Christmas

I have so much to say about Christmas! First off, family is so wonderful to have and I am so grateful for mine! This was the first time in a long time that we celebrated Christmas away from home with some of my family. Shawn who has lived overseas for the last decade, drove up from Texas with his family so of course we HAD to head to my parents!

He made this amazing fondue on Christmas Eve. 3 course fondue! We were totally spoiled. The Cheese and veggies/bread were a big hit but took quite the reach to consume as you can see... stretchy cheese!

Oh it was so good!

And so good to be with family!

Chad planned some fun games for the evening but before we could get started the kids all wanted to open their Christmas jammies. The games included my new personalized cornhole (thank you High Valley Dermatology!).

A spaghetti noodle tower building competition. Don't let Shawn's innocent smile fool you... he was cutthroat!

Also Popcorn races. It was hilarious to see all the different forms of crawling people employed.

Atlas got loose and ate the popcorn during one race! It was so funny. He just wanted to play too!

Here he goes again. But Shawn and McKinley were so intent on their race, they didn't even notice him.

And then you have some who didn't even crawl but rather dragged themselves army style (Andie- above) or pulled and slid (Lilia-below)

We also did the candy bar game and it was cool to see all the kids sharing their spoils afterward as if they hadn't just stolen the candy from each other for the previous 10 minutes.

We lit the German nativities and shared what had special meaning for us within the nativity that year. I loved hearing the kids' sweet testimonies and creative explanations.

Then we all sat back in the dark and sang Silent Night as we watched the shadows on the ceiling. It was such a fun night and ended on such a sweet note. We then had to race home because Lilia was singing a duet in church the next morning with Landon, and the rest of us were part of choir numbers.

We opened a couple of presents before heading to church but then saved the rest for after. We ended with a couple of surprises. An air hockey table, that the neighbors hid from Chad in their garage for the last month, and a guitar for me! Wha?! I about cried. It is so beautiful! Last month our friend and neighbor Brian Crouch, did a guitar performance at his house. We went and I was so awed! I've been looking for someone to teach me and I asked him that night if he teaches. He said he would teach me and Chad took his inspiration from there. Brian helped him shop and then hid it. I was so touched. Now we'll see if Brian was serious when he said he would teach me!

After presents, since the weather was good we hopped back in the car and drove out to my parent's house to catch Shawn and Kellie before they left. We were able to spend a few more hours with their family before they drove back to Texas. I'm so grateful for them. They're such good examples of a parenting team, of loving spouses, of making good choices and putting family first, of relying on the Lord and trusting in Him, of living their lives the way He would have them live. They've been such a support to me for such a long time, I just can't thank them enough!

The rest of Christmas break was filled with good food and family fun as we enjoyed Christmas presents. 

Lilia made her famous egg rolls

And became proficient at the BB gun

McKinley got a hoverboard and shared it with a friend. Jaedyn got a comfy that she lived in the rest of the break (pictured above in the air hockey picture). Ebony got a go cart attachment for her hoverboard and a lego boat that she has already assembled and if she's anything like her oldest sister, it will stay assembled til she's 14! LOL

My in laws gifted us a trip to the trampoline park so we spent an afternoon there. The kids absolutely love jumping and it's great exercise so I'm all for it! It was incredible to see Lilia's hand springs- she is becoming quite the little tumbler!

My parents gifted us a trip to LaBelle Ice Castle. We bundled up and spent all of Saturday afternoon there. We took a sleigh ride down to the sledding area and this time we got to use inner tubes! They flew! We had hot chocolate and wandered around the ice castle until we had seen all there was to see.

The tunnels were fun.

The structures were incredible.

And of course there was a doggy pile... cuz why not?

Jaedyn pointed the incredible sky out to me and I snapped a quick pic.

And we ended the night watching the fire show. Then, before our fingers froze off, we bundled back into the car and headed back home. What a fun experience. I love the idea of gifting experiences. Our parents, both, have got it figure out! Thank you for the wonderful gifts!

 

Holiday Fun

December is always a whirlwind, isn't it? The kids finished up school and we planned some fun activities to keep them busy. Chad planned a Saturday from his childhood: decorating sugar cookies with candy and let the girls each invite one friend to join in. 

