As I have mentioned in previous posts, Connor and Kylee have been playing soccer this spring
on a Liberty Parks and Rec team.
We thought we'd share some
pics of the kids in action.
We have
enjoyed
watching them play!
Monday, May 02, 2011
Look Out, David Beckham!
As I have mentioned in previous posts, Connor and Kylee have We have
enjoyed
watching them play!
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Home
A couple weeks ago, I went on my first business trip. ATI hosted the Nurse Educator Summit at a beautiful resort in sunny Orlando, Florida. We anticipated my trip for weeks and recruited Grandpa Carlson to come and help with things on the home front while I was away.
As a busy mother of three young children, I dreamt of exotic things like early bedtimes, relaxing afternoons, uninterrupted toileting and bathtime, not arguing about whose turn it was to pick a restaurant, and being able to watch whatever I wanted on TV when I was away. This was my first trip without either Brandon or the children along since before we were married. I knew I would miss them terribly, but looked forward to some "me" time.
I arrived at the hotel on Tuesday afternoon. This is the view I had out my window. I was looking out over the hotel pool/giant lazy river in front of a beautiful golf course...and, of course, lots and lots of sunshine and palm trees:
It was a great conference with wonderful speakers, educational sessions, and fellowship with colleagues.
What you can't see from the picture above is that I could see Disney's Hollywood Studios themepark out my window as well. As you may know, Disney holds special memories for me. Mom took us in highschool, and Brandon and I went there early in our marriage. We have been with the kids three times, each time symbolic of a new phase of life (first trip for Connor and Kylee, healing after Caden, Hadley's first trip/travelling with family). The magical world holds a special place in my heart. Everytime I glanced out the window, I could think of nothing other than my family....and how badly I missed them. In the evenings, the hotel would play Disney movies on a big screen out by the pool...little ones would sit in their innertubes and bob up and down in the pool while watching the flick. I was homesick.
I held it together through Days 1 and 2. While the scenery was gorgeous, I must say that business travel isn't all it's cracked up to be. I woke up early each morning to work a bit before attending sessions, and days were filled with education, networking, and mediocre food. Nightime found me trying to catch up on work that had accumulated during the day, Skyping with the kids (the highlight), and then falling into bed exhausted. By Day 3, I was nothing short of a mess. One of my colleagues suggested that we go to Downtown Disney for dinner as a fun way to end the trip. As the day went on, I was filled with mixed feelings...it felt somehow wrong to be anywhere even closely related to Disney without my family with me. But, I tried to look at the bright side and went out. I took two steps onto Downtown Disney property and with one look at the huge Disney store, I had a total meltdown. I called Brandon and blubbered on the phone for a few minutes about how much I missed he and the kids...and how ready I was to be back home. He listened patiently, offered some encouragement, and provided me with the Band-Aid that I needed to make it through my last night there. I couldn't believe what a mess I was. I am the woman who fearlessly travelled through Europe for five months in college...and was now reduced to a puddle in front of the Disney store in Orlando, Florida.
It was in that moment that I had a huge realization...that I am nothing apart from the people that I love most in this world. While it is great to have a professional identity, and while I am so blessed to have opportunities such as these, they are meaningless without my family beside me. Uninterrupted toileting and bathing, reading, TV, and sleeping in a bed by myself, while fun for a minute, are over-rated (I can't believe I'm even typing this!). Those little interruptions are woven into the fabric of my being. I'm rather lost without them.
The crowning moment of my trip was not the palm trees nor the sunshine, but rather, seeing my blue minivan pulling up to the curb as I stood outside KCI after my flight back home had landed. I hugged my husband and pulled open the door to find three beautiful faces smiling up at me.
Home feels so very, very good.
As a busy mother of three young children, I dreamt of exotic things like early bedtimes, relaxing afternoons, uninterrupted toileting and bathtime, not arguing about whose turn it was to pick a restaurant, and being able to watch whatever I wanted on TV when I was away. This was my first trip without either Brandon or the children along since before we were married. I knew I would miss them terribly, but looked forward to some "me" time.
