Christmas 2015

Santa did not disappoint yet again this year.  The boys had a great Christmas morning.  They could not sleep again this year, of course, and got up at 2:30.  We sent them back to bed, and they came in at 3:30, at which point Cameron puked and we were able to open our presents.  Someday when my kids are all grown, I will remember every Christmas being VERY early and VERY full of puke.  It is a tradition :)  We opened up gifts and everyone was back to sleep by 5:30.  

The family got a kayak, some snap circuits, and a car track to share.  Each of the boys got a couple of gifts--Braxton ripstick, Dakota roller blades, and Cam a big boots truck. 

We were spoiled in time to spend together this holiday season, which in my book is the best gift anyone could get.  We had parties 9 days in a row!  Much sickness going around the family required much rest and movie watching, projecting around the house, playing with new presents, and being together.  I actually was not ready for them to go back to school, which after a 2 week break I usually am. Braxton was ready to go back, he told me he was "school Sick".  I asked what that was and he said "the same as homesick, just school sick".  He loves seeing his friends.

Facer Christmas Party

Dakota had to write a paper for his class on traditions, and the pinata was on his list.  This year we were talking to DeAnn about the pinata (my aunt and mastermind behind the pinata when we were kids) and she said that she put potatoes, mashed potatoes and one more silly thing inside when we were kids.  I remember the potatoes, but not the rest.  I just remember the fun and the tradition of doing something different than the norm.
This year it was a monkey, and we had the kids line up oldest to youngest.  9 kids makes for a lot of fun at parties.  This year Braxton even spread his sickness around to the whole family so we were all sick around the holidays.  In fact, I was talking to Dakotas school teacher yesterday and she said that when they went around the class saying what they got for Christmas 2/3 of the class said sickness!  Crazy how those germs spread.
Another tradition that came down from my Grandma Facer is the Christmas pajamas.  We make all the kids put them on so we can have a pic every year, some do not like this as they get older, but it is a fun tradition.  They all got beanies this year too, which all 3 of my boys wear almost daily.

Cameron 7, Nash 5, Denim 9, Eliza 11, Braxton 12, Dakota 9, (in front) Carrera 5 and James 2

(Jake 17 said no way :)

Christmas Cookies

Every year I try to do Christmas cookies with the boys.  As a young girl, I made sugar cookies almost weekly, and I really want my boys to enjoy that too, however I find it is quite a pain as a mom so we do it about 2 times a year.  It is funny how the perspective changes as I get older.  They taste so good, but seem like such a mess.  This year the frosting was not great, which in my opinion is the best part of the entire cookie, so I was also a bit disappointed.  Oh well, we still had fun.

Dipping Chocolates

Third Annual family chocolate dipping at Becky's house.  We are finally figuring this out, double boiling the chocolate so it doesn't get hard.  We have a lot of fun with the whole family helping out.  Shane does toffee, I do carmel dipped pretzels, Becky did fondant and the chocolate, and everyone else helps dip everything, and make Rolo Pretzels.  The last couple of years Grandpa Farr and Alex have come, we have eaten Beckys fantastic broccoli cheddar soup first, then lots of candy making.  My kids look forward to this tradition every year!

Towards the end this is what all the kids really like to do  :)  Watch a movie. 

Daktoa, Cody, Tanner, Braxton, Michael, Cameron

A typical morning

For Braxton's photography merit badge, he had to tell a story in pictures, so he decided to tell the story of our morning.  Piano, Reading, making lunches, eating breakfast, brushing, and off with Jerry Hill to school.  He did a great job, telling what everyone does every morning.

Hawaii #8

We left the quiet Bellows beach and headed into the big city of Waikiki.  It has skyscrapers, and a lot of traffic.  It was kind of neat seeing both sides of the spectrum.  We stayed in a place called Hale Koa.  A resort for government and military employees.  It was super fancy and right on the beach.  We parked the rental car and just stayed there the entire time.  It was nice to not have to fight traffic or crowds.  

Shane had a tarot root pulled pork sandwich and the bun was purple.  

View from our room.

Huge, super old, Banyan tree in the middle of the lobby.

The Hilton, next door to our resort, has fireworks every Friday night that everyone gathers around to watch.  We even got to see a super cool fire dancer, that made me miss the boys and want them to see that.  

After the fireworks we went in and this boat was not even around, when we got up (shane at 5) it was sunk right off the coast.  I bet there were some upset people.

That tall building is our resort and we are sitting on the beach.

Our three handsome boys missed us a lot, but they did really good for their Grandmas.  The homework was the hardest part, because that is the hardest part of being in school right?  Braxton had to write 3 papers the week we were gone, and has not written any since.  I guess that is how life goes.  They all got a necklace and a t-shirt.  Cam got a turtle, Brax a new pair of shorts, and Dakota a ukulele.  We missed them also, but we were on a tropical trip of a lifetime, so maybe not too much.