Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Life Lately- Getting into the Christmas Spirit

It is the most wonderful time of the year.  We have been enjoying some wonderful Christmas time activities.  We made our list again and are slowly crossing things off and making memories.  I know this time of year can get a little hectic, but it is so important to stop and breathe and just take it all in with the kids.
We officially started Christmas season on December 1st when Mr Christmas, our Elf, returned.  The kids were very surprised when he showed up.  That little Elf knows how to get into some trouble and he sure makes getting a certain 7 year old out of bed in the mornings a lot easier.
He arrived with a crash landing again….

Here are a few more of his shenanigans……he has been having some fun at our house.
Taking a marshmallow bath
Going for a ride on Roomba….this was the kids favorite especially when he got thrown off and they had to put him back on without touching him, because you don't want him to lose his magic.
Mirror mirror on the wall who is the badest of them all (just a little line from the Descendants)
Making us some dinner
Flying high…..
This was one of the kids favorites and that little Elf hid the candy canes pretty well, which =bonus me sitting on the couch and watching them for quite some time so early in the morning
Alright, just a couple more
The Elf packed the kids lunches today…….they wish they could have taken all that candy and a diet coke to school
I think we have had a pretty good Elf this year.

No Christmas season is complete without a visit to Santa.
She quickly snapped a good one…..
……because this was about to happen
And just for fun here is a little trip down memory lane.
My favorite Santa picture of all times is from two years ago (Nora was only a few weeks old)
And then last year when nobody was matching and Nora was not having it……


We have gone ice skating and Evan really wanted to try it as well.  He had a lot more stamina than I anticipated.  I thought he would go for a few minutes and then call it quits, but he didn't.  We had to go for quite some time without one of those walker things, which was hard on my back.


Hannah is a little pro now……she loves it



And here are Scott and Nora while we ice skated.  Nora did clap for Evan quite a few times.  I know next year she will be on the ice with us.

Our house was featured on the 3W Magazine blog.  All of the pictures are from last year when the house was fully decorated for the Tour of Homes.  We did not decorate much this year since we won't be here for Christmas…..makes me miss all the decorations.


We have been doing lots of baking and gingerbread house decorating.
This was our first attempt at cake pops and I love how the reindeer turned out.  The kids love to watch these youtube videos from the Cake Boss's (their favorite TV show) daughter.  She makes cake pops ect, so we used her tutorial on how to make cake pops, which was easy peasy and then we looked up another video on how to decorate them.  Evan is always my little helper in the kitchen.  He loves to bake.


We also made a reindeer cake


This was Evan's Gingerbread house he decorated at school. His teachers said that he worked really hard on it…..maybe he will be the next Cake Boss :)

We have also made some gingerbread cookies



Oh and we have added a few more "santa blowers" (thats what Evan calls the inflatables) to our collection.  Evan is still obsessed with these inflatables.  He turns them on first thing in the morning and then he lets them rest about mid day and then turns them on again in the evening

The advent calendars have been a big hit as well……there is just so much excitement going on this time of the year



This past weekend we went to the Christmas Parade…..always a fun time.  We always stand right at the very end of the parade, because its not crowded at all (it is crazy busy on the square and I have no desire to put up with that).  Standing at the very end can go one of two ways:  you either get no candy , because everybody is out or you get a ton of candy, because everybody is dumping what they have left.  Last year the kids got almost no candy and this year they got a ton.
Waiting for the parade to begin

I wish you couldn't see the gum in his mouth in this picture

It was really cold out



Hannah earned enough Dojo points at school (their point system) to pick a reward and she chose to go read to a teachers class.  She chose to read to her Kindergarten teachers class……so proud of her.  She loved sitting in the teachers rocking chair and reading to the class.

Hannah had a sleepover last weekend and she packed the detangling spray in her bag, so this is how Nora rolled the next morning.

One evening while Scott was traveling we decided to have some hot chocolate and play games and do puzzles after bath time.  Those are the little things the kids will always remember.


Merry Christmas to everyone.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Polar Express

We celebrated Christmas with Scott's family while everybody was together for Thanksgiving.  After we finished our Reindeer games, Jeannie did a sing a long for all the kids (big and small) and we really got into the Christmas spirit.  We opened gifts that evening.

The family just keeps getting bigger and bigger……and louder:)


Waiting patiently to open their gift from grandma.
Everybody opened their gift at the same time……it was tickets to ride on the Polar Express
Oh and you had to be dressed in Pajamas……well no worries grandma has us all covered.
We set out for the Polar Express the next afternoon all in matching PJ's……all 24 of us (I think that's how many we are now)
Cousin picture
We had the entire upstairs of one of the train cars to ourselves and we had so much fun.  The Polar Express ride was a wonderful gift to the family and I am hoping we can make it a tradition.  They read the story to everybody, served hot chocolate and a cookie, we picked up Santa and visited with him, Santa gave a bell to everybody, sang Christmas Carols and rode by one of the Christmas light displays.
Nora listening to the story…..
That is one big cookie….
Here is the big man himself
The Polar Express was a perfect way to start the holiday season and get into the Christmas spirit. Thank you Jeannie for such a wonderful gift and I am loving my new Pajama pants, they are very comfy.

And guess who came back on December 1st?  Mr Christmas
He came on the Batmobile and crashed on our island again.
The kids have been super excited.
More on his shenanigans in another post.