A Natue Walk, A Museum, A Movie

On Thursday Grams and I went and did some after Christmas shopping. I managed to snag two new nutcrackers (a gnome and a sailor holding a lighthouse), I also got some new Christmas books to add to my massive collections, and I got some ornaments for a new Christmas tradition I am wanting to start (Christmas ornaments that represent things from Christ's life). We finished up shopping around lunchtime so we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. The food was slow coming but oh man, so worth the wait. So so good.

When we got back home we all drove out to Proud Lake to go on a nature hike while the weather was still good. The kids all had their cameras and were constantly documenting. We found some trees decorated with ornaments which a fun find. Ben enjoyed finding every large stick and then throwing it at the lake to try and break the ice. Tyler thought it was a good idea to walk on the icy lake and of course all the kids followed. This made me super nervous since it was a 50 degree day. I did not want to lose any of my children under the ice. Luckily they all survived! And even though Lucy cried because she wanted to walk on the ice longer, it was overall a really nice outing.

On Friday we went to the Natural History Museum at the University of Michigan. We had gone to it once before it moved to its new location. I have to say that I liked it at the old location better. It was a really cool historic building and way less modernized. This museum was all about teaching us to be eco friendly and had lots of exhibits on evolution. Meh. It was shiny and new though and had some fun ways to measure ourselves and some fun dinosaur skulls to do some photos with.

While  we were there, Lucy was washing her hands in the bathroom, and randomly said: "Never trust a cow!" Goof ball.

That afternoon I was the Grinch and took down Christmas. It always feels good to get all that stuff down. Poppy took yet another outing with the kids while I was doing this. He sure has been all about the walks while he's been here. 

Saturday we went and saw "Spies in Disguise." It was basically the only kid movie out and it was fun enough. On the drive back Penny was complaining that she was hot in the car. When I asked her how she got that hot she replied, "Because I was borned here."

Christmas Day

Christmas morning the kids did pretty good at not bugging us until 7am. I heard them rustling around 6am but at least they were pretty quiet about it. When they came down they all seemed happy enough about their Santa gifts. Penny got a camera, Lucy got a purple bike and unicorn helmet, Ben got a bike and helmet with a mohawk and Steven got an imitation Go Pro. Santa also left them a letter telling them they need to work a little harder next year in order to stay on the "nice" list.

The kids were satisfied to mess with their new gifts and eat candy out of their stocking until Grams and Poppy came out of their room a little bit later. Then we opened gifts in an organized fashion- which Tyler's dad thinks is just ridiculous but it makes my heart happy. All the kids open one gift at a time together and then throw the wrapping paper away before they open the next one. It helps it so present opening doesn't go super fast and it also keeps down the mess. Like I said, keeps my heart happy.

Traditional pictures of everyone with their presents....

Penny got: a camera from Santa. Painting kit, pretend smoothie kit, bead necklace kit, Llamphone book, and fake glasses from mom and dad. Lego set from Grams and Poppy Brady. A Frozen notebook and smelly pencil from Lucy. And scented markers in a sparkly pouch from Tyler.

Lucy got: a bike and unicorn helmet from Santa. A scrapbook kit, scratch notepad, Garfield book, Unicorn purse, and pop up lemonade stand from mom and dad. A Rudolph nose from Penny. A lego set from Grams and Poppy Brady. And a sparkly pouch and scented markers from Tyler.

Ben got: a bike and helmet from Santa. Colorful blocks, a catapult kit, Minecraft storage and minifigures, and a Minecraft Activity book. A Ninjago Lego set from Grams and Poppy Brady. 2 little figures from Penny. And a comic sketchbook from Tyler.

Steven got a: imitation Go Pro from Santa. Minecraft storage and minifigures, blocks, a camping lego set, Makey Makey, and Minecraft book from mom and dad. A Minecraft Pirate ship from Grams and Poppy Brady. Fake money from Penny. And a comic sketchbook from Tyler.

Grams and Poppy Hatch got a calendar, socks that say funny things, and a Michigan Grandpa Sweatshirt. Penny got Grams a cup and Poppy a winter hat that was a bit too small (but she was insistent that he needed something to keep his bald head warm).

