Alex is convinced all the fun happens when the littles go to bed.
Alex
Every Christmas season the bell choir has a concert. Alex and Wade have performed the last few years, but last year was the first year I felt comfortable taking Ben to watch the concert.
This year Alex, Teague, and Wade are all performing. I sat in the back with Ben, Kaitlyn, and our friend’s two little boys (She is in the bell choir with her daughter). I thought the boys did a pretty good job of staying quiet and entertaining themselves. (The man in front of us only “shushed” us once.) Ben loved when they called all the kids up front for Jingle Bells.
Sunday lineup.
Ben asked to have a friend party this year (for the first time) and of course we said yes. He didn’t have any strong feelings on the party location. After a little thinking and research, I settled on Chuck E. Cheese. The much harder part was picking a date. Schedules between Thanksgiving and Christmas are busy! We had one free Saturday so that narrowed our options considerably. We sent out the invitations and had people saying they were coming up until the party started (just a little craziness added to our day).
Ben woke up super excited about his party! Alex, Teague, and Kaitlyn were pretty excited too. Everybody had plans and strategies for winning tickets and playing games. Ben couldn’t wait to see his friends, play games, but mostly – the Ticket Blaster!
After cake and ice cream but before their game time was done, it was Ben’s time in the Ticket Blaster. He had been talking about this for weeks. Our party host said he could pick a friend and he picked Solomon, a friend from church. They ran inside and started picking up tickets from the floor, before the air started blowing. The sweet host didn’t stop them and let them get their hands full before she turned it on. Then Ben held on super tight and didn’t move a muscle once the air started blowing. Solomon felt the air and immediately threw up his hands and let all the tickets in his hands start blowing.
Everyone had a great time at Ben’s party!
Alex’s morning hair was crazy impressive today.
Alex told me a few days ago that he wanted to build a gingerbread house. Alex only sometimes joins in family activities and almost never initiates them. I grabbed the first gingerbread houses I saw. I decided to get two and let the kids to work together on them.
It was chaos from the beginning. Alex was frustrated that I bought premade houses and he didn’t get to do house construction. (I hadn’t paid close attention and just grabbed the first ones I saw.). Then I bought two different kinds (gingerbread and Oreo) thinking variety would be fun. The kids all wanted the Oreo house.
Everyone recovered. The kids split two and two without too much argument. Alex constructed a tree and helped Kaitlyn with the icing where she needed it. In the end we had two houses and everyone had a good time. (Next time I will buy four identical houses.)
Gingerbread house making – All because Alex asked to build a gingerbread house.
Afternoon piano practice.
I feel like Alex is fully trained to put up his own dishes in any situation. The other kids mostly put them put them in the dishwasher after dinner (Ben is the exception). Slowly but surely, I’m trying to decrease my workload.
These boys are all excited about video games, high scores, and new characters.
One of my least favorite Christmas activities is Elf on a Shelf. It’s one of those things I wish we had never started and there is no way to end. Our Elf, Kanga, comes as close as possible to Christmas and simply moves locations every night. Kanga doesn’t do any of the cute antics the other kids (and instagram) talk about. In fact, most nights I’m amazed our Elf remembers to move. Last year it finally got easier because someone mentioned the idea of setting a recurring alarm on their phone for about 10:30 pm. (GENIUS).
This year, Alex has taken some interest in helping out. He waits till he thinks the kids are in bed (and staying there) and then begs to move Kanga. I love having the help!
Kaitlyn has been running all fall with her Girls On The Run team. When we were in Memphis, Kaitlyn and I went out twice on practice runs. On the first, Kaitlyn didn’t like the cold and ran less than half a mile of the three. On the second, Kaitlyn did much better but only ran a few blocks at a time before walking. I decided at that point that the run was not something to worry about and that we would be walking more than running.
Today we woke up to a cold, rainy morning. We dressed in layers and headed to the course. The boys were grumpy, but they knew when they signed up (and I paid) that they were committing regardless of the weather. We started all together but Kaitlyn was motivated. She ran at a speed that I haven’t seen before. She also ran a ton! There was some walking but not very much. The last mile (which also means the last loop of three) Kaitlyn saw that there were medals at the finish line. That motivated her even further and I had trouble keeping up with her. I was surprised and very impressed with how Kaitlyn ran her race! We waited at the finish line for Alex and Teague. We tried to cheer them on, but they were too grumpy to want cheering.
On the way home we stopped for donuts and hot chocolate. Then we all took hot showers and had a short rest. Kaitlyn, Ben, and I then met up with some friends to tour some of the Frosty Stops for “Grafton Celebrates the Holidays.” Due to the weather, there were a lot less people out so there were almost no lines. The kids had a great time and got bags full of goodies.
Girls On The Run 5K today – cold and rainy but here we go!
Cookies coming right up.
