More Elf Adventures

Brownie sitting up on 2nd story window in entryway.  HOW did he get up there??!!!

 Hmmm, a duct taped boat and a duct taped fishing hat?  Guess who helped with this one?  Haha!

 Brownie seems surprised learning the secrets of using the potty.

 Brownie was found in the container of mints.  Below him was a bag of crushed candy cane....aka: Candy Cane Seeds.  The directions say: Plant in Sugar.  So, we got a little jar of sugar, sprinkled in some "seeds" and have been waiting all day.....

 Tomorrow morning they will wake up to Brownie knitting.  What a good Elf...must be making a cozy scarf.

 And they will also wake up to Candy Cane buds!!!!  Look!  Three perfect little candy canes growing so nicely...but Brownie says: Not Ready Yet....Needs More Sugar.  So, I guess tomorrow we'll sprinkle on more sugar and see what happens!  ;-)

Stay tuned for the last three days of adventures with Brownie!

Elf Games

Brownie likes tea parties!

 And Brownie finally got an upgrade....he underwent "surgery" to receive the equivalent of opposable thumbs.  A few little slits in his stitching, some 16 gauge wire and we now have bendy Brownie.  He can sit nicely, bend his arms and legs, hang from lamp shades....all on his own!  

 Some more Elf jokes....

Oh the kids were excited to wake up Sunday morning to this!

 And just hanging around.

Elves are busy

Some nights Elves just are too tired to get in much trouble.  Some nights they just hang around and tell jokes.

 Like this one: Why is it so cold at Christmas?

Because it's in Decembrrrr!

With all the snow we've had, snowball fights are the topic of conversation.  Look who we found having their own snowball fight?  The marshmallows mysteriously disappeared throughout the day....hmmm.... 

 And just hanging out.  Wishing for candle 3 and 4 to get here soon!

 Everyone knows elves love sugar.  Here is Brownie's breakfast.

 Dot was a little miffed that he was drinking all of our syrup!  Haha!

 A horse drawn sleigh ride for a first date.  Classy!

Let it Snow!

So it started with a little dusting of snow Saturday morning.  The kids were thrilled to finally get out their snow gear.  

 But then this morning is when it got really fun.  We woke up to a couple inches on the ground.  The weather service said the majority of the storm was going to track north and the southern metro would get around 4-6 inches.  Well, so much for that!

 Because this is how most of the day looked!

And that's how this happened on the patio table....

And the weight of the snow turned many of our trees into Whooville looking trees.

And this little guy is my MN snow baby!  

He loves Snowballs!

 But this guy...hmmm, think he would have preferred to be inside curled up by the fire.  But he did play a bunch and chased loads of snowballs.

And we made forts!  Great for snowball fights..

And by the end of a very busy day we have a ruler that is now very officially covered by snow (I should go find a yard stick next) and a house full of very tired little creatures.  

It is a very wonderful, winter wonderland!

Gone Fishin'

Brownie was found fishing this morning.  At least it's been warm enough and it wasn't ice fishing!

 

Look!  He caught a Goldfish!

Christmas Fun

Our Elf on the Shelf, Brownie, returned last weekend.  I think it's kind of funny we even do this creepy little doll since I've never really even pushed Santa...but it's fun.  He doesn't tattle on the kids to Santa or anything....we just kind of said that he's here to hang out with us.  The kids just enjoy seeing where he ends up each morning.  And I admit, it's kind of fun coming up with different places for him to end up.

Here is his first night with us again.  He was sitting in this bowl filled with ornaments when we returned from Hollidazzle, with his letter to the kids.

 We were kind of tired from Hollidazzle so we didn't do anything crazy for day 2...just stuck him in a toy bucket upside down as if he got stuck.  Forgot to get a pix of that one.

Then he ended up here in the bird cage candle....looked like he was trying to roast marshmallows!  He stayed here for another night....he must have been tired again.  ;-)

 Then he and Creepy Baby sat out on the porch and played Scrabble.  They had all kinds of good words like, Santa, Rudolph, Comet, snow, elf, etc.

 But what's that you have Creepy Baby?!  You're playing the Z -- going for the Triple Word Score!

 Brownie singing with the carolers.

 We started our Advent Calendar last week too.  Nikkels is old enough this year so we went in birth order.  Today was Nikkels's turn.  He knows these little doors are filled with a new magnet for the manger and a yummy chocolate treat...so the doors get checked multiple times a day. We have been opening it right when E gets home from school and I don't fill it until just before.  Well, Niko's chocolate radar must have been on as he checked it just before E got home. 

 The little two got their Hershey Kiss, but we saved E's in the box for when he got home.  We ate our chocolate and moved on to other things....or so I thought....

 A few minutes later I see him back by the calendar with green candy wrapping...wait a minute...he had silver.  Uh-oh.  Nikkels, that's not for you!  That's for your brother!  Uh-oh.  Hmmmm...can't you see him trying to figure out how to get that chocolate back in the wrapper???

 He tried, but I think the chocolate had a few licks, and with warm toddler hands, it just didn't go so well.  We threw it away and I gave him a new piece to put back in the box. 

 He loves his chocolate, or "cha-cha" as he calls it!

Hollidazzle 2012

I think it's odd that I've lived in MN for most of my life, and I don't recall ever seeing the Hollidazzle Parade.  Perhaps I've gone before, but it just doesn't ring a bell.  I've wanted to go the last few years for the kids, but the days that were available were simply COLD.  Standing out on a side walk in freezing temps is not a place I want to be with little people.  So, I kept an eye on the temps this week and we were very happy to have almost 50 degree weather on Saturday!  We were off and we left the boots and snow pants at home!  There is something magical about being downtown at night around Christmas time.  It's so pretty!  The kids loved the tall buildings and looking UP!

Here are some of the floats going by.  

 Nikkels was fascinated by the lights, music and people dressed in crazy costumes.

 And Santa waved right at us!

 And when we got home from the parade that night....look who we found!!!!!    Our Christmas Elf, Brownie, showed up again with a special note for the kids.  Basically told them he's back, is going to keep an eye on our family and most importantly...no touching the Elf!  Let the games begin!!!!