Now that the Christmas décor has been packed away for next year, Valentine's Day has come & gone with no card sent out.... it's time to record the rest of the celebrating from THREE months ago! Due to all seven of us cycling through colds & coughing we were homebound which ended up being quite relaxing. Robby was off for nearly two weeks which was also relaxing. Christmas morning was quiet or as quiet as it can be with our bunch. We enjoyed sausage balls & cinnamon rolls then let the kiddos open their gifts.
Oh Arlo, just a little guy looking out the window dreaming of a white Christmas.
Owen & Anson use just about everything possible as a fishing pole or crane. Shoe laces, a measuring tape, a jump rope, mini blind strings & the one that got me the most worked up....the power cable for my mini electric shoulder heater (for lack of a better title). I walked around the corner & it was dangling from the top banister of the stair case! We decided to tunnel their creativity to trains & came across a crane addition to the track coupled with cars that carry magnetic cargo. It has been used & fought over which means it was a great gift! Charlotte's favorite gift other than a new Lego Elves set was her own set of earbuds. They figured out how to share the beats on the way to Grammy & Papa's house that afternoon.
The kids exchanged names & gave one gift to another. They were so kind & grateful for what they received. It actually made me teary eyed. We strive to teach them how to have a thankful heart & there was a glimmer of hope that morning bringing to mind that the Lord is working in us & through us. Anson received a tow truck from Owen & it was a big hit. So far it has pulled around monster trucks, all those "fishing poles" & a 6 ft long magformer/Brio train combo. Arlo really liked chasing that thing down the hallway. It's so fun to have a destructive little toddler in the house!
Destructive toddler captured for a moment...
Charlotte spent day after day making books for each person in our family plus grandparents & great Grandmothers. They showcased pictures of each thing she likes about the holiday or something she likes to do with the person the book was for. They were sweet & meticulously wrapped.
It's always funny to us that the least expensive gift often gets most of the attention. We bought the boys $5 "clampers" as they named them. They picked up everything possible in the house & pulled chairs to be underneath the tree branches pretending to pick fruit. When asked to clean up toys they would move as slow as molasses picking up each individual toy. I guess it was good practice for hand-eye coordination even if it drove us crazy! Sadly they used these nifty toys to turn lights off & on leaving them a wee bit wiggly. It took us a awhile to pinpoint the cause but I do find it funny.
We spent Christmas afternoon & evening at the Valentine's & how on earth I didn't take a single picture is beyond me but we had a wonderful time! Aunt Anne three of her four joined us. The kids missed cousin Jack who is serving overseas as a U.S. Marine. He pays a lot of attention to them which makes me happy. Bob cooked us a whole smorgasbord of meats & side dishes. We were stuffed & took dessert home!
We accidently left Candycane, Elo's new snake. We didn't realize until we got home & the new snake mother was completely distraught. We called Grammy & Papa & they did a thorough search inside & outside the house which included but not limited to the garden & around the shed in the backyard, under the furniture & between the cushions on the couch & against my orders they cut all the trash bags open! It's like they were looking for a real snake! Rewind to late elementary school they did do a similar search for a Ball Python named Reggie who belonged to my husband. They eventually found him curled up under the desk where Bob had been sitting.....gives me the chills just thinking about it! After all the ridiculous searching Anson (out of nowhere) said with a surprised look on his face "Candycane? I know where she is!" We should not doubt him since this was not the first time he claimed to know where a missing item was & was right....but we did. We decided to get Grammy & Papa on FaceTime & reveal it's suspected location which happened to be in the microwave of the play kitchen. She opened it up & bam, there was that little Candycane all curled up! It should have been the first place extensively searched due to the fact that snakes like to be warm. Anyway, we left the sneaky snake in care of the Valentines while we headed to Kingwood for a few days.
Our drive was uneventful & we arrived with a happy bunch to greet the happy bunch waiting on the driveway! We got the BEST picture we have ever had with all five kids. Robby & I don't even have one where every single pair of eyes is looking at the camera & each has a natural smile across their little face. The picture is even better because two of the Ellis family of kids stuffed animals snuck were included. Eloise had Serabi from Lion King & Anson had an orangutan that he called an "orangu-tainer" the whole time. It was one of those hilariously adorable words that we refused to correct. We just asked him more often what kind of animal he was so we could hear it again. This is probably why our children still say ""yogret" instead of yogurt. So there they are, happy & smiling!
Scott & Kyle took charge of putting together a basket full of tropical island themed gifts for the newly retired couple who were to leave for a lovely vacation just a week later. It included some necessities like a whale sounds cd, Jaws DVD & of course something to block out all those bright rays! Charlotte thinks it's hilarious to cross her eyes. I'm pretty sure she will think the same looking back when she is 14 ; )
There were many other gifts exchanged but one really stood out. Who knew you could buy a Cousin It doll? We had to show the kids a clip of Cousin It when Eloise styled her new dolls hair as pictured & placed the glasses in the appropriate spot. The doll's given name is Phoebe. I refer to her as Phoebe Buffay as I reminisce about the late 90's. She has received plenty of attention & not just from Eloise. I have found two boys either attempting to brush her hair or taking turns putting the glasses on & laughing at each other. Sometimes when I walk in the girls room & ask Eloise how Phoebe is doing she moves something off the floor, points at her & says "She's alright, just feeling lazy today."
We always spends loads of time outside & this trip was no different since it was about 80 degrees on Christmas Day! Sometimes I think we still live in Florida! Out of all the parks we frequent in our area of town I have yet to find a true see-saw which is a shame. It is so very fun to try to distribute weight evenly with five wiggly kids! Gaga kept the littlest safe.
Our time there always seems to go so quickly. We ended it by celebrating my mom's 60th birthday with a delicious adult only dinner....hard to come by these days! We bid them farewell then made it home to ring in the new year in the new casa.
Over the break we were able to spend some time with Auntie Deb, Uncle Joe & cousin Keaton who gifted the boys with their own golf clubs which were a big hit, no pun intended. No one has been injured yet woohoo!
It was quite special to spend time with both Great Grandmas! Gigi was down from Michigan for nearly a month & was able to spend a couple nights here. She and Grammy kept all five while Rob & I spent a whole day away, it was fantastic. Gigi had the kids running laps in the backyard....also fantastic. 
A visit from GGran brings smiles to each and every Valentine! Owen is holding up his very own handmade paper-crafted wallet with five dollars in it! That is lots of money for a little guy. The boys combined their cash to purchase a set of Dinotrux characters. 
Phew, I am sure glad I wrote the bulk of this post at least 6 weeks ago! I barely remember any of those details...it was like hearing it for the first time ; )
