Christmas Spirit---almost

So I decided we're not going to make Gingerbread houses. We're going to make Hexenhauses. A Hexenhaus is the witches house in Hansel and Gretel. How are they different than gingerbread houses you might ask? Mostly, I think they have just have a cool name and a lot of charm. Kind of like me. Also, they might be shaped more like the photo above than other gingerbread houses you have seen.

So, for Family Night tonight we had the awesome idea of teaching the girls the joy of giving to others. Our ward is collecting toys for an kind of orphanage, and we thought it would be fun to take the girls to a toy store and let them each pick out presents to give to the kids. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Chris got home at 6:30. We ate, got ready, and were in the car by 7:15. We got to the store at about 7:35, or in other words, the girls bed time. This, I think was where we went wrong. After 7:30, things get crazy in our house.

It's hard to be a little girl surrounded by toys you are supposed to give to someone else. It's especially hard when it's past your bedtime. And it's ALWAYS hard not to run up and down the aisles whooping at the top of your lungs.

And, if you are a little baby, apparently it's really hard not to explode your diaper all over your dad. Hahahaha. Actually that was kind of the awesome part of the trip.

So, it wasn't the huge success we were hoping for. But, there are going to be some really happy little kids on Christmas day (maybe not ours). And, it was pretty sweet to see Jojo pick out a doll for "a boy baby." And Soapy finally picked a Wedding Barbie saying, "I really really want this for me too, Mom. But I know we're not talking about that right now. And there are four so we can give this one a sad girl I guess." And Gracie needed a bath anyway.