The random parts of Christmas

I know that I am silly, but I love Christmas, and some of the random things that happen are the best. When you have kids, you just know to expect the unexpected. As usual they didn't dissapoint. There were of course more awsome moments that we didn't catch on camera, but these are a few that we did.
This is the kids in their new Christmas jammies. I love kids in jammies, they are just cute!!

We have been teaching the kids about being responsible, doing chores, and trying to teach them about the value of money and tithing and all that great stuff for the past few months. With Christmas coming we thought it was a great time to put some of what we've been talking about into practice by letting them shop for one another. They had so much fun going to the store and finding a great gift for each other. This was Emma's response to the gift that Preston got her. I don't know if they learned a whole lot, but hopefully they will remember what it felt like to give.

Stockton opened his gifts and while the rest of us were busy opening and cleaning up and all that he went around raiding stockings. I don't know if you can tell, but he already has two chocolates stuffed into his mouth. Notice the wrappers littering the table, that's his handy-work.

We always have our big dinner on Christmas Eve, because I really like spending all of Christmas day in my new jammies, but I needed more rolls for the leftovers that we were eating that day. I had the dough made and the rolls formed. I was just getting ready to put my beautiful rolls in the warm oven to rise when I turned around for all of three seconds to get a piece of toast from the toaster, and was interrupted by a loud crash.

This is the culprit serving his time. I love the kid, but he is into everything right now.

It was a great Christmas. We spent the day playing games, having fun, and eating of course. I love my little family!!!!

Humes Family Party

It has been an awesome holiday season for us! We have enjoyed the spirit of the season, and all the time spent with family. The weekend before Christmas we had the Humes family Christmas party. It was way fun!(Thanks Whitney for all your hard work.) The party started out with dinner, quickly followed by making Gingerbread houses. We made ours Southwest style with a rooftop pool and a lounge chair for Santa. He must have liked it because he left presents, and then even stayed a while.

After that, we had our own Live Nativity. Stockton, Preston and their cousin Kloie were the shepherds. They were in fact some of the best shepherds ever. Stockton did love to stray from his role, he didn't like his head dress, and when they found the baby Jesus he bent right down to give him a kiss.

Emma and Sophie played the Kings. There are only two because the third one, Josie, respectfully declined her role due to the fact that she is a Queen and not a King. The pageant was wonderful and the kids finished it up by singing the Samuel the Lamanite song, and Joy to the World.

The rest of the weekend was fun and relaxing and enjoyable. We spent some time at the park playing kick ball and tag, we played some games, and watched some games and had a great time.

Stockton LOVED his cousin Zach, but I'm not sure how much Zach loves Stockton. This is the cutest picture! Zach is 10 months old, and Stockton followed him around all weekend loving on him. He wasn't intentionally mean even once.

We finished off the weekend by attending church with the in-laws. It was Dennis and Judy's non-farewell farewell. They were the speakers for the meeting, and the ward choir sang their songs. The whole thing was very beautiful, and reverent, and focused on the Savior, exactly like a Christmas worship service should be. The meeting ended with Tuna Aki (I know some of you know him, and/or remember him from High School) singing "O Holy Night". It was awesome, and he has a simple and beautiful voice.

Anyway it was wonderful, Thanks Humes Family!

Snow is Beautiful

I love the way the snow sits on the trees. I think this is really beautiful.

Can I Borrow Your Snow Shovel?

On Sunday, I arrogantly commented on a friend's blog about the beautiful weather, and most especially about the lack of snow we've had here in Vegas. Apparently I forgot to knock on wood, because it snowed a little bit on Monday, and it really came down today. In fact it is still snowing right now, and it will probably continue through the night. Who knew. It has been really exciting and fun for the kids, and I'll be honest, even for the parents. After watching it snow for about three hours, we pulled out the winter box, created some make-shift snow clothes and went to a grassy area in our neighborhood to have some fun.

So below isn't the best picture ever, but it's all of us.

Preston and Stuart built a snowman, and I ran home and got his accessories.

Emma was having a blast making snow balls to throw at all of us. Her favorite target was Stockton, and luckily he loved it. Every time he got hit he would smile and laugh.
At first, he wasn't sure about this snow stuff, but he had fun stomping around in it.

Preston mostly enjoyed making a snowman with his dad, but the whole thing was awesome in his opinion. They might close down the schools tomorrow, and I think he is thrilled about the possibility of another adventure playing in the snow.

We covered all our bases, snowman, snowball fight, and last but not least, snow angels.

What a fun and eventful day. The kids got hot chocolate twice, so they think they hit the lotto. I know that some of you see snow like this for half the year, but we in Vegas think this is a pretty cool thing.

Crazy Hair Day

So, we are like the coolest parents ever! (probably not, but humor me.) Preston's school was having a spirit day on Friday called Crazy Hair Day. Since Preston needed a haircut anyway, we decided that we would let him have a Mohawk for a day. He is always asking for a mohawk, and thinks it would be great, so we thought a spirit day was a fun time to try it out. I think it turned out pretty cool, and he loved getting to wear it to school to show all of his friends and his teacher.

After having a mohawk for a day, he decided to see just how far we would let it go. He asked if he could keep it for two weeks. His grandmothers will be pleased to know that we said no, and cut it off the next morning. Now he is just plain old Preston again. Punk-rocker Preston has been retired, but it was fun while it lasted.

But can he get down?

So, it was get stuff done day, and Stuart and I finally got around to putting the bunk beds together. Once we put the ladder on, it was party time!! This was the easy part.


Right here is where it gets a little tricky. It took him a few tries to figure out how to move the feet, then the hands, then the feet again.

But alas, there is no challenge this boy cannot overcome. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Almost there!

