The kids got out of school on Friday, December 19th - both having their Winter parties. Fun was had by all kids involved. I'm the Room Mom for Brandon's class this year - and as a craft, we all made winter scarves. I purchased fleece material and cut it into strips. I had 4 different patterns to choose from - 2 for the girls, and 2 for the boys. 
We had to establish the "You get what you get & you don't throw a fit" rule since I called out names randomly! Once the kids got their strip of fabric, they cut "tassles' on the ends, making it into a scarf. They all had a blast! And, Brandon's class was having "Polar Express Day", meaning they could wear their pj's to school, watch the movie & drink hot chocolate. Man, could his day have been any better?! ;o)
We had to establish the "You get what you get & you don't throw a fit" rule since I called out names randomly! Once the kids got their strip of fabric, they cut "tassles' on the ends, making it into a scarf. They all had a blast! And, Brandon's class was having "Polar Express Day", meaning they could wear their pj's to school, watch the movie & drink hot chocolate. Man, could his day have been any better?! ;o) 
I was able to pop down to Ryan's class for a few minutes. I wasn't able to get any good pictures because they were all watching a movie. Bummer!2 whole weeks to do NOTHING!! Well, the nothing part only lasts about a day, and then the kids are B-O-R-E-D. What to do?!
My friend Gwen, her daughter Eliot & the boys & I decided to take a ROADTRIP up to Chicago and take the kids to the Museum of Science & Industry. Could we have picked a colder time to do it? I don't think so. We left on Sunday afternoon, and the weather was moving in. We had lots of wind - it was all I could do to keep the 4-wheel drive sleigh ON the road! Thanks to Gwen, she kept me calm, and we talked & talked & talked... the kids were completely oblivious! On the way up there, the temperature on my Suburban's thermometer was reading -3 degrees F. Can you say BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR??!!! At that point, we were starting to wonder if we had made the right decision. Regardless, we kept driving. We spent the night at Gwen's parents' house in Highland, IN (they were out of town). The kids had fun just hanging out. We got up & decided to brave the weather (the wind had died down, by the way!), and take the South Shore train into the city. 
My boys loved this, but it was nothing new to Eliot as she had done it before. I have to admit, it was so much easier to do that than to drive into the city, worry about parking, etc... As luck would have it, there was a train stop about 2 blocks from the museum. Did I mention that it was still -3 degrees outside? We braved the cold and made it... somewhat frozen, but excited to see everything!!
The R2D2 mailbox - outside the entrance to the Museum.My boys loved this, but it was nothing new to Eliot as she had done it before. I have to admit, it was so much easier to do that than to drive into the city, worry about parking, etc... As luck would have it, there was a train stop about 2 blocks from the museum. Did I mention that it was still -3 degrees outside? We braved the cold and made it... somewhat frozen, but excited to see everything!!The museum was all decked out for Christmas, and had trees decorated for all the countries of the world. It was really interesting to see how trees look in different countries.
I have to say, the kids were ALL troopers. We all wanted to see the Coal Mine, but each time we went, the line was too long & we knew that the kids wouldn't make it!! ;o) We wandered around & enjoyed the museum all day. We even took in a movie at the Imax theater there, seeing "Wild Ocean". Unfortunately, the visual effects were too good... all 3 kids got somewhat motion-sick. I can't say that I was feeling stellar afterwards either. So, we sat & had a snack... all was better. Around 4pm, we decided to call it a day, so we caught the train back to Highland, packed up our stuff, and headed home. It was a big & full day, but SO much fun! The boys want to go back, and I'm so glad. The Museum of Science & Industry has always been one of my favorites, and I want to take them to the Shedd Aquarium as well in Chicago. However, the boys & I decided that we'll wait until it's a little warmer up there before we go back... ;o)
I have to say, the kids were ALL troopers. We all wanted to see the Coal Mine, but each time we went, the line was too long & we knew that the kids wouldn't make it!! ;o) We wandered around & enjoyed the museum all day. We even took in a movie at the Imax theater there, seeing "Wild Ocean". Unfortunately, the visual effects were too good... all 3 kids got somewhat motion-sick. I can't say that I was feeling stellar afterwards either. So, we sat & had a snack... all was better. Around 4pm, we decided to call it a day, so we caught the train back to Highland, packed up our stuff, and headed home. It was a big & full day, but SO much fun! The boys want to go back, and I'm so glad. The Museum of Science & Industry has always been one of my favorites, and I want to take them to the Shedd Aquarium as well in Chicago. However, the boys & I decided that we'll wait until it's a little warmer up there before we go back... ;o)A couple of days ago, we decided to have a family night out. We went to Pizza Hut & ate ourselves silly at the buffet... why do they make their pizza so addictive? And the cinnamon/sugar pizza?! Mmmmm. Oh, sorry... food is always a distraction to me! After dinner, we took the kids bowling. We had a lot of fun!! 
