Christmas 2008

Jane's first American Girl doll, she named her "Cassy."

Henry got a tool set, he was pretty excited!

It's not Christmas without Dad falling asleep somewhere random and snoring a bit.

Sisters & Cousins

We had a great Christmas this year. It is getting even better as the kids get a little bit older. As a child Christmas was my favorite time of the year, and it still is. In fact, it is even better now that I have little one's. They are my world, they are everything to me. I feel like the luckiest Mom in the world to be their Mother. We obviously kicked off the festivities at my Mom's house with her famous dinner. She started the menu off right doing roasted shrimp this time and a new cocktail sauce, compliments of Ina! Every year we do a nativity scene with all of the grand kids. This year Jane had the privilege of being Mary. She took it so seriously. She didn't crack a smile or break character the entire time. It's amazing how much these little things that we do mean to our children. We had a great time between the Christmas crackers, Grandma reading "Twas the night before Christmas," and new jammie's. I got to host breakfast at my house which was fabulous. The strata was great, and the company was even better.

The Gingerbread Massacre

One of my favorite things about any holiday is the contests between the Rothey's and the Shupe's. Whether it be pumpkin carving, gingerbread houses, or easter eggs-there is always a contest to be had! This year we were all prepared. We had mini ones for the kids and big ones for the boys. We scheduled out enough time for healthy competition. The contest began, Garrick decided to make the "empire state building", and Jake went with a classic "cabin." The judging?

Execution=10 points

Difficulty Level=1o points

Creativity= 1o points

No matter who wins, the outcome is usually the same; a massacre. After they had spent hours creating their masterpieces, the houses took a serious beating. Everytime one of them would turn around there would be a knife slash, or a fist slam. It escalated to the point of total demolition. I was laughing so hard I had tears. A holiday wouldn't be the same without the contests!

Preschool Christmas Party

We had a great time. Jane got to make her own gingerbread house, and all the kids did a show for us. Even though Jane was the only student not to say her line-"that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly," I was still proud of her for getting up there. It's not an easy thing to do when you are a Rothey!

"Gigantic Gingerbread House"

Okay so maybe it wasn't quite "life-size," but as a kid I remember it being much bigger. I actually thought that we would technically be able to walk inside of it. Ummm, not so. So I convinced the people that I love to come with me to the Ritz . It was cool for the kids, and maybe for us for a total of 120 seconds-but after that it was time to go home. Oh, something I did learn was a good tip for gingerbread houses at home. Cereal . . . cereal can do some pretty serious things to a gingerbread house.