I arrived at the hotel on Tuesday afternoon. This is the view I had out my window. I was looking out over the hotel pool/giant lazy river in front of a beautiful golf course...and, of course, lots and lots of sunshine and palm trees:
It was a great conference with wonderful speakers, educational sessions, and fellowship with colleagues.
What you can't see from the picture above is that I could see Disney's Hollywood Studios themepark out my window as well. As you may know, Disney holds special memories for me. Mom took us in highschool, and Brandon and I went there early in our marriage. We have been with the kids three times, each time symbolic of a new phase of life (first trip for Connor and Kylee, healing after Caden, Hadley's first trip/travelling with family). The magical world holds a special place in my heart. Everytime I glanced out the window, I could think of nothing other than my family....and how badly I missed them. In the evenings, the hotel would play Disney movies on a big screen out by the pool...little ones would sit in their innertubes and bob up and down in the pool while watching the flick. I was homesick.
I held it together through Days 1 and 2. While the scenery was gorgeous, I must say that business travel isn't all it's cracked up to be. I woke up early each morning to work a bit before attending sessions, and days were filled with education, networking, and mediocre food. Nightime found me trying to catch up on work that had accumulated during the day, Skyping with the kids (the highlight), and then falling into bed exhausted. By Day 3, I was nothing short of a mess. One of my colleagues suggested that we go to Downtown Disney for dinner as a fun way to end the trip. As the day went on, I was filled with mixed feelings...it felt somehow wrong to be anywhere even closely related to Disney without my family with me. But, I tried to look at the bright side and went out. I took two steps onto Downtown Disney property and with one look at the huge Disney store, I had a total meltdown. I called Brandon and blubbered on the phone for a few minutes about how much I missed he and the kids...and how ready I was to be back home. He listened patiently, offered some encouragement, and provided me with the Band-Aid that I needed to make it through my last night there. I couldn't believe what a mess I was. I am the woman who fearlessly travelled through Europe for five months in college...and was now reduced to a puddle in front of the Disney store in Orlando, Florida.
It was in that moment that I had a huge realization...that I am nothing apart from the people that I love most in this world. While it is great to have a professional identity, and while I am so blessed to have opportunities such as these, they are meaningless without my family beside me. Uninterrupted toileting and bathing, reading, TV, and sleeping in a bed by myself, while fun for a minute, are over-rated (I can't believe I'm even typing this!). Those little interruptions are woven into the fabric of my being. I'm rather lost without them.
The crowning moment of my trip was not the palm trees nor the sunshine, but rather, seeing my blue minivan pulling up to the curb as I stood outside KCI after my flight back home had landed. I hugged my husband and pulled open the door to find three beautiful faces smiling up at me.
Home feels so very, very good.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Springtime
Spring is trying to make an appearance here in Liberty, MO...and some days there are more signs than others.
We took a road trip out to Colorado to see Grandpa and Grandma Carlson over spring break. We made the 12 hour drive there and back and the kids were champions. Brandon and I reflected on exactly how road trips were made before the days of iPods, the Nintendo DS, and DVD players! Yikes. If left to rely simply on the alphabet game or I-Spy to occupy everyone, we wouldn't have made it for more than 3 hours without a total meltdown. We were so grateful for the technology that occupied our troops as we drove along I-70 for hours on end.
We arrived in Colorado and were greeted by beautiful weather. The kids had a great time playing outside with Grandpa and Grandma:
We took a field trip to Denver, where we visited Hammond's candy factory, where they still make all their candy by hand. It was neat to take a tour and visit their gift shop:
The kids have become big fans of "bug park" near Grandpa and Grandma's house, where we spent some time playing:
We took a road trip out to Colorado to see Grandpa and Grandma Carlson over spring break. We made the 12 hour drive there and back and the kids were champions. Brandon and I reflected on exactly how road trips were made before the days of iPods, the Nintendo DS, and DVD players! Yikes. If left to rely simply on the alphabet game or I-Spy to occupy everyone, we wouldn't have made it for more than 3 hours without a total meltdown. We were so grateful for the technology that occupied our troops as we drove along I-70 for hours on end.
