Taylor & Tyler's last week with us

 They were quite busy again this week ...

Dec. 15

Camping out!

Dec.16

Playing chess!

Dec.17

They hid in the cupboard after decorating the kitchen

They turned the freezer into a snowman and put bows everywhere!

Dec.18

Snowflake tea!

Dec.19

Showing their support for Canadian soldiers

Dec.20

Even elves don't like this much snow!

Dec.21

Drive-in movie

 Dec.22

They left us supplies to make ornaments

 Dec.23

They loved our ornaments and gave us a trophy

 Dec.24

They gave the boys a good-bye gift

 See you guys next year!

Busy, Busy Elves ...

Taylor & Tyler have been going non-stop all week ... 

Dec. 8

Taylor & Tyler decorated an ornament for our tree

 Dec. 9

Just hanging around

 Dec. 10

Snow day fun!

 Dec. 11

Making survival bracelets

 Dec. 12

They filled the kids room with balloons

 Dec. 13

Reading a good book and left new books for the kids

 Dec. 14

Snowball fight with Rudolph & Bumble

Come back to see what they get into next week ...

Our scout elves have been busy this week ...

You never know where these two are going to show up next ...

Dec. 2

Putting a puzzle together

Dec. 3

Pictures with Santa 

 Dec. 4 

Singing Christmas carols with the chipmunks

Dec. 5

Playing Twister

Dec. 6

Rockin' around the Christmas tree

Dec. 7

Blind auditions for the Voice

They have arrived ...

Taylor & Tyler, our scout elves, arrived today, thus solving the door mystery. 

I wonder what mischief and giggles they will cause this year ...

Now where did that come from - Part 2

We think we may have solved the mystery of the door ... 

Today when we woke there was a wreath & a mat with a key hidden under it. And lots of snow everywhere!
 

It must be the elves ...

 What will happen next? ...

Now where did that come from ...

When we woke this morning we found this sitting on the shelf ... 

 

 

No sign of anyone! Just this tiny opened door ...

We have no idea who could have left it there. 

Maybe they will leave another clue tonight ...

Christmas Village display ...

Once again I came up with a crazy idea and hubby made it happen. 

I have been slowly adding to my Christmas village each year and last year it fit on a 6ft table (which did not really fit into my tiny living room). 

But over the course of the last year I have added to my village (oops), and it won't fit on the table anymore. I asked hubby to build a piece onto the house for my Christmas stuff and he just rolled his eyes, which I took as a no.

So ...

I decided if I can't go any further lengthwise with my village then I shall go up! We are both very pleased with the results.

It stands about 5'6" (It is taller than me!). The bottom shelf is 3&1/2 ft by 3&1/2 feet and each shelf decreases by 6 inches. The columns are 12 inches tall.

Top shelf ... my boys decided what went up here

Second shelf aka North Pole

Third shelf

Fourth shelf

Fifth shelf

Bottom shelf 

 

 

 *Just a note so you can avoid the mishap that we had ... Measure your room first so it will fit, lol. I tend to think big and hubby had to cut all the shelves down so we could get it in the living room.

Charlie Brown inspired Christmas ornament ...

One of my favorite Christmas movies is a Charlie Brown Christmas. While hunting through Pinterest for decorating ideas I came across this link to Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Diy ornament

"I NEED this ornament" is what the messages to my close friends said. 

I spent most of that night trying to figure out how to make it without having to order something off of Ebay and wait weeks for it. (I am not know for my patience) ... 

So while everyone was sleeping, I sat in my crafty corner with a few supplies ... 

  After a few fail attempts, I finally got this ... 

Here it is hung on our test tree for new ornaments ... 

Christmas crafting ...

I found this cute little snowman while searching through http://www.pinterest.com/, and I had to try it!

Super easy and cheap to make ... 

Gather materials:

Toilet paper 

Googly eyes

Orange paper for the nose

Curling ribbon

Poem

Plastic bag (big enough to hold the tp)

Black marker

Put the toilet paper in the bag, tie it closed. Add a face and tag ...

... All done! 

The poem I used. I printed it 4 to a sheet ...

©unknown

Happy Halloween!

We had our annual Halloween party today.

We had Bats Eyes cookies ...

Black Cat paw-nies

Smushed witch-cakes ...

Our beverage selection included ...Truth Tonic, Fresh Blood, and Poison

And of course, no party would be complete without a cake ... We opted for a Kitty Litter cake this year ...

Each kid that came brought a can of cat food to donate to our local SPCA 

The kids had a blast and gobbled up the tasty treats. They got a kick out off the spooky names on the food and drink.

Now to start planning the Christmas party ...