Ring in the New Year

There was no snow here this year for the holidays, and actually, we've experienced a rather mild winter--especially in comparison to last winter.  This year, we had a lot of rain--well above the average.  New Year's Eve was no exception.  That took fireworks out of our celebration plans, but we still rang in the new year well.  We had food and games and generally just spent time together.  Nothing extravagant, but ways in which we wish we could spend our time more often.  So we enjoyed it. 

Jozsef found the biggest cup he could find to make and enjoy one of our annual root beer floats 

One thing we did do differently this year was how we actually counted down the time to the new year.  I made a clock in the hallway.  Each balloon was filled with a treat and had a party popper tied to it.  Every hour, on the hour, starting at 1pm, a different child called out the time like the town crier and popped the party popper.  Then they burst the balloon to discover their treat.  They had a lot of fun and it was a great way to count the hours.

 Hannah played games with us for as long as she could, then she danced a bit to the New Year's Rockin' Eve performers before she sat down to rest--and eventually passed out.  Not amount of noise woke the girl once she was out.  :-)

 The ball dropped, and more locally the peach dropped.  There were cheers and hugs and kisses and then we finished our game before we cleaned up and called it done. 

 Another year done.  A new year ahead of us.  May God bless us and lead us through each day. 

Christmas Catch Up

We began our Christmas celebration with a church service.  Before service began, we enjoyed a photo booth they had set up in the lobby.  It was a nice touch for the festivities. 

Being that our service was on Saturday and Christmas was on Monday, the vibe was a bit off since they felt so far apart.  But we took relaxation and preparation in stride and enjoyed our time.  We took a school break, and Jozsef took some time off of work, but he had a delicate balance to keep between spending time with us and making enough money to pay his bills, so he was home less than he would have liked.  John, however, enjoyed time off.  Since church was on a completely different day, Christmas Even and Christmas Day weren't terribly different here.  Both were filled with food, play, and time together.  The biggest difference was presents.  :-) 

Jozsef worked on Christmas Eve, so we decided to go have lunch where he was.  The restaurant wasn't terribly busy so he was able to visit with us a bit.  After pizza, John went to run a few last minute errands, and I took the kids to Stars N Strikes for a little fun.  The kids played at bumper cars and video games and tired to amass as many tickets as they could in order to take home the best prizes. 

The bumper car gang

Hannah loved this motorcycle racing game

The fishing game was a favorite.  Riley actually was able to hit the hardest target and get the biggest score possible.  Way to go Riley! 

Group games were the best fun

Connor won the Indominus Rex toy and graciously gave it to Riley because, well, Riley and dinosaurs go hand in hand.  :-) 

 They all walked out with something they were happy to take home and memories to match.  That night, when Jozsef was home from work and we had all eaten dinner, we played a new game.  John set us up to play the Saran Wrap Ball game.  If you haven't heard of it before, it's a game where prizes are wrapped at different levels of a saran wrapped ball.  A player rolls the dice until he gets doubles.  While he's rolling, the player to his left is fervently trying to unwrap as much of the ball as he can.  Whatever prizes he unveils he gets to keep.  This process is repeated around the circle until the ball of prizes is gone.  It was quite fun and I think we may have started a new tradition.  :-) 

Following the Saran Wrap game, the kids were each allowed to open one gift before we had dessert and settled in to watch a movie before bed. 

This year we tried our hand at making fudge, rum balls, and fruitcake.  We've made fudge before--it's a favorite of John's--but we've never made rum balls and fruitcake before.  The rum balls was my mom's recipe and they were well loved--the first treat we ran out of.  The fruitcake was John's mom's recipe.  Now I've never actually eaten fruit cake before, and I know it gets mixed reviews, but I thought it was pretty good, as did the kids, and John was just loving the flood of good memories he had around the dessert. 

Christmas morning started early enough with excited kids, a viewing of Sunrise Earth, and an egg casserole.  After everyone was fed and dressed, we settled in to enjoy opening gifts to a background of a roaring fireplace and Christmas tunes.  We open our gifts slowly, youngest to oldest, one at a time, so that we can see and appreciate each gift.  It's a long but enjoyable process. 