We arrived in Colorado and were greeted by beautiful weather. The kids had a great time playing outside with Grandpa and Grandma:
 |
| Riding with Grandpa on the 4 wheeler |
 |
| Taking a spin with Daddy in Grandpa's Corvette |
 |
| Hadley COULD NOT get enough of her friend "Bear"...Grandpa and Grandma's dog, Baron. |
We took a field trip to Denver, where we visited Hammond's candy factory, where they still make all their candy by hand. It was neat to take a tour and visit their gift shop:
We also made a stop at the Denver Children's Museum, where the girls had a great time painting and all the kids enjoyed exploring:
The kids have become big fans of "bug park" near Grandpa and Grandma's house, where we spent some time playing:
A photo op before we left:
It was a nice retreat from daily life. We survived the drive back home and enjoyed the rest of the break around the house. We have since launched right back into the craziness that we call our daily routine. It's hard to believe it's been two weeks since we went on this adventure!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Everyday Life
An update on each of the kids....
Connor is doing well in school and, although it would be his preference to say home, he's enjoying himself in second grade. He has a good group of friends and especially enjoys math and science. Recently, he and another boy in his class wrote their own story and got to read it to the Assistant Principle at his school. He came home on cloud nine. It is rare for him to disclose much of anything to me, but the day he got to read to the AP, well, that was headline news.
His parent teacher conference was student led, meaning that Connor told us what he had been doing in class and how he had improved in each subject area. He has begun writing in cursive, which he's pretty proud of. He's especially good at the letter "G". As a part of their conference, each student wrote a letter to their parents. Connor's teacher told us they were free to write about anything they wanted to. Here's Connor's note to us:
Dear Mom and Dad,
Thank you for letting us go to Disney World and the Great Wolf Lodge. Thank you for buying me cloths. And for fixing me lunch, breakfeast and dinner. and for taking care of me. Thank you for giving me my own olowence. Thanks for buying me stuff like the Wii and my DS. Thank you for folding my cloths for the week and for letting me go to shcool. Thank you for letting me play flag football and soccer. Thank you for planning my birthdays and giving me special privleges. And thank you for letting me be your son.
Your Son,
Connor
I was reduced to tears in the middle of the conference after Connor read these precious words to us. Ms. Groff, Connor's teacher, looked at me and said "I picked you to cry". It is so rare that we get to really see what our children think of us as parents...and this was a great moment. The letter will be framed. On the way home I asked Connor if it embarrassed him that I cried. In his sweet little voice from the backseat he said "Well, Mom...kind of".
And now we have arrived at Kylee. She, too, is doing a great job in school, and it is her life's mission to do EVERYTHING she can to please her teacher, Miss Mac. If Miss Mac says it, it is the gospel truth. She works so hard to get everything just right, and when she is rewarded for her efforts, she is so proud. It's the best. We are so thankful that Miss Mac is such a positive influence in our daughter's world.
She spent the day at home with me yesterday after vomiting early in the morning. In the late morning, she announced that she was "soooooo hungry". I offered her some juice and a popsicle. This was, apparently, not up to par. She requested a piece of toast. I fixed her the toast and she ate it. She then proceeded to lay in our overstuffed chair, repeatedly sighing very loudly. When I asked her what was wrong she said "I'M SOOOO HUNGRY!". I explained to her that she was sick, to which she replied "Mom, I'm NOT sick". So, I let her eat some crackers and drink some milk. Approximately 3 hours later, I regretted giving in to her as she spewed all over our downstairs bathroom. It was like something out of a movie...it just kept coming and coming all over the toilet, walls, and floor. Ugh. Right after she played the role of the human geyser, she looked at me and said "Mom, I just want to go to school". I was so aggravated with the whole thing that I picked that moment, surrounded by vomit in my own bathroom, to say "See, this is why I asked you not to eat anything!". She told Brandon later in the evening that she "thought that staying home all day would be fun, but it just really wasn't". If you can count on anything, it's Kylee's honesty.
