dr. slumlord: activities

Here are some of our favorite activities this month, excluding all the excavating and demolition, which of course are in a class unto themselves.

Opa's Christmas concert with the Colorado Mormon Chorale 12/2 got us off to a great start this year. They actually performed up in Longmont this year, so we didn't even have to drive far, making it much easier for us to be on time and not miss anything! The choir did a great job, and the Stake Center was so pretty.

Go see The Velveteen Rabbit at BDT. Really cute show. Even cuter baby afterwards at Red Robbing for lunch.

Cutting out snowflakes -from paper and doilies - was such a big hit we revisited it multiple times.

Christmas glitter nails - Katie went for alternating red and white on her fingers, and white and gold on her toes. Max went for green toes, and Alex declined, as he was too busy driving the train.

Train show in Longmont - not as big as the one in Denver, but still really good this year. Added bonus was setting up the Circus Train (electric O-gauge model steam train) and decorating it immediately with various nativity sets. When Roger's old train set arrived from Grandmother and Granddad, various nativity figures quickly made it to the flat bed cars for immediate transport.

Gingerbread houses! Alex made . . . a steam train, Katie made the station, and Max went for a regular house. The writing on the roof of Katie's is 'Cris' and 'Mis.'

The kids all had cute holiday programs at school. It's fun to see how much the classes change as you go up just one year in age.

Note to Roger: Max is not the shortest kid in his class, even though he is the youngest.

Note to Kat: please learn how to take pictures in focus!

Katie's class decorated mini-gingerbread houses after the singing program. This was my first experience with glue-gun-on-milk-carton graham cracker gingerbread houses. I'm still a bigger fan of the original, but there was no way I was going to make 30 'real' gingerbread houses. Another note to Kat: need more graham crackers and frosting for 30 houses!

Making beaded snowflake ornaments - and whatever else we come up with.

Movie night - always a hit with everyone. This one also got a repeat or two throughout the month.

Sleep over at Oma's house - this became plural after the main breaker blew. Original fears of a new panel were put to rest when Roger figured out how to fix our antique main circuit breaker. He then discovered that only half of the panel worked - the CITY gets to come and fix their part of the adventure now, as we only have power coming IN to half of the panel. (Playing electrician was NOT on Roger's list of fun activities, but he was doing cartwheels when he figured out the problems!)

Hot chocolate party. The kids cut out the extra marshmallows from candy making into fun shapes.

Decorate sugar cookies

Make candy - FINALLY Katie is messier than me (her entire jaw bone was covered with chocolate).

Make Christmas cards - I'm so happy my kids like to play with paper and coloring!

Make deliveries -we're still trying to get to our best friends and to the fire station.

Camp out in the basement - this will require more sweeping

Zoo lights will be happening after Christmas - it just got too cold!

Hammond's Candy factory tour: TOTALLY great this year! The factory was in full production mode, so we could see them making lots of different kinds of candy, and all the packaging and other equipment going at full speed. And more exciting, KATIE LOST HER FIRST TOOTH WHILE WE WERE THERE! She pulled it out all by herself. I am trying to not freak out at the continual growth of my 'babies.'