Tyler got a triple decker HP Lego set, and an invisibility cloak (that didn't work until the next day). Steven got him a shirt that says "Call of Doodie, special plops" and the girls got him "Baby Shark" cereal.

I got a laptop, a Beauty and the Beast Puzzle, a moleskin notebook, fancy scissors and a Little Debbie snacks puzzle. The kids got me a llama doll. And Tara (my secret santa from the Hatch family) got me a Q&A book for the kids and a cake decorating kit.

After all the present opening, I made our traditional reindeer pancakes for the kids.

Then the kids spent the rest of the day enjoying their gifts- Penny painting, Lucy scrapbooking and riding her bike, Ben riding his bike. Steven may not have had a new bike but he did have fun using his imitation go pro to videotape his bike ride. He said many times that his Santa gift was so awesome. That was a nice change from his usual negative attitude.

For dinner we had our traditional "Jerusalem" meal of fish sticks, fresh fruit, pita bread and hummus and fig newtons. We talked about what some of the food reminded them of from Jesus' life and it was a nice discussion. And then we ended our day by watching the movie "Abominable." All in all it was a great Christmas Day, made even better by having my parents there.

Sunady Best, Graham Cracker Houses, Santa Cookies, Christmas Jammies

The Sunday before Christmas was quite lovely- no meetings, no calling obligations... It was the first Sunday we had in a long while that we had nothing but sacrament scheduled for the day. That meant I had plenty of time to take pictures of my children in their Christmas Sunday best but the added time was not helpful. There was a lot of whining from all and some crying from Lucy. Lucy had to go upstairs and calm down and then finally, we got some good shots. I thought with older kids this was supposed to be easier.

On Monday, I attempted to accomplish cleaning and some things but a friend came over and kind of spoiled my plans. I did manage to squeeze in a run before going to pick up my parents from the airport though. They must have brought the sunshine with them because it was a lovely, warm day. Deciding to enjoy the warmth, we all walked down to the library. It was a little chillier on the way back but we warmed ourselves up with a classic Poppy dish of meat and potatoes. That evening the DePlonty's and Farquharson's came over and decorated graham cracker houses with us. They're good people and I enjoy their company. The kids didn't spend too long decorating houses but they had fun playing hide and go seek outside in the dark, playing "don't eat pete" and also pinning the carrot nose on the snowman. It was a good evening.

I spent most of Tuesday in the kitchen. And also had to make 2 trips to the store for forgotten things- so not on top of things. It was really nice having my parents there because they kept the kids entertained. Poppy even took 3 of them on a walk to Kroger's and Burger King- and those places are not so close. Early afternoon we had our fancy meal that both Tyler and I had slaved over. He had done the turkey for the first time ever. Everything was real delicious and he did a good job on his first ever turkey- really moist and flavorful. 

After our fancy meal we decorated Santa cookies. Even Grams got in on the fun and decorated a few. This time we really had a talk with them about not trying to give Santa diabetes with an excessive amount of candy and icing decorations. For the most part they did pretty good.

When we finished decorating cookies we opened up our Christmas jammies! The boys all got "You have died of dysentery" Oregon trail shirts. They were a hit! The girls got matching unicorn jammies. Tyler had bought me a Christmas unicorn shirt too but it didn't come until 2 days after Christmas. I was real disappointed that I didn't get new jammies for Christmas Eve. It's tradition for us all to get a pic in our new jammies :(

When we finished our jammie pics we all piled into the suburban to drive around and see the Christmas lights in the neighborhoods. We found a fancy neighborhood that was all decked out in lights and Poppy was impressed with the large houses. We also found a house in our own neighborhood that had it's very own radio station with lights that turned on and off with the music. It was pretty fun and Steven said that his friend's grandpa owns that house and spends months setting it all up.

Then it was time for bed and Steven must have complained a thousand times about how much he hates Christmas Eve because it's sooo hard to fall asleep. I think he's lucky that he only has one day a year where he struggles to sleep. However, I was in bed by 11 and he was definitely asleep then so he must have figured it out.

Us grown ups watched "It's a Wonderful Life" while setting up gifts and when it ended it 'twas off to bed for all of us.