Sean Wins the PIG!

So there's this little Norwegian tradition that my family keeps up with every year...

On Christmas Eve, we serve everyone a bowl of rice cream. (It's just what it sounds like... it's actually rice and heavy whipping cream... usually with some strawberries on top.) One of the bowls of rice cream has a nut hidden somewhere, and whoever finds the nut wins!

What do they win... well, a marzipan pig, of course! (Or some other chocolate prize for those, like Dad, who do not like marzipan!)

This year was Sean's second time sampling this fun family favorite... and this year, he won! Funny thing is, "they" say that whoever finds the nut not only wins the pig... he or she will also marry within the year!

What a FUN Christmas!

Another Christmas has come and gone, but we sure had a wonderful time!
From SpongeBob SquarePants "tennis ball" (AKA pinball) and Hello Kitty to Strawberry Shortcake movies and Ariel PJs... from talking Dora The Explorer (*cringe!) and Lite Brite to Barbie dancing fairy princess and a Disney princess piano... Jaiden (and the rest of our family) definitely had a grand Christmas... or should I say Christmases, since we celebrated the holidays at so many places this year!
Sean and I have already played Jaiden's SpongeBob "tennis ball" game more than she has! We also had a great time reminiscing with toys like Lite Brite and ViewMaster. Both of us helped Jaiden with her first Lite Brite picture: some psychedelic flowers with red and violet grass! And we had fun digging out my old ViewMaster and comparing it with the toys of today. From a unanimous vote, looks like the "old" one wins! (... especially since Sean can't seem to focus on 1 image in the new one!)

My Christmas Cutie!

The only purpose of this post is to show off my little cutie-pie!
So... here's Jaiden posing by our Christmas tree.
We're getting excited about Christmas... and we hope you all have a safe, restful and wonderful holiday!

Grandma Got SUNG TO By a Reindeer

Jaiden's first Christmas "play" and school party were last Friday, December 8, and BOY were they the cutest! The 4-year-old class dressed up in Christmas sweatshirts, reindeer antlers and red noses and sang some all-time favorite Christmas songs, like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Jingle Bells," "Away in a Manger," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," to name a few. Some of the songs had motions, jumping and silly choreography. It was way too cute!

I don't know if she was nervous -- or just being weird -- but Jaiden was cracking up and trying to get the other kids to laugh. (We have it on tape; it's hilarious!) She also had a small speaking part, and she did a great job... It was loud and clear, just like we practiced! Of course, she also kept asking when they could take off their noses! And then one little girl lost her nose during a song! It was so sad. But she managed to stick it back on. Literally. (Their noses were stuck on with masking tape!)

2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Swap Success

I love Christmas. And I love Christmas cookies. And I also love the opportunity to share good times with great friends! So thanks to all my friends and fellow cookie bakers who made this year's Christmas cookie swap party a success!
There were some old faces (not old as in age, but old as in they came last year!) and some new ones as well! And after laughing so hard that I cried and eating so much junk food that I got dizzy, I realized just how many wonderful cookies I got to pack away in freezer bags and food containers. YUM! I can't promise that they'll last until Christmas, though...