In true Kylee J fashion, in the midst of her sick day, she decided to independently raid my make-up drawer and applied everything...eyeshadow, blush, powder, and lipstick. She came down all painted, and, after a couple hours said, "Mom, I need to tell you something. I got into your make-up without asking". I was actually impressed with the job she had done. She is feeling better today and tonight, decided to announce to me at dinner, seemingly out of nowhere, "Mom, I hate to tell you this, and I don't think you're going to like to hear it, but I really wish I didn't look like you. Everyone says I look like you, but I wish I didn't". Nice. I asked her if she'd prefer to look like her Daddy. She didn't comment.
Hadley. What can we say? BUSY. Our baby is a climber. She's everywhere and into everything. Her words have exploded in recent weeks and now she repeats almost everything we say and you can (almost) have a mini-conversation with her. Her passion is our pantry. She begins scrounging through the food in there looking for a "nacky" (snack) around 9:00 am every morning. She goes through Goldfish, Cheeze-Its, Teddy Grahams, whatever she can find. It's endless. She asks for her "milky" (sippy), and also has a passion for her binky. Her other passion in life is shoes. She absolutely adores them. She tries on several throughout the course of a day and insists on wearing shoes, even when she's in her pajamas. We recently splurged and bought her a pair of Sketchers Twinkle Toes that light up. It has been worth every penny to watch her dance just to see them blink.
She continues to adore her big brother and sister, and works hard to keep up with them. She has recently discovered her outside voice, and can often be round walking around the house screaming our names until someone pays attention to her. Once she has your attention, she often just smiles and walks away. She's just proving who's in charge.
I can see the age of two on the horizon....Elmo is the new man in our youngest daughter's world. We have one single Elmo movie that we watch way too many times a day. She LOVES it. She has also started to express her opinion about which books we read to her at naptime and bedtime....Moo, Baa, La, La, La, Little Hoot, Little Kitten, and an Elmo book are favorites. It is so neat to watch her personality emerge. 19 months old this week. Holy cow.
We have signed both Connor and Kylee up for soccer and that will start here in the next week. This will be our first "go" at juggling an activity for both kids at the same time. It will add to the joyful chaos.
There are times that I think my head is going to explode from all the noise in our house...but I've gotten to the place where I can just marvel at it instead of being frustrated by it. It's great to be here. Even if my daughter doesn't want to look like me. :)
Connor is doing well in school and, although it would be his preference to say home, he's enjoying himself in second grade. He has a good group of friends and especially enjoys math and science. Recently, he and another boy in his class wrote their own story and got to read it to the Assistant Principle at his school. He came home on cloud nine. It is rare for him to disclose much of anything to me, but the day he got to read to the AP, well, that was headline news.
His parent teacher conference was student led, meaning that Connor told us what he had been doing in class and how he had improved in each subject area. He has begun writing in cursive, which he's pretty proud of. He's especially good at the letter "G". As a part of their conference, each student wrote a letter to their parents. Connor's teacher told us they were free to write about anything they wanted to. Here's Connor's note to us:
Dear Mom and Dad,
Thank you for letting us go to Disney World and the Great Wolf Lodge. Thank you for buying me cloths. And for fixing me lunch, breakfeast and dinner. and for taking care of me. Thank you for giving me my own olowence. Thanks for buying me stuff like the Wii and my DS. Thank you for folding my cloths for the week and for letting me go to shcool. Thank you for letting me play flag football and soccer. Thank you for planning my birthdays and giving me special privleges. And thank you for letting me be your son.
Your Son,
Connor
I was reduced to tears in the middle of the conference after Connor read these precious words to us. Ms. Groff, Connor's teacher, looked at me and said "I picked you to cry". It is so rare that we get to really see what our children think of us as parents...and this was a great moment. The letter will be framed. On the way home I asked Connor if it embarrassed him that I cried. In his sweet little voice from the backseat he said "Well, Mom...kind of".
