Our Christmas Adventures

I had every intention of publishing these before Christmas, but I just got so wrapped up in having fun that by the time the evening came...I had no energy to blog!
We had an excellent time the Christmas season...doing fun things, spending time with friends and of course...having a blast just being the four of us!  It was an absolutely wonderful holiday season!
One weekday evening, we bundled up the kids and headed downtown to the Ballpark.  We had a blast last year and decided to give snow tubing a try again!  This time it was much less crowded and we actually got to go down the slides several times.  The big kids were finally tall enough to go down the BIG slide, but the little boys were perfectly content going down their slide.  It was actually a beautiful evening and we had a great time!

We started the weekend before Christmas with a gathering of my mom's family.  The kids were very excited to get to hang out with Gramps and Grandma Jan...and of course...excited to open their first presents of the season.

Boppy's Birthday was the 16th and Grandma surprised him after church with tickets to the OSU basketball game for the whole family.  Harper and Owen were just as excited as Boppy!  We hurried and changed into our ORANGE after church and headed to Stillwater.  We ate lunch at Boppy's favorite place...Hideaway!  The basketball game was tons of fun...and we won!  Woohoo!

Of course, Pinterest played a huge part in our Christmas festivities this year!  (Thank you Sara for getting me hooked!)  One of the ideas I had found on there months ago was for a Polar Express surprise outing.  Our kids love that movie and watched almost daily during the holiday season.  So one school night, while Richard was giving the kids a bath, I made hot chocolate with peppermint marshmallows and popcorn and placed Golden Tickets on the Kids' beds under their PJs.  After the bath, I sent them to get their PJs on and they both found the tickets at the same time.  I played the Polar Express them song from the kitchen and they came running in.  We loaded up in the car...not before getting our tickets punched of course...and headed to our town's light display.  We all had an excellent time on this adventure!

Harper had been begging me for a long time to have a Christmas Party at our house.  So, the Saturday before Christmas, we invited at few of Harper and Owen's friends over for a Cookie Exchange and crafts.  I didn't put a whole lot of planning into it, but we ended up having a fabulous time!  Even the parents had fun!  The kids ended up making Christmas Trees, beaded wreaths and Gingerbread ornaments.  But spent most of their time playing with the toys.  They were just glad to be together!!!

Twas the Night Before Christmas Recital

This year Harper switched to a different dance studio and I was so glad they also had a Christmas Recital like her previous studio.  She is having so much fun at her new place and is really learning a ton.  It showed at her Christmas Recital: Twas the Night Before Christmas!  Her class did a Jazz routine to Santa Baby and she did fantastic!  She is a natural performer and loves the stage!!!  I just loved their costumes too! It was a great show and a wonderful way to start the holiday season.

Meet Sneaky

Sneaky is our Elf that came to our house last year to watch Harper and Owen during the Christmas season.  Sneaky is just that...he hides in places that most people can't find him and he is slightly mischievous at times.  Harper and Owen were so excited to see Sneaky when he came back this year.  He even brought presents with him...two packs of bubble gum and an Indoor Snowball Fight in a bucket.  Sneaky has already been up to no good...check out what he has done so far.

We are so glad Sneaky comes to watch Harper and Owen and report to Santa on their behavior.  So far, so good...I think he has had nothing but good to say!

Christmas Happenings Week #1

This year, I am determined to do all the fun Christmas stuff I always think of doing, but come up with every excuse not to accomplish.  We started our quest by putting up our Christmas Decorations before Thanksgiving, so when November 23rd got here, we could hit the ground running.  For starters, we have already been the city park light display over half a dozen times.  About every other night we let the kids choose at least one of the three parks to drive through.
To continue this week we have...
--The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we headed downtown to attend the Mayor's Christmas Tree Lighting.  It was a really chilly evening, but they had popcorn and treats for us.  The kids got their picture taken with Santa.  Owen was also super excited that the got to see a Nutcracker.  He walked around behind him and said, "Where is his cracker nut?"  Hmmmm.  We also got to see a guy carving a Christmas Tree out of a big block of ice.  Harper loved that.  It was a cold, but very fun night!

--On Friday night, we headed to a small town in the western part of the state and got to see a beautiful sunset along the way.  The Liberty Theatre there is know for their "show dogs" and great prices.  Although it was about an hour and a half drive...it was so worth it.  We got to see Rise of the Guardians in 3D...and of course we had our fair share of "show dogs", popcorn, pop and movie candy.  It was a blast!

--Saturday morning, the kids and I made cinnamon applesauce Christmas ornaments.  I remembered these from when I was a kid and (thank you Pinterest) I found the recipe again.  It took a ton of cinnamon and lots of kneading, but they turned out perfect.  Thanks to all of my "help" of course.  Harper made Santas and Owen made Stars.  They made our whole house smell yummy!

--Saturday afternoon, we headed out to find the Griswold Family Christmas Tree.  Ok...so that is Richard's favorite movie and I have always wanted a real tree (but I'm allergic...and boy am I paying for that today!)...we compromised by putting the tree outside.  Last year, Richard had found plans for a big wooden box for the tree to go in...we just never got the tree.  However, we headed out in the warm weather to find the perfect tree.  As we arrived at the Christmas tree farm, we had to ask what to do...since we were newbies.  They gave us a tree wagon and a saw and let us have at it.  We looked and looked...boy real trees are expensive!  Meanwhile, Harper and Owen were having a heyday with the tree wagon.  They were going up and down the rows taking turns pulling each other and laughing all the way.  Richard and I finally found the perfect tree at the perfect price.  It was time to saw, which Owen was very interested in.  We loaded up our prized possession and headed to front where they shook the tree, bundled it and loaded it on top of the car...in Grand Griswold Style!  Loved every minute of it!!!

--Saturday evening, we head to a live nativity...called Journey to Bethlehem.  We had to wait almost two hours, but were entertained with Christmas carols and sing-a-longs while we waited.  We all got Hebrew names and passes to take with us on our "journey."  Our guides, lead us through a forest where we stopped to visit with many other travelers, King Herod, the Wise Men, the Shepherds and the Angels.  We then entered the town of Bethlehem and got to travel through a market bustling with people.  We finally spotted the star and the manger...where Jesus, Mary and Joseph were.  It was remarkable how Harper and Owen got into it.  They both participated by saying "Shalom" to the people to greet them and by kneeling at the sight of Baby Jesus.  It was a really neat experience...one we will do again next year.
--Sunday the kids got to open the first treat bag on the Advent Calendar...they are so excited!!!
Week #1 was a huge success!