Other December fun

Pre-bedtime shenanigans

Owen was excited to build a battleship kit from Home Depot!

We were super excited when the library recently opened by appointment only. We came home with a large bag of books and the kids read for about an hour straight when we got home. It was a sign of the times to see Willow tucked away reading in a hard corner next to the soft cushy reading area that's not available now due to COVID and its difficulty to sanitize. 

Jupiter and Saturn came as closely aligned as they had in 400 years the week of Christmas. Some were calling it a "Christmas star." On it's peak night it was super cloudy but we were able to bring the telescope over to the school to get a better view the next night. It was incredible how quickly it would get out of view in the telescope due to the Earth rotating. It was fun to see (but hard to capture pictures of!).

Whiskers still enjoys being a lap cat....she's just a full lap now....

6 months ago:

Elf on the Shelf: Belle

Our Elf on the Shelf, Belle, came back to watch the kids and report to Santa this year. Chris and I are impressed that she hasn't repeated m(any?) spots in the house over the years!

Is Belle watching Tilly, or is Tilly watching Belle?

(We recommend Sugar Cookie flavored Hershey Kisses 10/10!!)

(Belle definitely sank lower as the day went on!)

 The kids were happy to see that Belle left donuts for Christmas morning!

Pre-Christmas fun

Our church thought creatively and created advent boxes for each family. It had an advent wreath with candles and stories, countdown circles with Bible verses on the back, and a calendar with a fun activity to do each night. One of the nights was to wrap your bedroom door! 

We loved having a live tree this year and were glad to keep it alive through Christmas day!

We enjoyed a quick stop at Starbucks for a warm drink and cake pops then enjoyed seeing some Christmas lights around town:

One of our favorites!

Belle (our Elf on the Shelf) left the kids a gingerbread brownie kit that they enjoyed making:

 

The local police department escorted Santa through each neighborhood this year since their parade was cancelled due to COVID. I didn't get a picture of our quick visit but loved that the stars showed up in this picture of the boys star gazing while we waited!

Whiskers has enjoyed each time the wrapping paper has come out!

My new school decorates Christmas trees in the entrance area each year and it's absolutely beautiful! Each grade level has a tree and the students help make the ornaments. 

Can you spy our camping themed tree?

It's beautiful to walk in on mornings when it's still dark outside and the lights glow!

We got together with family to celebrate Hannah and Chris' birthdays. We were blessed with 60 degree temps so we enjoyed the park again!

Nana sugared them up with candy trains!

We've had a snow day already in December (and a delay the next day). There wasn't much snow...but more ice. The boys enjoyed playing in it though!

We're soooooooo sad to learn that Canton's family is moving to Vegas in May! These boys are literally inseparable and play together for hours daily without arguing. We'll definitely soak up the next few months!

It wouldn't be Christmas without decorating sugar cookies!

The kids enjoyed a sleepover at Nana and Grandpa's and decorated gingerbread houses while Hunter and Hannah were over. They were a slippery mess but the kids had a good time!

It's a "hands on" project for Nana:

This is the Christmas letter that Owen wrote from Oct 5th (insert large eye emoji!!!!)

Thankfully he pared it down for the letter we turned in to the library:

We ended up going to IllumiNights the day after Christmas but it was still part of our Christmas fun:

The did a great job of rearranging and adding lights since last year!

So many lights!