Merry Christmas

Holiday traditions

My cousin, Kim, tagged me a few days ago about Christmas traditions.  We have several traditions that we do each year.  We start by decorating the Christmas tree and putting out a few decorations in the house.  We put on Christmas music and I try to get the boys to dance with me.  

We normally go to Tony's step-dad's side of the family the weekend before Christmas (this year it's the weekend after because of Tony's sister's graduation for college).  Christmas eve we go to Tony's aunt's house (his mom's side), and my parents normally join us there.  Christmas morning we have breakfast with Tony's mom's side of the family.  We get together with Tony's dad and step-mom some time on Christmas eve or Christmas (this year bright and early Christmas morning).  Since my sister has been married, we get together with my side of the family the week after Christmas when she's back to visit. Ok, so that might be a little confusing to read through...

One tradition that we started with the boys is to let them open one present from their stocking starting the week before Christmas.  We got a little excited and they've opened a couple from under the tree too.  Sometimes we just can't help ourselves.  Christmas morning we read the Christmas story and then the boys open the rest of their presents.

I think my favorite tradition is making "gingerbread (graham cracker) houses" with the boys.  

The church that we're at now has a Christmas eve service so we'll be doing that this year too.

I think that's about it.  So now I'll tag my sister, Sarah, Kim, and Jessica.  What are your Christmas traditions?

Chili anyone?

I'm not sure if you can read the tag on the ornament, but it says "3rd Place Winner, Bell's Chili Cook-Off 2008."  3rd place!  And no, it wasn't out of 3.  I know there were at least 11 crockpots...my distant cousin (that I see at the grade school I work at) said there were 14.  Anyway, each year my mom's aunt & uncle have a chili cook-off at their house.  Since I don't cook or bake or anything like that, I normally just go and try all the chili that other people make.  After you try all the chili, you vote for which one you like the best.  The first place winner gets their name on a plaque and the honor of wearing the chili pepper apron the next year.  Second and third place get a smaller prize and a chance to try again next year.  I don't know what came over me, but I decided that I would try to make some this year.  Of course I didn't expect to win anything, I just thought it would be fun to join in.  The chili cook-off takes place the same night as the downtown has their Christmas walk.  So Tony and I took the boys and walked with my cousins to see the "Christmas windows."  You would not believe how surprised I was when I got back and my mom said I got 3rd place and handed me the prize.  I ran back to my cousin, Kim , and we jumped up and down.  (If you scroll down a few posts on her blogspot, you can see a picture of me holding my prize box in front of a chili pepper tree.  You can also keep scrolling down because my cousin has some really cute/creative Christmas things up in her house that you should take a look at.)  Although she didn't win, Caleb ate 3 bowls!! of her chili.  My own son did not vote for me, but he went home with a very happy, full belly.  So that was my exciting news from the weekend.  Who knows, maybe I'll even have to try again next year.

What's my excuse...

We've had the internet at our house for a week now and I haven't updated my blog yet.  (Thanks Sarah for reminding me.)  My excuse...time management.  Well, we are still trying to unpack the little things from our move two weeks ago and I started working two more hours each morning at the school, so I'm still trying to figure out a schedule for myself.  Sounds like a good excuse to me. Right?  We did manage to get our Christmas tree up and put out some of our decorations while we were unpacking.  

At first the boys were putting all of the decorations in one place, so Tony reminded them that they could spread them out over the whole tree.

They did a pretty good job.