Fred's 16 & 17th Day

We woke up to a decorated living room on day 16. Fred made LOADS of snowflakes & hung them all around. They are some of the prettiest snowflakes ever!!

Here's Fred hanging out!

Today, day 17, we found this on the computer screen

and this beside the computer.

Addie was first up & she brought Woody down with her! It's always a treat to have Woody with us for the day!!

Addie spotted Fred. He's riding the rooster! Freeeeeeed!!

Let's get started on that craft!!

Look at that concentration!

And finger lickin'!!

Katie's thoughts? Boring! I only want the M&Ms!!

Katie's masterpiece......

Addie's creation.......

Chomp!!

Yummy!!

Ellie's is once bitten........

We had lots of fun today!! Thanks Fred!!

Fred's 13th, 14th, & 15th Day

It's been a couple of crazy busy days. Not just for Fred, but for me as well. It's that time of the year & I say bring it on!!

Fred decided to spruce up our family photos on his 13th day here. Fred, you little prankster!!

The girls loved seeing all the funny faces Fred drew! I'll agree, it was pretty comical!

I think Fred must be an artsy little elf at the North Pole, because on day 14 he wrote all over our mirrored closet in the playroom.

And then hid on top of the closet. Look at him, spying on us!

Ellie & Katie were first up today, day 15. Of course, they spotted something on the tree right away. It would have been pretty hard to miss. Fred brought each one of the girls an apron & hung them on the tree! They are cute little aprons. I love that Fred had them personalized with the girls' names!!

No picture of Addie in hers. She was still just a snoozin'.

Katie is the same size as her apron.....almost! Ha!

And lil ol' El Bell stuffing the pockets with drinks!

Fred's 11th & 12th Day

Wow! I have to tell ya, this has been the busiest month I've had in quiet some time! The girls & I spent the afternoon the whole day at my girlfriends house.

The. whole. day.

 We've been friends forever & a day. Love her. Alright, I'm sure you're thinking blah, blah, blah....get on with Fred, so here ya go!

Fred is as busy as ever. On his 11th day here, he brought the girls some snowman mugs. How cute are those? And he left supplies to make homemade cocoa. YUM!! I had to make two pots yesterday!! We love cocoa!!

Fred was tricky that day. We all had a hard time finding him. I think daddy was the one who finally spotted him. Great spot, Fred, great spot!!

Fresh cup of hot choc-o-late!! So tasty!!

The girls drank till their bellies were full!!

Today, day 12, we spotted Fred right away. Silly little elf!

Fred's 9th & 10th Day

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday. I spent the morning grocery shopping, then taking Addie to school. I had my parents pick her up, because I was busy making surprise cookies for her class. Their teachers are planning the surprise. I'm not sure what it is, but Addie has come home, everyday this week, talking about a little gingerbread man that is on the loose at school. I think it may have something to do with him. If it is, Addie is gonna be in heaven! She says the gingerbread man is ornery & when she catches him (yes, she thinks she is going to be the one) she's going to gobble him up!! Too funny! BUT whatever it is, I'm sure all the kids are going to love it!!

On the same cookie baking note, I have a tip. NEVER buy store bought tub sugar cookies to make cut outs. Cutting corners led to heart failure. For me anyway. I saw my life flash before my eyes. OK, not that dramatic. BUT it did stress me. I thought for sure I was just queen of crappy cookie cutouts & totally failed the little preschool kiddos. My gingerbread men looked like the Michelin man. It was not good! Lucky for me, I had pinned a sugar cookie recipe on Pinterest. I had everything I needed, minus one thing. And again, lucky for me, DH is a wonderful hubby!! He ran up to get my ingredient & ran again when I thought we needed a second batch. How great is he?!?!?! Turns out, making homemade ones really isn't all that time consuming. I've never been a fan of this type of sugar cookie, but I hope they work for the surprise.

And now for, what this post was truly about, FRED!! On day 9, we found a note at the top of our stairs. Ellie spotted it first since she was up before everyone. I didn't get a picture of the note, but it said:

Addie, Ellie, & Katie~~~Get ready........Get set.......I created a game. A treasure hunt!! Do you want to play? I hope so! All you need to do is: Follow the string to find the treasure. The string starts at the bottom stair, but where does "Fred" mark the spot? Love, Fred

What we found waiting for us was a massive maze made out of string. It started at the bottom stair, like Fred said it would, and worked it's way through every room on the main floor. It was like weaving in & out of downed power lines, minus the risk of electrocution. BUT, you'll have to take my word for it. The pictures don't do it justice. And I couldn't take pictures in the play room. Fred didn't pick up before he began. What was he thinking?

This is the end of the string. Where "Fred" marks the spot.

And the little "treasure" Fred left under the tree.

And good ol' Fred waiting in the tree.

The girls loved this! This day might have topped all the others. They were running around, weaving in & out, & talking 100 miles an hour. Wondering what was at the end? Where is Fred? This isn't the best picture, but here they are looking their new toy over.

This morning, day 10, Ellie was first up. She was so excited to see what Fred had been up to & couldn't wait for her sisters to get up. She went upstairs & got them right way. I missed out on the "real" photo opportunity, so I asked Katie where Fred was. Addie joined in! Ha!

I must have been asleep still, since this was the best photo I took of Fred's happenings. He wrapped our photo frames. Which, come to find out, is why Ellie was so excited. She thought Fred left 3 gifts for them!! Too funny!

Fred must have been practicing his wrapping skills. What do you think?

Fred's 7th & 8th Day

Being that it was Sunday yesterday, I skipped a day of blogging. However, Fred hasn't skipped a day yet. He sure is a hard working little elf!!

On day 7, Fred was found hanging out in the bathroom.

And while he might look pretty cute hanging out on the light bulb, he left something pretty nasty in the loo. DH vetoed any photos that may or may not have been taken of said nastiness. Let's just say he forgot to flush #1. And it may or may not have been green. And Ellie may or may not have been a tad bit weirded out by it, refusing to use this bathroom until she knew 100% sure it was gone. I'm sure Fred has learned his lesson. One must ALWAYS flush after themselves!

This morning, Fred was a little mischievous!! We walked in to the aftermath of a snowball fight!! And what do you know, Fred had someone taking pictures of the fiasco last night.....oh, Fred. What will we do with you?

Fred is so silly. He wrote his name in his fort!

Ouch!! Woody took one to the face!!

Ellie was the first one down. She said, "What are all those balls on table? I need go see!" Of course the first thing she wanted to do was feel them. And second? Throw them!!! We told her to go wake Addie up first.

Katie checked things over, while waiting on her big sissy.

And was first to spot Fred.

Looks like Fred fled the scene before the girls got up.

Addie's eyes had a hard time adjusting to the light.

Eyes adjusted. Excitement sets in!!

Hey! Now who's having a snowball fight?!? Look what you started Fred!!