Beginning of the Year Randoms

On New Year's Eve, we took the kids to a friend's house in Howell and while the kids hung out at the house (with lots of food, snacks and games), the adults went on a party bus and visited a few bars in the area.  We were back long before midnight and while our later evening plans changed abruptly, we had a nice time celebrating the end of the 2024 year.

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We celebrated Grandpa's 79th birthday at our house on New Year's Day.

Obviously I opted to not include all 79 candles on the cake!  Here's to another year of good health before we celebrate the "big 8-0" with him in 2026.

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The boys have been working hard on building a snowboarding/sledding ramp in the back yard.  

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Jack received a popular (and expensive) pair of sneakers for Christmas and was excited to wear them to head back to school.

Green and white Air Jordan's:

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The Annual Squirrel and Rabbit Hunt hosted by our local American Legion was a success:

At one point in the afternoon, with the fire roaring in the garage, I found Jimmy taking a small snooze.  He regained some energy shortly thereafter and rallied to later attend the dinner and prize ceremony with Steve, Sam and Jack.

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Sam and a couple of friends planned a special night with dinner, movies and snacks.  The snacks were based on board games and Sam chose 'Mousetrap' and I helped her put together a charcuterie tray with crackers, cheese and the cutest homemade chocolate mice.  Needless to say, it was a big hit!

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The lake is frozen and perfect for ice-skating!

And then later, I often find the boys tired out from all of their time spent outside in the snow and on the ice.  Michigan winters are perfect for them.

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One evening, while the girls were out shopping, we decided to take the boys into town for dinner.  The local bar/restaurant has a pool table and I gave the boys some quarters to be able to play.  I chuckled because it wasn't long before a guy -- who had been watching them play -- challenged Jack to a game.  He was impressed with Jack's talent (at the age of 11) and it was a moment of pride watching Jack in his prime. 

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Christmas - 2024

After sprinkling reindeer food all around the front lawn, the kids came back inside and were ready to open their traditional Christmas Eve gift.

By now, they know that there are always new pajamas in the boxes but they do not know exactly what they will look like.  And, I always hold my breath a little hoping that they like them and that they fit.  I can proudly say that they were all winners this year!

We all watched a movie together, then Jimmy picked out cookies and filled a mug of milk for Santa before everyone retired to their beds ... waiting in anticipation for Christmas morning to come.

The kids were not up quite as early as they used to be on Christmas morning, but they were still ready to open presents long before the sun came up.

Stockings are always first!

These two seem to always be right next to one another in whatever activity we do.  And I would like to note that Jimmy looks like he is still a bit sleepy.  Ha!

New work gloves were on Jack's Christmas list.  The hatchet was NOT, but Steve knew that he would like it.  I guess that he was right.

A small, cordless vacuum so that she can keep her vehicle clean.  

The Detroit Lions have had an EPIC football season and we are excited to see how far they go into the playoffs!

And this, right here?  

I might have teared up a bit listening to him read the letter left behind from Santa.

For years, Santa has brought him a new stuffed hedgehog for his hedgehog family.  They always have a name (all starting with 'H') and this was the last one to complete the full family.

Please allow me to formally introduce you to Henrietta:

Jack received his beloved (and much wished for!) Air Jordan shoes.

Gifts from their dad:

Later, we celebrated with family at our house and ended the evening picking up LOTS of wrapping paper while James strategically placed all of his new football trading cards in his binder.

Here's to a great year to 2025!

Christmas Cookies and Gingerbread Houses - 2024

This year, we waited to make Christmas cookies until Christmas Eve; not necessarily because that was the plan but it was the best day when all of the kids were home together (and Sam wasn't working).  

Strategically placing his cookie cutters to maximize the amount of cookies that he could get from his sugar cookie dough:

I am pretty sure that Sophia makes at least one Santa cookie every year ... full of details and design.

Likewise, I am sure that Sam takes one of our 'elf' cookie cutters and turns it upside down to make a least one reindeer.

Another Christmas tradition in the books.

Later that night, the Jimmy was in charge of picking out a few of the freshly-decorated cookies for Santa's plate.  I can't be 100% sure, but I think that he really enjoyed them ;)

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One day, Christmas Catherine showed up with gingerbread houses for each of the kids to work on.  

It was a nice afternoon activity for everyone to work on at the dining room table on their own individual trays.

These blue trays have been through a lot over the years and are still going strong!

Jack prefers to carefully engineer his.

Steve jumped in to help Jimmy because, Lord knows, I am not very good at constructing gingerbread houses.  I prefer to buy the ones that are already assembled and then use my skills for decorating.

Fully put together and ready to decorate.

In process.  By the way, it looks like Christmas Catherine may have lost her balance in the middle of the table during the activity.  

Colorful gum drops are a must.  Always.

Letting her creative genius work!

Banana runts!

Complete and ready to head to her job at the local winery ...

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Christmas Catherine - 2024

We celebrated another season of our beloved elf coming to visit with both expected and unexpected antics.  Here are some of her escapades:

Annual North Pole Breakfast on December 1st, announcing her arrival:

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Rumikub is a game that the kids have been playing lately so she set up her own game with one of Jimmy's rubber lizards.

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Christmas Catherine really loves to draw and doodle, so one night, she set to work drawing and coloring the Grinch's hands with a special message.  She later left it behind -- fully colored -- and Jimmy hung it up on his bedroom door.

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Right before a big snowstorm, she left behind a message on the door to let the kids know that the snow was coming.  

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"Please do not feed the dinosaurs."  And she did ... marshmallows!

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It took the kids a LONG time to find Christmas Catherine on her make-shift swing because she was hanging behind the basement door.  

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She made a pair of make-shift stilts with two left-over rolls of wrapping paper and Sophia's precious UGG slippers.

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This was a funny one that all of us laughed about; maybe not Steve though.  Ha!

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Jack has been lifting weights in the basements so Christmas Catherine set up her own little weight-lifting section on his weight bench.

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A rousing game of tic-tac-toe using marshmallows.  Clearly she found the partial bag that was in the pantry.

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Christmas Tree goodies for good kids!

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A laughable prank with my computer mouse.

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Another prank with a can of corn and some pre-popped corn.

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It seems that she helped herself to one of our apples during the night!

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A well-designed sledding hill down our main staircase.

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She left behind some Hershey Kisses, but not before disguising herself as one!

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A candy cane hunt!

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Ooops!  The boys couldn't use their bathroom all day long!

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She hung some light-up balloons in the basement above the pool table.  Note that during the holiday season, I often turn the pool table area into my own personal 'wrapping station.'

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A special hot cocoa station!

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On her final night, while waiting for Santa to pick her up, she used M&Ms to special out her departure message.

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