Christmas Elf!!

Niah got a package from the North Pole yesterday!! Santa sent her an elf that is going to stay with us until the end of December. He came with his very own Santa bag and magic North Pole snowflakes. The letter that came with him says that Niah has to feed him water and crackers every night and then sprinkle him with his snowflakes, this gives him energy to come alive at night. The name on his box was Hartley, but before he came Niah called him Jack, now she is calling him Charlie. So his name is Jack Charlie Hartley!!! This morning Niah found Charlie hiding in Chloe's stocking! He brought her the soundtrack for 'Enchanted'. Niah hasn't put him down since he came yesterday. This is a great, fun tradition for the Mason children! (Thanks Grandma Mel!)

Sledding

We took Niah sledding on Friday. We found a place where there was deeper snow than at our house. Niah loved it! Chloe had never been in the snow before and she wasn't sure what to think of it at first. Once she got used to it she wanted to crawl around and play. We also decorated for Christmas. We have lots of Christmas Spirit in our house! We had a great Holiday weekend. I am a little bummed that it will end tomorrow. Only four weeks until another break though!!!

Relaxing Week

We have had a very relaxing, enjoyable week. Bryan has been out of school for almost two full days. It has been so much fun to have him home. When Niah woke up this morning she said to Bryan, "Dad, what are you doing here?" She is not used to seeing him here in the mornings. On Monday we went shopping for our annual Christmas ornaments. On Tuesday some friends invited us over to play Rock Band. It was a blast! Today we took Chloe to her 9 month check up. She passed with flying colors! Niah and Chloe both had to get flu shots. Chloe didn't even cry but Niah did not like her shot at all. I'm sure the whole office could hear her crying/screaming! Then after that we went out to lunch to celebrate my 25th birthday. Bryan then sent me to the mall for a pedicure and a manicure. It was heavenly! Tomorrow we are eating with a bunch of friends. I will be doing a little Black Friday shopping and then on Saturday Bryan will be watching the BYU/Utah game. Go UTES! J/K! I posted some pictures that I have taken in the past few days. I love this time of year and can't wait for Christmas!!

Things I'm grateful for...

My sister tagged me and I'm suppossed to write 10 things that I'm thankful for.

1. My husband Bryan... he is a hard worker and he takes very good care of his girls. He is a great dad and a loving husband.
2. Niah and Chloe... my girls keep me young! They bring me so much joy and I am very grateful for the chance I have to be their mom.
3. My family... Mom, Dad, Tam, Colin, McKell, and Kaitie. They are all awesome and we have so much fun together, when we get to be together! I hate living far away from them but I know I can still count on them if I ever need anything.
4. A warm house!... it gets so cold in Vermont. I am grateful that we have somewhere safe and warm to live. (I know, I am always complaining about our tiny house but I really am thankful for it!)
5. The church... It is a huge blessing in my life. I would go crazy without it!
6. Music... I have always loved music. It calms me down when I am losing it. It always puts me in a good mood when I hear a great song!
7. The internet... I am always on the computer. Keeping in touch with friends and family is so much easier with the internet.
8. Good books... I love to read. A good book helps me forget about all of my troubles and worries.
9. Ben and Jerry's!!... Need I say more?!
10. Friends... I have made some great friends here. We have a great time hanging out while our kids play.

Now, I'm supposed to tag 6 people. Kaitie ( if you haven't already been tagged), Erica C., Ariane, Kathryn, Annette, and anyone else who is reading this!! (I only know so many people with blogs!)

What a Show!

Bryan and Niah are quite the performers! They love dancing and singing to 'Sweet Caroline'. This video is dedicated to Elder Forbes!

Monkey

Chloe has started climbing on everything she can find. This is a picture of her standing on her music chair and then trying to get up on the toy box. She definitely had a mischievous look on her face!

Wrestling

Now that I know how to put videos on our blog you will probably see a lot of them! Here's a clip of Niah and Chloe wrestling. They love to play together. (Turn off the sound on the slide show!)

Praise to the Man

Here is Niah leading us in song for FHE. Just scroll down and turn the sound off on the slide show so you can hear Niah singing!

Tutoring

So today Bryan told Niah that he had to study for his tutoring tomorrow and Niah said, "Dad, why do you study tooting?" What a funny girl we have!

Bug Catcher

The other day, Niah caught a lady bug that was in our house. We put it in a jar and put some grass and leaves in. Niah was pretty proud of her bug. She named him Feety (I'm not sure where that came from) and she carried the jar around for quite a while. The next morning I told her we should let him go but she started crying and said, "No Mom, he's my best friend!" It was pretty cute.

Another Niah Quote

Another quote to add from Niah... We have been teaching her about bad words and that she can't say dumb or stupid. Every time she thinks she hears a bad word from me, Bryan, or on the TV she says, "You said a bad word!" I have called her the word patrol a couple of times but never thought that she was paying attention when I said it. So today at lunch I was talking to Bryan and I said something that sounded like dumb. She called me on it and then she said, "I'm the word patrol!" Bryan and I were cracking up.

Trick-or Treat!

We had a great Halloween. Niah was Cinderella and Chloe was a flower. Niah felt pretty special when she got to wear her glass slippers and her crown. I also let her wear some lipstick. She loved that!! Chloe wasn't so happy with her costume. She hated the hat. We only have two pictures with her in her costume. We had some friends over for soup and breadsticks and then we all went trick-or-treating. It was a lot of fun.