Michelle decided to make her friends and family Christmas cookies again this year. When I saw her shopping list for the Dollar Store and grocery store I was wondering just how many sugar, gingerbread, and snickerdoodle cookies she was planning to make! I’ll give you a hint: she watched The Sound of Music, White Christmas, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas while she was baking. Michelle estimates she made over 300 (almost 29 dozen) cookies!!! We literally set up a folding table in the den and opened windows to be her cooling station. It was a PROJECT and I hope she is proud of herself! And I can attest all 3 kinds were delicious!
The day after Michelle’s big baking day, I got to hitch a ride with LA's parents to watch Danny play basketball AND got to watch with his wonderful birth mom and her husband. It was so great to have them there and I am so happy for her and how hard she has worked/is working to meet her goals. I have always loved her and always will.
These boys beat the opposing team by so much I was beginning to feel sorry for the other team. But, the boys worked together to ensure LS beat the school’s all time score record so that he can have that spot in the books. Also, I love this photo of Danny that showed up on social media a few days after the game. Nic is much better at taking photos than I am!
That wasn't the only game I got to watch that week. I also got to see Natalie play in back to back intramural games. It was fun to see her play with and against friends of hers and sit with JS's parents. It's been a while since we all watched our boys play baseball together so it was fun to watch our daughters play basketball on the same team. Speaking of team efforts, Natalie's P3 class won the school's food drive contest! She was so excited and they all got to have a hot cocoa party before the break!
My parents were able to join most of us for our annual Hanukkah meal and play dreidel with us. Danny had a 11am-2pm basketball practice, which really messed with celebrating at lunch time. I think Kate slept in after a stressful finals week. She almost didn't take her AP psychology final because she fell back asleep after I went to work! If that doesn't give you a jolt of stress chemicals I don't know what will!
Michelle had a few friends over to celebrate Christmas, including decorating gingerbread houses and spending time in the hot tub. I was wondering if she would be able to slow down at all over the break but she seems to have found a nice balance between hanging out with friends and resting. And we are so proud of her quote in the newspaper about being outdoors! 🥹
Not pictured: two birthday parties for friends turning 16 she also attended, including one surprise party she and her friends planned for AW! Danny had goals to play a ton of basketball with friends but twisted his ankle the very first time he joined them at the rec center. CC had to call me to ask me to pick him up because he had driven our manual car and couldn't use both feet. It was a great reminder Danny has good friends and that he is one of the very few members of Gen Z that can drive manual. Also pictured: JM and my mocktails while with our book club group going out to eat for Christmas instead of our usual gatherings. Our group never takes pictures but at least our fancy little drinks didn't mind being in the spotlight. I also am now part of a group of coworkers that started a book club and we read A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg this month. Such a cute story. While other members brought food to the event, I brought cardinal Christmas tree ornaments and Red Bird soft mint candies. I feel fortunate to get to spend time with so many wonderful people. Natalie had me count how many audio books I listened to this year and the number is around 90! Should I go for 100 in 2026?
Christmas Day! I only took pictures of when my children opened their sibling gifts and I have to say all 4 of them knocked it out of the park while sticking to the budget I gave them. It really felt like Christmas magic to see how much they all liked the gifts they gave one another. This year Kate had Michelle, Danny had Natalie, Michelle had Danny, and Natalie had Kate. They all picked out what they wanted to give each other and wrapped their presents independently and I couldn't be more proud. Also, my job was super easy as to what to get them because all 3 girls had wish lists written out and Danny got a phone to replace his half dead one. And Hubby helped pick out his present at Costco (as did I). One funny thing that happened: we accidentally had quite the kitchen theme going on with presents. I got a new pan and potpourri thingy to replace the pans I had accidentally destroyed with stovetop potpourri, Hubby got a new butter dish and coasters, 4 out of 6 of us got new water bottles, Michelle got Christmas themed cookie baking supplies, and the list goes on. Even my parents brought over kitchen themed stuff when they came. I guess our kitchen really needed Christmas this year. lol
I know the lighting isn't great but this is what you get when you put your phone on your mantle for a picture. I love it because we all had such a wonderful day together.
Hubby made the day so much better not only by making us a wonderful Christmas meal with tri tip steak with chimicurri sauce, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans, but he also surprised the children with a gigantic Hogsmeade Lego set to put together while watching the 1st two movies. This may be the beginning of a new tradition! I'm thinking Diagon Alley in 2026!
It was wonderful to have my parents join us. Sometimes it feels like someone is sick and they miss out of the festivities but this year, maybe because it has been unseasonably warm, we were all feeling great! Yes, we were dreaming of a white Christmas, but we weren't freezing either.
It wouldn't be Christmas Break without some puzzles! The one pictured is a 400 piece but we (mostly Natalie) did a 1,000 piece advent puzzle my ministering sister gave me + a 100 piece and 1,000 travel puzzle and 500 dog puzzle we had done before. We finally got smart and moved the kitchen table over so it was easier to binge watch a Netflix show while puzzling. And we finally figured out how to play Splendor -- 11 months after I gifted it to Hubby. lol
One last thing before we close out 2025: we finally visited the Wild Animal Sanctuary! Only an hour drive away and close to where I did my student teaching and where Danny plays basketball in the fall, but it took me 20 years to get there. It was such a neat experience to walk above the animals for a 3 mile round trip and hear their stories from volunteers. Our only regret was not dressing warmer because there is more of a breeze up there. But these animals are magnificent and we were happy to contribute to their cause by visiting them.
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