Christmas Festivities

The the last couple of days have been a whirlwind of fun, and for my kids, unbelievable anticipation. Phoebe was practically counting down the seconds.

We celebrated Christmas Eve just the way we have since I was a baby, eating El Charo in front of a movie at my parents house. There's no need to mess with perfection. I have to admit, though, the absence of my mom was evident in every moment of the night. Luckily, I guess, the kids seemed unfazed by it. Memories fade quickly when you're young. However, my amazing dad did his best to make it as fun and comforting as every other year and the cousins loved all of their presents.

Christmas morning found Casey and I being awakened by Cade (our late-sleeper) at 5:30AM. That just wasn't happening so I escorted him and his trailing posse down to the toy room with strict 7AM instructions. (They negotiated down to 6:45.)

Santa brought Cade an electric scooter and Phoebe and Sofia got what Phoebe had been begging for, a car to drive, (good thing I've got two babies that will be able to use it because I think she's almost exceeding the age limit). And last, but not least, Lila was brought a walker toy. She's almost ready for her first steps. All their other toys were well received, too.

A note to my husband, I love the pot, pans, knives and camera, baby. Sorry moms are so boring to shop for.

Christmas afternoon, we headed up the mountain to Randy and Miriam's where the kids opened more presents and played with all of their other cousins. For Randy and Miriam, all of us contributed family pictures to the mound of old Skidmore photos, and Brittny and Aimee did the legwork to compile a Skidmore Family Album and DVD. They are awesome. And, the gift drew tears, that's always a good sign.

Here's to another great Christmas!

The Deterioration of Lila's Patience

This was kind of funny. Today was finally here! The day that my kids could wear their nice Christmas outfits to church. Cade and Phoebe were set to sing with the Primary 15 minutes before Sacrament meeting, so I got them ready 20 minutes early so that I could have just 5 minutes to take some pictures. It was so well thought out. Here's how it went...

Lila started out ok,

she looks a little troubled,

uh, oh,
and she's gone.

But, it was so well thought out!
We'll get it next year:)

December is so busy!

I know that it seems I have fallen off the planet, but, believe me, I am here and so stinkin busy with Christmas stuff! (Really when I say 'stinkin', I mean 'wonderful'.)
The last couple of weeks have provided the Skidmore house with many fun and often stressful activities, all of which have left me painted red and green or covered in glitter. A couple of Sundays ago, the kids and I made some neighbor treats, we called them Sugarplum treats, and spent the next two nights braving the hurricane to deliver them, bad timing on our part, but, we loved giving them out to the amazing and sweet families that have become our friends over here in Las Sendas.

Last Thursday, we had our Relief Society Progressive Dinner which was really fun. The food theme was Mexican and anytime that there are chips and salsa around, it's a good time. A friend of mine was asked to put on a little one woman play about what it would be like to really be the recipient of all of the 12 Days of Christmas gifts. Hilarious! You should have your own show Jen Watkins.
On Saturday, we were able to go watch Phoebe's Christmas recital. Only the really young girls perform in the Christmas recital and I have decided that it is only fun to watch toddlers dance if they are your own, or if they do something really funny. But, the two youngest company groups were fun to watch. Awesome as always, Phoebe.


Finally, Monday night, I hosted a Skidmore Christmas FHE. As always, I stressed way too much about the details, but I love this new tradition we have of rotating a monthly FHE. The most important thing was to keep the kids all busy, so, I had them make these Christmas tree treats out of ice cream cones, cookies, frosting and candy. They had a blast and it was so fun to watch them, especially the 4 two-year olds. They ate much more than actually ended up on their trees. Then, we had a lesson in which we tried to teach the kids about true gifts of Christmas such as service and faith. The night was perfect for me because I had my entire family there including my own dad and sister with her kids.



I think about my mom every single day and she's the only thing missing this Christmas. I wish she was here to share all of these special moments with me. She loved buying Christmas presents for the kids and decorating her house. I'll continue to remind my kids often of how much their Grandma loved them and how special she was. This year I'm more grateful than ever for the gift of the Savior on that first Christmas day ,because it was He who made it possible for me to be with my mom again one day. Merry Christmas, friends.

Phoebe' First Competition!

Today was Phoebe's very first dance competition. They have been working so hard at it and I have to say, I was a little nervous. Kind of silly, I know. However, they did awesome. There's one part in the middle of the dance when Phoebe does a leg extension with two other girls and it was beautiful and right on count! Way to go, Phoebe. They recieved a Top First Place and won a special award for Diva attitude as well as coming in 10th in the age 8 and under division, (they were the youngest of 18
groups in that category). Today, she definately caught the competition bug!