Christmas Eve Eve!

This day was the best.  I woke up to a clean house, empty laundry baskets and a pile of wrapped gifts.  I slept late, met my mom and my sister for a long brunch at Bloom, where we whispered about gifts....I probably took a little nap, whew!  It was great!  Then we headed out to my parents so that Christmas could officially start!

So much good food!

Dad always reads Luke and then the kids open their presents from the grandparents.  I have to say, they hit it out of the park this year!

Serious bible-listening.

Sleds!!  Would it be Christmas without sleds??

We packed it in and headed home and set the kids up under the tree to sleep....Joe and I did that our first Christmas together, and I thought it would be fun for the kids....on to Day 2!!

Gearing up!!!

December 22 is always a work day.  We cleaned house, did all the laundry, ran to Walmart and Winco and the liquor store for the last time.  We spent 3 hours wrapping gifts as fast as we could!  But this year, we highlighted with a trip to the Crapuchettes pool!  What a fine way to unwind and kick off our Christmas celebrating!

Isn't it beautiful??!

Meanwhile...back at the cabin....

The kids were living it up at Grandma's house....Christmas Jam night!!

 

We got there last for pickup so we missed all the cousins...such a fun night!

 

The birthday boy.

Joe, as you have seen, had a phenomenal day on the river with his dad and his boy.  And when he got home, we were ready with our stack of gifts to spoil him :) ....and some more cake!  That was mostly for the kids' sake, haha!

They pretty much love him. 

 

Later that night, we had the usual crab dinner, but this time, in front of the TV for the big Seahawks game.  Such.good.food.

Happy birthday to my Joe.  He is one of a kind and the perfect match for me.  So happy that your day was awesome!!

Basketball season 5th/6th

Ok, so Joe was signed up to coach Kayte's team this year...her last year at Parks n Rec....but they talked him into coaching for Will also, because they had a mass shortage of coaches, and Joe is obviously more than qualified.  So he signed on.

Kayte's team was definitely struggling, but I'm always a little bit pleased by that because I know that she will learn so much more than being the best in the league.  It was a hard lesson though for sure.

I love this girl's tenacity though.  She is like a bulldog on that court.

 

Will's team on the other hand, nearly went undefeated.  They had one loss all season!  They were so fun to watch, smooth and in tune with the court and each other....it was some good times!

A little light, and a lot of candles....

We managed to squeeze in our annual trip to Lewiston to see all the lights there.  Of course, Red Lobster was also involved.  Good food, gorgeous lights, lay-down rain, and a lot of mud.  We wrapped up the evening with candles on the cake, for both Shawna and Joe!  Such a fun (and yummy!) tradition!

All four of our kids conked out on the 40 minute drive.  We live it in the fast lane.

Ben is my carb kid.  Mashed potatoes with a side of mac.  So good.

 



"The world will Never be the same."

One thing that I was most excited about this month, was getting to watch Ben bring the good news to Mary, as Gabriel in the 1st grade Christmas play.  The kid woke up bright-eyed and healthy that morning, hallelujah!

Kayte was on violin that day, and Will had a recitation, so it was a trifecta of talent that morning!  Send it out with a bang!

How precious is that??

I cannot imagine a more fitting role for Ben than Gabriel...he is a bundle of enthusiasm!

Merry Merry Merry Christmas!

Taking my gun to the knife fight.

I did manage to get a few sniffles one day, and I wasn't going to mess around with that!  There was fun to be had, and I didn't want to miss out!  I raided Walmart for every perceivable weapon.  And when the sinus headache lasted two days with no relief, I ran to Quick Care for an upgrade.  I was in and out, drugs in hand in less than an hour.  Take that, mucus!

Final push.

The end of 2nd semester is always a little bit crazy...there are a lot of tests and projects and performances and parties.  But this year had the added bonus of a wave of whooping cough along with the normal cold and pukes that December always brings...Kayte had 3 grades she was hoping to bump up to As, and she worked hard all week and managed to pull it off!  And we avoided the Big Plague, which was a direct answer to prayer!

Rock Lake Brown

Had to add this to the blog so it can live on as the biggest brown I've pulled out of that lake...