Christmas 2016 Recap

Stunningly, all of our Christmas prep is behind us and we find ourselves reflecting on another blessed holiday that was filled with family and friends.

Christmas Eve was filled with last-minute Christmas prep, 4:00 mass at St. John (we even got seats this year!), breakfast for dinner (we do this every year - keeps things so much simpler!), reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas (another Olson Four Christmas Eve tradition), and leaving out cookies/milk for Santa and a couple of carrots for the reindeer. One highlight for the kids was receiving official notification in the mail that they were on Santa's Good list - whew!!! Both kids received certificates and personalized letters from Santa ... and couldn't have been more excited if they tried!

He's officially on the Good list - what a relief!

Nothing like making it official 

Ready for our North Pole visitors

Unlike some years, this was a day we looked at as very flexible, not knowing who would be at our house and for how long. In the past, we've had a set approach to the day, but this year, we know Eric's dad was still recovering from his recent back surgery, so we didn't know how long they'd stick around (or if they'd make it at all... even with Eric's mom's instance that they'd be here.) My brother and his family were trying to make plans around his in-law family's schedules, so we weren't completely sure if/when they'd be here, either. In times like these, we set ourselves up to adapt and it all worked out!

Eric's parents arrived around 6:30, to ensure they were here before the kids awoke. Upon their arrival, we popped the traditional Christmas breakfast casserole in the oven (I'll pause here for the collective "oh, man, is that stuff ever tasty" response) and then sipped on some much-needed coffee and played a few hands of cards while we waited for the munchkins to wake up.

A few minutes before 7, the kids rolled out of bed and were raring to go!! They were very excited to see what Santa left for them and to open the gifts under the tree that had been tantalizing them for the past week. Before we knew it, paper was flying, smiles were cropping up everywhere, and we were (once again) reminded at how fortunate we are.

A little Christmas family hug session

Conor admiring his gifts

Lookin' good, Bestefar!

Co Christmas is complete without a pirate beard!

Someone got the Smencils she was hoping for

A power washer for Eric

Any guesses what they're talking about?

Proof that Santa exists - she got the gift she asked him for

Conor giving a gift to Bestefar

That is one happy boy!

Bestemor and Bestefar

Buca watching the festivities from behind the furniture barricade

Checking out his new video game

This was the view we had of the kids for much of the day - those Nintendos were a hit!

Buca is about to start singing "Les Mis" in hopes the barricade will fall

After we finished unwrapping presents, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast and some more games. (Yes, we Olsons do play a lot of card and dice games ... I think we're legally or genetically bound to!)

Because Eric's dad is still on the road to recovery, they weren't able to stick around much past 10:30, which was completely understandable. We were so grateful to have had them here with us... even it it wasn't for all day.

The Olson Four took a little time to clean up the house and catch our breath before opening our doors to the masses at 1. Our friend Nicole was the first to arrive. It was fun to catch up with Nicole, who has become one of our Christmas regulars and we couldn't be happier about that fact. She regales us with stories of her travels, adventures, and work. She is a true gem and incredibly generous with her time. Soon after, Eric's friend Dave arrived, bringing more merriment and fun stories to share. Around 3, my brother (Troy) and his family were knocking at our door, ready for Christmas dinner and some Olson-style fun.

We had ham, rolls, twice-baked potatoes, and salad for dinner. With no tummies left behind, we followed that up with a crazy amount of cookies for dessert. Yes, we are still full!! There was a typical amount of chaos and noise, but it wouldn't be a true holiday without those pieces, if you want my opinion!

Ian and Eric in deep conversation

Merry Christmas, Uncle Dave!

Uncle Dave cutting loose

Kat thinks we're all a bunch of nuts ... but entertaining nuts!

Kat is keeping her eye on all of us crazy people

Troy is a ham!

Staci and her krumkake

In case you needed more proof of his ham-ness!

Ian and Conor playing Legos together
(no surprises there!)

After we bid goodbye to our loved ones, we finished up the day with a pillow fight between Eric and the kids... we're pretty sure the Three Wise Men had plenty of these while they were following the star to Bethlehem ... someone just forgot to write it down!

Pillow fight!!!

