the days after Christmas...

We had a great Christmas here in the land of red heads.  I'll find some of those pictures to post later.  But, the day after Christmas, I took the kids to Grammy Pammy's for more Christmas fun.  The car ride wasn't horrible, but it took us forever to finally get on the actual interstate.  Then, we had to stop to eat and stop again for the bathroom.  We got to Eric and Bitsy's in time for some unsupervised cousin play time and time for the grown folks to sit around and talk.  It was nice.  Joe was there and I hadn't seen him in a long time.  And, everyone got to see Kinley with her super-friendly personality (insert sarcasm here).

Ah, family.

Me, Joe and Bitsy.  Photobombed by some of Bitsy's kids.

The next day was Christmas at Grammy's.  We had a great lunch and then opened gifts from Grammy and Lanny.

Yummy!

We put the kids in the back bedroom while presents were put under the tree.  Liam wants you to know that he is holding a treasure map that he made.

Let the chaos insue!  Presents and wrapping paper were everywhere!

Liam loved his new shirt.  He wore it 2 days in a row.

These lucky boys got a Wii U from Lanny.

Kella, in her new pretty purple dress and crown.

Marcus, excited about bubble wrap.

Liam commandeered Jacob's microphone and sang to us.  Mostly a One Direction song that he knows.  And, then some Christmas music.  He loved this microphone so much, we ordered one for him that same day. (as I type this, Liam is reading right along.  It's pretty fun.)

Kella had to sing, too.

We chilled out and watched Babes in Toyland.

Grammy Pammy's fireplace with all the Spielman stockings.

The stockings

Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving review

A month behind on blog posts.  Seems legit.  Mostly, I was shamed into posting after I help Liam post on his blog. So, here we are on Christmas Eve eve, ready to look at pictures from Thanksgiving.

I am so glad I was able to trade my holiday so we could go back to Illinois to see the Shaffer side of the family.  Even the car ride there and back went pretty smoothly.  We drove straight through on Wednesday and got to Chris and Kim's as the snow was starting to really cover the roads.  We didn't have to go anywhere while we were there.  When we left Friday morning, it was cold, but the roads were clear.  The children were content for most of the time and the dog even behaved.

And, it was so nice just to be together and enjoy everyone's company.  I think that is what I am most thankful for:  time to sit and visit and just be.  

I took some pictures.  Let's see if they can tell our story...

Liam might have been a little worn out after the drive to Illinois.

Kella discovered the cousins' stash of barbies.

We played lots of games!  Board games.

Card games.

Did I get any pictures of the actual Thanksgiving dinner?  Apparently not.  I guess I was too busy eating.

I got an awesome picture of the brothers. 

And, a picture of some Illinois wearing guys.

Liam, Savannah and Marie.

The "C" cousins: Cale and Cassie.

Loved the trip.  The highlight of our Thanksgiving break.

the tree got decorated

We made our yearly trek to the local hardware store to pick out our Christmas tree.  The kids were excited and Andy was thrilled to relocate some of our furniture to accommodate the tree.  (sarcasm noted) Andy got the tree secured in the stand, I hung the lights and the kids hung all our ornaments.  Then, Kinley came through and we re-hung some of the ornaments.

Good dog. Ponyo has left the tree alone.  And, since they rarely come downstairs anymore, the cats don't bother the tree, either.

Let's hear from Cale!

This is a Pinterest win, folks!  I actually remembered to have all my kids answers their birthday questions.  Last, and certainly not least, is Cale.  So, here we go....

Favorite color: orange
Favorite toy: nintendo 2ds
Fav thing to sleep with: nothing
Fav fruit: pears
Fav. cereal: don't know
Fav thing to eat for breakfast: omlet
Fav thing to eat for lunch: don't know
Fav dessert: root beer float
Fav drink: milk shake
What do you want for your birthday dinner: root beer float (hmm, we had waffles)
Fav animal: scorpion
Fav. book: Percy Jackson series
Fav. game: 3ds Super Smash Bros.
Fav. movie: Harry Potter
Fav think to do outside: run

More "don't know" answers: favorite stuffed animal, favorite song, favorite tv show, best friend and what he wants to be when he grows up.

We're making plans here

We've watched Elf twice recently.  Yesterday, Ewan asked if he could sneak into Santa's present sack. I said no. Santa has lots of presents to deliver. Ewan said he would pretend to go to the bathroom and sneak downstairs. He even drew a picture explaining his plan. All I can say is that Santa is in trouble.

Cale's birthday! Double digits!

Cale.  My second boy to hit double digits!  He was pretty excited for his birthday.  It was a busy day, and even he had a basketball practice.  So, we split up some birthday stuff and let him open his cards at lunch and then after dinner, look for his presents.  The boys really like when Andy hides the gifts and then gives a list of clues as to where to find them.  Andy also likes to throw in some decoy gifts-probably my favorite this time were 2 carrots wrapped in a yogurt box.  

This lucky boy got some cool stuff.  An indoor basketball, a couple new board/card games, a ds game, a duffel bag, pokemon cards....Cale was quite happy.

Cale's birthday cake with the Flash's logo.  Andy decorated and it turned out pretty well.  It's birthday cake.  I think everyone is just excited to have cake.

I got my picture taken with my boy.  And yes, we are squishing Marcus to keep him from totally photobombing our photo.

What can I say about Cale....he is

so smart

competitive

loves to play games

loves to play sports

is very kind to his sisters

a good helper

likes to be a leader

very social

We just love him so much!

Cale Joseph, you are a blessing in our lives!

Happy 10th birthday!