The little bit of snow/ice I talked about in my last post turned into an ice storm that kept us confined to our home for four days.
Que screaming at kids 24/7!
Then que falling trees/branches. Actually, there was no queing them, they were just free fallin' at any given time! Our town looked like a war zone.
This was our backyard.
I also briefly mentioned in my previous post that Polle is back. He's been playing Legos, hanging dirty underwear where stockings are hung, riding camels, drawing unibrows and monkey ears on pictures, getting into our candy, sipping smoothies in the fridge...you get the point.
Not impressive enough to take pics though ;)
We did start a new tradition this year....
Instead of an advent calendar, we're doing advent activities.
And when you make the decision to start the new tradition at 12:30am the day it's supposed to start, you make it out of supplies you have on hand....at least it's colorful!
The kids have really enjoyed it! Polle is usually who draws the activity, so besides waking up excited to see what Polle is up to, they've also been excited to see what activity is in store for that day!
Here are a few...
Reading a Christmas book.
Make Christmas tree out of Legos.
Shopping for our Angel Tree kids.
Ev and I decided to add a pack of diapers to our youngest angel tree kid's box of clothes and WE COULD NOT STOP SNIFFING THEM...give us a baby for pete's sake!!!!
Candy cane hunt!
Ride the trolley! Which happened to coordinate with Santa in the hood perfectly...funny how that worked out ;)
Same tradition just some new memories this year ♥
We maybe saw five house decorated so our ride was a bit boring {as far as lights go} but loud and obnoxious...kids pretty much making up for loss time.
Until we saw a jolly ol' fellow who needed a ride...
At this point, sweet Hayden was climbing over the seat in front on me into my lap as fast as her little legs would move!
The big kids have pretty much figured out when our families get together during this time of the year each year, Santa is usually on the guest list. They were definitely excited to ride the trolley together, but disappointed when we kept telling them no Santa.
He definitely surprised them!
Everlee was not shy or afraid AT ALL!
She was basically in his lap or talking to him the entire time! Her smile never left her face :)
The kids didn't ask for anything extravagant, but nothing real specific either. This year has been tough shopping for them!
Love the memories these kids share together!
I am praying Everlee doesn't see another Santa this season. She spent so much time with Santa that night, I'm positive she knows his voice, his look, etc. Any other Santa will through her off, and I don't want her doubting her beliefs. Cru, again, said it's not the real Santa. We had to distract him from saying any more to make sure Ev didn't pick up on it. And Reese, so matter of factly, said, "He had one of those straps on his face that holds a beard up when you can't grown one."
Pretty much.
But keep your mouth shut!
Good thing is they all still believe they just know this is one of Santa's "helpers".
"Mom! Look at this!"
Umm, I'm sorry am I supposed to be looking at the tree???
Cru had his first basketball game last weekend!
Amazing what a year of "maturity" will do!
Of course, as soon as I leave the game {his game was out of town, and I had an open house to set up for!}, he makes a basket.
Reese has her first game this weekend! Can't wait!
Mmmm, candy canes!
Unless you live under a rock, you knew that Garth Brooks was coming to Wichita. My friends and I have been holding out for this announcement for quite some time!
He was the first concert I ever went to. At the Kansas State Fair. Long time ago.
It was such a fun night! Chet's sister arranged a limo for our group; it was THE WAY to go!
As many calories as we drank that night, I'm pretty sure we laughed off double! Wow! So many laughs! Pretty sure us married folks scared the crap out of the young couple ;)
The concert was AMAZING! It was so much fun singing every word to the soundtrack of my younger life. I felt myself getting emotional at times as well....reminiscing, missing my BFF, thankful for ALL that I have. It was just such a great night!
Another note before I share some pics, our group had seats up high. Not our choice. When you bought, it was just luck of the draw. That being said, everyone knows me and heights. Another one of my {major} anxieties. I had been poppin' Dramamine all day, but with the movement of people around me, it honestly felt like the building was spinning. No, that was not the cocktails talkin'. My heart was pounding, so I excused myself to try to calm a bit, but there was no way I was going to make it in those seats. So, literally, seconds before the concert started, I found lower level tickets online and bought them.
For those who went to the concert and are already missing it, check out Garth radio on Pandora! THE.BEST. It's not all Garth, but songs from that time....Tim and Faith, George, you get the point.
I nearly fell asleep during church the next morning! Thank goodness for Reese being asked to acolyte for the first time...all eyes on her!
Speaking of Reese, remember her and Cru and their loose teeth?
Well, she came home from school yesterday and told me she pulled her tooth out during music, except not the loose one! She said she was wiggling the loose one, but the one next to it came out instead! Then, I told her the tooth fairy would think she was really brave if she lost two teeth in one day and she literally pulled the dang thang out right in front of me!
Jackpot. For her.
12 teeth gone.
Does she even have 12 teeth to lose at nine years old???
In conclusion....
who else ended every grade school, middle school, and high school paper with those two words?!!!
Anyone else starting to feel panicked about Christmas? I feel like I thought of ideas a while ago, but they haven't quite came to life...and time is running out.
Any guesses what Miss Ev is getting for Christmas.....
ALWAYS smiling :))))) Keep spreading the love, girlfriend!
No comments:
Post a Comment