Days 5,6,7 and 8!

DAY 5:


Day 5 was a Friday evening, so we decided it would be fun to make Daddy's favorite drink WASSAIL! His mom would make this for their family growing up, and she had given me the recipe (though I had lost it). Thankfully I googled "Wassail" and found a recipe that would work. Later on, I emailed my MIL and she sent me HER recipe, which was pretty close to the one I found. I'll give you hers here:

Wassail

1 - 460gr. pouch cranberry crystals (2 cups)

1 - 460 gr orange crystals

1- 460 gr apple crystals

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Mix together and store in covered container. Add about 2 Tbsp or so to your cup of hot water and enjoy!

My recipe used lemonade crystals instead of apple (since I couldn't find any), but basically they are the same. YUMMMMM!! This recipe makes a LOT of mix, so how cute would it be to put some in some way cute little baggies, tied with a ribbon and note? Or put the baggie in a new mug with a note for neighbors and friends? I'm tellin' ya - so good!

I also made another chocolate mint cheeseball and we munched and sipped wassail while watching Prince Caspian, the new Narnia movie. I loved it!

Day 6:

Saturday was a busy one! We started out with a photo shoot for this way fun family. The kids were so interested in everything EXCEPT photos. LOL! We did manage to capture a few cute ones, though, and they were SUCH a nice family. I can't wait to work with them again.





For our activity, we made these cute little photo ornaments. I bought the kits from Wal-Mart a few weeks ago (in anticipation of this 25 days thing) and I thought it would be SO easy, and SO fun. Well, it WAS fun, but easy? Not so much. Okay, it wasn't rocket science, but for my fried brain it might as well have been. I had to make a couple of adjustments to their design to get them to work, but in the end, I think they turned out so cute! I think I want to start having the girls make new and different photo ornaments each year! What a fun way to watch them grow!

Later that evening, we headed out to my hubby's school semester wrap up party (can you believe the first semester is already done?) which was nice, then (not wanting to waste our treat of having a sitter) we went to see the AWESOME movie "Australia" with Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Jackman (swoon). I LOVED THIS MOVIE! It's an epic the likes of which you just don't see anymore. It had one bad word in it, which I hate, but it was in a spot that made sense for it to be there. Not excusing it - just saying I wasn't as offended as I usually am at that. The movie, for me, was maybe a half hour too long, but it's a trade off I'm happy with.

Day 7:

Busy Sunday, as per usual. Highlights? Having the H family over to dinner, visiting, kids playing, taking pictures of baby "M" and then:

...going to the chapel to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional broadcast. Wasn't it wonderful?? The stories, the music. It's always the BEST way for me to get into the meaning of Christmas. I love it. If you didn't get a chance to see it live, you can view it HERE. It's wonderful for everyone, not just members of our faith. I recommend checking it out - watching it together with your family. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs beautiful numbers, and you can't help but feel so uplifted afterwards!

Day 8:

Started out on a sour note - TJ came home from school sick, so while she lay on the couch resting, I worked on getting 7 loads of laundry done (just like every Monday) and things ready for Family Home Evening. For our activity we:


...decorated sugar cookies! One of my favorite traditions. I did this growing up, and I want my kids to do it, too. This year, the cookies were EXTRA nummy! (sorry about the terrible lighting in our kitchen at night)



Well, that's all for now! (as though that wasn't already too much! HA HA!)