And now we have arrived at Kylee. She, too, is doing a great job in school, and it is her life's mission to do EVERYTHING she can to please her teacher, Miss Mac. If Miss Mac says it, it is the gospel truth. She works so hard to get everything just right, and when she is rewarded for her efforts, she is so proud. It's the best. We are so thankful that Miss Mac is such a positive influence in our daughter's world.
She spent the day at home with me yesterday after vomiting early in the morning. In the late morning, she announced that she was "soooooo hungry". I offered her some juice and a popsicle. This was, apparently, not up to par. She requested a piece of toast. I fixed her the toast and she ate it. She then proceeded to lay in our overstuffed chair, repeatedly sighing very loudly. When I asked her what was wrong she said "I'M SOOOO HUNGRY!". I explained to her that she was sick, to which she replied "Mom, I'm NOT sick". So, I let her eat some crackers and drink some milk. Approximately 3 hours later, I regretted giving in to her as she spewed all over our downstairs bathroom. It was like something out of a movie...it just kept coming and coming all over the toilet, walls, and floor. Ugh. Right after she played the role of the human geyser, she looked at me and said "Mom, I just want to go to school". I was so aggravated with the whole thing that I picked that moment, surrounded by vomit in my own bathroom, to say "See, this is why I asked you not to eat anything!". She told Brandon later in the evening that she "thought that staying home all day would be fun, but it just really wasn't". If you can count on anything, it's Kylee's honesty.
In true Kylee J fashion, in the midst of her sick day, she decided to independently raid my make-up drawer and applied everything...eyeshadow, blush, powder, and lipstick. She came down all painted, and, after a couple hours said, "Mom, I need to tell you something. I got into your make-up without asking". I was actually impressed with the job she had done. She is feeling better today and tonight, decided to announce to me at dinner, seemingly out of nowhere, "Mom, I hate to tell you this, and I don't think you're going to like to hear it, but I really wish I didn't look like you. Everyone says I look like you, but I wish I didn't". Nice. I asked her if she'd prefer to look like her Daddy. She didn't comment.
Hadley. What can we say? BUSY. Our baby is a climber. She's everywhere and into everything. Her words have exploded in recent weeks and now she repeats almost everything we say and you can (almost) have a mini-conversation with her. Her passion is our pantry. She begins scrounging through the food in there looking for a "nacky" (snack) around 9:00 am every morning. She goes through Goldfish, Cheeze-Its, Teddy Grahams, whatever she can find. It's endless. She asks for her "milky" (sippy), and also has a passion for her binky. Her other passion in life is shoes. She absolutely adores them. She tries on several throughout the course of a day and insists on wearing shoes, even when she's in her pajamas. We recently splurged and bought her a pair of Sketchers Twinkle Toes that light up. It has been worth every penny to watch her dance just to see them blink.
She continues to adore her big brother and sister, and works hard to keep up with them. She has recently discovered her outside voice, and can often be round walking around the house screaming our names until someone pays attention to her. Once she has your attention, she often just smiles and walks away. She's just proving who's in charge.
I can see the age of two on the horizon....Elmo is the new man in our youngest daughter's world. We have one single Elmo movie that we watch way too many times a day. She LOVES it. She has also started to express her opinion about which books we read to her at naptime and bedtime....Moo, Baa, La, La, La, Little Hoot, Little Kitten, and an Elmo book are favorites. It is so neat to watch her personality emerge. 19 months old this week. Holy cow.
We have signed both Connor and Kylee up for soccer and that will start here in the next week. This will be our first "go" at juggling an activity for both kids at the same time. It will add to the joyful chaos.
There are times that I think my head is going to explode from all the noise in our house...but I've gotten to the place where I can just marvel at it instead of being frustrated by it. It's great to be here. Even if my daughter doesn't want to look like me. :)
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Winter Montage
To sum up life in a short statement, let's just say: We've had ONE full week of school since before Christmas.
Mother Nature has thrown snow, ice, sleet, and below zero wind-chills our direction almost non-stop. We've had snow day after snow day over the course of the last few weeks, which is fun for awhile...but on day 3 in week 3, the party is over and it's time to go back to school. With an early dismissal on Monday, we found ourselves enjoying life on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Thursday, it was all hands on deck to try to prevent World War III. Connor and Kylee were nitpicking at each other, Kylee was fed up with Hadley, and I was fed up with all of it. We were relieved to hear school was back in session on Friday.
