The Elf is Back...

Christopher, our spunky, amazing elf from the North Pole, has been quite the busy elf this season.

He has made frequent stops to our house, with some off days in between to visit the cousins back in SD. 

He showed up for the season just after Thanksgiving when we were in South Dakota. He left the kids a cute little note and some kisses to send his love.

Here are some other places that Christipher has been spotted this Christmas season...

Greeting us with a welcome home letter...

Kissing the Angels 

Christopher was accidentally kissing the boy angel - silly elf!  

Sullivan's Fish Tank 

Quinn's Fish Tank

Doing Scratch Art

In Sullivan's Room

In Quinn's Keychain Jar

Driving the Car

Making Music with the American Girl Dolls

Christopher has had a very busy season.  We are thankful he was able to spend so much time with us and are going to cherish the few days we have left with him this week!

Gingerbread Building....

A new tradition was started this holiday season - and I am hopeful it is one that will continue for years to come!  Our neighbors invited us over for a friendly competition of decorating gingerbread houses with a few of our friends.

Each of the four families was given the same gingerbread kit and the same amount of time, and were sent off to make our masterpieces!

The masterminds at work...

After time was called, this is what the Pooley family came up with..

Here is our stiff competition...

We sent pictures of the decorated houses off to the judge (our friend's daughter at college) and the winner was announced...!

The winners of the 1st Annual Gingerbread House decorating contest are...

Us!!!!    

The runner's up - our dear, amazing friends....

A good time was had by all...!  Can't wait to take home the crown again next year!

The Real Deal...Mr. Claus

We were thrilled beyond words when we found out that Santa Claus was coming to our neighborhood this past weekend.  Santa visited the model home in our community and we were invited to come see him.  That meant we didn't have to wait in any mall lines to see him, or at the city hall where we waited over 2 hours last year.  Score one for us!

We really didn't know what to expect walking into the model home on Saturday, but boy did Santa blow our socks off!  He was far and away the most AMAZING Santa. Ever.

Quinn and Sullivan first sat on Santa's lap and shared their wants and desires for Christmas.  Santa listened carefully, took some mental notes, and told the girls he would try his best to fulfill their wants.  

I just love the joy on Santa's face here...

Because there were so few children there, Q and S got some individual attention from Mr. Claus himself.  It's hard to see in this picture, but Santa had a chest with him that contained 4 different pixie dusts.  I can't recall what all of them did, but one was to freeze time so Santa can make it to everyone's house.  And another was used if a house doesn't have a fireplace or their fireplace is in use.  

After seeing the pixie dust, Santa showed his photographs of his reindeer at the North Pole.  He had great stories about each of them and we got to see a great picture of Rudolph.  

Mr. Claus also brought some of his reindeer's antlers with him so that Quinn and Sullivan could touch them.  So they have officially touched the antlers of some very important reindeer. 

And finally, he used his Santa magic to make color appear within a coloring book - all in front of the girls' eyes!  Sadly, no pictures of that though.  

I'm telling you - Santa was A-maz-ing! As we were leaving, Quinn leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Mom, that is the real Santa.  That is not one of his helpers dressed up.  I can't believe it."

The wonder is in the air - and the bells still ring true in our house!

This Year's Ornaments

Here are 2015's ornaments...!

Quinn

This year, Quinn tried a new sport - baseball.  She really enjoyed herself despite the fact that she was the only girl on the team.  Quinn's team name was the Cubs, so it was fitting to get this ornament for her.  It has her dad's feathers ruffled though - as he claims the only baseball team that should be on the Christmas tree is the Twins!

This other ornament represents one of her dear loves lately - the ipad!  She began taking it to school this year and I am amazed at her ability to navigate and control that instrument.  We are finding that it is most definitely a blessing and a curse that she is so tech savvy!  

Sullivan

This ornament represents what a fantastic reader Sullivan has become this year!  She is SO eager to read and is constantly asking us if she can read to us.  It is fitting that I was able to find a Goodnight Moon book, as this used to be her all time favorite book to read!  This book will always have a special place with Sullivan.

Sullivan's other ornament represents her latest love - gymnastics!  She LOVES going to gymnastics each week.  And when she isn't at gymnastics, she is cartwheeling her way through life!  The girl loves to move.

Quinn & Sullivan

This ornament represents Quinn and Sullivan's first concert.  We went to see Taylor Swift perform in September and boy, was it a good concert!

Duff

Aww.... we couldn't leave out our sweet, dear Duff!  We miss her like crazy, but are grateful for the 14 amazing years she was with us!  

Picture Ornaments

Here are this year's picture ornaments for the "pretty tree."  Don't they look so old and grown-up?!

Our pretty tree wouldn't be complete without a remembrance picture of Duff...

Pretty Bird

Sullivan found these art canvases called Paint-a-Doodles while we were in Nashville this fall.  Since seeing them in the store, she has begged me no less than 2,936 times to get one for herself to paint.  So I ordered her one to paint, and she had the best time doing it!

Didn't our little artist do the best job painting?!  

Two thumbs up to her!

Thanksgiving 2015...

We made the long trek back to S. Dakota for Thanksgiving this year, and boy did we have a great time!

We woke up Thanksgiving morning to some snowflakes in the air.  The snowflakes accumulated into a fair amount of snow.  Perfect weather for some kids to get outside and release some energy...!

Thanksgiving day was spent with Nana and Papa, where Nana created the most delicious meal!  We ate until our hearts were content and then had to rest.

We had a perfectly peaceful day with them - the best Thanksgiving! 

While resting off some of that delicious food, I glanced through these, formulating a game plan for our Black Friday shopping trip.

Little did I know that the planning of Black Friday would eventually turn into Mer and I pulling an all-nighter shopping!  We had the best time shopping - trying on boots at 3:00am in the mall, watching someone shoplift and get caught, and shopping until we were delirious and unsure of what we even bought several hours back!

Later that evening, we headed downtown to the Parade of Lights.  It is an annual tradition - with Grandma Jane renting a hotel room with a balcony and a perfect view of the parade.

The kids had a great time - not sure if Uncle Matt or Ryan would share the same sentiment - but they were troopers and watched the kids on the balcony throughout the whole parade!

The following day, Quinn and Sullivan got to make use of their snow gear again.  They took Murphy for a walk and enjoyed playing in the snow at Nana and Papa's!

While back in SD, Quinn and Sullivan also got plenty of cousin time...!  Here they are getting some snuggle/ipad time first thing in the morning....

They also played plenty of games, and tractors, and shopping, and more!

Here they all are doing gymnastics.... a bit like a three ring circus!  They had the best time flipping and turning and jumping and cartwheeling...

After Judson, Crew, and Elsa headed off to bed each night, Uncle and Auntie spoiled the girls with attention and love.

Uncle turned Quinn into a puzzler...

And both Quinn and Sullivan got their fair share of "challenges" in each night.  They LOVE to do challenges - and this obstacle course that Auntie and Uncle set up did not disappoint!

Thanksgiving was an absolute blast - so may great memories made with everyone.  Can't wait to continue the fun in a couple short weeks at Christmas!