First Family Day of 2012

Sunday, after seeing Jerri off and taking Piper home, the kids decided that we should do a big family day rather than have individual dates. We started out by having a late breakfast at Denny's downtown. A fun treat for all! Everest was very wise and didn't get the pancakes that had sprinkles, telling us that he "doesn't need all that sugar in the morning." Well, good for you, buddy!




We drove through downtown and out to a park in Manitou afterwards. The kids played there for over an hour! It was an incredible little playground--all wood with nooks and crannies and surprises around every corner, maintained completely by neighbors and volunteers. Tons of fun. Heath and I chatted and watched the kids and talked with a mom who was there with her daughter, a girl Julie's age.





Once the sun had dipped below the closest horizon and put us in the shade, we took off for another park (which was still in the sunshine). The kids played for another 30 minutes or so there, ending with a little hop around the Julie Penrose fountain. They were starting to get cold and tired by that point, so we headed back home.





We all rested a little bit when we got home, then Heath took off to go rock climbing. The kids and I had a quick dinner of hot dogs, spaghetti, and fruit. We had talked about going to see a cheap movie; Julie even gathered a bunch of change to purchase the tickets. But it was getting late, and everyone was tired. Also, if we go on Tuesday, the tickets are actually only 75 cents, so it would be better to wait. She set aside the money to save for Tuesday, and she will definitely not forget!



After dinner was done and cleaned up, the kids wanted to do a game Julie calls "Wig Down Show Town," where she and Everest wear different wigs and perform dances and songs. I had them get in jammies and brush up first, but later got to watch a few performances. It was rather hilarious!




We played ball on the stairs with Everest's new soft soccer ball from Nana and Papa, then it was at last time for bed. Julie had a little hard time falling asleep, but she finally did give it up. She had to be tired after such a long day.

Heath returned from climbing, only to find some last minute projects sitting in his email. SIGH. So he is currently taking a nap so he can get up in the middle of the night and get all this stuff done before class starts in the morning. I've been happily catching up on emails and blogs tonight. Work starts again tomorrow, and it's magazine week.

Oh, and by the way, I started Project 365 again for 2012.

Parting Shot
Julie had a cat on either side of her, asking for pets tonight. They really do seem to adore her. :o)

Christmas Day 2011, part 1

Christmas Sunday was the busiest Christmas day in all our married history. We saw both families and still had our own little family time. I got up early and baked a sweet potato pie, then the kids were up. Heath got us our Starbucks Christmas coffee, and the kids opened stockings and the presents we got for them. They also opened presents from their Aunt Heather and her family. Very much fun!






We headed out to meet with Heath's mom and grandpa as well as his sister Heidi and brother-in-law Tom, for Christmas breakfast at the retirement community where his grandpa lives. It was quite fancy and yummy, and the kids were very well behaved. We had a great time chatting with everyone. The kids were delightfully open with their great-grandpa.






Grandma took the kids to see the birds in the lobby before we left, always a must when we visit there. We also took a look at the fitness center, where the kids played pass-the-fitball with Uncle Tom.




We came home to rest and open the presents from Heidi and Tom. The kids enjoyed it and had a nice relaxing couple hours. I made the pumpkin roll and finished the deviled eggs and then we went on to our next destination: Nana and Papa's!

Productive Family Day

Sunday morning, we got to sleep in a little--hooray! The kids did get into the pie and chocolate chips, but hey. It's the price you've gotta pay for some extra time in bed. When we went downstairs, the kids had set up a tea party for us. It was so sweet! Um. Literally.




I don't know about you, but graham crackers covered with peanut butter, honey, and chocolate chips is a bit much for first thing in the morning--even with coffee. :oP

We took them grocery shopping with us, and once again, they wanted to try to squeeze into a minuscule shopping cart. Silly kids. We only went over budget by $15, so that wasn't too bad, considering the amount of junk we brought for food entertainment over Christmas break.



After putting away all the groceries, we had lunch, and the kids went to chill out upstairs awhile. Heath and I chatted at the table over the opportunities in the paper, then called the kids down to start dates. Heath took Everest to go do some free climbing, which naturally, he loved.

Julie and I danced in the living room for a few songs, then went to JoAnn to try to find some cake decorating supplies for the Christmas baking. Luckily, they had all their Christmas stuff on sale. Yay!

By the time we got back, it was starting to get dark. We skipped the second dates in favor of getting dinner at Qdoba and going to the Many Lights of Christmas, a big, annual display of lights at a church not far from us. The kids loved, loved, loved the lights. They had so much to see there!

Snowman Flexing

The train drove around the parking lot.

Entering Candy Cane Lane

Christmas Movie Clips

Mr. & Mrs. Claus

Giant Entrance to Santa's Workshop

"Elves" at Work

Elaborate Exit

"There's no room at the Inn!"

Shepherds & their Sheep

We swung by Dunkin Donuts on the way home, which was a fun treat. Kids went to bed almost immediately after we got home. I had enough time to change clothes and freshen up before going out to see Puella for a little while at Starbucks since we didn't see each other on Friday. We had a lovely, albeit short, time together chatting.

It's about half past midnight now, and I'm pretty sure that I laid down in bed, I would be asleep in less than two minutes. I think I shall test theory...

Thankful for Busyness Abated

The last week has been very busy with a holiday, visiting people, writers groups, NaNoWriMo, work, and plenty of other things that I'm sure have already slipped into that dusty part of my brain storage where things that will never be recalled again are stored. Let's see what I do remember...

Thanksgiving Day last Thursday was quite a day! I'm not a big fan of doing a lot of cooking ahead of time. I much prefer to just make fewer items but do them all in one day. I do love a whole day spent in the kitchen, cooking and baking.

When we went down to the crawlspace to get the turkey roasting pan, Julie noticed the Christmas tree box and asked if she and Everest could set it up. Something to keep the kids busy in the other room while I got the turkey ready? Um...yes, please!




Later, the kids did help with a few different things for the dinner. They cut up bread with scissors for the stuffing, Everest peeled hard-boiled eggs (did a fine job of it) and helped make the pumpkin roll, and Julie made some pudding almost entirely by herself.





When the kids got tired of helping in the kitchen, Heath played a game with them in the living room. It was so nice to have him at home! He promised to do ZERO work that day, and kept to it.



Heath's mom and my parents arrived between 4:00 and 4:30, and the dinner was spread on the table at around 5:00. I also made cranberry sauce (which was done earlier in the week), pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and some most excellent turkey gravy. My mom brought sweet potatoes and rolls--nom nom.





After everyone had gone, all the dishes were done, and the kids were in bed, Heath and I spent some much-needed time together, relaxing and playing a game that we started earlier last week. Any guesses as to what it is? (We have a Playstation 2.)