But, to back up a little bit....
In early January, we had the opportunity to participate in a service project that involved packing food for an organization called Numana, who provides sealed bags of rice and beans to families in Haiti. One bag serves 5 people. The kids were able to dive in and help in the assembly line, which was really cool. It was also neat to have such a tangible, measurable example how much even the smallest amount of food means to those who are hungry. Below are pictures of Connor catching rice in the baggies and Kylee "patting down" the filled bags so that they could be boxed up for delivery.
With snow has come some outdoor play. The kids had a great time sledding down the hill in our back yard with the first major snowfall. With this most recent snow, Connor and Kylee created a "snow family" in our front yard. Below is a picture of the whole family, including mom, brother, sister, and the dog, followed by a close-up of brother and sister. I am told there wasn't enough snow to make dad or a baby.
The kids had one day of school last week and on that day, had the highly-anticipated "100th Day of School" kindergarten celebration. Kylee's class spent the day focusing on the number 100, and each classmate contributed their own unique collection of 100 items to tell about (Kylee was insistent on bringing popcorn kernels...I was thankful she was opting for something cheap). Parents were invited to join in the fun. Below are pics from the celebration, highlighting the 100 Day hats and the 100 Fruit Loops/Cheerios necklaces that the kids each created:
We hear that more snow is headed our way this weekend, but are optimistic that it won't be as much as we've had over the previous few weeks. In the midst of all of it, we feel blessed to have food in the pantry and warm beds to sleep in at night. And the kids are especially grateful for the bounty of hot chocolate that has been available in our house. :)
Mother Nature has thrown snow, ice, sleet, and below zero wind-chills our direction almost non-stop. We've had snow day after snow day over the course of the last few weeks, which is fun for awhile...but on day 3 in week 3, the party is over and it's time to go back to school. With an early dismissal on Monday, we found ourselves enjoying life on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Thursday, it was all hands on deck to try to prevent World War III. Connor and Kylee were nitpicking at each other, Kylee was fed up with Hadley, and I was fed up with all of it. We were relieved to hear school was back in session on Friday.
But, to back up a little bit....
In early January, we had the opportunity to participate in a service project that involved packing food for an organization called Numana, who provides sealed bags of rice and beans to families in Haiti. One bag serves 5 people. The kids were able to dive in and help in the assembly line, which was really cool. It was also neat to have such a tangible, measurable example how much even the smallest amount of food means to those who are hungry. Below are pictures of Connor catching rice in the baggies and Kylee "patting down" the filled bags so that they could be boxed up for delivery.
With snow has come some outdoor play. The kids had a great time sledding down the hill in our back yard with the first major snowfall. With this most recent snow, Connor and Kylee created a "snow family" in our front yard. Below is a picture of the whole family, including mom, brother, sister, and the dog, followed by a close-up of brother and sister. I am told there wasn't enough snow to make dad or a baby.
The kids had one day of school last week and on that day, had the highly-anticipated "100th Day of School" kindergarten celebration. Kylee's class spent the day focusing on the number 100, and each classmate contributed their own unique collection of 100 items to tell about (Kylee was insistent on bringing popcorn kernels...I was thankful she was opting for something cheap). Parents were invited to join in the fun. Below are pics from the celebration, highlighting the 100 Day hats and the 100 Fruit Loops/Cheerios necklaces that the kids each created:
We hear that more snow is headed our way this weekend, but are optimistic that it won't be as much as we've had over the previous few weeks. In the midst of all of it, we feel blessed to have food in the pantry and warm beds to sleep in at night. And the kids are especially grateful for the bounty of hot chocolate that has been available in our house. :)
Friday, January 07, 2011
Christmas Has Come and Gone...
Our Christmas was filled with food, family, pajamas, and presents. How much better could it have been?
