So here is our season in a post!
We had a lovely Thanksgiving at our friends the Hayes and once again we got to experience Rick's yummy fried turkey! On Black Friday, in keeping with tradition we headed out to the mall for our annual photo with Santa. Once again this trip did not disappoint and we were literally the only ones in line. No one is thinking of Santa on the busiest shopping day of the year which is why we LOVE going on this day. Aside from a way overpriced photo that I insist on buying every year the trip was a success! I love that the boys keep the spirit of Christmas alive and well and are such good sports about the annual visits!
After returning home from the mall it was time to pull out all the stuff! Quickly we were reminded that our main tree is having light issues. After stringing some around the unlit spots we are good to go until we plug in the boys' tree which is now our dining room tree, and realize that another couple rows of lights on that tree are out so a trip to the store is required! I don't know what we were thinking thinking that Target would be quiet on Black Friday at 10 pm but it was a zoo. So after seeing a line that wrapped around the store we left and thankfully Michael's came through with a much shorter line...
Ty came up with the brilliant idea of hanging our large sized balls from our chandelier in the entry way. At first I kind of dismissed the idea but he insisted and sure enough it turned out really cute!
So here it is...or here she is...
Now Thanksgiving weekend is bittersweet for me. Love the turkey, time together as a family, decorating, etc. Not so sweet? Elf. Yes, Philburt would be returning and so would my night sweats from my rapid heart rate on those mornings when I realized that Elf hadn't moved... Next year I've decided Jack is on full time elf duty.
Clearly Philburt has a sweet tooth like Ty and likes to take selfies like Sage...
So finally it was the morning everyone had been looking forward to. It was anyones guess as to how the kids would rate this Christmas. Ty had changed his mind several times and the rule of once you tell Santa what you want you can't change your mind didn't seem to stick with him. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas he had changed his main gift request three times and Mrs. Clause was getting quite frustrated with it all. Aside from a book set the only other thing Connor had asked for was a new video game but after some research we didn't feel it was an age appropriate one for him so we gambled on an older yet well reviewed game and came up with a couple other things we thought he'd enjoy. Sage, on the other hand we had no worries about. Her list never changed (she knows and understands the rule), and we knew that she'd love her surprise gift. So here is how the day unfolded:
Christmas eve couldn't come quick enough. As a family we watched a video on the birth of Christ and then the kids opened up their new pj's. Finally elf would retire back to the North Pole and Mrs. Clause would rejoice...
Christmas morning:
Gotta love the look on Ty's face when he realizes the biggest box under the tree is for Connor. You could put $1,000 in a small ring box but if given the choice Ty would still gamble on the biggest box. Size matters with Ty. Connor kept hoping he'd unwrap his much desired video game. Unfortunately this wasn't a box trick. Sorry sweetie, not this time...
Originally Ty had asked for Beats. After trying on the different types at the Apple store we realized that the cheaper ones sounded terrible and weren't that comfortable. If you're already going to spend the money you mind as well get the better ones. So we did but of course we didn't let Ty know. Then he changed things on us and decided he wanted Heelys shoes (yes, the dated skate shoes) but ironically a week before Christmas one of Jack's colleague's kids was in the ER from his Heelys so we wiped those off his list. Then days before Christmas Ty placed a photo of a green electric scooter on our bedroom door. By this point I had the attitude you get what you get and don't throw a fit. Thankfully he was thrilled with his Beats and Jack will no longer have to share his Bose on flights...
Sage was in shock when she opened up her ipad mini. Sadly I didn't realize she was opening up the case we had got before the actual ipad but we played it off that it was for her leap pad.
After all the gifts were unwrapped we had one last surprise hidden in the basement!
I'll blame Costco for this. They are the masters of selling stuff that you didn't know you needed until you walked into their store. The kids had loved playing foosball on our last cruise and so one afternoon around Thanksgiving when we were browsing around Costco we came across this foosball table. Jack was determined to get this for Christmas. Of course when he went back with his buddy to go pick it up they were now selling a coordinating shuffle board table and you know what happened next...
Here's Jack enjoying one of his gifts!
Our happy campers...
Since we didn't have family in town to share the holiday with we invited the Hayes and Denisoffs over. We had a great time with them eating yummy food, doing karaoke, playing foosball and shuffleboard, and sharing many laughs. It's always nice to spend the holiday with people you know and love!
A special shout out to my parents for their thoughtful gifts and letters. We missed having you but will plan for next Christmas! And a shout out to Jack for my fabulous Christmas. He was indeed very good to me and although it's not in my nature to keep his presents, I'm slowly learning to. I've always loved them...and I love you!
