Jumping into 2010

* Beware, this is a long post, but at least it has a lot of pictures!

Wow, this has been a rollercoaster of a Christmas break and mostly super fun!  I don’t feel like we’ve stopped for a minute. The girls have been like jumping beans…but only because we gave them a trampoline for Christmas. They love that thing! So much so that it was hard to peel them away from it even while my parents were visiting.

Let me share just how fast and furious our last ten days as been.

We enjoyed sledding so much on the 24th. It was the perfect weather and wonderful time for us. When we got home we had a dinner of appetizers. We had what I call “crab pops”, coconut shrimp, and mozzarella cheese sticks. I put a few carrots out to balance it all too. Not a very healthy dinner, for sure, but we only do it on Christmas eve.

We stopped by Gramma Debbie’s at 6:00 so the girls could open their annual pajamas. They loved them! It is always nice to have something new and cozy to sleep in while trying to get to sleep and waiting for Santa.

After that short stop we went to the Christmas eve service at church. It was a really good service. The church has finally settled into a nice groove, so we know what to expect when we go. It used to be that they did really big, creative things on Christmas Eve, but now they have a simple message, music, and glow sticks. I’d prefer real candles, but the glow sticks are nice and safe. The girls really got a lot out of the service this year. The pastor said there are really two celebrations going on during this season: Christ-mas and Santa-mas. Santa-mas isn’t necessarily bad, it is just that it often crowds out the Christ-mas we are celebrating. That point kept coming up over the next few days from the girls, so I was delighted to see that sticking in their brains.

On Christmas morning, we got up around 6:00 am. First the girls opened their stockings…to find pretty good stuff this year. There was very little candy and better than “dollar store” stuff this year like a digital timing watch, an umbrella, and a card game. Kelby got a camera this year from “Santa” and Tegan and Anika got MP3 players. I think that is about all the technology they’ll need for awhile now.

 

 

Then we enjoyed our simple, traditional Christmas morning breakfast of scrambled eggs, Little Smokies (with cheese!), and a cinnamon pull-apart bread that I make. The bread is made from frozen bread rolls that are sweetened and left to raise overnight. They are ready to pop in the oven in the morning for a perfect sweet treat.

We were able to take our time through the few presents we had under our tree from us to the girls. I had made them snuggies, so that was my favorite present they got. You know, those blankets with sleeves. They look ridiculous, but they are oh so comfy. I think they like the specialized fabrics I was able to choose rather than the brown or blue of the store-bought variety. They also got new robes, so I think they’ll be cozy.

The big surprise was, when all was said and done, and they seemed to be satisfied, Mike said there was one more surprise we forgot. They had to go look out the back room window to see it. It was the trampoline! They were so surprised and excited. From that point on they just wanted to jump and nothing else!

Michael got me a Kindle. I realize it is a true luxury and I am spoiled rotten. I wasn’t even sure I would like reading my books digitally, but I LOVE it! It is groovy because it has a free cell-type service for purchasing books, but you can also use it for going on the internet. That means I can check my email, post on Facebook, and read my favorite blogs from anywhere that has a reasonable cell-reception.

Near noon we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Wright’s house. We had a soup potluck which turned out to be the perfect meal for the day. The kids opened more presents there and spent the rest of the day enjoying their cousins. I even got people to play my game “Ticket to Ride” with me!

That evening we came home and I set up Anika’s room to host my parents. They were flying in late that night which turned out to be REALLY late that night. Their plane landed at 12:30 am and we got home and settled in bed around 2:00am. The kids and Mike had gone to bed long before so they were up and at-um right away in the morning. We enjoyed another Christmas breakfast and more presents with my parents. That evening we made a turkey dinner. By “we” I mean, my mom. She did most of the work. It was nice and tasty. We also had a photo shoot with Grampa Santa before he shaved his beard.

 

 

On Sunday the 27th, we had some fun with my parents. My dad took the girls to Alvin and the Chipmunks – the Squeakquel at the theater and Chucky Cheese while I went shopping with my mom. We watched the movie “Up” together that night. I just love that movie even though it makes me cry.