We entered into Christmas with the kids' holiday parties at school. I had volunteered to coordinate the party for Kylee's class, so Brandon took the afternoon off work to help with Hadley and so one of us could attend Connor's party. As you can see in the pictures, Hadley fit right into the mix in both classrooms. :)
Big smiles:
We hope 2011 finds you happy, healthy, and blessed.
We entered into Christmas with the kids' holiday parties at school. I had volunteered to coordinate the party for Kylee's class, so Brandon took the afternoon off work to help with Hadley and so one of us could attend Connor's party. As you can see in the pictures, Hadley fit right into the mix in both classrooms. :)
The kids really enjoyed the break from school. Connor, especially, was a little burnt out and ready for a break. We spent a fair amount of time in our jammies over the break, and the kids were excited to have more TV and Wii time than normal. We played Rock Band and Mario Kart together and just relaxed. It was wonderful.
Christmas Eve found us at the KC Rep, where we took in their production of A Christmas Carol. It was amazing. Connor, Kylee, and I attended along with Uncle Craig, Aunt Sarah, and cousins Cara and Collin. The kids were all real troopers and the message of the play was a great one to start the holiday out with.
Christmas Eve we spent time with the Haneke/McKinney clan and we tackled our first REAL traditional holiday meal since Grandpa and Grandma have been gone. Brandon and I read up on how to fix a bird and Brandon took charge of that project. The meat was DELICIOUS and the side dishes brought by Sarah and Mandy rounded out the meal perfectly. We enjoyed dinner together as a family, eaten on Grandma's Christmas china with Mom's silverware, and had a nice evening.
Connor has figured out the secret behind Santa, but Kylee is still full-throttle into it, so she was so excited to put out cookies and milk for Santa. This year, she put a sign next to the plate so the big man in red was sure to find his snack.
I thought it was precious. A part of her ritual is to prop the fireplace glass open so Santa can get through. :)
We tucked three very tired kids in bed on Christmas Eve. Connor was back up at 1:00 am, asking if it was time to open presents. Daddy tucked him back in, and then everyone slept until about 6:45 am. Connor and Kylee came into our room, rearing to go...we were able to talk them into laying in bed with us until about 7:15. We got up and Christmas morning began. Hadley was still sleeping soundly in her crib until around 8:15. The big kids had came, destroyed, and were playing with their new toys before she even awoke. :)
Santa brought Connor and Kylee beanbags this year:
On Christmas afternoon, we left Liberty and boarded an airplane for Colorado, where we celebrated Christmas with the Carlsons. We were grateful to arrive there in one piece (and without being groped at airport security). Hadley was a champ on the plane, keeping Mommy really busy all through the flight, and then sacking out as we taxied to the jetway after landing. Of course.
We had a great time in Colorado, hosted by Grandpa and Grandma Carlson and with cousins Drew, Amy, and Beth and Aunt Mary and Uncle Justin. The weather while we were there was actually quite mild. The kids took turns riding the 4 wheeler with Grandpa Carlson and we enjoyed more good food, playing games, and spending time together at Grandpa and Grandma's house. This was Hadley's first visit to Grandpa and Grandma's, and she just slid right into it like she'd been there a thousand times before. It was great!
We came home tired, but very happy. We spent New Year's at the Blakemore farm in Kearney and then celebrated Christmas on January 2nd with McKinney family at Aunt Sarah's house, where we inherited, among many things, a Venus Fly Trap (pics to come). It was a great note to end the season on.
The kids went back to school on Tuesday of this week and it has been a bit of a rough adjustment for all of us. I feel as if Kylee, in particular, is experiencing kindergarten re-entry all over again, as she has been really whiny and quick to melt down since going back to school, which has made things interesting on the home front. Hadley has been a bit lost without brother and sister in the house. Today while I was changing linens on our beds, she busied herself by throwing some of Kylee's bracelets in the toilet (does it say something about our stage of life when I admit that one of the blessings in my day was that the toilet water was "clean" when I had to fish the bracelets out?). Our 17 month old tornado was quite proud of her work.
It's been a long week and we're grateful that the weekend is here.
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