Girls Night Out!

I hosted GNO last night. We did a cookie exchange, an ornament exchange, and raced to make reindeer antlers out of balloons and panty hose. The first team to complete the antlers and proudly display them wins, and Yes, my team won, but No, I had not been practicing. We also had some good food, (I finally had a successful Brie en Croute) some drinks, and played a few other games. All in all, it was a very fun evening, and I was in by shortly after 11! I had to transplant a couple of boys though to sleep in my own bed.

We have the Colony Christmas parade tonight, the theme is Christmas in Crest Land. That is a tough theme to creat a float around! After that, we also have my work Christmas party, then tomorrow is the Christmas homes tour in Garnett. I think Christmas season has officially begun!

Can you believe it??

It only cost $22.71 to fill my car up with gas today!!! I can easily remember when it was over $50. Short stop had gas for $1.45 today!! On another note, we had a family come from Iola tonight and pick out a puppy. They brought their teenage son to pick it out, but hadn't told him where they were going, he was pretty excited. We also have a lady coming tomorrow to get a puppy, and at least two more people coming this weekend to look! If anyone was interested in a puppy, you better let us know soon!!! LOL!

How sad :-(

Well, I had full intentions of posting a video of Andrew belting out his Christmas song at his program last night, instead, I stayed home with a feverish boy with an upset stomach. Andrew always picks the busy days to get sick, last time he was sick was on Halloween! He hasn't acted like it bothered him to miss the program though, but I don't know that he fully understands either. I am sure it bothers me much more than it ever will bother Andrew. Now I just hope that it doesn't hit Colby, because we have a very full weekend ahead.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

The Kipper side is getting together this evening for a light dinner, then lunch tomorrow will be at Linda's. am lucky to have so much family so close, because I think we will also be able to make it to Grandpa Michael's to at least say HI! We are lucky this year to get to see most of the family at some point for the Thanksgiving holiday, but to those we will not see, have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Program

Andrew has his first school program coming up and I am so excited! His Christmas program is December 2nd at 7 pm. We have his outfit picked out, and if I don't say so myself, I think he is going to look rather dapper. He has been singing quite a bit lately and can carry a tune fairly well. He must have got that from his father!

I am hosting "Girls Night Out" December 5th, so I have begun the pre-party cleaning and decorating. I cleaned the sunroom today, then the boys helped me put the tree up. I know, it's a little early, but anything I can get out of the way now will help. I purchased a new pre-lit tree this year and wow, it went up fast. It is a slim tree which also helped.

I think I am done Christmas shopping!! I need to write everything down and double check, but all of my big purchases are done. That is a huge weight off my back. I always end up stressing out about one person, but everything came together very easily this year.

Puppy update

Here are some updated photos of the puppies. They are now 1 month old, and eating puppy food twice daily. Since they began escaping from their box on the laundry room, and the weather has been fairly warm, we moved the puppies to the shop for the night. They have a nice size box full of newspaper and straw to keep them warm. There is also a fire burning in the stove. All in all they should be quite happy in their new digs! It also gives Mattie more room to roam, which I know she will like.

Weekend in Branson

Saturday morning my alarm went off at 4:30 and Colby was already awake with his bedroom light on, I guess in anticipation of our trip. We left for Branson around 7:00 with mom, dad Lauren, and Brian. The boys did well traveling, mostly due to the DVD player, until we were about 5 minutes from the hotel. Andrew says "Colby puked" and he wasn't kidding. I guess all the sugar and windy roads caught up with him. Luckily, that was all it was, and not an illness. After grabbing lunch, the girls went on a short shopping trip, and the boys rested. We went to Silver Dollar City around 3:00. Unfortunately, it was so cold, the rides were not running, which did not set well with Colby.

I think they said that there are 4 million lights in Silver Dollar City, a pretty amazing sight. We waited for the 7:00 parade, which was also very pretty, and watched the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

Sunday we went to the Bass Pro Shop, and I think the kids enjoyed it as much as SDC. I even got a few Christmas gifts purchased. We got home at a reasonable time, which was good because I had to disassemble a car seat and wash it along with all the laundry. The puppies did well with their grandparents while we were gone except they have learned to climb out of their box. Guess they are getting a ticket to the shop soon!!