Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve

We celebrated with all the kids and grandkids on Wednesday. I played for the 4:00 service, hurried home and got dinner on the table by 6:00, and then, PRESENTS! It was very hard for the little ones to wait, but they did well.

Corey, as usual, played Santa, with a little help from his friends. We always go in order from youngest to oldest, which means I'm last.

Oh well :-(

Phebe loved opening and she also had fun helping Corey read the words on the gift tags - good job!

Maddox really understood presents this year, and had a blast ripping into everything. He was not, however, impressed with gifts of clothes.

It was fun helping others open, too!

Maddox's comment: "Ooooooh - that's a BIG one, Jenna!"

"It's a mirror - I see me!"

Maddox and Phebe got a new sled to keep at our house. They wanted to try it out right away, but it was a bit too dark, and very cold, so they practiced inside sledding instead.

After presents, we had our traditional dessert - java chunk ice cream pie! Then Heidi headed off to work the night shift at the hospital and I got ready for the 10:30 service at church. Jenna, Andy, and Phebe joined me, while Chuck and Kyle relaxed and started to clean up the mess. I finished when I got home, and finally went to bed at about 1:00, almost ready for the next day.

Christmas Day

On Thursday, my whole family (minus Tom, Kim, and kids - we missed you) joined us for appetizers, presents again for the kids, and a ham dinner.

Chuck decided Maddox needed to try some pickled herring (see it on the tooth pick?). He was a really good sport about it, and popped it into his mouth.

Hmmmmm.....he thought about it for about a minute, and then out it came.

Must be an acquired taste.

There it is, on top of his folded hands. "That was yucky, Grandpa!"

My nephew's son, Matthew, joined the kids. He and Maddox are about 3 weeks apart in age, and they're like little bookends. Last year, they ignored each other, but this year they had lots of fun playing. Aren't they the cutest?

It's hard to get them all to look the same direction at the same time when there are multiple cameras snapping pictures and multiple photogrtaphers telling them to say "cheese."

We just did presents for the kids this year, which worked great. We "oldies" don't need more stuff, anyways!

Phebe got a guessing game, and Jenna and Joyce had as much fun playing it as she did. Phebe was great at giving clues.

Let's see - who am I?

Joyce is the best toy. She and Phebe played "rides" for awhile, until Joyce got too tired!

Of course, I had to take the yearly picture of Jenna and Andy under the Christmas tree. Jenna hasn't been home on Christmas Day for the last few years, so she really enjoyed being with the whole family.

After Ted and Pat left for the trek to Illinois to visit Tom and Kim, and Corey took Maddox home for a nap, Phebe finally got to go out and play in the snow and try out the new sled. I opened my kitchen window to take thses pictures on zoom, so they're a bit fuzzy.

They even built a snow fort back by the trees.

What a beautiful day - perfect weather, great food, and best of all, time shared with family!

After everyone left, I cleaned up most of the mess (again) and finally got a chance to relax. Zzzzzzz! Thanks everyone!

Funny Phebe /Grandpa Story

On Tuesday, I had to go to the Cities in the afternoon, so Chuck was on "Phebe duty." He picked her up from Cannon Kids (after school care) around 4:30 and they headed home. I called at about 5:00, and I could hear her in the background asking for graham crackers and other stuff. She was bound and determined to make a gingerbread house, and when Phebe is determined to do something, get out of the way! For the last few weeks, she has been watching my class collecting materials for a gingerbread house project, and my plan was to have her make one on Thursday with our leftover supplies. Now, Chuck didn't have a clue about any of this, and he certainly had no idea about the process, but, good sport that he is, he got out graham crackers, old Halloween candy, pretzels, cheetos, and some Cool Whip to hold everything together. Well, they found out quickly that the Cool Whip wouldn't work at all, so he thought of peanut butter, and Phebe set to work. Here's what I found when I got home!

Very creative, don't you think??

It was still holding together the next day, when Phebe posed for a picture, and then she dug in for a great afterschool snack!

My class made theirs on Thursday, and so when we got home after school, Phebe gave it another try with the right materials, and Grandma's help. Here's what Chuck found when he got home!

Hmmmmm...

I think Chuck deserves an award for his efforts (and his patience)!

To see more samples and get directions, check out my First Grade Fun blog - the project was so much fun, and the kids did a great job!

Happy Birthday, Chuck - Part 2

Finally, a picture of Chuck with his two little grandkids - aren't they cute? This one is getting printed and framed for his desk at his office!

All the kids came down for dinner on Sunday, and after cake and ice cream, we headed to church for Phebe's first Christmas Program.

She was so excited! Here she and her friend are showing off their pretty dresses before the program.

Phebe sang so well! She knew all the words, and didn't miss a beat! We were all so proud of her!

Maddox felt a little left out and had to get into the act after the program was over. He ran up to the front, stood in front of the huge Christmas tree, and said "cheese."

Another birthday over, and time to move on to Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Chuck!

Chuck's birthday is Sunday, and we have a tradition with our good friends, Sandy and Ray, of cooking dinner for each other to celebrate our "special" days. Sandy's meals are always fantastic, while mine are a bit more casual, but, oh well.... Anyway, we went to their house on Friday night for a wonderful dinner!

