Christmas, Holiday Activities, and NYE wrap-up

Well, 2019 is officially here and we are back to real life.... real busy life... real busy, chaotic-at-times life!

Leading up to Christmas was (needless to say), also busy, but in a different way. The pace was less frenetic and rushed than it is when real life is in place. We got to sleep in (most days) and set a schedule that fit our hopes and dreams... ok, enough waxing poetic!

Per our typical "gearing up for Christmas" activities, we decorated a gingerbread house, baked more cookies and treats and a small country could eat in a month, wrapped presents, made treats for the kids' classroom parties (see oranges below), and listened to so many Christmas carols that they played on a loop in our dreams!

Right before they started Christmas break, the kids participated in their school's annual Advent/Christmas concert. They did a great job and sang their little hearts out. Conor had the added bonus of playing the xylophone during his class' performance and proved to be quite the xylophone player ... xylyphoner? xylophonist??  Annika even wound up with a surprise solo performance during the band's portion due to the other flutist being sick that night. It is one thing to get up in front of the entire school and parents with your class to sing a song, but it is a whole other thing to get up in front of that huge group and play something by yourself. Huge props to her for that! (Side note: It didn't even phase her ... she has nerves of steel!)

On Christmas Eve, the kids (once again) found themselves in front of a very large crowd. Conor portrayed Caesar Augustus in the parish's nativity play and Annika was an altar server for Christmas Eve mass. The church was packed to the gills, but (once again, again) the kids were amazingly composed and did a great job at their respective tasks.. 

After church, we came home to a lovely dinner that Eric made (thanks, hon!!) and had ready for us as we walked through the door. Our family tradition for Christmas Eve dinner is to have breakfast for dinner? Why? Because it is easy and there's very little clean up!! Duh!

We made sure to put out cookies and milk for Santa, read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" together (another family tradition), and made our way to bed ... very much excited for the next morning to arrive. 

Needless to say, Christmas morning was a bit chaotic, but in a good way. The kids were brimming with excitement, and Eric and I weren't far behind. We were all spoiled by the generosity of others and are deeply touched by the thought put into our gifts. Around noon, Eric's folks came down from Whidbey and joined us for Christmas, Phase 2, which included more presents, playing dice and card games, and a lovely family dinner.

Conor was VERY excited about Santa bringing him signed copies of one of his favorite book series.

Pokemon shirt for the win

Eric amongst the Christmas chaos

Annika was thrilled to receive another book in one of her favorite series, too!

Eric opening a present from Santa

Yup! She's excited!

Pretty sure the hit of the day was the Nintendo Switch we gave to them as a combo gift

Annika opening her gifts from Bestemore and Bestefar

On New Year's Eve day, the kids and I headed to Snoqualmie for our annual day o' tubing. Unfortunately, Eric got hit with a stomach bug and wasn't able to join us. We missed him greatly and wished he could have been there to enjoy the snow with us! The sky was blue, the snow was perfect, and the temp was cold without being frigid. Aside from Eric not being there, it was an ideal day on the mountain. (Although, I'm pretty sure the kids considered calling CPS when I suggested we hoof it up the hill instead of taking the magic carpet every time!)

Last year, Annika was the only one of us to stay up until midnight and rang in the new year with her stuffed animals all wearing homemade party hats. The idea of her having to do that again this year basically guilted us into powering through until midnight and staying up with her. Conor opted to go to bed around 9 with the request that we wake him up 15 minutes before midnight. Clad in our jammies and party hats, we rung in the new year together at home and watched the Space Needle fireworks display on TV. By 12:01, we were all heading to bed longing for sleep. 

Eric had to go back to work on Jan 2, so the kids and I had a few days to fill on our own. We made a trip down to Tacoma to visit our dear Fr. Fred and swing by Johnson's Candy ... because we apparently didn't have enough sweets from Christmas! We had a marvelous time chatting with Fred, who very kindly fed us a lunch of waffles and peanut butter! We also made a trip up to Whidbey to spend the day with Eric's parents. The kids played outside between rain squalls while Eric's mom and I sewed fabric card holders. Eric's dad even made me an AMAZING growler holder.

Of course,we had to put them to use after making them!

Seriously!! How cool is this thing????

