Alex was caught snuggling.
Month: December 2022
Teague was the Jenga champ today.
KitKat was very excited about our gift opening.
Granny is here!
Granny and Pop are finally better! Today we got to spend the entire today with them. We opened some presents, ate some food, and played a lot of games. It was a pretty great day.
Family hike on this gorgeous day.
We were supposed to be spending the day with Granny Pop. They landed yesterday, but sent us a message that they weren’t feeling well and were going to go by the hotel. It turns out they really weren’t feeling well and they have been cooped up at their hotel yesterday and today. We are hoping they will be well enough tomorrow that we can see them.
Today is a gorgeous day so we gathered the troops for a visit to the Storybook Trail. (I would have voted for a longer hike if I had gotten my ducks in a row earlier.) We were having so much fun that Ben didn’t even realize we forgot the snacks till 3/4 of the way through!
After wearing shorts for two days, we finally realized Alex didn’t have any clean pants and required him to do his laundry.
Learning the secrets of the family recipe for Nuts & Bolts.
A masterpiece made out of dice.
Creating ramps everywhere.
Ben was invited to a playdate – without Mom. At first he was “a little nervous” but he definitely wanted to go. At one point, the Mom texted to see if he could stay for lunch since everything was going so well. He came home talking about it nonstop but then immediately put himself down for a nap!
Big boy sleepover. They had blowup beds but fell asleep on the couch instead.
Playdate!
Brother bonding.
Wade has been on a project streak after Christmas. He’s been finishing up jobs – Ben’s closet door and trim; Alex’s bathroom wall patch. He’s also been working on new ones – Kaitlyn’s non-working radiator and a suspicious mark on my office ceiling. At first we thought Kaitlyn’s non-working radiator and the leak were connected – after working for several hours, Wade figured out they were not connected but had both fixed (except the hole which has to wait till it dries out a little).
We had our Christmas card pictures taken back in October. Wade was out of town, I bribed the kids with video games, and I was rather pleased with the how the pictures turned out!
Alex got this neck pillow in a white elephant gift exchange and it has made several appearances. I think he must really like it.
Ben convinced Teague to play Legos with him.
The kids were introduced to Fun Dip this Christmas.
The entire family is enjoying our new game – Sushi Go
Teague is an expert napper.
Remote controlled items were the thing to get in our house this year.
Several years ago Kaitlyn wrote a letter to Santa, put it in the mail, and got a reply. I was as shocked as she was! It has been one of her most treasured possessions ever since. Last year she chose not to write, but this year she couldn’t wait. She wrote her letter early and again got a sweet reply.
Then it got to be the week before Christmas and Ben wanted to write a letter. I hoped it wasn’t too late to get a response, but of course Santa came through. I was even more impressed with Ben’s response because it addressed so many of the specifics in Ben’s letter. Truly amazing!
The kids were ready and waiting when we went their rooms to get them at 6:30 am. We gathered them at the top of the stairs for one picture (blurry of course) and then they went running down the stairs to see what Santa had left them.
Then we got dressed and made it to church early because we feared a crowd. We were so wrong! There was no one there! I always thinks it makes Christmas more special when it falls on a Sunday but it definitely makes the day and its activities a little more challenging. Kaitlyn was asked to be an acolyte for the first time and loved being able to serve.
We had a quick snack lunch and then spent the afternoon opening presents. The kids had a great time seeing what everyone thought to send. Then they were excited to play with their new items while Wade and I took naps!
Christmas Morning!
We don’t have family in town this year for Christmas and we are embracing the slower pace. The day was still full of activities – basket presents:
cookie making:
Christmas Eve service:
cookie decorating:
and preparing for Santa:
Headed out to the Christmas Eve service.
We always choose one night around Christmas to drive around and look at Christmas lights. We end the night at Dunkin Donuts for donuts and hot chocolate. This year was a calamity of errors.
We were running low on free nights. We thought tonight was the night! Then we started seeing warnings for flash freezes so we hurried everyone to the car to get our drive in before the potential ice on the roads. Due to the high winds (that came with the earlier rain storm and coming freeze), a lot of the blow up decorations weren’t out, but there were still a ton of lights. When we got to the first Dunkin Donuts there were two donuts on the rack – something I have never seen. We drove to a second and found at least four varieties, but not our normal selection. We made our choices, enjoyed the hot chocolate and called it a night.
Basket Presents – Day 6
Wade got a head scratcher as his basket gift today and it quickly became a family favorite. The kids both love to give Wade head scratches and just walk around with it on their heads. It’s quite amusing to watch.
Basket Presents – Day 5
Kaitlyn helped make dinner tonight. We had two Raddish recipes – Turkey Noodle Soup and Magical Popovers. It was fun to have a companion in the kitchen and she always enjoys cooking.
Basket Presents – Day 4
The personality on this one is strong! Ben gets remembered everywhere we go (sometimes I’m not always sure it is for stellar reasons). Today we were walking through the grocery and the bakery lady yells, “Ben, Ben, How was your birthday?” She had remembered him from he picked out his birthday cake a few weeks ago.
Basket presents – Day 3
Basket presents – Day 2
Today was the kids’ big day. We arrived early at church for everyone to find their costumes. Then we had one last pageant rehearsal. Thankfully the pageant is the same every year, but that doesn’t cut down on the chaos.
Then church began and the pageant went great. The kids were adorable and the congregation loved seeing everyone dressed up.
Wade and Alex topped it all off by performing with the bell choir.
Basket presents – Day 1
Introducing a narrator and what rehearsal for the Christmas pageant looked like at the church today.
Introducing Joseph and what rehearsal for the Christmas pageant looked like at the church today.
Breakfast with Santa.
Breakfast with Santa.
In a rare turn of events, Alex joined us for a little TV tonight.
Our Saturday started early today with Kaitlyn’s first indoor soccer game. Her team won and she scored a goal. Her coach treated the girls to donuts and Kaitlyn begged to go before we rushed to church for Breakfast with Santa and the pageant rehearsal.
Kaitlyn changed in the car and we met the rest of the family at the church. There was breakfast, crafts, and a long wait. Then we were informed that Santa’s sleigh got damaged in the storm last night and he sadly would not be making an appearance this morning. The event broke up pretty quickly at that point and we moved upstairs to rehearse for the pageant. The kids already had their assignments so it moved fairly quickly. Wade was asked to be Harrod in hopes of encouraging the star (Ben) to remain in place.
Waiting for the bus on a rainy day.
Leftover, cold pizza – all my kids love it for lunch.
KitKat gets a lot of love in our house. Today Kaitlyn got some extra snuggles.
Choir concert for the middle school!