Christmas 2010!

It was a really Merry Christmas with Grant at home with us.  Finally a holiday this year we can celebrate as a family.  My Mom came for the opening of gifts Christmas morning.  It was so fun to have her.

Marissa got a new hamster cage.

Bre opening up her gifts!

Austin wants to get going opeing presents.

Someone was very good this year and got a laptop.

The dogs even got a Christmas candycane bones.

Misty got her gift too.

Mom saving all of the bows for later.  Classic!

Grant got a MAJOR AWARD...the soft glow of electric sex night light style.

It was a great Christmas! Here are the left overs of it.

We had an amazing Christmas Breakfast with all the bacon and sweet rolls we could eat!  The bird thought is was time to get to know Mom.  We thought this picture was priceless.

The kids got the putty you can blow into huge bubbles.  They had a blast with it!

We had a great Christmas staying in our PJ's all day playing games, eating, and watching movies.  It was a blast!

A new Tradition!

So...we are shopping and talking about the different traditions we do at Christmas time and Austin speaks up and says,"How about as a new tradition we don't do our old ones but make new ones like making gingerbread houses."  I thought to myself....why not!  I mean why make my kids do something they don't want to just because of tradition.  So we started a new one.  The annual Horsley Gingerbread House Contest.  It was so fun.

Linda's

Bre's...Poor Bre.  Her's fell.  It still looks yummy!

Grant's

Austin's

Marissa's

We needed someone to judge them so we had the teenagers in the neighborhood cast their votes for the one that looks the yummiest and the best looking.  Grant won the best looking and mine won the one that looks the yummiest!  Wait until next year!

Honey Family Christmas Party for 2010!

The Honey Christmas Parties get bigger and bigger, But they are always memorable.  Here are some fun pics of the night!

The White Elephant game is the family favorite!

Awe!  The teenage girls!

The Tradition of Candy Making!

Grant's Grandmother made homemade chocolates every year.  The tradition was passed down to Grant's father and now Grant is making chocolates.  This was the first year we made them all by ourselves. Grant was so excited.  He made all of the fillings including orange, rasberry, lemon, mint, vanilla, and cherry nut.  Here is Austin and Grant making their first batch.  We purposely chose counter tops in our new house so that we could make candy on it.  It turned out perfect!

The day of dipping is very busy.  We have to roll out the filling and have in all ready for our dipper.  This is her last year and then I will be dipping the chocolates.  We have to have the kitchen at 62 degrees to have optimal conditioons for dipping.  It was freezing.  The whole family helped.  It was really fun.

Here is Val dipping while Bre and I are putting on all of the bottoms.

Val actually had me dip some to feel how to do it!  I am a little nervous. Next Year's chocolate may not look as pretty as this year's.

We did 6 batches.  I have no idea how many that is, but I know it was enough to cover all of our counter tops and table.

Grant enjoying some chocolate!

The bird is watching the amazing dipper!

Grant packing up all of the chocolates.  It took him hours.