I made an old recipe that none of my kids remember – Chicken lettuce wraps. In particular, Ben loved them. By the time I started paying attention he had had over 10. When I got to 13 and made a comment, Alex decided to try to compete (obviously feeling outdone by his little brother) and started shoving them in his mouth without taking bites. These two ate every bite of food on the table. Ben totaled out at 15 lettuce wraps… Alex came in second but made an impressive second place.
Family Mario Kart night.
Alex saw Kaitlyn trying to cut an apple and decided she definitely needed help.
Alex decided to steal Ben’s hat.
Tonight we decorated our tree.
Wade and I went to pick up our tree last night right before the tree lots closed. We were able to get it in the stand and let it have 24 hours for the branches to relax and settle. Tonight we put on Christmas music, the kids wore matching pajamas, and we decorated the tree. For the first time in many years, we didn’t have a single broken ornament (maybe they got that out at Gram’s house – sorry!).
The last 6 hours always feel eternal.
A quick goodbye to Gram before we get on the road.
Wade helped my mom bring in her tree last night and the kids were very insistent that they needed to help her start decorating. We finally convinced the kids to go to bed with promises of decorating the tree in the morning.
Kaitlyn and Ben ran right to the tree to start decorating this morning. There were only a few ornament casualties and a mostly decorated tree by the time we had to leave.
Stockings came early in Collierville.
The kids woke up to stockings that Granny had filled overnight. They were so excited but did stand still for a picture before checking out their goodies.
Then we drove to Paducah to spend a night with Gram before starting the long drive home. Gram had nuggets waiting and the cousins arrived before too long. We celebrated Ben’s real birthday with dinner, a Minecraft cake, and a few more presents. What a birthday this has been – three celebrations and a party with friends still to go!
Second Thanksgiving – with local family!
Today we had our second Thanksgiving. Today all the local family joined us for our second meal. This time there were little kids so we did lots of playing outside and with all of the old toys.
Today Aunt Louise, Uncle John, Aunt Emmy, and Uncle David all headed back to their homes. We had a pretty relaxed day with Granny and Pop. The kids started the morning by playing Pickle ball. Pop even joined in the fun.
Ben was anxious for lunchtime. He knew we were having cake and presents immediately afterwards. Granny got the cutest cake – Ninja Turtles. (She had a theme going with his presents and cake.) The last birthday present was tickets to see the new movie – Wish. Ben and Kaitlyn have been watching the preview for weeks.
I was helping in the kitchen for dinner and looked up to see Kaitlyn driving the lawn mower – by herself! Evidently Wade gave her a quick lesson and felt she was good to go.
Boys will be boys.
We started the morning with crepes – made by Alex and David. Alex loves to make them at home, but we heard that Uncle David was a true expert. He was so nice to teach Alex some tips. Kaitlyn helped with some of the toppings. Ben was happy to be the taster.
We then ate a wonderful meal and went to the square for some pictures:
Other parts of the day were spent visiting, playing games, and Uncle John gave us some of his handmade goodies.
First Thanksgiving – with family that has to leave on Wednesday.
We learned a new card game tonight!
Alex learned to blow bubbles this weekend.
We made our traditional first lunch stop at Waffle House. When Wade is with us, we spread out to multiple seating locations. We got one of our quickest meals, ate our delicious food, and were on our way!
Roadrip to TN.
Birthday donuts (and hot chocolate).
Ben’s birthday isn’t till next week, but we’ll be traveling. We always celebrate here at home before we travel. In the end, Ben gets several birthdays and seems just fine with that. Today he celebrated his birthday at school and at home. He got birthday donuts and hot chocolate for breakfast. He got sushi in his lunchbox. Then there was the requested Chick-fil-A for dinner, cupcakes, and presents. He thought it was the best birthday ever. Ben is still my favorite person to watch open presents. I have yet to see him open a gift and not have an awesome response.
Alex decided to try a new “look” while unloading the dishwasher.
Cookie dough it is!
This boy’s favorite place is in front of his computer. The favorite game is always changing.
Leftover night so everyone fixes their own.
Sunday lineup.
A rare Saturday morning when all four watch cartoons (even for a moment).
Those morning chores are everyone’s favorites.
My kids have the next two days off school. Thursday is off for parent/teacher conferences and Friday is off for Veteran’s Day. Alex planned a night of fun with some of his friends tonight. He invited three boys over for games, pizza, and a night of craziness. When Alex has friends over for the night, I always take them to the Dollar Tree to gather snacks for the night. Tonight we were a little late getting out the door and they were already closed. We ended up at the grocery store instead, but the boys found plenty to fill the basket.
Alex is once again trying to shortcut taking out the recycling.
The flour had an unfortunate encounter with the ground. Alex tried to salvage some of it, but our driveway looks rather decorated.
My late night baker decided on brownies tonight.
We had breakfast for dinner the other night and Alex was disappointed that we had pancakes instead of waffles. I promised a breakfast of waffles soon and today I delivered.