....this is a tradition that I am determined to continue each and every year for this little girl of mine. She is just such a bright light in our lives. So funny, smart and caring. I just can't believe she is so big and becoming such a kid.
Taylor, Lauren, Ella and Ava (missing a few other little ones)
My mom and I ran in the 12K's of Christmas race on Dec. 11th over at Freestone park. It was a fun race (a little over 7 miles) that was a fundraiser for animal rescue groups. People dressed up in all their Christmas attire i.e. Santa hats, bells, crazy socks...but with it being sooooo dang hot outside, we stuck with the normal tank and shorts (although I did wear green and had a red ribbon in my hair). I just can't get over how warm it has been....makes me a little nervous about running in the summer again - just dreadful.
Although it has been gorgeous outside for months Ella and Jonah's lazy parents have slacked on getting the playgym cleaned up and refreshed. It need to be hosed off (get rid of those webs) and needed new swings. We FINALLY got to it and the kids were too excited. I just have to try to keep Jonah from climbing up the slide and jumping off the edge...oh dear, the things I NEVER had to think about with Ella.
Finding things to do that are creative, fun and cheap sometimes get exhausting for me so luckily I have two kiddos that love to hang at home and make do playing with their mounds and mounds of toys and whatever else they can find.
