Advent Days 15-21

December 15: Make Christmas Play-doh. This was my first time making play dough - I have always just bought it, but I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was worth a try. It was a success! After making the play dough, we had fun cutting out Christmas shapes with our many Christmas cookie cutters. This was a fun activity that we will definitely be doing again next year!

December 16: Make Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments. I used this "recipe" adding a little extra flour because at first it was too sticky and their hands kept getting stuck!

December 17: See the Spanish Fork Lights. Corbyn remembered this from when we went last year and talked about it all day. He was soooooo excited when it was finally time to go! He took Rog's phone and was taking pictures of all the lights and thought it was the coolest thing when we opened the sunroof on my parent's car and let him poke his head out. 

December 18: Make Christmas Cookies. Peyton took a rare afternoon nap, so it was just Corbyn for this one. We made Soft Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Creme Filling for my dinner group cookie exchange. Turns out Corbyn loves gingerbread, so he was one happy boy stealing pieces of the dough as I rolled it into balls!

December 19: Go to Breakfast at Kneaders. You can't go wrong with Kneaders' breakfast!

December 20: Watch the Grinch (How the Grinch Stole Christmas). This was the kids' first time seeing it. After we watched it as a family in the morning, they watched it over and over the rest of the day while we did laundry and packed for our trip to Colorado.

December 21: Go to the Ririe Christmas Party. It wouldn't be Christmas for me if we had to miss the Ririe Christmas party! It used to always be Christmas Eve, but now they do it a few days before Christmas, so our family can attend before we go to Colorado. We always read the story of the nativity in Luke 2 and open presents from my Grandpa and Grandma Ririe. Corbyn got a couple Ninja Turtle Lego sets and Peyton got a Cinderella Duplo Lego set. It was a fun night as always!

Other highlights from the week:

Corbyn's Preschool Christmas Program. Corbyn knew all the songs and was definitely one of the most well-behaved kids! He made us proud!

The kids got letters back from Santa - postmarked from the North Pole. I don't think they really understood the significance of this, but it was fun anyway. 

I hosted a cookie exchange for my dinner group. We had wassail, Knorr Vegetable Dip, and lots of really yummy cookies. In addition to the gingerbread cookies I made with Corbyn, I made Chocolate Covered Mint Patties (not my favorite - I thought they kind of tasted like toothpaste).

We decorated gingerbread houses (using a kit purchased from the store). I got the kit that came with 5 little houses rather than 1 big one. It was a huge success! I'm glad I did it when Rog was around because I don't think I would have had the patience to do it alone!

Rog finished his finals. We celebrated the end of a really long, hard semester by going to dinner at our new Spanish Fork 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.

We did sealings at the Provo Temple with my parents on their 34th wedding anniversary.

I made Cinnamon Caramels for the Ririe Christmas Party. It was my first time making caramels and I was determined not to mess them up. I bought the candy thermometer Mel recommended and seriously stood at the stove for at least an hour watching them like a hawk. They turned out perfectly and were a huge hit at the party. I also made Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting. They were good too, but the caramels were the real stars of the show!

We let the kids open their need presents from us, so Corbyn could use his on the drive to Colorado. He got a booster seat and Peyton got snow boots. They also got to open a present from Grandma Lori and Papa George, so they could watch them on the drive. Corbyn got Planes: Fire and Rescue and Peyton got Sleeping Beauty.

I finished the kids' homemade gifts with little time to spare.

I taught the Christmas Relief Society lesson.

It was a really busy week! But when is the week before Christmas not busy?! (It's no coincidence that Peyton's hair is done the exact same way in every single picture. That's the quickest way to do it. I just consider it a miracle her hair got done every day!)