Remmy and Ebony

McKinley and Nora

Emily and Jaedyn

Lily and Lilia

Even I got a friend! Haha. The girls had a ton of fun. The cookies were a big hit and didn't last long at all.

 The kids had a whole month of festive dress up suggestions for December before school let out. The last day was Christmas Hair. So...

A Christmas bow

A Christmas star

A Christmas tree

Ok so Helen didn't really come to make cookies with us. Monday night we got the privilege of watching Hank Smith, John Bytheway, and Meg Johnson in a show called "Laughing all the Way". It was such a fun filled and inspiring evening! We only took the older two girls cuz I was concerned about the length of the show but after sitting through it, we decided we will definitely be going again and will bring them along next time. Good people are so inspiring. And these 3, well, they're just good people!

Pajama day at the Highschool? Or just 2 friends having a good time. You decide...

Sledding at Ucon Pits is definitely a good time. Though our sleds treated us a little roughly. I envied the people who had innertube sleds. Not very durable but what a soft ride! Mine was a little bumpy and after a particularly rough landing, left me with a slight headache! But we all had a great time. Poor Ebony ended up with soaking feet so I gave her my thick socks and she didn't return them for 3 days! Ew. I later discovered she had holes in the bottom of her snow boots! Kids, tell your parents! Parents, check your kids boots! LOL

This was the activity we did for my birthday. My 40th birthday! I guess I just wanted to feel young one last time! LOL. People have been warning me about turning 40 and being over the hill for years. Truth is... the hill is totally over rated and I don't feel any different... yet. LOL

That evening I was making dinner late and Chad ran the girls to the store to buy me a present. While they were gone there was a knock at the door and low and behold, my dear friend Stephenie Markham and her husband were there... come to celebrate and eat dinner with me. Unbeknownst to me! Ha! Sneaky Chad. It was a late night full of good company. Thanks for the birthday fun!

 

Thanksgiving

Oh man! In true Angela fashion... I got zero pictures of Thanksgiving this year. So we will have to settle for Ebony's view of Thanksgiving. Which apparently involved a lot of Piper and no one else! LOL

Wes hosted at his house in Kennewick this year. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for the drive including through the Blues Mountain Pass, which we always worry about.

On our drive up we found out Chris' family wasn't able to make it. That was a big disappointment. But we were able to call him and sing him happy birthday anyway. Even though he didn't deserve it. I'm only kidding. He's a great guy. I just missed him.

A little more focus please Ebony

A little less glare please.

Um... your skills are killing it! LOL

Nailed it. 

We ate so much food! Wes made a fried turkey AND a smoked one. And everyone brought so many pies to choose from. Wait, did I say choose? Ha! What a joke. Pretty sure I had one of each of everything!

Thanks goodness drill sergeant Wes was up to the task and took us for a long hike afterward. I think he, Jonathan, Chad and I clocked 7 miles and came back well after dark. But thankfully we were prepared with extra layers and headlamps!

The boys all got up and left early the next morning to start their hunting trip. The rest of us slept in. Ha! Suckers. We missed the boys but had a lot of fun without them. We took the kids to the trampoline park one day, ate lots of food, hung out, played games (new ones like cover your assets and code names) and Sunday morning took off to head home. The weather once again was perfect, though we did have to get up super early in order to beat a storm. 

 

Ebony turns 9

I fly out on the 2nd for my Derm Conference in Tucson so we celebrated Ebony's birthday on Saturday. What a fun afternoon at the skating rink! It was a big hit... even for the non-skaters!

Costco makes our new favorite and affordable pizza so we supplied lunch along with cupcakes and ice cream.

And some non skaters even became skaters over the 2 hour skating session! Like her friend Kira.

McKinley was none too pleased with Jaedyn's antics... as you can clearly see. This kid's face is always so expressive!

So in true Jaedyn style...

She found someone who was!

Happy birthday Ebony! You truly are such a kind hearted and fun girl! You have so much compassion for those who are less fortunate  and for those who aren't being treated well. I know your school teacher relies on you to help those in the class who may need it and you happily do so. You're a friend to whoever you meet and they love you! You are strong, funny, playful, inclusive, tender and my only child who is eager to go to bed at night (which I can't thank you enough for)! I love your sweet heart and big dimples Ebony!