We've decided that Brandon definitely has his own skills... He essentially drops the ball at the start of the lane, and prays that it makes it to the end - but somehow, it always does... and I think the pins feel sorry for the slow ball & they all FALL OVER.
Brandon had 3 spares during the course of his game! By some unknown twist of fate, I ended up winning. 
Let me just preface this with the fact that I have never won a game of bowling in my life, so either everyone else really stunk it up that night, or I've miraculously improved. Who knows!
We've decided that Brandon definitely has his own skills... He essentially drops the ball at the start of the lane, and prays that it makes it to the end - but somehow, it always does... and I think the pins feel sorry for the slow ball & they all FALL OVER. Brandon had 3 spares during the course of his game! By some unknown twist of fate, I ended up winning. Let me just preface this with the fact that I have never won a game of bowling in my life, so either everyone else really stunk it up that night, or I've miraculously improved. Who knows!What's next for family fun? We're having some friends over for New Year's Eve, and we're looking forward to that. Lots of fun to be had! We are also planning to take the kids to see "Bedtime Stories", and we will also head over to Ohio on Friday to visit with Mike's oldest & next-oldest brothers & their families.
The kids start back to school on Jan. 5th. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I'll miss them being around with me. On the other hand, I'll have my "quiet time" back, and be able to run errands sans kids... it's a toss-up.
Happy New Year everyone!!
We sat with them. How special it is to have family that attends the same church -- so great in fact, that when we joined, they were in our new members class! The kids all enjoyed seeing each other, 
and it's always good to be with family. We were actually able to get our first family picture together (thank you Ashley & Jared for snapping the shots!) in front of one of the trees at church. 
After attending church, we were on our way to my Aunt Alice's house. She hosts an annual Christmas Eve dinner; the food is always wonderful, as is the company. However, we had to make our annual stop at Reynolds Farm Equipment in Fishers, IN on the way to her house. 
Okay, back to Aunt Alice's... in attendance were my Uncle Joe, Aunt Teresa; cousin Libby, her husband Larry, and their 2 kids - Hannah & Jacob; My Aunt Alice, her daughter Ellen; my sister Mary, her husband Brent & their daughter Katie; and Mike & the boys & myself were all there. We didn't get home until almost 10pm, and the boys HAD to open one gift...it was KILLING them that they'd have to wait until morning to open everything!! Luckily, Grandma & Grandpa Hoke had sent their gifts early! Ryan opened a Red Ryder BB gun ("You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" -- one of our favorite lines from the movie "A Christmas Story"!), 
while Brandon opened a Nerf basketball hoop set! Off to bed they went, and they crashed HARD!! Mike & I finished wrapping up more gifts, and off to bed we went... wait, did we sleep? It certainly didn't feel like it! We had told the kids they couldn't come into our room any earlier than 7:30 a.m., and it was exactly 7:30 a.m. when they peeled open our eyelids! Aaah, the joys of being young.
Pat's "White Elephant" gift - it was very Grizwold-esque. He made his own wrapping paper - the infamous scene where "cousin Eddie" is emptying his RV's waste saying "Merry Christmas...the shitter was full". He even went as far as to glue cat food onto the wrapping paper (hence, my cat trying to eat it), and made it complete with a bow made of duct tape. He REALLY got into the gift exchange! By far, his was the most fun! 
Above... Katie 
Caroline's new shoes...Elizabeth is jealous...
Dad opening his new Nintendo DS...
Mom opening her new digital camera...