Dec Recap - Break

Although it was weird to work right up to the holiday, it meant that most of our two week break was after the holiday rush. It felt really relaxing.  We played many, many games.  We took walks and played outside (Rylee got really good on her roller skates over the two weeks as did Jace on his bike). We spent time with Daddy who had the week off.  We spent time with Gaga and Papa.  And we went on a couple of fun excursions.

Oh, I forgot to mention my Christmas gift.  I upgraded my 2003 Ford Explorer for a 2017 Chevy Traverse.  What a difference a decade and some change makes on a vehicle.  I feel so high tech!

Anyhoo, our first excursion was to the Miami SeaAquarium.  With Jace's current obsession with Octonauts and anything and everything ocean-related, we thought he would enjoy it.  It's closer and a much shorter day that Sea World.  Jace doesn't quite have the stamina for that yet.

Watching movies in the car...

Selfie at the park...

We watched all the shows (sea lions, dolphins and orca), 

went through all the exhibits, and had a really nice day.

Our favorite was just watching the dolphins swim around.  They are beautiful!

Another excursion was to see Rogue One (the new Star Wars movie).  It cost more in concessions than for our movie tickets, but it's rare for us to go to the movie theater (especially the four of us) so we splurged.  It was a nice time even if it was "the most depressing movie ever" as declared by Rylee. We all agreed, even though the movie was good at the same time.  I, of course,  teared up at the sight of Carrie Fisher (Princess Leah) who had passed only days earlier.

We spent New Year's Eve with my parents.  Jon made crab cakes and skirt steak and we all played games.  My parents and the kids rang in the New Years early, but Jon and I stayed awake for the ball drop. Sort of.  Technically, Jon fell asleep, but someone in the neighborhood lit off some fireworks about 30 seconds early so Jon woke up right in time for the ball drop.  Lol!

All in all, it was a great month and a great year except for one heartbreaking loss in December: my Mom's dog, Angel, passed.  She was a sweet and lovable dog that will be greatly missed.  

We love you and miss you, Angel!

Dec Recap - Christmas Day

"Santa Claus has been here!  Santa Claus has been here!"  We told the kids they had to wait until after 6:30 am to open presents so they woke us up at 6:38!  Much better than the Christmas debacle of a few years ago when we were up at like 4 am!

Santa brought Rylee the Hatchimal she asked for, 

plus books, a craft and several cool things for her AG doll.

For Jace, it was a "Gup"-tastic suprise: 

 six new Gup vehicles from Octonauts!

The Tooth Fairy also left new toothbrushes and toothpaste!

Hatching the egg took the better part of Christmas morning.  

Luckily, Gaga brought her homemade caramel rolls so we didn't starve.  :)

The kids had fun playing with their new toys all afternoon.

Rylee and Lea dressed up in their surf gear...

and watched "Gidget" with Gaga.

We ended the day with Sandy's famous lasagna which Jon made for the first time ever.  I guess I've always made it in the past.  It was delish!

Then we played the new board games, Tenzi, and watched The Polar Express.  Or maybe that was Christmas Eve?!  Either way, good times.  :)

Dec Recap - Christmas Eve

We spent a lovely and relaxing Christmas Eve with my parents.  We nibbled on appetizers through out day, let the kids open a few presents here and there, and watched the Vikings game.  

It was an Octonauts themed Christmas for Jace.  He got this game...

and book from the cousins... 

He got a couple of rooms for his Octopod from Gaga and Papa...

...plus this remote controlled Gup K (just to name a few)!

For Rylee, it was crafts and American Girl.  She got watercolor pencils...

...and a cute puppy and dog bed for her AG doll from the cousins.

The hit of the night was a new American Girl doll from Gaga and Papa.  

Her name is Lea.  She was the doll of the year for 2016.

The ever talented Gaga sewed several cool outfits and accessories for both of Rylee's dolls including two miniature mermaid tail blankets (like the one Lea is wearing below).  So cute!

Gaga also found a hand-tooled leather holster for Rylee (similar to the one she had as a kid and like my Grandpa DuWayne used to do - he made belts, bags, saddles, even a portrait!).  The best part: it has an "R" on it!  

Of course, the kids got ready for Santa Claus that night before bed.  They did strawberries with chocolate for Santa, a drawing for Mrs. Claus, and carrots for the reindeer.  They were excited for Santa's arrival, but sad about saying goodbye to their elf, Jeffrey Jingle.  Until next year, Jeffrey!

Dec Recap 3

Jace also had a snow day at his school.  Jon took an early lunch to watch him play for a while.

King of the hill!