It definitely makes birthdays a little less painful when you celebrate them with good friends and good food!
The cake this year was a sinfully rich creation from Coldstone - WOW!!
If you look real carefully, you can see his present hiding behind the cake. Hmmmm.... a little Jack Daniels?

I have a hard act to follow for Sandy's birthday in January! We're heading to Minneapolis tonight for dinner and a play, and then all the kids are going to be home tomorrow for a chicken-vegetable lasagna dinner before Phebe's Christmas Program at church.
More pictures to come!

Snow Day!

We had a SNOW DAY today, what every child (and teacher)

dreams of all winter!

The snow was soft and fluffy, the temperature crisp, and the wind finally died down this afternoon, so Phebe was able to go outside and enjoy the white stuff!

Could this be our little Florida girl?

She quickly learned the art of making snow angels.

The gentle hill in our back yard is perfect for sliding, and she figured out how to operate this contraption with no problem. I'll just stick to skiing myself!

Bring on the SNOW!!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was at our house this year, and since I was busy cooking and cleaning up all day, I only got a few random shots of the kids towards the end of the event. It was great to have family and friends here to celebrate, but we really missed all of you who couldn't come! It was particularly fun, though, to have Maddox and Phebe here to entertain the crowd. They really have a good time playing together!

Maddox really liked all of Phebe's "Holly Pockets," as he calls them.

He had so much fun with this car. He kept taking the door off and giving it to me, saying, "Fix it, Grandma."

Phebe is really into coloring right now, and she started making pictures for everyone at the party.

She also decided Kyle's leg was her horse - "Giddy-up, Daddy!"

We ended the night with hot chocolate - Maddox looks like he might fall asleep in his!

Thanks, everyone, for bringing all the yummy food, and especially for your company. We are so thankful for our wonderful family!

Happy Birthday, Phebe!

Phebe celebrated her 6th birthday on November 14th! The festivities actually started about 3 weeks ago when she partied with Maddox and Rowan, but this weekend she was the star attraction! Several boxes arrived during the week from Florida, so she got to open them on Thursday night.

It was almost like Christmas!
"Look! I'm 6!"

Thank you to all the Florida relatives for the great gifts!

On Friday, Kyle surprised Phebe by showing up at school and eating lunch with the birthday girl. Looks like he has a clean plate! It's been a while since he enjoyed a good old-fashioned school lunch.

After school, several of Phebe's friends came home with us for her "kids party." While we waited for the last guest to arrive, the girls played in her room.

The marker board (gift from Corey and Heidi) was a big hit.

Here's the whole group, posing on the "bleachers" and ready to cheer on the contestants in the pin-the-feathers-on-the-turkey game.

The kids had to yell "Boo" and "Yeah" to help get the feathers in the right spot.

The finished product - not bad, huh? I'm not so sure about the one covering his face....

Next it was "drop the turkey stick in the jar." Each girl got to drop 12 sticks.

The best score was 8 - good job!

After several more games, an art project, and opening presents, it was time for supper, and finally....the cupcakes! Each girl got one candle, and Phebe got 6 (there's actually a cupcake hiding behind that paper cup - bad photography!).

One blow and they were out! The kids had a little time to play after supper, and then, after the guests left, Phebe joined her aunts, uncles, and cousin Maddox at Chuck E. Cheese's for some games (I had a wedding rehearsal to go to - nothing like squeezing a million things into one day). I caught up with them all at Buffalo Wild Wings for more dinner after the rehearsal. Chuck missed all the excitement since those crazy deer up north are still calling his name, and he couldn't miss a weekend of deer hunting.

Whew - what a day! Phebe was exhausted, and although she fell asleep in the car on the way home, she woke up as soon as I drove into the garage and wanted to play with all her new "stuff." Sorry, kiddo. Grandma's tired!

So, happy 6th birthday, Phebe! We're all so glad that you are here and we could share this special day with you!

Fall's Last Hurrah

The first weekend in November was in the 70's, and then last weekend it was snowing! We took advantage of the warm weather for a Sunday afternoon drive to Pepin, Wisconsin. My plan for the day was to wash windows, clean gutters, and work on report cards, but Chuck and Phebe had other ideas. They won, s0 we went to an apple orchard, hiked around the breakwater at Pepin, and stopped for a picnic on our way home. Guess who was still doing report cards at 11:00 at night? Oh well....

By the time we got our charcoal going and some hot dogs roasted, the sun was setting over Lake Pepin. We totally forgot that daylight savings time ended the night before, so it started getting dark really early. It was beautiful!


I don't think we've ever gone on a picnic in November!

Phebe ended up roasting her marshmallows in the dark!

That didn't stop her from enjoying a gooey treat - she loves smores, and usually ends up with marshmallow all over her face and hands (I was prepared with a wet washcloth)!

What a great way to spend a warm fall afternoon. However, it is now snowing, and our gutters are full of leaves! Hopefully, we'll get one more nice day before winter settles in for good.