christmas times

We celebrated Christmas with the Thronson family on Saturday, December 21st. It was chilly with weather in the single digits, but that didn't stop the kids from spending a few hours outside in the afternoon. The guys worked really hard at clearing off the pond, so the cousins loved going ice skating. Olivia learned some hockey skills from her cousins. After skating, the kids hit the driveway hill and went sledding. Finally, they wrapped up their outdoor activities by riding in a big sled behind the snowmobile driven by Uncle Jeff. Once inside, the kids played games and hung out together before getting ready for our official celebration. In the evening, everyone got dressed up. We took a fun but chaotic cousins photo (all of them were wound up), then Maya & Emma read the Christmas story. We had a delicious meal of prime rib and plenty of fixings. After the meal was our family talent show. Performances included Olivia doing a card trick, Violet dancing with William and Evan, Maya and Emma playing piano, William and Noelle making funny faces, Granny telling jokes, and Grandpa & Uncle Aaron singing a Christmas song. The kids finished the show by singing "Jingle Bells." It was a lot of fun to watch! Then we opened presents, which all of the kids were excited for. We tried to get them to open gifts one at a time which lasted a few rounds, then we let them go at their own speed. Violet was excited by her bow and arrow from Granny & Grandpa and her Barbie ornament from Terri & Aaron, and Olivia was excited by her Barbie cash register from Granny & Grandpa. We all stayed overnight at the farm, and spent most of the next day together. It was a very fun time spent with the family we love!

Skating

Sledding

Being pulled behind the snowmobile

Playing Uno with Granny

Olivia & Violet, all dressed up

Cousins…the only picture where you can see everyone's faces :)

Talent show finale: "Jingle Bells"

We celebrated with the Suchy Family on Monday, December 23rd. We had a fun and relaxing day! The girls were pretty excited to have a Christmas cookie after breakfast, what a special treat for a special day. Santa even made an early visit and dropped off some presents. He didn't come in the house, but left some special gifts outside the living room window! The girls were very excited and couldn't believe their eyes! The girls enjoyed opening presents again, and were very lucky (again) to receive many nice gifts. Olivia's favorite was a house for her Calico Critters which she got from Auntie Jill, and they both liked the Legos they received from Grandma & Grandpa Suchy. We had a nice meal in the evening, then hung out together and played games. The girls both put together the Lego sets they had received because they just couldn't wait! It was a fun and enjoyable day with family.

Cookies for breakfast? Only on Christmas!

Cousins!

Early visit from Santa

We headed home on Christmas Eve for our own family celebration. We went to church in the evening, then set the table all fancy for our meal of fettuccine alfredo. We piled the dishes on the counter and decided to leave them for another time so we could exchange gifts. Olivia and Violet were both super animated while opening gifts, they would yell "I love it!" after opening each gift, even before they knew for sure what it was! They also enjoyed watching Daddy open the gifts they bought with their own money (Skittles from Olivia, and Pop Rocks from Violet). The first gifts they wanted to play with were a horse and stable, and dolls, from one of their current favorite movies "Barbie: A Pony Tale." They also loved the new pajamas we gave them, which they changed into right away, even though they already had pajamas on! After gifts, we watched "Charlie Brown Christmas," then left milk and cookies for Santa. The girls said they were going to stay up all night and wait for him!

Getting ready to open gifts

Leaving cookies for Santa

On Christmas Day morning, the girls woke up to full stockings and a gift from Santa. They were thrilled that they both received the gift they asked for - a bracelet maker for Violet, and Calico Critters for Olivia. Then we had a good breakfast, and at 10:00 am, received a phone call from Mickey and Minnie Mouse, telling the girls we are going on a Disney cruise in March. After getting over being nervous about rain sinking the boat, and sharks attacking the boat, the girls were quite excited. :) Olivia asked how many days we would be on the cruise, and I told her four. She ran upstairs, and when she didn't come back after awhile, I went to check on her. She had stacked a pile of four pairs of leggings, four long sleeve shirts, and four pairs of socks in the middle of her bedroom floor. She had also packed a backpack of stuff for the plane. Apparently she wanted to get her packing done in plenty of time! I am very excited for the trip, it should be a blast.

Later on Christmas Day, we we went ice fishing on a small lake near our house. We caught a lot of nice crappies! It was a fun day, and a great way to wrap up our Christmas together.

We are blessed in so many ways…I hope that Olivia and Violet continue to appreciate all that we have. It was fun to experience Christmas through their eyes! I feel very fortunate to share my life with a husband and daughters that I love so much!

Violet with her bracelet maker

Olivia with her Calico Critters