M & M's Game

We got this as a gift from my friend for Christmas and it was really fun for the kids. You get a bowl and pour M&M's in it. You have a pair of dice and roll them. When you get doubles you get to eat M&M's you pull from a bowl with a pair of chopsticks. We gave the kids a plastic spoon and made them take one at a time. We played with my sister, Bridger's parents and the kids on Christmas Eve. Bridger, of course, was very adept. I wasn't too bad, either. The kids had a blast and so did everyone else. Sometimes they couldn't even pick one up before someone else rolled doubles. I recommend it (recommend is spelled so you have 2 m's, like M&M- that is what my 6th grade teacher taught me).

Snow!

The snow is up to Kjerstin's shoulders. We have been dumped on this week. And anytime it isn't snowing the wind is blowing to blow the existing snow around. We are living in a winter wonderland! The kids have had a great time in the snow and have actually been very good shovelers! The roads have been messy. It has been a good time to just stay at home. In Oregon they have been getting snow and ice storms, too. They were out of school for a week before school was supposed to get out. If we still lived there, life really would stop. We don't anymore so life goes on and Bridger still has to go to work. I echo my Oregon friend's comments that at least we have the things we need to survive and get by despite the weather thanks to the counsel given us by our prophet.

Nativities

We had a tradition when I was growing up. There was some yarn (straw) and a basket (manger). Every time you did a good deed you got to put a piece of straw in the manger. the intent is that by Christmas the manger is full of hay and soft for baby Jesus. Corban asked me where baby Jesus was and I told him that it wasn't his birthday yet. As we were driving around as a family looking at Christmas lights, Corban was irked that the nativities that were set up had baby Jesus in the manger. "It's not his birthday yet! Why do they have the baby Jesus in the manger!" I tried to explain but he was insistent that if it wasn't Christmas yet, they shouldn't have the baby Jesus in the manger. We hope he was as attentive to the idea of doing good deeds as well!