Reindeer Feed

Yesterday, we did one of the most important activities of Christmas - making reindeer feed!  You have to sprinkle reindeer feed on the ground outside your house so that the reindeer know which houses to stop at :)

Katy took a super long nap, so Lane got to make enough reindeer feed for the two of them.

First, add oatmeal (since the reindeer are pretty hungry) -

Then, add a little cinnamon (because it's yummy) and lots of glitter (so the reindeer can see it).

After Katy woke up, we took it outside to sprinkle on the lawn.  Lane insisted on the front yard so that the reindeer could see it from the street.

Katy wasn't too sure what was going on, but after she watched Lane, she poured hers on the ground too.

Whisky came over for a taste - she might be the only "reindeer" we see :)

I don't think that anything could top last year's reindeer feed.  We mixed it all up and poured it on the ground. Lane was excited, but I don't think he really knew what was going on.

The next morning, we looked out the window and saw several deer running by.  I called to Lane - "Look, the reindeer are here!" and he stared out the window, mesmerized.  Perfect timing to amaze a little boy.

Christmas cookies

With only a few days until Christmas, it was time to decorate sugar cookies!  Casey baked a batch of cookies, then we met at Mom's to decorate.  Lane has been excited about this for weeks - he loves decorating cookies!

He still doesn't quite understand "just a few sprinkles on a cookie" - most of them ended up covered in sprinkles!

Brooks did really well - he helped Casey with cookies last week, so he knew what was going on!

Katy wasn't too into it!  I showed her how to sprinkle on the cookies...

...then she did a little on her own...

...but then she discovered that eating them is more fun!

In the end, all our cookies were decorated (and only a few were eaten along the way).  Mom might be sweeping up sprinkles for weeks, but we all had a good time!

My attempt at a cute Christmas card photo

A couple Sundays ago, once the kids were dressed in their Sunday best, I had this thought - "Maybe I should take Christmas card photos now!  There's still time, right?"

And the results from the "cute" Christmas card:

I did get one cute photo...but didn't manage to get cards ordered.  To all those who love Christmas cards - I'm sorry, I'll try to do better next year!  :)

So - Merry Christmas to everyone from the Farralls!

Gingerbread House FAIL

Last year Lane had a great time decorating gingerbread houses, so he has been begging to do it again this year.  I had big plans to have his aunts and uncles over to have a party, but - 1.  I couldn't find the boxes of little gingerbread houses.  2. I have a horrible cold and 3.  It started to sound like a lot of work :)

So Lane and I finally found a gingerbread kit while browsing Joann's the other night.  Lane couldn't wait - so last night we after supper we all sat down to have fun.

Lane was so excited!!  Katy was excited too - look at all the candy!!  I was just trying to get the frosting to work right.  And Curtis was not excited at all.

Katy saw Brooks doing "Touchdown!" a few weeks ago....and now she does it!  Candy in the mouth = touchdown!

We finally got it all put together - Lane did a great job decorating ;)  I squirted lots and lots of icing on it in an attempt to get it to stick together.

It didn't work.  Soon, the roof slid off.

Lane thought that was wonderful - he started licking it. We decided that it could just be a stable and it would still look ok.  We were still commenting on how Baby Jesus was born in a stable, when...

...the entire thing fell to pieces.  This is Lane's attempt at a sad face, but he and I were both laughing pretty hard.  Luckily, he wasn't heartbroken...just ecstatic that he now gets to eat his weight in candy and frosting.

Yep...gingerbread house FAIL.

A Few Good Recipes

I've been trying a few new recipes lately and thought I would share some!

Easy Macaroni and Cheese

Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Corn and Potato Chowder (slow cooker)
Pretzel Buckeyes
The Deen Brothers Lighter Macho Nachos
Parmesan Pork Chops
Buttery Sweet Potato Casserole

Silhouette projects

Since I got my Silhouette Cameo in the mail, I've had lots of fun playing with it.  Curtis doesn't like it when I use it when he's trying to watch TV - it's pretty loud!  I got the vinyl starter kit with it - once I made a few things - I ordered a lot more vinyl.  I also am waiting on my order of heat transfer material to arrive so I can make Lane and Katy a few t-shirts.  So much fun!