Rylee raised over $100 for Jump Rope for Heart (thank you to those of you that donated!).  I was able to watch her since all of 2nd grade was out at the same time.  She jump roped and hula hooped.  I got lots of video, but no photos.  She did great at both.  She's naturally athletic!

That same day, I actually got to teach her in my class.  We did a Holidays Around the World rotation in 2nd grade this year so I taught about Sweden to all the classes which meant one of the rotations had Rylee in it.  It was fun to have her for an hour.  (She's in red below).

Both Rylee and Jace had winter parties.  Jace's was Polar Express so they wore their holiday pjs to school, watched the movie, had hot chocolate and receive a ticket and believe bell.  Rylee's was Frozen themed.  They watched the movie and made snowman cupcakes.

We went to school through Dec 23 this year. so the next post will be Christmas Eve!

Dec Recap 2

We also had Sunglasses Day...

Rylee and I went to the Nutcracker Ballet with her old Girl Scout troop.  

It was great, but ended up being a really late night.  They started the show almost 20 mins late and then we had a little excitement when we had to evacuate the theater due to a fire in a popcorn machine.  That delayed us even more.  Rylee fell asleep in the car on the way home (around 11 pm!).

Jace also had International Day at his school.  This year his class was representing the United States (hence the flag costume).  They did the Pledge of Allegiance and sang a song about the flag.  Papa attended to represent the family since Jon and I were at work.

Here's Jace with his "girlfriend" Zoee.  They will luckily be at the same school next year (though probably not the same class).  I'm not sure how he will survive!

Rylee and I also got to see the Broadway Musical Cinderella!  It was amazing!  Rylee loves musicals.  Bonus: we ran into her friends Kenzie and Mikaela there too and hung out with them during intermission.  

Dec Recap 1

Both Rylee and Jace had lots of fun events in December.  First, there was Career Day for Rylee.  She went as a gymnastics coach this year...

with her friend, Josephine, as the gymnast.  

Josephine also came to our house for a playdate and then we went down to Hollywood Beach (near where she lives) for the Candy Cane parade.  It was awesome!  A night parade full of twinkling lights with the ocean breeze and flying candy canes.  You can see their candy cane loot below.

The next day was ice skating for Erin's birthday.  

Rylee practiced skating without the helper.  She did pretty good!

Jace even made some progress by the end.

The kids also got a "sleigh ride" on the ice.

Celebrating at home with hot chocolate.  Yum!

Nov Recap 2

More miscellaneous November fun...

Jon took a walk with Rio and the Village People:

We also went up to visit the Froyds for some fun that night.  

The kids played flashlight tag for the first time and loved it!

We do not have a heated pool, but the kids decided to swim anyway 

(in their hand-me-down wetsuits!).  Brrr!

We had a great Thanksgiving with my parents, the Froyds, and the Edwards at our house.  The kids played, the adults watched the Vikings, then we all ate a delicious meal.  Sadly, I was so busy enjoying myself that I don't think I took a single picture.  Oops!

Over the long weekend, we set up the tree.  We got two great gifts too!

A bonus shot of Rylee.  :)

Gaga and Papa and I took the kids bowling one day too.  Rylee's getting pretty good!

She helps Jace with his ramp so this was when 

they were celebrating a good roll on his part!

November also saw the arrival of our first Elf on the Shelf: Jeffrey Jingles!  Jeffrey had been an Elf in Training with Rylee's good friend, Josephine, last year so we were very excited he found a permanent home with us.  :)

I'm sure there was more, but this is what I could remember based on the pics from my phone.  Lol!

Nov Recap 1

Jace and I attended a Star Wars birthday party.  He was picked to be the magician's assistant in one trick so he got this wizard hat as a souvenir.

He also got a light saber, the balloon animal above (that popped on the grass when we got home - oh, the tears!), and this light saber hand paint (that later washed off - thankfully, no tears).

Rylee and I got to attend another field trip together.  Sorry, I'm really inept at selfies.  This one was to Butterfly World.  We didn't get to see each other much during the day, but we sat together on the bus.

Rylee had her first big model making project.  She chose the American Symbol of Mount Rushmore.  Jon and Gaga assisted in getting her the materials and figuring out how to make the structure, but she did most of the work herself.  In order to help her memorize the name Gutzon Borglum, Gaga had her dramatically pretending to be in love with him (and sighing his name with a hand on her head) for days!  lol

I took Rylee and Gaga to an "I Love Lucy" tribute special.  It was a little interactive so Rylee got to raise her hand and talk about the sound the bongos make and got up danced in a conga line right next to Ricky Ricardo.

The actors loved seeing her and talking to her again after the show.  :)