Some More Fun With Cousins

We got to go to my Aunt Sue and Uncle Doug's house to go swimming one afternoon. My Aunt Sue puts up the cutest Christmas tree decorated with plush Disney characters. It is always a hit with the kids (and me!)

Swimming fun

Fun in the game room

Sue and Grammy working on some family history

That evening the Burtons took us to dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen as part of our Christmas gift

And the kids got to make a stuffed animal at Build-a-Bear

On another evening, we were able to come hang out at Grammy and Grandpop's and play games and enjoy a root beer float

Playing some more Disney Apples to Apples

Family time is the best part of the holidays!

December Misc.

A few more pictures from December:

Our Christmas Cards

The pet Christmas Card

Grandpop helping Nora with some of her violin songs one Sunday

One Sunday Sam got ready early, so then he got to relax in my bed with the pets while the rest of us were getting ready for Church

Sam made a kitty face

Mike got me a Wisdom Panel DNA test for Dorie for my birthday, and the test results came back! In her adoption listing, Dorie was listed as a red heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) mix, and we were curious what she might be a mix of. Her results came back that she is mostly Australian Cattle Dog, but had a mystery mixed breed great-grandparent.

We participated in helping in a secret santa project with my side of the family, and the girls were very good wrapping helpers!

The kids love Grandpop's train

Dorie has her own special seat in the minivan, and she loves going for rides!

My visiting teachers brought me some fun Christmas treats, including this cute Santa cookie

I bought this cute cat wrapping paper at Target, but couldn't bring myself to use it up this year. Maybe next year.

Max, looking so cute and innocent (even though he probably just ate Sadie's food...)

I got to help with Sam and Evie's class Christmas parties. Sam's was first, and I was in charge of the game station. Each of the kids would pick a card, and then I would play some music and while the music was playing they had to do what their card had written on it. Then when the music stopped, they would stop and put their card back and get a different card, and then the music would start again. Some of the things on the cards were: skip around, make snow angels on the ground, make a grinch face, act like you just saw Santa, sing a Christmas song, do push-ups, freeze, give people high-fives, do sit ups, etc. I tried to take a picture, and I had to laugh at how it turned out...hahaha.

Sam's current assignment hanging out in the hall:

I got to be in charge of the treat and coloring table at Evie's class party

I was next to the table where they were playing the Pie Face game, though, so I got to witness this moment...hehe

Evie's project hanging up in the hall

Poor Mike trying to get a quick bite to eat - you have to watch out for that sneaky Max!

One day I saw Sadie asleep in the guest room cuddles up to the porg

One evening the basement was closed off to kids and became Santa's workshop so we could finish our wrapping, while watching Scrooged

One of Sam's presents was shipping from a store in the UK, so it didn't quite make it here by Christmas, but it did arrive a few days later and he was SOOOO thrilled! They are his Stampy Cat pajamas. Stampy Cat is the name of a Youtuber in the UK who does videos about Minecraft and his character is a yellow cat, and he also has made some books and activity books for kids. Sam is a big fan. He wears his Stampy pajamas pretty much all the time when he is home.

New Year's Eve and Day!

After New Year's Eve dinner we celebrated Ricky and Karin's birthdays a little early with Backer's cakes since they are not in town to celebrate with us.

Grandpop lighting the candles - can you spot Will?

After dinner, we had our Japan culture day, and learned about how they celebrate the New Year in Japan, as well as about the Shinto religion and Shinto shrines, and the Buddhist religion, and Buddhist temples.

Sam, James and Thomas did some coloring during the presentation

We also learned about Daruma dolls - which are hollow, round, Japanese traditional dolls modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradtition of Buddhism. They are typically red (although can be other colors) and depict a bearded man. They are a rounded shape, and weighted at the bottom, so that when pushed, they come back upright.

The article about them said:

Using a Daruma doll is simple:

- Have a goal, wish, or promise to fulfill. 

-Paint in one eye.

-Work for it everyday.

-When the dream is achieved, paint in the other eye.

Daruma dolls are constant reminders of the what the Japanese call the ganbaru spirit. Life is full of pitfalls and bumps on the road. It’s inevitable that you’ll stumble sometimes.

But it’s up to you to get back up. It’s in your own power and will to keep moving. The doll embodies this popular Japanese proverb: Nanakorobi yaoki. "Fall down seven times, stand up eight."

Here is an actual Daruma doll from Japan

The kids made a simplified version of one

When they were done, they thought of a goal that they wanted to achieve, wrote it on the back, and then filled in one eye. Hopefully in a little while they will be able to fill in the second eye!

The kids wrote a message with blocks

Time for the White Elephant gift exchange!!

A mini cat pin-ball game

A make-it-yourself treat kit from Japan, with plastic toilet included

"The Scream" doll with sound

Candy with a scorpion and dried cricket treats

Dish glove puppets

Ahhhh...the suspense! 

Grammy always seems to get one that has to do with farts...

Grandpop is excited to get Crafting with Cat Hair, and Grammy's Farting Animals coloring book got stolen, so she opened Cooking with Pooh, and Grumpy Cat's ABCs

oh boy, this fanny pack...hahahaha!!

So many crazy things!

Vienne loved her inflatable astronaut and named her Emma

We played a few of the Jackbox games, where it uses a website, and all the players use their phone or ipad to submit their answers. They were pretty funny!

After the games we all got our sparkling juice ready, and the countdown was on!

Our New Year group picture - James didn't quite make it to midnight

We had finished the Christmas kittens puzzle earlier, and started a US National Parks puzzle

Dorie got lots of attention - and loved it!

Beth had brought this fun prism glasses where you looked at lights through them, and they made the lights look like different shapes. This was looking at the Christmas tree with the reindeer one:

The snowflake one:

Ahhhh! The puzzle is finally done. The last tiny little section took forever to figure out, but we just couldn't give up because we were so close! Karin, Mike and I stayed up pretty late....😳

The next day we went to go see "The Greatest Showman" because we had heard so many good things about it. It was an awesome movie! Not historically accurate at all, but such a good story with wonderful music and an amazing cast!

Here's to a great 2018!