On Monday it was Anika’s birthday. I spent a bunch of time preparing for Anika’s little birthday party, but it ended up that only one friend came over. She was a little bummed, but my mom and I joined the teddy-bear tea party and enjoyed the scones and tea cakes to make it up to her. A December birthday is so hard!

Anika is now a 6 year old. Time does fly, doesn’t it?! She’s old enough now to want the real deal for a birthday party now too. I’m going to have to convince her to have a party in January next year.

After the party fun we decided to go find some fun away from the house so we could peel the girls away from the trampoline. We all went bowling and had a great time. Mom had the best score of 141, but the girls and I really stunk it up!

That evening Debbie and George joined us for pizza to make Anika’s birthday dinner even more special. We had a nice evening playing a fun Wii game until we sent the girls up to their rooms to get ready for the next day.

Tegan came down distraught because the hamsters were missing. We went upstairs in her room to find the cage open on the ground. Moments later she found them in her closet, dead. It was just awful. Tegan was especially heart broken.

It was a perfect storm of events that brought about their demise. The girls had cleaned out the cage that day and instead of leaving them in Kelby’s room high on her dresser, they put them in Tegan’s room on a lower table that was only in there because my parents were staying in Anika’s room. Kelby normally keeps her room door shut, but Tegan doesn’t. We also normally put Hercules in his crate while we leave, but forgot when we went bowling. Apparently dachshunds are bred somewhat as rat dogs, so it was only in his nature to be overwhelmed with intrigue in these little creatures. He must have pulled the cage down and when it broke open, that was that.

It was so sad to see these girls so upset. Their hearts were broken. I was surprised that they forgave the dog quickly enough. Tegan saw the dead hamsters, so she was especially affected. She didn’t want to go in her closet or go to sleep and continued to cry off and on the next day. Finally at lunch she said, “I’m not going to be sad anymore” and she wasn’t. Kelby kept her emotions a little more buried, but they come out when she is tired.

On Tuesday we went to the Build-a-bear store in Bellingham because my parents had gotten the girls each a gift card there for Christmas. They had so much fun on their shopping spree.

We had to drop my parents off at the airport to go home that afternoon. As if that wasn’t enough activity for the week, we drove home, picked up Dad and some stuff and drove down to Bellevue for a little family stay-cation. We stayed at an Embassy Suites where our room had a door between the girls and us and the hotel had a full breakfast, manager’s reception with free drinks and snacks, and a nice pool. FUN! We went out to dinner at Red Robin and swam that night. Mike even got the Wii to work in our room, so they played games too.

On Wednesday we went to the Seattle Center to go to the Pacific Science center. We looked at bugs, watched an IMAX documentary, and saw how animation works! Now we have a membership, so hopefully we’ll go down again soon.

 

Tegan’s touching a sheep brain here!

Afterwards, we rode the monorail over to downtown Seattle, then walked to the famous Pike’s Place market and down to the water to get some fish and chips. The girls were getting tired, but were happy with plenty of energy to swim once we got back to the hotel.

The next day they swam some more until check out. Then we started home with a stop off at the Alderwood mall to buy more Build-a-bear stuff and have lunch at PF Changs.

That was on New Year’s eve, but by the time we got home, there was no way we were going have the girls stay up until midnight. We were all pooped from non-stop fun. I was so disappointed to realize there was no way I would be able to thaw my prime rib in order to cook it for the fancy family dinner I had been planning for New Year’s Day. I can’t believe I forgot to take it out of the freezer! Zach and Melissa saved the day by inviting everyone over there for a taco bar and Heather still brought the ice cream cake for Anika. I think we’ll save the roast for Easter dinner instead!

 

Okay, so that was Christmas break so far! Something was going on every day. Today it is noon and I’m still in my pajamas writing this blog post! Love it! I might go get dressed here in a minute, or I might keep reading my Kindle. We’ll see. I hope that everyone else had a good holiday season too! You can be sure I’m looking forward to that regular routine again!