Merry Christmas Eve

This year we were delighted to have a Secret Santa do the 12 days of Christmas for us. Every evening someone left a little treasure on our doorstep and the kids had so much fun finding it the next morning. This was the run down:
Oreos for dipping
2 scotch tapes
3 packs of gum
4 sharpies
5 chapsticks
6 koolaids
7 fruit roll ups
8 hot chocolates
9 glue sticks
10 ball point pens
11 apple ciders
12 sour candy canes
Then about 4 days ago, surprise surprise, someone ELSE started giving us secret santa gifts on our door step. One of which was a bag of tangerines and the "Christmas Oranges" story which me and the girls all too turns reading. We love that story, a great one about appreciation. This week off school has gone so quickly! The kids have really enjoyed their time off to play with friends and just play at home. They have been good sports about doing 20 minutes each of practicing, chores, reading, and excercise each day.

This week was full of activites. The week started off with Chad and Robin coming into town, and the kids having a movie night with their cousins and uncles. Wednesday was "GRANDMA SANDY's GRANDCHILDREN CHRISTMAS CRAFT PARTY" and I don't know what happened but I have lost all the pictures I took there which saddens me greatly because I had some really cute ones!!! Every December our dear Grandma Sandy used to have a Christmas party with her grandkids, and Aunt Wendy Snow has elected to carry on the tradition since Gma Sandy's passing. It is the greatest! Aunt Wendy had the kids paint big boxes full of Whoppers Candy, and glue reindeer heads and tails on them and attached this poem to the final product:
"Each Christmas Eve when Santa wiggles
Down the chimney to deliver cheer
Grandma Sandy would get such giggles
To find the gifts left by the reindeer.
'Waste not want not' was alwyas her theme
So she would hurry to find a scoop
For Grandma could make it even seem
It was a treat to get reindeer poop."
The backside is cut so that Whoppers come out where the Reindeer's bum would be.
After the craft cousins had fun playing "reindeer games" and "Boola Boola" and eating reindeer cupcakes. And then at the end a fun surprise...Santa visited! Austin Snow was a great sport and dressed up in the Grandma's Santa costume and looked absolutely fantastic! The kids exchanged presents and opened them. The kids have enjoyed having a neverending supply of reindeer poop (whoppers)ever since. It created great memories for the kids, and I hope they remember them forever because I don't have any pictures of it. :(

Jared's 34th birthday was Thursday the 22nd. Jared spent from 6 AM to 2:45 PM fishing up at Strawberry Reservoir. He caught 9 beauties, and brought 4 of them home for a fish fry. We went to TUCANOS with all the Schauers clan as we do every year and stuffed ourselves silly. Chad and Robin brought their kids over while we went out so we had more cousin time with Miles Morgan Megan and Mitchell. That evening we relaxed in the hot tub and enjoyed watching "A Christmas Story" and laughing at life's thrills and deflation of thrills.

Friday was more Schauers excitement. Jared worked at the office all day while the kids and I cooked and cleaned and prepared ourselves for the annual Schauers Progressive Dinner. Its usually on Christmas Eve but to accomodate Grandpa Neil and Chad and Robin we had it on the 23rd this year. We had appetizers at Wendy and Keith's, and the Snow kids did a funny Christmas skit for us, we then went to Justin and Shawna's for soup and Bailey and Shawna sang a pretty song for everyone, we then went to Aaron and Amy's for salad (my personal favorite!) and Lexi sand "Away in a Manger", and then we came to our house for roast beef, rolls, and Au Juice. Savanna played "Carol of the Bells" on her violin and sang "Sleigh Ride" and Fiora read a Christmas poem she wrote and sang "Santa Clause is Comin to town" and Weston played "Christmas Bells" on the piano and sang "holly jolly Christmas". Whew! It was a program to remember. We topped off the evening at Heidi and Lynn's house for dessert and some more fun games. Grandpa Neil and Bonnie brought many gifts and distributed them throughout the night. The kids got books and dolls and pillows, and I got a tea set from China and a hand painted fan! Also Bonnie gave everyone banana bread. Those gifts were unexpected and nice. It has been a very merry Schauers Christmas Week!

The kids are excited for Christmas tomorrow, but we still have a lot of celebrating to do with the Barretts before then...hopefully my camera will cooperate this time!