On the day between our out-of-city trips, the kids and I hunkered down at home and caught our collective breath. To ensure their brains didn't melt too much over the break, I challenged them with a few STEM projects and they had a blast! First, I handed them marshmallows, spaghetti, 3 feet of yarn, and 3 feet of tape and then challenged them to make marshmallow structures with the provided supplies. Then, they were challenged to create structures (using supplies of their choosing) that would protect a dropped egg. Impressively, both kids' eggs survived the drop... of course, Annika made a "champion" sash for her egg and now we aren't allowed to eat it! :D

Our final holiday celebration was going to the holiday lights display at Woodland Park Zoo. Each year, there are more things to see, and we often find ourselves playing "I spy" with the new additions. The lights were lovely (no surprise) but the big hit for us was the shadow wall that we discovered this year. Basically, there was a wall that was painted with glow in the dark paint that we stood against (facing the wall) and then a staff member would flash a REALLY bright light toward us. When we moved away from the wall,we could see our silhouettes left (temporarily) behind. So stinking neat!

From our family to yours, we hope you have a peaceful and fun-filled 2019!!

Wrapping up 2013 with a zoo trip

When we went to the zoo lights display at Woodland Park Zoo a few weeks ago, Conor felt quite cheated that we didn't see very many animals. So, I promised him that we'd return soon (huge benefit of being zoo members!) and he'd be able to see more animals on our next trip. Today, I fulfilled that promise, partially to make sure I stayed true to my word and partially to give the kids a chance to burn off some energy.

Today has been quite soggy and cold, which definitely helped keep the crowds at the zoo to a minimum. Only us tried and true (and probably cabin fevered) parents braved the elements today, let me tell you!

As a special treat (and mostly due to the really short line), I asked the kids if they'd like to feed the penguins. It's rare that we're (a) at the zoo at the right time and (b) the feeding line isn't a mile long, so I decided to jump at the opportunity, as did the kids. Annika and Conor both got to feed the penguins two little fish, not sardines, but just about that size. While they took turns feeding the penguins, the zoo staff member explained about the penguins in their natural habitat. I tried to get a photo of Conor with his fish, but he was far too eager to feed the penguins and had no interest in holding still for me, let along turning away from the birds.

Of course, as soon as we vacated the penguin feeding area, Annika and Conor made a beeline for the blue row boat that is just outside of the penguin display. I swear, that boat makes our membership worthwhile. As Annika and Conor climbed into the boat, Annika proclaimed that she was the captain; a little boy who was already in the boat corrected her that HE was the captain of the boat. So there! Annika very nicely asked if she could be the captain when he was done being the captain. Way to go, Annika!

Once the boat crew received shore leave, we trekked to the flamingo area. The birds were fun to watch, but they weren't what caught my attention. The lady apparently having a full-blown conversation with the ducks and flamingos was MUCH more interesting to me than the birds were.  Now, when I say this woman was having a conversation with the birds, she wasn't just talking to them. Apparently, they were talking back to her. And I quote, "And what's your name? Fred? Oh! Frederick! Sorry for that mistake. Who is your girlfriend, Frederick? I promise, I won't tell. You can trust me. (pause) OH?? (giggle) Good choice!" (and so on and so forth)

We explored the African village and saw two zebra grazing on the grassy hill. When Conor saw them, he promptly announced, "There's Spot One's daddy! And there's Spot Two!" I'm sure the other zoo goers were quite perplexed, but that only adds to my day's fun. :)

As we meandered toward the bird feeding pavilion, we wandered by the hippos and lions. It is a rare treat to see the hippos out of their pond, but today they were. Both hippos were completely sacked out on the shore, probably dreaming of vacationing somewhere warmer than Seattle!

Our final destination was the bird feeding pavilion, which is a family favorite. For $1, people can buy a popsicle stick with some bird seeds hot glued to it. The kids LOVE having the birds visit them for a quick snack. Unfortunately, the extreme temperature change from outside to inside fogged up my camera lens... WHOOPS! Luckily, my phone's camera was more cooperative and I was able to snap a few pictures of our bird experience. All three of us had the same bird come for a visit, no less. Annika wore her parrot hat and was quite convinced that the bird thought she was one of them. Conor liked the birds until one tried to sit on his finger, then he was a bit less impressed. Meanwhile, Annika was thrilled when she had two birds on her hand at the same time. Win for her!

Annika and her penguin food

The beloved row boat

Pink flamingos

Part of a wall in the African village

Annika and Conor having fun in the African village

Sleeping hippos

Lions ... ROAR

Liongirl Annika

Conor the lion conquerer

Annika and her bird friend

My bird buddy

Conor feeding his bird