Here are a few of the projects I've done - most are Christmas related!

I cut out lots of snowflakes, adhered them to a canvas, and then
spray painted the whole thing glittery.  Then I peeled off the snowflakes.
The lights behind the canvas are supposed to shine through just the snowflakes.
I guess my spray paint was a little see-through though - it doesn't quite look
how I intended!

This is about 4 feet long and on our dining room wall.

The treat boxes I made for the Farrall Christmas.

My front door.

I also finally was able to complete a project I've had in mind for a few months.  I tried using my mom's Cricut, but just couldn't get it to look exactly how I wanted.  I was so happy when I finally got it finished!

It's a series of wooden signs with the name of every town we've lived in and the year we moved there.  Curtis was skeptical, but admits that it turned out pretty cool!

I have a few more projects to do soon, but those are going to be Christmas presents, so I probably won't share them on here!  :)

Farrall Christmas

Yesterday we hosted Curtis' side of the family for Christmas.  It's always tough to find a day that works for everyone - this year it actually worked out in December!  Once everyone arrived (I guess the roads weren't too good yet yesterday morning!), we gathered everyone around the tree and opened presents.  It's pretty much a madhouse with seven kids!

Katy was pretty sure this bottle wasn't for a dolly!

Katy got 3 dolls (she better like them now!), a duck pillow pet, a tent, a make-your-own bear, an echo microphone, and a book.  Lane opened a toy gun, a tent, a Trio diver toy, a Calliou computer game, Ants in the Pail game, an inflatable r/c truck, and a log trailer.

Lane has wanted a log trailer for ages, and once again, Uncle Chad delivered.  It's so nice to have that creativity in the family!

Opening the last present (Daddy looks pretty surprised!)

The trailer has a hook to lift the logs up - Curtis cut several wooden logs for him too!

Dinner was a ham with several sides...I think the hit of the meal was the cinnamon butter Christi made for the rolls!  I was so stuffed by the end of the day - sooo many yummy snacks and meals!  Good thing Christmas only comes once a year :)

After lunch, the kids went outside to burn off some energy.  Katy got to out for a little bit before nap time - she loved riding on the sled!  It was pretty cute to see her sit so straight with her arms straight out so she wouldn't fall off!

Lane and Kaylee had fun playing together - especially playing out in the snow!  Our yard is perfect for 3-year-olds to sled in - the gradual hills are not too fast!

While Katy took an almost-3-hour nap, I cleaned up the kitchen and then convinced everyone it was time to play a game.  Laura gave me Scribblish last year for Christmas.  I had never heard of it at the time and everyone is skeptical when I try to explain it, but it is seriously the funniest game ever.  It's kinda like the game telephone, but you have to draw pictures in there too.  We laughed sooo hard (and Curtis and I even cracked up over drawings from last year when we played with my family!).

It was a really fun day!  I'm glad that the weather cooperated so everyone could be there!  Both kids (and me!) went to bed early and slept all night.  Well, I didn't sleep all night - I was too busy thinking of a new craft project to do :)

Katy was especially happy when Lane went to preschool this morning - that meant she was able to play with all his new toys without interruption!

It's snowing!

What a beautiful day outside!  It's been snowing since about 7:00 this morning - just a light gently falling snow.  And - no wind!  I love the view from our back windows - the trees and the lake are so pretty!

Lane and Katy couldn't wait to get out in the snow.  So, right after breakfast we bundled up and went out.  Katy was a good sport, but I don't think she really liked it!

Her snow pants actually fit, but the boots are a size too big and she had a really hard time walking in them.  She mostly wanted me to carry her.

Lane had a blast.

He immediately headed for his sandbox and dug holes, then spent some time throwing snow in the air.  Katy wanted to go back inside after about 5 minutes, but Lane stayed out a while longer.  He didn't come in until he got snow between his mitten and his coat - then it got a little cold!

I think I'm going to need to set up a big waterproof tarp by our back door to trap all the snow/melting snow when they come in!  It's pretty messy!