This past week was a busy one! I worked all week and we all had fun at work/school parties for the holidays. 3/4 of us are on winter break, which has been much anticipated. Abigail gave a talk in church and Joseph attended a special fireside meant to help him prepare to become a deacon and all the new things that go with that. Today, we had Abigail’s birthday party since her actual birthday is so close to Christmas. It’s been a busy but fun day.
Giving her talk.A friend of mine baked this yummy bread.She also gave me this cute ornament (which Abigail tried to talk me out of, but failed).Abigail Art #1: a picture of her and me.Abigail Art #2: Frosty the Snowman (from the cartoon). Do you see his flower hat?Abigail Art #3: she said it wasn’t really an ugly sweater because it had her on it. All Minnie Mouse’d up.I sure love these two!December in San Antonio can be pretty nice!At a gift exchange for work, Paul got this little toaster. It heats up hot dogs and toasts the buns at the same time!The gift bags for Abigail and her friends.The birthday banner.My sous chef getting ready to help make her cake.Mixing up the batter.Two cakes almost ready to stack and decorate!Ta-dah!The set-up.Paul blew up a bunch of balloons. Pretty soon, Abigail came up and told me she was an elephant. 😀One friend got her a sketch book and markers.Another friend got her a fuzzy animal journal. It’s a koala that has a smaller notebook in its pouch.Another friend got her this big egg. It had a stuffed animal inside along with a few other things.Sparkly play-doh and a Moana doll.A purse pet. That thing actually blinks!A Rainbow Dash plush that lights up and plays soft music. Perfect for bedtime!A Bluey garbage truck!Minnie Mouse RC car.A Bluey house. Now she has the house, the car, the camper, and the garbage truck.Singing Happy Birthday!Blowing out the candle!Hugging the stuffy that came in the giant egg.It’s really quite cute. It came with a bandage and a health checklist…so I guess it’s a doctor one (I think there are different ones, but it’s a mystery which one you get).She drew a picture of her friend (who has glasses) with her new drawing things.Playing with her new toys.We got her this Hulk stuffy and she was ridiculously excited.
This past week was another busy one. Now that I’m subbing, my days are extra busy. I was able to experience some jobs that I haven’t done before (or haven’t done for a long time). One day, I helped out with some older kids that need some one-on-one or small group interventions. One of the boys attached himself to me right away. As we were walking to art, he asked me if I wanted to go to Mexico with his family for Christmas. He told me he was sure my mom and dad would say I could go. 🙂 Another day, I helped in the special needs class. That was actually rather fun, even though it was a lot of work, both physically and mentally. I made it through the day, though, and even avoided actually getting bit, even though the biter tried three different times through the day, haha. Once we get home from school, we jump right into after-school routines, dinner-making, and all that jazz. The kids have been enjoying fun holiday dress-up days and activities at school. It’s hard to believe that we only have one more week of school before winter break starts. I’m really looking forward to the holidays, though. I think we all are. Paul has been busy with work, fixing broken things (sometimes made more broken by people who thought they were fixing it, which makes it extra…fun). Just two more weeks until Christmas!
Just a girl in her church dress…with her bunny…and her…Halloween mask? This kid cracks me up.I made banana bread last Sunday. I decided I didn’t REALLY need to toss the chocolate chips in some flour to coat them before adding them to the batter. Well, I was reminded what happens when I do that: all the chocolate chips sink to the bottom as the bread bakes (as opposed to staying evenly dispersed). I took this picture to remind myself not to take shortcuts like that, haha. It was still quite tasty, though!Abigail’s teacher let her bring home this little Olaf for a sleepover. That woman sure gets her! Upon arriving home, Abigail immediately ran upstairs and got Anna and Elsa so that Olaf would feel at home.Later she made Frosty the Snowman with Play-doh, but also made sure to make Frosty’s wife. That smile says it all!The stuff one finds on the bottom of one’s shoe after teaching pre-k. It’s a googly-eye. This is one of the many reasons I take my shoes off as soon as I get home. Who knows what I’m gonna be tracking in!Abigail giving a talk in Primary. She’s not reading yet, so she was happy I could be there to help her.
It was quite a busy week. We didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary. Well, I did have my first full week of subbing, so that was a bit different, but it’s going to soon be the norm. We only have two weeks left before Christmas break. Hurray!
I found this guy and thought he was the perfect addition to my table.I told her to get ready to go out and this is what she came down in. According to her, they all really do go together because they are all of her favorites (favorite leggings, favorite skirt, and favorite shirt). 😀A mini project that turned out quite fun. I had a bunch of Christmas pictures printed up and grabbed a couple of cheap wreath hangers as well as some mini clothespins. I already had the white string. I love the result! Plus, it’s on the door to the garage, so I get to see it often.Paul was tasked with putting up the wooden Christmas trees at the park.This is what they look like at night. There isn’t electricity at the park, so the solar Christmas lights come in handy.Paul also put up more solar Christmas lights in the shape of trees (along with a banner that is lit by a solar spotlight) up at the entrance that we use to get into our neighborhood. There isn’t a monument or electricity or anything like that, so we had to rely on solar.Abigail drew a picture of Hulk. Do you see the muscles on his arms and legs? Oh, and his purple pants? I love her imagination so much!Can you tell I have a thing for nativities?This is the one we had when I was growing up. My mom gifted it to me when I got married (she had gotten a different one a few years prior). I still get a little choked up every time I unwrap the figurines.This one is a music box (if you turn the star, it plays “Silent Night”). It was given to us by Kris Huston. Paul lived with the Hustons after he got home from his mission until we got married. We’re still in touch and they feel like family. My favorite thing about this one is that it was made in Bethlehem. It is so, so special!One of my favorite sights. Paul was cutting down the pumpkin plant and discovered this teensy pumpkin that was hiding.I put it next to the other teensy one. 😀They had an event in the park where the kids could visit with Santa. 🙂We also had the kids pose with the Christmas tree forest. Abigail kept jumping up and down and yelling cheese……so I told her to stop. Look at that face!She was ready to go home after that.
Paul found these lights that we could use for the porch and carriage lights. It causes quite the effect (especially when combined with our projectors that do something similar). Abigail liked dancing in the lights.