And Victory is Mine! He was so excited to find himself on the top of the bunk beds. It is now his favorite place to play. If you can't find Stockton, check the top bunk and he'll be there. But no, he can't get down, so when he is done he sits up there yelling "MOM, MOM, MOM" until I come rescue him from himself. He has tried twice to climb down himself, and the results have been tragic (just ask him).

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, being the brilliant girl that I am, I left my camera on the counter when we left for Thanksgiving, and this (see above) is why. I was doing my pre-Thanksgiving baking while Stockton entertained himself with canned food and a cupboard. My family all took pictures, so maybe if I can get them to email me some photos, (hint hint) I'll be able to post some, but for now my words will have to do.

It was a wonderful holiday indeed. We spent Thanksgiving Day with Stuart's family. It was a small gathering, only 11 of us, but we had fun. The morning started out with Stuart playing football in the yard with the kids. They had fun and got dirty, especially since it had rained all the day and night before. Turkey dinner was yummy, and my new, experimental Dutch Apple Pie was divine. Follow it up with Football, and naps on the couch, playing games with the in-laws and the day was complete. The kids had fun, and the holiday was great.

Friday was spent with Heather's family. We all met up at my brother Shane's house and had a great time. There were 30 of us, and only three were missing. It was awesome. We opted for a ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, salads, and pies, pies, pies. The tradition in my family is that everyone brings a main course item, and two pies. It is awesome. There are always more kinds of pies that you can imagine. Pumpkin, Creamy Pumpkin, Lemon Meringue, Apple, Cherry, Peach, Chocolate, and even some chocolate chip pumpkin cookies for good measure. But beyond the food, the company was great! The guys played some football after dinner. Lets just say there was some pushing and tackling and even some dirty play involved. The kids all played great together, no fighting that I can remember. Thanks to Uncle Shane's go-cart and four-wheeler, even the older kids had entertainment. The adults got a chance to visit and enjoy each other. It has been two years since we lost my Dad, and we enjoyed the opportunity to share memories, and laugh, and cry, and just remember the fun, and wonderful, and some of the crazy and bad. But it was wonderful. My family is lucky if we are all together even once a year, and we sure enjoy it when we are. We laughed. If I had to summarize the day it two words, We Laughed would cover it. My Mom's new husband John Robson was there, and hopefully we didn't scare him too much, but we all love him, and he fits right in, and even the kids seem to think he is great.

Well, that about covers it. It was a great weekend. It was so awesome to get to see that much family and just enjoy each other. We can't wait to do it again.

Football game for $10

Last Thursday was UNLV's last home game vs. Wyoming. They were having a deal that if you brought canned food for the food bank, parents got tickets for $5 each, and kids were free. You all know how I love a good bargain, and how Stuart loves football. We decided to take advantage of it, and went. It was so much fun. The kids had a great time. We got some popcorn to share, and watched the game and had a great time. Stockton loved to dance to the music, and soon Preston and Emma were joining in. When our popcorn was gone, Stockton made friends with the people next to us and before you knew it they were sharing their popcorn with him. What a mooch. He gets away with it because he is cute. Anyway, it was a great night, we had an awesome time, and UNLV won.

The Shopping Cart Won

Okay, so Emma and I have had the “don’t climb in and out of the cart” conversation 10,000 times, and now she knows why. We were shopping at Target the other day and she went flying off the top of the cart and came down right on her head, and hard. I scooped her up and then checked to see if anyone saw. Luckily, no one was around, so I didn’t have to worry about a call from CPS. She was pretty hurt, and pretty shaken up. I watched for signs of concussion, but they never came, thank heavens. About 20 minutes later she was still whimpering, and complaining, so I started to worry. I started asking if it was still hurting, or what was going on. Emma says “No, it doesn’t hurt, I’m just worried that my bump looks stupid.” What a girl. Later that day, on our way home from lunch she proceeds to tell me, “Mom my bump is like on Tom and Jerry.” She is right. She had a huge goose egg on the back of her head and it popped up just like they do on the cartoon. What a funny girl.

Just when you think your doing a good job...

Conversation between Emma and Stuart:
Stuart: So, Emma, who's birthday do we celebrate at Christmas?
Emma: SANTA'S!!!
Preston: No Emma, It's Jesus.
Stuart: Well, what do you think Christmas is all about?
Emma: PRESENTS!!!

We thought we were doing a pretty good job as parents, but apparently a few things have slipped through the cracks.

Happy Birthday Whitney

We just wanted to take a minute to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHITNEY!!! The kids made a card, and we wanted to share it with you. We love you!

Emma got a hair cut this week. She was an angel, and it turned out so cute! I usually just cut it, so it was a special treat for her to get to go to the Salon to get her hair did.

Just another week in the Humes House. I had the nerve to think that I could vacuum downstairs without any major catastrophes upstairs. I've been a mom for almost 6 1/2 years now, I should know better. By the time I got done this was the beautiful site that met me. All in a days work right?

I finally did it! I have entered the Blogging world. Wish me luck, because this is pretty out there for me. Quick summary for my first blog. Stuart-working construction, applying to grad school to get his masters in education, and working on becoming a high school basketball official. Heather-trying to keep all the Humes family balls in the air, activity days leader at church, stay at home mom, and recent marathon finisher. Preston-6 years old, and in the first grade at Forbuss Elementary School. New reader, big brother, and big tease. Emma-just turned 5, and telling everyone about it. Loves all things Sleeping Beauty, and Diva extraordinaire. Stockton-22 months old, and the most polite almost two year old I've ever met. He is the entertainer at our house. We are all living in Las Vegas, and actually like it! (Who knew such a thing was possible.)