Day 11 of the Countdown to Christmas

Make Name Tags for Christmas Dinner is what our card said for today. The boys had fun with this one too. I bought precut stocking cutouts and Christmas stickers. I wrote each persons name on the top and let the boys stick away to make cute place cards for dinner!

Countdown day 10

This was one of the cards I could not wait for them to open....Write letters to Santa!

Christmas Countdown day 9

Today's card said make Christmas cards for Nana and Yaya. Apparently this was not the funnest of the cards...Henry did not want to do it and Tyler sat but put nothing on the paper! I think I am going to try again with this one with a printed card they can color! Stay tuned for more on day 9 later!!!

Day 8

Day 8 said watch a Christmas movie for family movie night. We chose The Polar Express. The kids really loved it, especially since we rode the polar express a few weeks ago!

Countdown Day 7

I am so excited about today's envelope! It says make snowman ornaments. I found a great craft on pinterest on how to make these super cute snowmen ornaments. (how did I ever live without pinterest!?) The kids loved the craft and they turned out so much cuter than I ever imagined! And yes, pop, you are getting a set!! :-)

Day 6 of the countdown to Christmas

Today our card said Listen to a new Christmas CD. I got a kids Christmas CD at Target and the kids have loved listening to it!

Countdown Day 5

Today the card read, "Read the Elf on the Shelf Book". I did not get any pictures of us reading it! But here is the card and the book!!! We named our Elf Beanbag, and the boys are happy that he has come back again this year!

Countdown Day 4

Day for of our countdown to Christmas says to decorate our Christmas Tree! The kids opened the envelope in the morning and then we set out to decorate this house! Keith surprised me by putting up the lights outside without me even asking!(I usually have to beg for him to put lights out!!!) We got the outside all finished and then came in and took naps!! That evening our friends came over and I was saying that we never got around to the tree. Lisa practically begged to do the lights since they were moving the next week! So she did the lights on the tree and she did a great job!!! The next day after school we finally decorated the tree!!!

 decorating the outside of the house

 E playing in the lights

 This is one of my favorite pictures of all time!

 Lisa after she finished the lights

Our finishes tree!

Day 3 Christmas Countdown

Day three says to go to a tree lighting. Newport's official start to Christmas was that night, with a tree lighting and Santa arriving by boat! We went with some friends and we all enjoyed it greatly!

 Running around before the festivities started

 The three babies, Evelyn, Markey and Carmen

 Tyler with Frosty

 The tree has been lit!

Sensei Ota

Henry has been taking Karate since we moved to Newport. Last weekend he got the rare opportunity to train with Sensei Ota, the grand master that is an 8th degree black belt. (He is the head guy for the type that Henry does!) Here is a pic of his class with his Sensei and Sensei Ota.

Christmas Countdown Day 2

Day 2 of the countdown said Go Get A Christmas Tree! We planned on going to a tree farm in Tiverton, about 30 minutes from here and cutting down a tree! I have always wanted to do that! But Keith ended up working later than planned, so we went to Sweet Berry Farm just down the road and got a tree! The kids still had a great time, even though we did not cut one down!

Christmas Countdown Day 1 activity

For day one, the boys opened the envelope and it said "Read a Christmas Story". I bought a new book, Dora's Starry Christmas. E loved Dora, so I thought she would love to book too! The boys were thrilled to open the card, then all read the book together!

Count Down to Christmas

I LOVE PINTEREST! I found a great idea for a Countdown to Christmas activity calendar. As usual, the way I see it in my head is far from the finished product, however, I am really happy with how it turned out! I took Christmas scrapbook paper and printed an envelope template and then cut it out and made super cute Christmas/holiday envelopes. Then I took decorative note cards that I got from Michael's and wrote an activity on each one, then put then in the envelopes that I labeled 1-24, one for each day. I bought a Christmas basket and put all of the envelopes in it. The kids find the envelope for the day and we do the activity! They loved last night, day one, and are already asking to open day 2! I am excited they are excited!!!

 Basket

envelopes waiting to be opened!

The Polar Express

We took the kids to ride the Polar Express with another family that we do a lot with here. It was so much better than I ever imagined! It was at a place about an hour from here that has rides to ride while you are waiting! The best of 2 worlds, an amusement part and the Polar Express!! We got there 2 hours early to have plenty of time to enjoy the park before the train left. Once on the train, we listened to the Polar Express story as the train went around the park and we were able to see all of the lights and displays. Then we sang Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer while we waited for Santa to arrive! Once he did, he gave each child a bell, just like in the story! It was so magical! I am so happy that we took the kids!

 Tyler, Henry, and Anders waiting in line to ride the airplanes

 looking at one of the displays

 I love the reflections in this picture

 Tyler's reflection

 Evelyn's reflection

 first attempt at a group pic

 second attempt at a group photo

 third attempt at a group photo...I GIVE UP!

 Santa giving the boys their bells

 Evelyn was not too sure of Santa

This is the best one I got!