Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Michigan Christmas!

On the night of the 26th, the kids and traveled to Michigan to celebrate Christmas with my family!  I'm so thankful the kids are such good travelers!  Both girls were asleep before the plane even took off from LA!
 
Arrival in Grand Rapids!  Olivia was so excited to put on her vest and hat! 
 
Posing in front of Grandpa and Grandma's tree before opening gifts there on Monday!  Olivia has a similar expression no matter the occasion! 
 
Shane spent most of the next day in Grandma's "secret room" putting together all of his Legos by the fire!  It's always his most favorite place in the entire house!
 
When we first arrived, there was no snow, much to the kids' disappointment!  But a few days later, snow appeared!  They were beyond excited!  They all tried to catch a snowflake on their tongue! 
 
Here's Faith trying to catch a snowflake!  My favorite part is how the snow stayed on the trees!  It truly looked like a winter wonderland!  And yes, the kids are wearing their crocs, but they weren't out to play!  We were heading to lunch at Yesterdog!
 
Shane had fun chasing his sisters with snowballs!
 
Shane decided that shoveling, a task I always viewed as undesirable work!, to be fun!  He would go out on his own to shovel!
 
We played many games over the course of the week.  The kids learned how to play Clue, which became their favorite!  I was thankful for a little break from our usual Monopoly marathons!
 
On New Year's Day Olivia was very happy to be cheering on Michigan!  And we were all thrilled about the outcome of the game!
 
Faith enjoyed helping Grandma make homemade pizza on New Year's Day! 
 
While it's always nice to be back home again, we had such a nice visit spending time with family and friends!

Merry Christmas!

While Christmas is past and the new year is upon us, I'm finally having a few minutes to sit down and write about the season!  On Christmas Eve the kids and I walked down by the beach to breath some fresh air and just enjoy the day! 
 
In the evening the kids participated in the Christmas Eve service at church.  All the children dressed as an angel or shepherd, and they sang three songs in between reading verses of Luke 2.  It is always such a wonderful way to hear the Christmas story!
 
The few of the shepherds!
 
On Christmas morning we awoke to gifts under the tree as Santa had made a visit!  As a parent it is such a joy to see the delight on your children's faces as they open gifts with such excitement on Christmas morning!
 
Olivia didn't want to be in the traditional tree picture, but she was happy to pose with her Minnie Mouse bakery!
 
We had a very nice and quiet and relaxing day at home, and the kids were able to work on Legos and puzzles!  We also went to see the Peanuts movie, which was a lot of fun!