Another Great Christmas!

We had the best Christmas and everyone was WELL! Not even a sniffle---I hope I didn't just jinx us.

Before I launch in to our Christmas, I'm going to take it day-by-day leading up to it. The Lapps family arrived on Friday, December 21st. We decided to celebrate Jordan's 18th birthday then so they could be here. Her birthday is on the 18th so she didn't have to wait too long.

Just in time for the party, we got her graduation picture. We all think they turned our really good.

I just can't believe she's 18. The years have truly gone by in a blink of the eye. That's why I do what I do. I want to save all of the important stories for her and my other "grands." The pearls belong to her mother.

This was the casual shot. There were so many to choose from---it was hard to narrow down. You could get as many poses as you want, but the cost was crazy, so we stuck with just two. 

And once again, a straight "A" report card. The teacher comments always surprise us. She tends to be on the quiet side. Apparently, she really participates in class. I have noticed, if you talk about a subject that she's interested in, she becomes quite animated.

When you have a December birthday, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle of the holidays. I was determined not to let that happen.

Notice I propped her picture up on the buffet. That way, we would be reminded that it was Jordan's day. With that in mind, I made all of her favorite foods---cheeseburgers with sweet potato fries, tater tots and fruit salad. For dessert, I made her a fudge pie that I served with peppermint ice cream.

After dinner, I had a family activity planned---just like any little kids birthday party. I got this idea from Pinterest. You make trees from ice cream cones and frosting. Add sprinkles and they turned out pretty cute. This is Spencer, Jordan's b-friend.

Right away, the kids wanted to know if it was a competition. I said, "no." But Butch jumped in and said "yes." He was to be the judge. The winner would get $5.00. He had to hide out in the kitchen while everyone worked. That worked for me---he cleaned up the whole thing! This is Carson, Morgan's b-friend sitting next to Stephanie.

Sandy trying to place her tree on the cookie sheet without getting it all messed up. That was the hardest part.

Here are some of the results. I couldn't get over how creative they were.

Ooops, where did that wine glass come from?

The boyfriends, Carson (in front) and Spencer (in back), really got in to it. Carson has a bit of an edge. He's an art student at Nashville School of Art. He comes from a very artistic family.

Butch doing the judging. It was tough. He could not choose just one.

He's trying to get a better look as Elizabeth, Victoria and Mitchell look on.

Greg and Nicky did not participate. I did a couple ahead of time to see if they would "dry." They did. I just used canned frosting and dyed some of it.

And the winners are---Carson, Jordan and Stephanie. Each person made two. Both of Carson's and Jordan's were picked. It ended up costing Butch $25.00. Next time he won't be so eager to turn a family activity into a competition!

The winners all in a row. They were each so creative in the techniques the kids used.

I ended up using some of the trees to decorate a cookie tray I took to the family trivia party on Saturday night. They looked so cute. There were two little girls (sisters---Mela and Gretchen) that ate several of them and licked the rest. I'm sure their mother, Merrill had a hard time getting them to bed after that suar high!!

When everybody left on Thursday, it made me sad to throw them away. They really were so cute and fun to make. File that away (or pin them) for next year.

More to come...