Allie and Claire

The highlight of this years Christmas was finally getting to meet Allie and Claire.  We never made it out to North Carolina and were so excited to get to hug and kiss on those sweet girls.  Jono, Laura, Declan, Allie and Claire were scheduled to come to Kansas City on Christmas Day but since the weather was bad they actually drove up Christmas Eve which allowed us to get to spend time with them before everyone else came over the next day.   Between our time on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the next few days then coming back to KC later in the week we were able to get in a lot of snuggles.  We also enjoyed our time with Declan although we weren't able to get in any snuggles with him since he only wanted mom or dad nearby.  It was fun to watch him play and talk and to see how much he has grown.

Merry Day

Seven-thirty was the time that was set to wake up and see what gifts Santa had brought on Christmas Eve.  I set my alarm for 7:20 to give me a few minutes to wake up before beginning the day.  About 7:28 I received a text from Sam asking if he and Ella could come to the living room yet.  Much different than the old days when we ran to my parents bedroom in the morning.  
I went and got the kids and we saw what Santa brought.  Ella got a new American Girl Doll, Mary Ellen, and an outfit for her.  Sam got a new pair of Beats headphones.  They were both excited about there gifts.  There were a few gifts to open from Mom and Dad but not many since Sam's gift was mostly his trip to Yellowstone this coming summer and Ella had already picked out a new bike she wanted.  
After our gifts at home we got ready and headed to Kansas City.  We had a small Christmas with my parents, Christy, Dale, Kylie and Cameron and then got ready for the rest of the family to arrive.  It was a great day in a house full of people.  Everyone enjoyed food, presents and family.  It was the kind of day that makes my heart feel full.  

Christmas Crafting

Ella continued her tradition of making something for everyone for Christmas this year.  I searched the wonderful world of Pinterest and came up with a collection of ideas for her to choose from for her project.  She chose to make snowman jars.  I thought finding all of the materials would be pretty simple and most were but finding the fake snow proved to be difficult.  
I learned a very valuable lesson.  If you want to make a Christmas craft you should by Christmas specific materials a few weeks before the holiday.  When Ella and I visited Michael's and Hobby Lobby a few days before the big event we realized that everything was already marked down and the supply was very limited.  We thought we were probably going to have to wait to use the mason jars we already purchased until next year when I thought maybe we could use Epsom salt instead, so we headed to Wal-mart.  What do you know?  There Christmas supplies there were still much larger than the craft stores and they had just what we needed.  
That night we set to work making the snowmen jars.  It was definitely a messy project and required some adult help but Ella did a great job.  I think that the snowmen turned out really cute and Ella loved having something to give to everyone Christmas Day.  

First Noel

Our first Christmas celebration this year was with the Lowes.  We headed down to Springfield the Saturday before Christmas.  Shortly after we arrived Ella was anxious to open gifts so that is what we did.  The gifts then provided entertainment for the rest of the day.  Sam, Caleb and Ella played outside with Sam's tailgate games and Ella worked on a lot of her craft projects she received.  Sarah helped her put together a loom and she made a whole purse that weekend.  Ella also got pearler beads that provided a lot of fun craft time for everyone.  
Sunday morning started with a huge breakfast.  Dana made eggs, bacon, hash browns and sausage, John made gravy and I made pancakes.  Dana said this is the tradition when Hannah comes home from college.  We all definitely got our fill that morning.  Sunday evening Sam went to spend the night with his friend Lucas and the rest of us did the traditional sugar cookie decorating.  There were a lot of laughs and some good and not so good cookies made.  
Since John and the kids didn't have work or school we were able to stay around most of the day Monday.  Everyone met at Nakato at 4:30 for an early dinner to finish our holiday. It was a great time spent with family.  

Strike Up the Band

Thursday night Sam had his first band concert of the year.  Grandma and Grandpa were able to come and listen to him play.  They played three pieces and did a wonderful job.  I  could hear all the hard work they had put into practicing.  They were impressive. 

Hoop Time

This last week we had less scheduled activities since things are taking a break for the holidays.  We decided to take advantage of the extra time and attend some Mizzou basketball games.  The kids have been wanting to go and this was the perfect chance.  On Monday we went and watched the girls play.  They were 8-0 at the time and won again the night we went.  They are very enthusiastic and fun to watch!  Sam also took advantage of our close seats to catch a basketball thrown into the crowd.  It was a fun night and I think we will definitely have to watch some more games this season.  

One the men's basketball assistant coaches lives in our neighborhood.  Sometimes they will have extra tickets to games.  We definitely couldn't pass up tickets in the third row.  It was a different perspective sitting that close to the floor and the players bench. The tall players made it a little difficult for Ella to see but we had a great time!  The kids enjoyed the game which was a victory and playing with our host's daughter.  

The kids at the women's game.

Right behind the Mizzou bench!

Court side!!

Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge

Caleb and Sam had not been huge fans of Crystal Bridges Museum but had been polite in letting us all enjoy the art so I thought it was time to do something they enjoyed.  So after church and a delicious lunch prepared by Dana and Ella we decided to head to Sky Zone.   Sky Zone is a trampoline park that has been open in Springfield for a while.  Caleb had been before but it was the first time for everyone in our family. 
John, Caleb and Sam spent the majority of their time in the dodge ball area.  They were hot and sweaty and injured (John  got a cut from his glasses thanks to a ball to the face thrown by Caleb) but they had a great time.  Ella and I spent our time on the small trampolines, the foam pit, and Ella even shot basketballs for a while.  We had a lot of fun jumping around and got some great exercise.  John will even tell you he worked hard enough to hurt for the next two days.