Wrapping up 2015

Before we get too far into 2016, I figured I'd better sum up how 2015 wrapped up for us.

December started of rather wet in our neck of the woods... and when I mean wet, I mean ongoing downpours that were so forceful at time that we had rain leaking into the house. Not pretty, but we were grateful to realize it was Mother Nature causing the problem and not the dishwasher leaking (which was our original theory). Even with the deluge of rain, we Olsons braved the weather and went out into the elements (aka Home Depot's outside tree area), got soaked to the bone, and found what we've all deemed to be our favorite Christmas tree ever. It was perfectly sized for our house the ideal tree shape. Annika gets credit for finding it ... way to go, cute girl! After letting the tree dry under our carport for a day or so, we brought it in (still damp, but no longer with rivers of water running off of it) and got to decorating it and the rest of the house for Christmas.

Conor decorating the tree

Annika hanging ornaments

Eric helping Conor find the perfect spot for an ornament

Annika putting the finishing touches on the tree

In early December, we also hosted another one of our "we're the only ones who don't speak Spanish" dinner parties and had such a fun time! Eric has two co-workers who live in Mexico, but come up to Seattle a few times per year for some company face time; we've known them for years and consider them some of our dear friends. In addition to "our Mexicans", we had our friends who are originally from Venezuela here to join in the fun. We've had this group together for dinner a few times now, and it never fails to be a fun event for all involved... and has sparked a bit of a friendship between "our Mexicans" and "our Venezuelans". I love it when ripple effects of friendship happen! The kids love it when this group gets together because because their friend (Annika's former pre-school friend and one of her dearest friends) attends with her parents AND the kids get to stay up late. Bonus for them!

About mid-December, the kids' school had its annual Christmas concert, which (I'm impressed to say) is a very well-organized and paced event (1.25 hr total). The entire school performs... each grade sings a song and the two bands also play a couple of numbers. Our kids' classes did a lovely job and it was such fun to see the students in their Sunday best for the performance.

All dressed up and somewhere to go

It is important to practice one's bow and/or curtsy before a big event

Leading up to Christmas, our home was a whirlwind of baking and preparing.... yes, I was in my element!! We decorated cookies galore and made sure to continue with our annual tradition of decorating a gingerbread house together.

Perfecting the broken arm decorating technique.

Yes, sticking his tongue out does help!

Mr. Engineer on icing patrol

Mo candy, mo better

 

Even Mama got in on the candy action

I tried a new technique for adding snow to the trees ... it's needs some work, but not too shabby for a first try

Coooooookies

Some of the BIG non-holiday news to come out of December is Annika got her cast off. Woo hoo!!! It was such a big deal, that all four of us went to the appointment and to the celebratory lunch after. The x-rays showed that one of her bones wasn't completely healed yet, but it wasn't bad enough for the ortho group to put her in another cast (WHEW!); instead, they put her in a brace that she was told to wear for the next 4 weeks, but could remove it to bathe and sleep. She was also given the green light to return to many of her normal activities ... jump roping, swimming, bike riding, etc. The only things she can't do are play contact sports (ummm.... yeah, not a problem!), climb (especially on the playground equipment), go tubing in the mountains (we are itching to get up to the snow, but are working on being patient), and anything else that could jar her arm. That said, she's greatly enjoying her freedom and being able to bathe without a Hefty bag covering her arm.

Ready for the cast to come off

Conor was happy to don some ear protection once his eyes locked onto the saw

Tickly saw

Freedom!!!

The brace model

When our niece Abby, who had a 24-hour layover in Seattle, asked if we could make some fancy cookies while she was in town, Auntie was all too happy to oblige. It was such a treat to have Abby here with us! She lives too far away for our liking, so little visits like this one mean a lot to us! In addition to a cookie decorating session, we chatted about almost every topic under the sun, Abby played with Annika and Conor, and all of us had lunch with my brother and his family on the shore of Lake Union. Can't beat that!! The only downfall to the 24 hours was the INSANE holiday traffic at the airport the night Abby arrived.

Abby, the cookie decorating apprentice

So proud of her tree and flowers

Fun to decorate the cookies, more fun to eat them!

