The After Holiday Post

As much as I love the ritual of the holiday, I just may love the days after more.  They are filled with traditions and time with friends and family.  It’s different than a weekend.  There are more consecutive days of fun, and just as one comes to end you realize another is right in front of you. 

We do brave the black Friday shopping.  We are not die hards.  I’ve never trampled anyone for a deal(although that could be a bucket list idea-JK people).  We really just like getting our Starbucks and picking up a few non-essential items that are marked at least .05 lower than any other day.

Lexi joined Adrienne, Em, and I this year.  That makes her an official big kid!

After we did a little shopping and lunching, we picked up Grandma Jackie, Mom, and the other girls for our yearly ornament shopping.  We headed up to Hallmark for the kids to make their choices.

   

 

One by one the kids made the choice that was just right for them.  A dog for Natalie, penguins for Sofie, Ghostbusters for Kaitlyn, Barbie for Livy, and a naughty or nice candy cane for Lexi.

Poor Adrienne, Cinderella or dancing Barbie?  Such a tough choice!

She finally decided on Cinderella since she got a dancing Barbie last year!  Once they make their choice they go right to Grandma Jackie to show her!

 

Each ornament is a little piece of each child’s story of who they were that year, and little connection to Grandma Jackie that will live on forever.

The next morning it was time to say good bye to the family, and hello to friends.  We spent the afternoon at Ellen and Andy’s beautiful new house eating, chatting, and watching football.  The kids settled in so well and played.  They really felt at home!  Sof was engrossed in the playroom!

    

Right from there it was off to bowling!

 

Sunday morning we woke to a light layer of snow everywhere.  Perfect for the agenda of the day-transforming the house from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  I put on my Christmas shirt and Adrienne followed suit.  The Christmas music played for 12 hours.  Sof begged me to put on her gingerbread house shirt and pig tails because the decorations signaled gingerbread house party to her.  She remembers it well, and keeps asking when our friends are coming.  She will be so happy when it finally happens!  For now, we just decked the halls…

  

   

 

It was so nice to wake up this morning to a clean and decorated house.  It just sets the stage for the happy holiday memories waiting to be made.

We spent the day having fun with cousins!  We went to Jeepers, which has rides and games.  The girls took turns riding with each other, helping Sof, and watching Natalie.  I love seeing cousins helping cousins!

  

It was a great way to spend our last day of the holiday break.  Makes me anxious for the next one, but we have a lot of stuff to do before then!

The girls made a list today of things they want to do this Christmas.  Some things for us, some things for others.  From the looks of the list we better get started right away!  Happy start to the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving Low Down

Our Thanksgiving morning started differently this year because of Adrienne being in the parade.  She spent the night with a dance friend(thank you very much!) who got the girls to the early morning bus.  Mark and my Dad headed out around 8am to get downtown to see her.  I stayed back with the littles and the turkey!  It was a beautiful day, but we had a front row seat right there in front of the TV!

That’s Adrienne first one on the left!  Aunt Ellen sent us the following pic.  She spotted Adrienne in a split second and snapped a shot!

That’s my girl with her partner Jack on national TV!  So fun!  She really had a great experience and the weather was just whipped cream on the pumpkin pie!

By 1:00 everyone was home and ready to settle in for major eating and relaxing.  Of course we made the girls go outside and pose for the obligatory cousin picture!:)

 

 

Em brought the girls earrings from their recent trip to Disney.  They were excited to have a gift on a holiday not known for gifts!

    

 

We had some hang out time in the afternoon.  Mark scoured the ads to plan his black Friday shopping(not!).

Then it was time to eat!  Sof was very serious about setting the kids table.  Such a helper!

Everyone enjoyed the meal, even my picky Lexi.  Well, almost everyone, Kaitlyn had beef jerky for her meat, and my Dad said the turkey was “gamey”(at which point my mom shot the “I’m gong to kill you once we get alone in the car” look).  Luckily I’m more like my Dad in the “say like it is” department.  Who can taste the stupid turkey anyway?  Isn’t it just an excuse for the gravy, dressing, and mashed potatoes?

  

Livy had a cute activity from school.  She made a turkey box, then she gave each of us a strip of paper to write what we’re thankful for.  She was so excited to do it she passed them out before we were even done eating!  Then her and Kaitlyn read them all.  Kaitlyn wrote that she was thankful for her big sister.  So sweet right?  Livy responded with, “It’s about time someone appreciated me”!  LOL.

After dinner it was time for us to celebrate the November and December birthdays.  Grandma’s birthday was actually ON Thanksgiving this year.  She turned 89! She has constant pains, but she is still sharp as a tack! 

The girls wrote very sweet cards for Grandma the read them to her!

Happy Birthday Em(34), Adrienne(14), Grandma(89), and Steve(38)!

Party till your pants drop!

Why does everyone always end up in the kitchen? 

Well, the women anyway!  Hope your day was filled with love and thanks also!