This is a blog of pictures and updates about our family, posted by Mama Tara.
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Christmas Vacation
Sunday morning I was getting the hang of my new waffle maker.
Clara was getting the hang of her new underwater camera.
Behold! Our Christmas Vacation Bucket List:
Sunday:
It had already started snowing, but we knew it was forecast to get colder throughout the week, so we planned our outside snow stuff for early in the week. We knocked out most of that with sledding, four-wheeler sled rides and a snowball fight. Brynn was busy inside rearranging her room which turned out fantastic. She got all her furniture moved around all by herself. 💪
For dinner we had homemade pizza while we watched The Grinch (animated version) downstairs.
We had planned Dad and Clara's slumber party for a different night, but they moved it up to Sunday night instead.
Meanwhile, Brynn used her new curling wand set on herself and me. :-) Mine got a little floofy. Ha.
Monday:
We did our Oreo house decorating contest. Dad and Clara teamed up again.
Thanks to all who voted! The winner was....Team Dad + Clara (#3). They won a free cookie coupon to Jen's Bakery.
Mom's House
Brynn's House
The Winner: Dad + Clara's House
Then in the evening we took in 'Sing 2' in the Dreamlounger at the movie theater. It was really good!
Tuesday:
Each of the girls had a friend over.
Clara was putting together a new LEGO set she got for Christmas, waiting for Adria to arrive.
Brynn and Annabelle
Our neighbors said the girls could play on the giant snow hill in their backyard, so all four girls were out on it even though it was sub-zero temps. They didn't last too long, but at least they had fun for the little while that they were out there.
Wednesday:
LEGOs and pancakes to start the day...
Back out on the snow hill at -5 degrees. Clara and I lasted a lot longer than I thought we would. Ha. She looks so tall in this picture.
We had planned an afternoon of reading and hot cocoa bombs which sounded like a great idea after coming in from the cold.
Turned out I was the only one who actually read. Clara rested and Brynn retreated downstairs; both left their half-drunk mugs in the sink. (The hot cocoa bombs are really rich!)
Also planned for Wednesday was Dad/Clara skating at Skate City and Brynn and I originally planned to go bowling, but opted for a movie at home instead.
Thursday:
Thursday AM was set to be morning movie and snuggle-fest. Dad and Clara were the only two who participated in that one by re-watching The Grinch.
We didn't do too much else for Thursday besides clean up the house a bit, Clara and I went back out to "Snow Mountain" and Brynn had another friend over.
On our bucket list for Thursday was to eat out at Mainline in Downer for dinner. So, we brought Brynn's friend, Chloe, with us and had a nice meal there.
Whelp, the only two things we didn't end up crossing off our bucket list was ice skating and family game night. We will be celebrating Christmas with Dana's side this weekend, so I'm sure we'll get some games in then. It was amazing have two straight weeks off of work and I feel like it was really restful and rejuvenating and just great to spend time with the family, but still get things done while the girls were in school before Christmas break.
Clara and I walked over to the high school for a boys' soccer game. They were pretty impressive to watch. Elise and Clara had fun raking leaves and Grandpa and Grandma's lake. Well, I know Clara had a great time for sure. I can't remember if I had posted that Dana did away with the garden and planted grass where it once was. So, Clara mowed that section. It was a perfect size for her to tackle. She might have found herself a summer job already. An amazing double rainbow! Thank you to those who donated for Clara's school walk-a-thon which took place last Monday. Dana and I were able to go watch and then joined in for some laps as well. Benny the Eagle was out there cheering the kids on too. Dana was busy making monster cookies for his annual hunting trip up north with his Dad and family friends. He kindly left some behind for us...which are long since gone now. :-) Grandma Holly came up while the guys were gone and took Clara shopping and the girls for lunch on Saturday
The kids rolled out and baked sugar cookies for Thanksgiving. We finished our thankful pumpkin. I saw this in the store and given the season, it took me right back to my Grandma D's house on Thanksgiving and the bowl of walnuts she'd have on her table with the nutcracker. I wanted to buy it just for nostalgia purposes. Cora and Clara made these adorable turkey crafts at the crafternoon at the library. On Tuesday we went downtown for the tree lighting at Broadway Square. Abby, Hubert's sister, joined us as well. She just turned 10, so she got along pretty well with Clara. They had s'mores kits so we had to toast some mallows right away. I love how Clara's marshmallow is completely ablaze and she's still posing for the photo. Hahaha. We had to visit the reindeer too. I made them do jazz hands. And then, of course, we had to hit up Blackbird afterward. Our Wednesday morning XaBeat class. We were feelin' pretty festive. The girls had Wednesday off from school,
Brynn put together our May Day baskets and did a fantastic job. Clara and I did the deliveries... And we received one as well with these beautiful flowers. It was from Clara's friend, Cora, and her fam. We went out to dinner as a family to celebrate my birthday on Wednesday to best accommodate schedules this week. I got to open my cards and gifts when we got home. I had picked up a slice of puppy chow cake at Sonder Bakehouse so we all shared that. Then Brynn and I went out to play a little tennis. It was a beautiful day outside. I had taken Friday (my actual birthday) off of work and Tessa came up to have brunch with me. We had Black Coffee + Waffle Bar. It was so fun. Then May did my hair as it was overdue for a cut and color. Dana and I were able to go out just us two while Brynn took Clara to her school fun night...not only that, but Brynn also volunteered to sell tickets/wristbands (I was originally going to do it) so that I didn't have to and could go out. 💜 I had a coup
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