Holidays

We are busy with sorting, packing, and eliminating all of our junk for the move. I have been scanning all of our photo albums before we store them, so I have some fun pics to share, but that will have to be later.

Chris had his 40th birthday just before Christmas. It was low-key, but I think it was nice. Sarah and I had a little thoughtful gift for him. Sarah made him a "Man-Pron" and I filled it with important items for the stay-at-home dad. We want him to be well prepared for our UK adventure! Check out the legs. Note--he only has boxers on under that apron. Woo-woo.

I couldn't find 40 candles, so he got a 25. Whatever. It is the thought that counts, right?

Augi was itching for another party, so I allowed her to invite 2 friends for sundaes. She chose Tanner and Libs. Apparently they don't see enough of each other during the week! These kids are like siblings.

I want to visit everyone I know just one more time before we leave. It is sort of killing me trying to get all the visits in. I am going to miss everyone so much. So, we stopped down at Agi Classic's place for some lunch. The kids were outstanding. BOTH of them! I was concerned because the last time we had lunch with her I was pregnant with Em and Augi had a HUGE tantrum, including kicking the door of the restaurant while lying on the snowy ground. We had a nice lunch at Agi's senior center restaurant. Agi is amazing. She is in her 90s and still has more energy than me!

What next? Well, we took the train downtown to meet Patricia, Chiana, Julia, and James at the Discovery Gateway. Em was in heaven on the train. It takes so much longer than driving, but I feel like I am conserving some energy and the kids have fun.

I like the Treehouse better than Discovery, but they do have a lot of things to do.

The gang stayed in the theater for about 45 minutes. They were putting on quite the show.

Oh. Now, on to Christmas Eve. We spent it at Meme's and Papa's, as usual. I love the chaos of the evening. It has become a tradition that I stay to help Meme wrap presents. This year the kids were too tired so I only did a handful. Meme stayed up until 5 am getting ready. She is one dedicated grandmother! I would have thrown it all in a grocery sack, stuck a bow on it and called it good. Her efforts were worth it for my children, though. They were spoiled rotten! The highlight of the evening was when Meme handed out a little stuffed toy and jammies to the kids. They all waited patiently, then mauled her with their appreciation.

Mindy has several of these shots of the kids sitting on these stairs. The group is definitely growing in size! All of them were wearing their new Christmas Jammies.

Grandma Valerie spent the night on Christmas Eve and enjoyed opening the gifts from Santa in the morning. Augi got the doll that she wanted, Em got an MP3 player, and they got a race track to share.

Christmas day we went to Tammy and Bruce's place for dinner. I love spending time with all of them, especially when my cousins are there. I adore Colton and Jared and think of them more like younger brothers than cousins.

Whew. So, that was the holiday. We spent a few days playing with their new loot and I try to figure out where we are going to pack it all. Ug.

We visited our friends Kris and Don, but forgot to get any pictures. I know they took some, maybe I will get some via email (hint, hint.)

I've sort of hit my wall as a stay at home mom with this long break. I love my children dearly and I believe they are extremely well behaved. However, I enjoy having time away to work. They are wonderful, though, and they bring joy to me every day. I was angry with Augi today because she was so whiney. I told her I needed a little mommy time out. While I was taking a break, she made a little paper envelope and stuffed it with some candy. She brought it to me and told me she made it to help me feel better. She is so stinkin' sweet. It is all worth the pain! Em loves to play hide and seek now. He was "hiding" in this box tonight.

Well, more to come before we move. Stay tuned!