After Christmas Trip North 2015

We had a lovely time, as always, spending time with our families in the Millinocket area.  The day we arrived we were playing outside in light coats and then, for the next day or two, we got several inches of snow!  We opened more gifts and got to visit with lots of friends and family whom we don't see often enough:)

Christmas 2015

Well, what a Christmas Day it was! Santa brought everyone what they wanted- Noah a tool set, James a droid carrier lego set, Ben Magnatiles and Audrey (who didn't state a preference) a Trobo robot interactive toy. The kids were so sweet this year, they were more excited to see each other's reactions when they open the gifts from them than their own gifts.  The boys were all jealous at Audrey's new Star Wars shirt... it only came in small sizes.

The weather is crazy! On Christmas Day we were all outside taking down the Christmas lights without coats! Gabe and I both got to take awesome long runs outside with perfect weather and no snow on the road. We spent most of the day playing with new toys and taking down all of the decorations in preparation for our trip north tomorrow.  The bottom picture was a casualty of James pretending to be the Grinch stuck in a, "mangled up, tangled up mess" while retrieving ornaments for me... it really just sped up the process;)  

Final Christmas Preparations 2015

We are on the final leg of Christmas complete with some clown shows where each kid tried to out-do the other with their own couch performance. I missed the picture of Ben, who started it all, dressed in the actual clown suit, but hope that there is video of it somewhere!

While at Tractor Supply the other day, the kids somehow talked me into buying the gingerbread barn.  I have to admit it was one of the more successful gingerbread structures we have made.

We had friends over yesterday to play while their parents did some last minute elf chores.  The kids were playing outside and when I went out to join them this is what I found... their team work was impressive.  I think these Maine kids are getting desperate for winter.  Yes, those are pajamas all our kids have on... even having friends over does not stop them from having a pajama day;) I would like to add that it was December 23rd and the kids didn't really need coats... crazy!

Gabe had to work Christmas Eve again this year, but got out in time to join us for soup making.  We had soup for an early dinner with some friends and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve service at our church. The last 3 pictures are of the boys opening their Christmas Eve gift. I tried to explain to Noah that I was taking pictures and he probably wanted actual pajamas on, but he claimed not to care... Audrey is not in the pictures here, but instead in bed.  After the Christmas Eve service at church she was pretty tired, so she went to bed and was asleep before she was aware of missing the fun.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas Preparations 2015- Part 3

This week was a busy one!  We gathered to sing Christmas carols downtown, made more sugar cookies to frost (it's Christmas, right?!?!?) and got ready for our annual Christmas party.  One of the best parts about the Christmas party is getting to see many different people that we, somehow, don't get to see often enough during the year.  The kids really enjoyed themselves and were thrilled with their special gifts from santa.  The next morning we had a fairly quick turnaround for the kids to be in the Christmas pageant at church.  James decided against being Mary this year since a real baby would be involved, and chose to be an angel instead.  Noah was a shepard, Ben started out as a angel, but eventually grew tired of that and decided to be a spectator.  Audrey, being almost 3, didn't know what she wanted to be, but was specific about her outfit- she had shepherd pants (like Noah), a sheep belt and was considering a halo... it was all for naught though because when it came time for the actual performance so refused to join the group on stage:)  After church we did get to play in the "snow" that squalled the night before... we are very ready for "real" winter!!

Santa's Village at Christmastime:)

Last weekend we decided to give Santa's Village a try at Christmastime.  We are glad that we went, but don't feel the need to do it again;)  The warm weather and lack of snow continues, so that may have lead to the crowds.  I have been to Santa's Village many times and have never seen it so busy.  This was a sentiment also shared with several of the park workers.  We arrived 10 minutes after the park opened and had to park near the back of the overflow lot.  The lines on the most popular rides were so crazy long that we had to skip some classic rides, but there was still plenty of fun left!  Being able to walk around without coats in December was pretty great.  Audrey continues to be the daredevil of the group and went on all of the rides several times that we had to work hard to convince her brothers to ride.  Now if she were just tall enough for the bumper cars life would be great;)  Probably the best reason to be at the park around Christmastime is for the amazing light displays and shows.  It is a magical place!