Last Day of School

Well...I survived 4 weeks of Joy School! Honestly, it wasn't too bad. If only Samantha wasn't in the class, it would be heaven. She is such a distraction! She pretends to play joy school all the time...On an actual school day...she doesn't understand why I am in charge. She wants to be the teacher! It's very endearing and very annoying.

For the last day, we were supposed to visit a rest home and present our Christmas program. That just wasn't going to happen with 3 year olds and mommies with newborns. Instead, we made Christmas Countdown Chains. The kids really did a good job with this. Some of them ended up with a lot more days to tear off then necessary. We made snacks of Pretzels-Rolos-M&Ms. They loved eating all the broken pieces...I didn't realize a Rolo could break!We sat down to watch a Christmas Movie with our treat bags. They sat great for about 10 minutes...Then decided they would rather play Duck-Duck-Goose..for an hour! They like to remind me who is in charge.

Joy School Christmas Program

Today at Joy School we prepared for our special Family Home Evening to present the nativity scene. We invited all the siblings to help us. Then the girls sang Christmas songs for their families. We spent the day making invitations... creating gifts to give away (reindeer ornaments)... and making treats (caramel popcorn balls & brownies).

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Yep, the weather reports are true. It is really snowing in Houston! All the kids are in the streets losing their minds, and businesses/schools have early dismissal. The whole town is shutting down!

At first look Sammie was pretty intrigued and excited, but wanted nothing to do with a coat, hat or gloves. Then, she realized "this is fun!" She kept asking me for her ice skates...but settled for a hat instead.When we reached the one minute mark, she was cold and annoyed and ran in the house. How will we ever survive a week in Utah!Now, on to round 2 with Daddy!

A Joy School Wish

1st Dentist Visit

Samantha had her 1st visit to the dentist today. She did so great! There were 2 assistants working on her at a time, but she didn't seem to mind all the commotion. She opened her mouth soooo wide! Dr Phillips counted all her teeth...thank goodness they are all there. As promised, ice cream as a treat afterward for being such a big girl! As you can see, it was a very exciting day.

Celebrating Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we decided to do things a little different. It all began when we decided to go to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The easiest, laziest way to do that is to stay downtown!Thanks to Papa's endless traveling, he had a gazillion points with Hilton. He booked 2 rooms for 2 nights at the Hilton Americas next to Discovery Green. Perfect location!

We checked in early on Wednesday and spent the remaining daylight hours having "ventures" (adventures) in and around the hotel. We checked out all the globes, ice rink and play area. Samantha walked past this railing and said it was just like Angelina Ballerina's ballet bar. We couldn't get her to stop dancing!
I think she's ready for lessons.

We found the pool, gym and spent lots of time at the Executive Lounge eating everything in sight!

We walked across the street to the Toyota Center to watch the Rockets vs Mavericks.The next morning was the parade. We woke up, grabbed our breakfast and wandered out the door for our curbside seats.Sam loved everything! Well, except for things that made loud noises (firetrucks and motorcycles). Marching bands, dancers and cheerleaders were the most fun.This was our favorite float...with real snow!After the parade we went swimming and took pre-dinner naps. We ate at the Hilton Cafe for our Thanksgiving meal. We played a heated game of Battle of the Sexes and went to go see New Moon. It was a great break from the typical Thanksgiving at home...but we were sure missing leftover turkey!

A Joy School Thanksgiving

Today at Joy School we learned all about Thanksgiving. We invited two special visitors to join us (McKenna and Jaxson - Avery's cousins). We met the Pilgrims and Indians and made cornbread for our feast. We decorated turkeys with apples, marshmallows & fruit snacks and sang the "gobble- gobble, gobble-gobble, gobble" song.

We are thankful for our friends and joy school!