This year we continued the Cramer family tradition of making popcorn wreaths to give to our neighbors as a Christmas treat. We decided to get Owen and Braeden more involved in the entire process even though we normally try to steer them away from metric tons of sugar and scalding hot liquids. They were very helpful through the whole process, though Uncle Steven and Uncle Scott may need to give them some food-handler pointers. Several wreaths became “family” property to prevent an unsuspecting neighbor biting into a dog licked gumball.

The boys set up all the plates and helped to mold all the wreaths as I divided the popcorn/hold-it-together-sauce mixture around the table. Hold-it-together-sauce is not the technical name but I can’t come up with anything better at the moment.

Braeden getting psyched up (this is before quality control sampling began).

The work in progress. Everything that was needed for assembling the wreaths. Plates, gumdrops, ice and a toy dinosaur.

Gavin was content with a supporting “I get any gumdrops I can grab” role.

The finished creation, artfully presented by Chef Owen.

So we made it through the whole evening with no fights, few burns, and some pretty good looking treats. Not to shabby for a non-health department rated operation!

Past Years

2005 (Nice small batch to get us started)

2006 (Skipped this year, something to do with a baby being born or something)

2007 (Unfortunate hair pulling incident right at the end)

We three kids of Jamiah are;

Running wild we trample afar,

Reading all things, learning new things,

Like how many stars there are.

O first grade homework, school parades,

Light sabers with glowing blades,

Active daytimes, pushing bedtimes,

For nothing would we trade.

Mom’s a Queen in her home domain

Doing all without a complain(t),

Queen forever, ceasing never,

A fourth child in June she’ll gain.

Dad’s new job is hard to explain

Analyst of vocab domains.

Terms and phrases, VA mazes,

Biking in sun and rain.

(We randomly put one of these pictures in the cards)

Tammy came up with some great Christmas Cards this year. They all share the same style, but each is handmade and unique (like a snowflake, minus the handmade part). I think they turned out really cool so I’m going to show them off here. If you don’t get one in the mail it’s not personal, I’m just a little scrooge-esque when it comes to Christmas Cards and the faster I can be done with my part (the letter/address/stuffing) the better. So I’m a little overzealous when it comes to cutting the list. “Sure she’s your mom, but didn’t we just see her?”

Gavin is Tammy’s little shadow in anything that he thinks may lead to candy or the chance to destroy things. So cutting paper with fancy tools is right up his alley. Fortunately he was content to hold the hold punch up to his face instead of trying it out around the house.

It’s hard to see in the photo, but we managed to catch Lola in a rare moment of stillness on the couch. Moments after this shot was taken she proceeded to run up the stairs and devour half an ottoman. Gavin and Lola have a very complicated relationship. She loves him to death, and he only likes her when she isn’t bothering him. Of course, she shows love by bothering him, so interactions generally boil down to him throwing himself onto her and trying to bite her neck while she wags her tail with joy.

This was just the first set of cards Tammy put together this year. She also made incredibly cute Christmas cards for all of the Primary kids to give to their parents. She really has a good eye and natural talent for this kind of thing. I better be careful though, that scrap-booking stuff can get a little expensive.

The drive down was a little hairy (passed 3-4 accidents along the way) but we made it alright. Once there we had a good time talking with family while we waited for Santa to arrive. Yeah that’s right, SANTA came to Benjamin UT for this party. The boys were very excited to go, and because of the relatively small number of kids there they got to be right up in the middle of it all. Even so much as helping Santa with his sack.

Both of the boys got to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas (Owen:Shake and Go Racer, Braeden:Dinosaur Factory). Gavin was NOT a huge fan of Santa, so we get to add to the “Kids afraid of Santa” pool. When you think about it though, Santa is pretty freaky. And the whole “Breaking and Entering to leave presents” concept could easily be misinterpreted .

Besides scarring Gavin for life, we had a great time down in Benjamin. We even got a nice family picture with the big guy, but you can see that Gavin is still very aware of where Santa is at all times. You never know when he might try to get you!

And one more of Tammy, because I think she looks really hot in this picture:

I am one lucky guy I’ll tell you what! You can see the rest of the photos here: