Now that Anna no longer naps, the world is our oyster when school break rolls around! Seriously, LOVE to have the entire day to do whatever we want without any napping constrictions! In other news, I’ve recently realized that we rarely need to leave our house these days in order to have fun. Our new house is the greatest place on earth and I’m having a hard time not getting too attached to the luxury of it all. The kids can play soccer, basketball, ride bikes, scooters, catch frogs, build forts, play handball, you name it…. all without stepping foot off the property. We are thrilled that our home in AZ just sold and now we can start the process of *hopefully* buying this home. It’s been such a joy to watch the kids play outdoors all Christmas break, despite the sometimes colder temps, and always with a groups of friends over. I think one of their favorite games is lazar tag; followed by a close second- world cup (a soccer game the boys invented!) Even Evelyn enjoys the freedom of riding her bike up and down the sidewalks and paved easement. Such a blessing!
In addition to playing at home, we did plan a few fun outings during break. Legoland with Dad to play in the snow was fun, albeit a little too crowded for our taste. So cute to watch Anna sled down the hill over and over and over again. So cute to watch Dane and Grant make up contests with their snowballs— attempting to hit certain targets on the wall. Everything is always about sports and competition for them. We also enjoyed walking down Candy Cane Lane with the Kuletos and Millers— loved seeing all of the gorgeous lights (and please excuse the dimly lit picture!) We had a blast! The boys have enjoyed inviting over new friends they’ve made this soccer season. Garrison and Leland are brothers that happen to be the exact ages of Grant and Dane. And they also happen to be my boys favorite little guys to play with these days! So fun to have them over…. I usually try to have a small craft or activity for kids to do during playdates. But lately, when it comes to the boys, my ideas have fallen flat! They were interested in creating these gumdrop trees for precisely 3 minutes before running back outside to play soccer. Ha! I guess I need to remember my own 2016 mantra— KEEP IT SIMPLE— ! They may not need my ideas to keep entertained. Dang it, why do kids grow up so quickly?
And when Evelyn has friends over…. she is typically working on songs, or baking in the kitchen. She has an acapella group at school that she and a few friends created. They love to come up with ideas for songs and usually I’ll have to pull them off of youtube at some point as they like to research ideas. Her newest obsession is the app musical.ly If you haven’t tried it, DO IT. It’s really fun and all of my children are huge fans.
Of course, we engaged in all of the traditional christmas festivities…. we baked and baked and baked! Mostly Grammy’s sugar cookies. SO pleasantly surprised to find that Evelyn was a natural at getting the job done! I knew she’d have no trouble making the dough, following the receipe— easy for her. But I was so excited by how darling the cookies turned out~! They were perfect and it was one less job for me to do as I just assigned her to make a few batches at various times throughout the break. We had a wonderful evening delivering our goodies to neighbors but let’s be honest, it does take forever. The kids had such great attitudes and I knew we had to go to the church directly afterwards for choir practice, so I rewarded them with japanese food. This is their very favorite food and it’s not cheap! So, it’s an infrequent activity that they enjoy with all their hearts. Such a fun evening with my little crew!
We enjoyed spending a few days at Grandma and Grandpa’s house over the break. The boys weren’t signed up for any camps, so this worked out nicely. It’s so relaxing and such a good time whenever we make the drive up. The kids went to the new Chipmunks movie with Grandma, while I shopped! We then headed over to Chuck E Cheese which isn't all that bad because it’s nice and new and clean. We ate at IHOP in the morning and I was thrilled that all of the kids cleaned their plates! This is no small thing. My kids never eat so well, but I guess they are growing up and now food is desirable instead of a power struggle- ha! We crafted a little with Grandma and slept in late. Such a fun few days.
I was excited to take Evelyn to our traditional Nutcracker event this year— and this year Anna was old enough to tag along as well! I had my worries about her attention span, but she did a marvelous job and it was so wonderful to be with my two girls. Blake put on his holiday work party— the girls all had a nice time and Blake felt good about it.
It was darling to watch Grant as Joseph during our primary nativity at church on Sunday. He really is such a tender boy— his prayers are enough to make your heart melt. He appears on the outside as all fun and games, but inside has a heart of gold. We put on our yearly SERVICE FHE which was wonderful as always. Instead of going out to dinner, or buying gifts for one another, we get together and serve! This year we tied blankets for children in the hospital while the kids created darling cards and letters. We had hot cocoa and Melanie’s delicious ginger snaps! I gave a lesson about “The Good Turn Diary”. Seriously, the best Christmas story about a family during the Depression. One son who is away making money for the family sends home no presents, just a small diary wrapped for his dad. On each page he has marked off the initials in the corner “GT” and his letter explains that though he has no money to buy presents this year, his gift to his father was that every single day of the year he had done a good turn for someone in need. His dad is overcome with gratitude and happiness—- such a sweet story. I made all of the kids a good turn diary and of course at least 7 were found scattered all over the house, lost and forgotten! But I think they got the message. Service is our best gift! On that note, it’s been so amazing to have our friends, the Perrys, living here in San Diego. They were our old neighbors in NYC and so we are just thrilled to have them close. This month we had the opportunity to take care of their children for a few days due to Carolina’s mother’s failing health. She needed to fly to Venezuela to care for her mom and the kids stayed here with us. Let me tell you it was a special time and we felt very blessed, very grateful to be with these cute kids.
Yes, the break flew by for sure. And now it’s 2016! It’s the new year! I’m amazed at the blessings our family experiences each and every day.
