Christmas Day

Santa came!  The kids woke up antsy to get downstairs, but they did well waiting for us first.

Some of the big gifts they received this year were Apple watches (from us), motorized scooters, a practice net for baseball/softball, a basketball return, basketballs, AJR and Jordan/Lakers gear, and lots of games.

One of the silly gifts they got was just the marshmallows from cereal!

Colin was excited about his new glasses and sweatbands.

Finger boards!

She was happy to receive Pictionary Air!

Stocking Stuffers!

We gave Cadence tickets to AJR's virtual concert

All decked out!  They're so cute!

Grandma and Poppa got them a bunch of gear from Big Walnut Apparel!

After we opened gifts, Mom & Dad and Mike & Gina came over for brunch.  We enjoyed delicious breakfast bake with cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit...and washed it down with mimosas!

Since it was a white Christmas, scooter riding was reserved for Grandma & Poppa's basement!  They had so much fun!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we spent the day at our house, but we went over to Mom & Dad's house for dinner.  We had seafood for dinner and then decorated gingerbread houses.

The kids did a nice job decorating!

All ready for Santa to come!  The kids picked out the cookies and added a candy cane to the milk.

 

Fun Stuff Leading Up to Christmas

We had some random fun before Christmas - scroll on down to check it out!

With everything in the house moved around to allow room for Christmas decorations, we had enough space to set up a card table in the office for some puzzles.  We did a couple 500 piece puzzles.  Colin did most of this doughnut puzzle that he got from an exchange with his buddy from school.  It was fun!

Cadence and Colin worked together to finish this camping puzzle in less than a day!  It was really cute.

One day after school, Cadence heard meowing in the front yard as she walked down the driveway.  She checked out the bushes near the house & found a gray kitten hiding under one of the bushes.  Danny helped her get the kitten out.  The kids played with it all afternoon (in the yard or the garage so Scarlet wouldn't freak out) and I put a post on Facebook and the Nextdoor app hoping to find a hope for this poor kitten.  If we couldn't find a home, we were going to bring it to the Delaware County Humane Society the next day.  That night, I had an old friend from high school send me a private message through Facebook letting me know that she was interested.  The catch was that she had to travel to Cleveland the next day so we'd have to keep it safe/warm for another entire day!  It got tricky by the end of the second day because the poor thing had gotten stronger since we had fed it tuna and given it water.  It kept escaping out of the box!

Luckily we can see updates on Facebook and Instagram on the kitten - the family ended up naming him Blueberry (the vet confirmed it's a boy).  Blueberry and the family seem super happy.  I'm glad it all worked out and he was placed with a loving home!

Colin brought home this gem from school one day.  His class has been learning about maps and directions.  I ended up framing it for Danny to keep in his office!  It's brilliant!

The house looked so pretty with the Christmas lights and a fresh coat of snow.

We knew that the fire department and Santa were going to make their rounds on Sunday, December 20th, so we were keeping an eye out based on the proposed schedule.  That afternoon, I received a text from our summer nanny, Brooklyn, asking if we were planning on seeing Santa - she was riding with him!  Their family friend works for the fire department and asked if she'd ride along to update the Facebook page so kids knew where Santa was.  Danny and Cadence had to chase them down before her softball practice; they weren't going to make it to our house in time.  Danny didn't tell Cadence where they were going - she was so confused, but then so surprised!  Danny said Cadence got tears in her eyes because she was so happy to see Brooklyn!

Colin wasn't too interested in seeing the "fake Santa" as he called him.  But he was happy to see Brooklyn too!  The kids hadn't seen her since August.

The kids had December 23rd off from school, but I had to work, so the kids baked and decorated gingerbread cookies with Dad (Mom had to work too)!  Mom and Dad said they did great and they were well-behaved.  I'm sure my dad had just as much fun as the kids!

2020 Dizzert Adventures

Before every Christmas season, I dread the arrival of Dizzert, our elf.  It's one more thing to have to remember each night during an already busy and stressful season.  I put my feelings aside, though, because I know how much fun it is for the kids.  Cadence gets a kick out of helping me out and Colin has fun looking for him in the mornings.  Cadence has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion because she'll remind me to move him!  Check out some of the things Dizzert got into this holiday season...

He arrived on December 1st equipped with a tiny mask and hand sanitizer - fitting for 2020, right?

He let us know that Santa was COVID free...

Yep, he's a smart-ass

And apparently, he can bake!

He was able to climb the tree before we got any Christmas cards

He caught a ride on the apple creature

Gave the kids a fun science experiment (that Colin had already apparently done at Y-Club...who knew?)

He likes Pringles as much as the kids do

Silly elf!

Until next year, Dizzert!

The Cow Whisperer

One of my favorite things to do as a family (or maybe sometimes with just one of the kids), is taking a walk down the street.  Usually the walk ends at the bottom of the hill, past the creek, at the stop sign.  On our walk, sometimes we see squirrels, birds, geese, ducks, deer, etc.  Occasionally we see wild turkeys and even a pair of bald eagles!  There's a field (I forget how many acres) on our walk that Hondros (think Hondros College of Nursing) owns.  Sometimes the cattle are up near the fence; we were told if they're up there, it's the females and the calves.  The kids love getting up close and personal; sometimes the cattle are as curious as we are and come right up to us.  Here are a few snaps of one of those moments.  Colin was a little leery of getting too close, but Cadence even got to touch one on the nose!

It's for reasons like these, that I'm leaning more and more toward the saying, "animals are friends, not food!"

Cadence's 2020 Christmas Recital

The first weekend in December, Cadence had her Christmas recital.  She played, "The First Noel" and rocked it!  I know she loves getting up on stage in front of everyone (even though she gets pretty nervous) and we love watching her!  

 

Snow Day 2020

Boy, did the kids get lucky this year?!  They had the Monday after Thanksgiving off from school, and what do ya know...it snowed that day & all that night!  School started as a 2-hour delay on Tuesday and ended up getting cancelled.  I still had some time off to use, so I stayed home with the happy kiddos.

We found some snow pants/bibs at Target for the kids on Monday, but the fittings rooms were closed because, ya know, COVID.  When we got home, we ended up keeping Cadence's pair, but for Colin.  They ran a little small.  Colin got out there on Monday to check out the snow.  Cadence wasn't far behind, just without snow pants!

So pretty, right?!

On Tuesday, we ordered snow pants & picked them up at the Target near my office (yes, it was a long trip for snow pants, but they were hard to come by) so we could go sledding at the high school!  

We had a lot of fun sledding and grabbed some doughnuts on the way home.

We wrapped up the day with DIY snowflake window clings.  Someone posted the idea on Facebook.  I think they turned out really cute!

I had to take a picture of my very first sourdough bread loaf.  I was proud of myself!  I had gotten some starter from a friend at work!

Danny had to travel to Philly that day - it was the first out-of-town trip for him since COVID hit.  It was odd not having him around!  Here's the pic the kids sent to him that night before bed...deuces...love!