December 5

Saturday, we had plans to head up to Ann Arbor and watch the Michigan Basketball team. Unfortunately, Ryan was tired and just couldn't follow directions and we had to abort the mission. Everyone was really sad but we used it as a lesson on how to cooperate and the importance of listening to mom and dad. We spent the afternoon at home doing chores instead. Later in the evening, we went to Grandma Cathy's and helped get out Christmas decor. Then we went to the village gathering and Christmas tree lighting ceremony. It was cold! The boys had fun running around and singing some songs. They were too excited when we learned that Santa Claus was coming to town and we were wait at the Center and eat cookies and drink hot chocolate in anticipation.

This fabulous Santa Claus really put the kids at ease and listened to all of their requests. The candy cane he offered Tyler really put a smile on Ty's face. Last year, Ty wouldn't have anything to do with the man in red. This year, I reminded him that Santa was the one who brought us Wii bowling and suddenly Santa became "saint" worthy:)

Ryan waited his turn and marched right up to make his request. He was sure to tell Santa that he really didn't want anything for Christmas but MarioKart Wii. He explained that little brother broke the other one we got last year. I asked Ryan if Santa had told him which list he was on and he told me that Santa said he is a good boy. Ryan added that he was going to try really hard to be a good boy all winter!

When we got home, I asked the boys if they were all set and I ventured down into the basement for some crafting fun. At 10:00, all of the boys were in bed snoring soundly.

December 3 & 4

We went to Double J resort in Rothsburg to celebrate a very special birthday. Miss Hailey turned 6 this weekend and we surprised her by showing up at the waterpark!! She almost knocked me over when she noticed we were there and she came running for a hug. Sweet moment. Ryan jumped and swam (with life jacket) like an old pro. He loved the basketball pool and we played for hours and hours.

He never complained even when the basketball created a big splash in the face:)

The resort was pretty empty and we had plenty of opportunity to utilize the slides, hot tub, and arcade. We even enjoyed a really nice meal with no worries that the kids were running around. The staff was so nice and accommodating.

We had our first glimpse of snow this weekend as Grand Rapids and Grand Haven were hit with a snow storm. We spent some extra hours at the resort and the roads were safe and clear on the ride home. Blessings.

Self Timer

Here's the fun self timer photo that we took on December 1st just before bedtime.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

December 1

We have all kinds of fun activities planned for the month and I have my December Daily album prepped and ready for random pictures and documentation of the days in December. I am also all set to work on my Holidays in Hand project. The December 1st prompt encouraged participants to take a family picture and since I didn't get home until 7:30 p.m., I begged everyone to pose in the chair while I set the self timer on the camera. After 3-4 tries I think we got a winner but I'll have to upload it later.

(Insert photo here)

For now, here's a picture of the project:

This project includes a prompt every day that tells you to write about a memory, to take a picture of something, and also has blank lines for you to decide what to make and what to do! For me, the project fits in nicely with my December Daily. Each day of the month has it's own prompt and journal card on the back to write about the memory. I placed the stack inside of a tin (re-used aol cd case that came in the mail). I decorated the tin with patterned paper and inked edges and put a magnet on the back of the chipboard bird to hold the card to the metal. It will be an easy system for me:)

Gratitude!

Let's face it...things don't always go our way. I'm a person with high expectations and at the holidays, I especially want meaningful memories. Every holiday I get a little riled up b/c plans don't always fall into place. Nothing was seeming to go right on Thanksgiving morning. A little too much fighting and scrambling to get ready. I definately need to lighten up a bit:) I'm only admitting this because it is a step in practicing gratitude.

We had a very good holiday. We celebrated Thanksgiving day at Ralph and Ellens and it was enjoyable as always. I am especially thankful to Ellen who invited my mom so I was able to spend a full day with my favorite peeps.

We followed the day up with some Friday morning early birding and scored some fun deals! Later that day we had another great meal at Rick and Amanda's. Family time is definately my favorite time. We snatched up Jakob and Hailee for the evening and went to the Brooklyn parade. It was pretty low key but enjoyable. Yummy doughnuts, cider and popcorn while we watched the show and petted reindeer:)

(I am amazed that two kids can actually sit in this chair together without fighting. I am posting it for Ryan and Tyler to observe:)

I spent the next morning crafting with Ryan and Hailee. Hailee scored big at the Country Loft 10cent sticker sale:) That evening we went to the Toledo Zoo. We packed our vacation full of fun!

The Lights Before Christmas at the Toledo Zoo

We had a really wonderful time at the Toledo Zoo Saturday night. We got there about 5:30 to make the exchange of kids after the sleepover. Ryan, Tyler, Jakob, and Hailee spent almost the entire ride guessing where we were going on our surprise. The looks on their faces when they figured out it was the zoo was priceless.

We stayed until 9:00 p.m. wandering in the magical lights and taking in the scene, music, and fishies. It was 50 degrees with no wind which made the stroll nice. The boys enjoyed the $1 train ride so much that we rode it a 2nd time. We also had a chance to ride the carosel for $1. We have a membership so admission and parking was free. We came into the zoo with only $6.00 and had a perfectly pleasant time:) Talk about affordable family fun!

Ryan sure was making some goofy faces. He can be so funny! He took the picture of Jim, Tyler and I. He's definately getting better at picture taking. Now I'm regretting not asking someone to take a shot of the 4 of us.

The evening was so enjoyable...we might try to make another trip in December. I highly recommend this adventure to anyone. Beautiful memories.