Polar Express Christmas Party

Our ward this year put on a

 Polar Express party

 where the children, youth

 and some adults

 came dressed in their pyjamas to the church. 

 

 They were greeted by a

ticket master

 who punched their

golden tickets and then let them onto a train.

 

 The train ride took them to the North Pole.

They had to go past some pretty amazing scenery, but the trip wasn't too long.

 

 

 They then had to exit the train and follow the tracks to enter the north pole.

 

 

 They all got to choose a train and sat down for a turkey dinner and hot chocolate bar.

 

If they wanted to they could build a snowman and add it to the walls

 

Cute little snowmen

 (why is there a green one?)

 

 

We had a brief program where

 a couple of families danced to the

 hot chocolate song

and a young man sang the song believe from the movie

 and our

train conductor read a story about Santa and Jesus

 

  Santa visited and then we had a

 very special family

show up and we all sang silent night.

 

 

Santa handed out a swirly lollipop and a bell that said,

 

"the bell still rings for those who truly
believe"

 Hopefully it was a fun night for both the young and the old.

 I know it was for me and mine.

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

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Be-you-tiful Evening in Excellence

Had a great day with the young women

of our Stake at our

Evening in Excellence.

 

  We got to eat yummy food and see amazing projects that they've been working on.

We had chalkboards signs all around the gym with quotes about inner beauty

and the importance of how our

 Heavenly Father

looks at the inner not the outer beauty.

 

 

 I am always amazed at

 the projects that our young women are doing. 

 They are so wonderful and motivated

 to do what is good and right.

 

 

The food was delicious with 

soups and salads and then these

 gorgeous cheesecakes

 for dessert.

 

 

We set the tables simply with

pom poms and little glass vases.

 

 

Sometimes the simple things can be the most beautiful things.

 

 

 

I loved all the sayings

 



 

 but the one that has touched me the most was the one that said,

 

" If the world was blind, what would you look like?"

 

It has inspired me to make sure my

words and actions

are a true reflection of who I am.

 



 

I also talked with the young women about how we might have pinterest boards that have to do with our outer beauty ( like fashion or hair and makeup), but how many of us have a board that has to do with inner beauty.

 

I didn't have one myself, but I do now and I challenged each of them to start a board that would help them remember their importance to their Heavenly Father and to focus on the things that really matter.

Overall I think it was a great day. 

 

 I love serving in my calling with the youth,

they truly are

 amazing and inspiring

 young women.

 

May The Force Be With You

 

Well we've had another birthday here.

3 hours of crazy good times.

 

This one was Star Wars themed.

There were so many ideas out there that it was so easy to do.

pinterest

 

When the kids came in they were each given a Jedi outfit and a light saber.

My older girl and her friend ran a quick class in Jedi training, they were so much fun and the kids loved them.

 

Then they had to put their skills to the test in the combat zone.

It was fun and a little crazy. 

 

 Gratefully with

 pool noodle light sabers

 NO kids or  T.V. 's were hurt.

 

 

Let the attack begin.

 

 

 

I made Jedi robes for all the kids and "Leia buns" for the girls.

 



The cake this year was a

 Yoda cake

 

That's right he's holding a knife cover instead of a light saber.

It's called improvising.

:)

 

 

Made a death star piñata that would not dry,

 so it didn't get painted....oh well you live and learn.

 

I've always made piñatas in the summertime

and they dry so quickly,

this was day two and it was still wet in places. 

 

 That didn't stop us from having fun though.

 

 

Some could really hit it hard and eventually it started to rip.

 

 

Oh the frustration of a soft saber and 6 layers of newspaper.

 

 

The kids also got to decorate a droid,

 which was really just a big cookie of R2D2, some icing and candy.

 

They turned out really cute. 

 

 I love the big cookie idea, it is

the same one that I used for

 gingerbread houses.

 

The cookie is about 10" tall.

 

 

I believe the kids had the best time just playing with their light sabers.

 

I am all about making memories,

especially birthday ones, as my mom did such

 a great job of making all of mine

 and my siblings special.

 

 

The force is strong with these ones.

 

Now I need a nap.

 

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My Last Leprechaun Trap

You heard right, after four kids

having gone through grade one this was

 my last Leprechaun trap

 that had to be made.

 

We went all out.

 

It's called Lucky's Bakery

(also known as shoe box with green duct tape)

 

 

 It is a conglomeration of rainbows, green stuff and goodies.

 

Here's how were going to catch that shifty little green guy (or girl).

 

He is going to climb up the stairs.

 

 

 and he'll see all the delicious items that are available to him. 

 

 He will stand on the square

 in front of the order sign and

 BLAMO,

he'll fall into the box below the

 floor because that

 tile is a fake tile.

 

 

Here are some of our tasty treats

We have doughnuts (painted Cheerios), gold foil cakes (chocolate coins) and of course cotton candy (chalk covered cotton balls found here ).

 

 

 My son loved making this and the

 idea was his to have mini doughnuts for the Leprechaun,

 which then sparked the idea for a bakery.

(the display counter idea I got from here )

 

 

Lucky's bakery open for all Leprechauns in only five days.

 

 

Don't forget to wear green.

 

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Easy Gingerbread "Houses"

I forgot to post this fun night that we had with friends over the Christmas break.

  We wanted to make gingerbread houses with the kids and came across a great idea
 on pinterest that you only make the front of the gingerbread house. 
That way you don't have to worry about the structure and
get to focus on the fun part....the decorating.

The gingerbread "houses" are basically
 huge cookies (the size of a 9x13 pan)
 made from your choice of gingerbread recipes.

Here's how we did it.

Rolled out the dough right onto a piece of parchment
and cut out pieces for the windows and door.
(This made transferring the cookies so easy and no tearing or ripping happened)

 I was making so many I made a
template out of card stock and traced it with my knife.

 

Baked them and let them cool. 

 

The recipe I used had no shrinkage or spreading,

so the way they looked when I cut them

was the way they looked when they were done.

 



 

Next have the kids decorate them.

 



 

Some had more candy on them than others.

 

 

 

Winner of the heaviest cookie.

 

 

Us moms got into it too.

 



 

I think they turned out quite well.

 

 

 

We all had to pull out our mad piping skills.

 



 

My favorite part was how easy they were to make and we didn't have to worry about the houses breaking or what kind of icing to use to make them stick together.

 

The kids had fun and everyone ended up with a huge cookie to take home.

Definitely a fun night with some of my favorite people.