Cookies for Abby to take home

Silly cousin time

Christmas was such a treat for us! We were surrounded by so many loved ones and good times. My mom came up on Christmas Eve in time to go to mass with the kids and me. It was standing room only... and we stood, but were grateful to be there and among so many like-minded souls. The kids were real troopers and didn't complain about their seating arrangements (aka the floor) or the fact it was incredibly hot in the church. After mass, we returned home to have our traditional Christmas Eve dinner: breakfast! This year, we had baked French toast casserole... yum!! After reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and leaving out treats for Santa, we went to bed knowing the next day would start bright and early ... actually, dark and early.

Eric's folks arrived around 6:15 AM so they could participate in the chaos that is children on Christmas morning. Around 7:30, Conor couldn't stand waiting to open presents any longer, so Eric went downstairs to wake up Annika, who promptly asked if she could sleep a little longer. Her plan of getting some extra sleep failed once she realized it was Christmas morning and there were presents waiting for her. Unfortunately, soon after opening presents, my mom opted to go home because she wasn't feeling well. (We keep telling ourselves it wasn't really because our presents were terrible!)

Annika and her Frozen gloves

Bestemor and Bestefar showing how well they know our boy well

Mermaid puppet from the Frisches

Dragon puppet from the Frisches

Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots.... DUDE!!!!!!

Annika and her new Elsa doll

Eric working on mastering how to pilot his new drone

My brother and his family arrived a little after noon, bringing more holiday cheer and chaos. (Hey, is it really a holiday without a fair amount of chaos?? I say NO!) The kids got a renewed sense of energy when big cousin Ian arrived... they wanted to play and show him all of their new things. He was a wonderful sport and showed lots of enthusiasm for all of the toys and fodder that they paraded in front of him.

As the afternoon progressed, two more of our friends arrived to share Christmas dinner with us. It was such a large group that we wound up setting up two card tables in addition to our kitchen table ... it was (in my opinion) an ideal holiday dinner... lots of stories, laughter, and smiling faces. We were all sure that it was close to 10 PM because of how tired we felt, and were rather floored to look at the clock and see it wasn't even 7 yet. (We're so old!)

Nicole modeling her AMAZING elf outfit

Staci and her very happy pizzelle (until it fell on the floor, that is)

The day after Christmas, the Olson Four trekked across Lake Washington to watch the UW Huskies play in the Heart of Dallas Bowl with my brother and his family. My brother borrowed his friend's turkey fryer ... as if we needed that much incentive to come over for a visit!! The turkey was delish and the Huskies won the game ... what more could we have asked for??

Eric and Annika snuggled up watching the UW game

To wrap up our holiday season, a few days after Christmas we ventured out into the cold to walk through the Wild Lights exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo. We've been going to the display for a few years now and have made it a bit of a tradition to go with Eric's best friend (aka Uncle Dave) and his little girl (Anne). The six of us had dinner at a little restaurant in Ballard (where Eric and Dave go to trivia night every other week, in fact) and then made our way to the zoo. In 2014, we learned the hard way not to go to the exhibit on a weekend, so this year we really course corrected and went on a week night after Christmas ... the crowds were much more manageable. We were able to enjoy the lights much more than the year before when we were more focused on keeping track of the kids who insisted on darting here and there.

Hello, Woodland Park Zoo@

Anne (6), Annika (8), and Conor (5)

Anne taking it all in

Anne and Conor watching the fish "jump" into the drain

Pablo the Peacock

Annika and the Komodo Dragon

Conor checking out the lights

Annika

Happy Wild Lights visitors!

For New Year's Eve, the kids and I journeyed to our friends' house to celebrate. Gratefully, the Minnichs adopted our "Nova Scotia New Years" party idea, so the party started (and ended) early ... perfect for young kiddos!! The grownups mostly sat around talking about schools, politics, and current world events. The kids played and played and played ... they even treated us to a few impromptu concerts using the Minnich kids' karaoke machine. It was a hoot! Unfortunately, Eric missed out on the fun because he wasn't feeling well thanks to a bug that's been going around... one that I succumbed to a day or two later.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our holidays so special. We are grateful to have you as part of our lives!!