Alison and Lily baked some Christmas sugar cookies and sold them on the corner of our street. They did an incredible job and people were asking when they would be back :)
Then Alison and I spent an afternoon making a zillion cookies. She had to take some to her language class (they were going to eat treats and read Christmas poems) and I had to bake for a cookie exchange. By the end of this day I was ready to never see a cookie again.
We were supposed to go to a homeschool gingerbread making party, but Colin wasn't feeling great, so we stayed home and made our own.
I'm thinking after this Christmas, we'll be able to downsize even more toys because it is all about the Legos now. Eli built this city this week :)
We are thoroughly enjoying this Christmas season. Considering last year our house was in boxes and it was a miracle to just find dishes to eat off of.
One day, I made puppy chow and brewed some tea; we listened to Christmas music while doing school by the tree.
Our local library is INCREDIBLE and we have been saying for the last year that we should do school there one day. It finally happened and we will most definitely be doing it again! I loved that the kids could go explore books while they were waiting their turn for instruction or help.
Somehow grading grammar happened by the fireplace...on top of gymnastics mat with a puppy trying to get some love and attention.
I asked the kids what they wanted to do this Christmas season and all they said was make cookies. So we have been making a lot of cookies!
First up was a simple kit from Trader Joe's. We did a kit similar this year and it was a hit, but this year the frosting had a weird color and they didn't taste very good.
Maya resumed her position under Colin's seat, just waiting until he needs her to clean him up.
In between baking, the kids really wanted to celebrate being in California for a year. So we went to Yogurtland for a little treat.
I told the kids how proud I was of them and Colin asked why. I said because moving is hard and they have handled it so well that they've asked to celebrate (instead of pout). Colin said, "It's not hard for me...it's easy!" Oh to be Colin. I'm still proud of him.
Alison and I were invited to a lady's tea at a local church. They made it such a special day for the young girls and Alison loved it.
We are so thankful for Lily!
Our cookie theme continued and Ben spoiled us with molasses cookies and homemade eggnog.
I can't remember the last time we made real gingerbread cookies to decorate, but it was even more fun now that the kids are old enough to help bake them.
We invited the Bradley's to come over and decorate with us.
We really wanted to go to a tree farm this year, but it has been so rainy that we opted for the Home Depot parking lot...plus they give a military discount :)
Then it was home for hot cocoa, Christmas music and putting up the ornaments.
The tradition of Alison putting the angel on the tree continues, although this will be the last year that daddy will be able to do this:
The boys played with the drone and discovered that lots of our neighbors have pools...why have we not met these people yet?!?!
There was lots of Fortnite playing and snuggles too.
We made good use of our leftovers and had smoked salmon bagels. They were delicious!
I hope this can become a new tradition...Ben took the kids to the mall and helped them buy some presents and treated them to so boba and pretzels. They all had a blast and I got the house to myself to decorate for Christmas.
The boys have worked hard for a good 3 months to save up for a big Lego set. The trip to the mall also included stopping by the Lego store to finally get the set they've been dreaming about.
Each of the kids helped me make a dish for Thanksgiving.
I think the boys liked making the peppermint pie the best because it meant they could lick the whip cream tub.
Thanksgiving morning, we all ran in a Turkey Trot. It was cold and raining and we decided we wouldn't make the kids participate, but they all did without complaining a bit. They also joined the costume contest and won! Alison spent hours and hours making a leaf t-shirt.
The kids run:
Eli ran so hard that he thought he was going to throw up at the end :) I was so proud of all of them. After the adults ran and we were all completely soaked and chilled to the bone, we headed home.
After warm showers and hot coffee:
Sarah came over for the afternoon and we had a huge charcuterie to munch on.
