Happy Christmas Eve!! We are enjoying time at George and DeEtte's (the in laws) with lots of family. It is a little crazy at times, but that is how it always goes with lots of family. I just put my gingerbread men cookie dough in the fridge to chill and will cut those out with the kids in a bit. I bought red hots to decorate so it should be fun and easy. We have baked and eaten more than any person should. I made caramels and toffee and my sister in law brought yummy fudge and peanut brittle. We have cake, pie, cinnamon rolls, sausage balls, peanut butter balls and more. See what I mean. It is a little overkill, but we all enjoy cooking so each person wants to contribute a bit.
It has been nice to be together as a family. On Monday we took the kids out to the kids museum here. I have a year pass for the museum in Ann Arbor and they have reciprocity here so we were able to go for free. The kids had a blast!! We stayed for about two hours. Then we walked across the street (we were at the Olympic Centennial Park downtown) and took the kids ice skating. That was an adventure! The kids have such different personalities with things like that. Jackson wants to quit when the going gets tough and Paige is going to figure it out and make it work. Consequently, Paige got pretty good and Jackson slips and slid all around. We only lasted about 30 minutes doing that. We sure wore the kids out though because Paige crashed on the car ride home which does not happen very often.
Tuesday we took the kids to see Santa. The line was so long and Douglas was a saint and stood in it for an hour and a half. When we got up there Paige went and climbed up on Santa's lap and Jackson decided to pull his "I'm shy" routine and refused to talk to Santa. He missed his chance. I think he thought we would give him another try, but we did not. He had to come home and type out his list and hurry and email it to Santa. Some lessons in life are hard learned!
Douglas and I got the chance to go out on Wednesday night which was such a treat. We haven't done that much since we moved. This was the third time, in fact. We went and bought a last Christmas gift for Jackson, a fishing pole. We also picked up a few stocking stuffers. Then we headed over to watch the new Harry Potter movie. It was really fun. We have both read all the books so it is fun to see how they make them into movies. It is kind of sad that there is only one more before they conclude. It has been a fun thing to watch them all. Now we need to go home and rewatch the other movies. I need to reread the books too, but that is a real commitment!
The kids just finished frosting reindeer cupcakes. They have a mini nilla wafer for the snout, mentos for the eyes and pretzels for the ears. They are very cute and even cuter to see the kids interpretations of them!
Oh, I forgot to mention that when Paige got on Santa's lap, what did she tell him she wanted?? A drum. What?? That girl is so funny. She asked for a guitar for Christmas. I got her a little Ukulele. It reminds me of my Grandpa. He used to have me sit on his lap and he would sing to me and play the ukulele.
It is hard to believe that Christmas is already upon us? Well, if chaos is any indicator then it is in full swing here!
Making reindeer cupcakes
cousin Lillie Catherine
Aunt Christie brought all the goodies to make the cupcakes.
Ice Skating at Centennial Park
The Children's museum. They had a whole slew of tap shoes and costumes and of course Paige had to put on a performance.
The painting wall. Sometimes I look at that little girl and am amazed at what a little girl she is...her body has changed from toddler. It makes me kinda sad!
Daddy playing with Paige in the moon sand.
We had lunch at the Varsity. We can't remember why it is so special...largest, greasiest, oldest?? Can't remember.
My kids are completely enamored with their new niece. Jackson kept saying that he could not stop holding her because she was soooo cute.
Christmas crafts at home on a snowy day.
Wet girl. The kids love playing out in the snow. It is only so long before Paige takes off her gloves and then comes to the door crying because her hands are too cold.
Making a snowman!
This is the hat J and I made for Crazy Hat day at school. It came out pretty cute!
Heading to school all geared up after his first "snow day". I am going to name snow days a little differently for myself. I think it is more like torture day or something. Just kidding.
Paige at her first dance recital. She LOVED performing. She got to pick out her own costume.
Cute girl. The kids like collecting snow in a milk jug. I let them until I realized they were drinking it along with the dregs of old milk. YUCK!
Have I mentioned that we aptly nicknamed Paige "Pig Pen"? She is the messiest eater known to mankind. This is under her chair after one day.
Stay tuned for more.