Sonja gifted Hannah with Barbie Pets and Hannah was most thrilled

Connor always enjoys adorning himself with the wrappings

When we're done with gift opening, and the clean up is completed, then we break off onto our own areas of interest, usually discovering in more detail a gift received.  Before you know it, it's time to make and enjoy dinner, dessert, and a movie before bed. 

Our kitchen is one of the smallest we've ever had, which poses challenges for a large family.  After moving in, we realized that this is also the first kitchen we've had that did not have an island.  The lack of counter space is especially apparent when we are making meals.  We finally decided to get a mobile counter top extension in the shape of a cart.  It's as big as our small space will allow, but it's super helpful.  We put it into action for the first time in preparing for our Christmas meal.

We go non-traditional for Christmas and enjoy homemade sushi.  This year John even made special rolls filled with salmon, mango, cucumber, and avocado.  Can you say "yummy"?  :-) 

By then, we're usually really ready for sleep. 

The days after Christmas are enjoyed in various relaxing ways, generally speaking, until the New Year celebration begins.  But we focus on one holiday at a time.  We like to relish them that way.  :-)

Nikolas gifted Jozsef a handheld electronic Oregon Trail game.  Jozsef loved the retro feel and reminisced the days of PC play of the game.  This version became popular with the kids quickly and they spent a good amount of time playing together.  

My hope is that peace and joy filled your home this year, as we remembered the best gift ever given--The Christ Child.  Merry Christmas!

A Dino-riffic Day

**Special note--Somehow, this entry did not post and I noticed it as I was posting my Christmas entry.  This event was in mid-November, not in December.  Just for the record**

Riley is a dinosaur fan.  I mean a BIG dinosaur fan.  The Jurassic Park series tops his favorites list and the boy could play with dinosaurs just as long as he could play Legos.  So when he asked to do something dinosaur related for his birthday, I was not surprised.  I researched our area and found a suitable location--a science museum ripe with fossils.  So for Riley's birthday, I set out with Riley and Connor to discover some dinosaurs.

Our first stop was lunch, because you must be well fed in order to explore.  Buffalo's Cafe was the chosen restaurant and not only did we have a great meal, they surprised Riley with a boisterous song and a cookie sundae.  He was so tickled.

After lunch we drove out to the museum.  We had all of our senses jam packed with fun information as we learned about dinosaurs, meteors, the evolution of automobile design, NASA science, magnetics, sound, color, thermography, weather, minerals and rocks, and fossils in general.  We arrived just as all of the school groups were leaving and we practically had the place to ourselves.  The boys were on top of the world as they read, studied, touched, and explored the halls of new information.  I believe Connor was most wowed by the rocks and minerals.  Riley was most wowed by the dinosaurs, though both were surprised that some of the animals they saw in movies were in fossil structure right before their eyes. l do believe that they gained a new appreciation for the creatures in Ice Age.  :-)

What we spent the most time on though, was the gem mining and the fossil dig.  In both areas, we were basically the only people present.  The boys were given tools and rules and then set loose to see what they could find.  And the best part was, they could not just take their time, but they could keep their findings.  It was pretty awesome.  :-)

I think they could have spent the entire day in those two exhibits alone, but I did eventually prod them to move on so that we could see more of the museum before they closed.  The entire afternoon was spent soaking up science, and we left pretty close to closing time.  I took chatty happy boys home that evening who were more than jazzed to story tell and share with their siblings.

Cake and gifts had a fun twist this year.  When Grandma found out what we were doing to celebrate, she remembered a cake she made for Jozsef's third birthday--a volcanic mountain dino haven.  She told me she still had some of the things we decorated with and she sent them to us so that Riley could enjoy them to.  So on Riley's eighth birthday, we were surrounded by dinosaurs that adorned the walls, table, and cake for Jozsef's third birthday.  It was pretty special and Riley loved it.  Jozsef was tickled too.

There was so much to soak in and so many wonderful learning moments in this birthday.  I'm pretty sure it's a day to remember for a while.  :-)  Making good memories, that's the best of all.  I'm so happy that we have Riley with us to make memories with. Praise the Lord!

We love you Riley!  Happy Birthday dear boy! Welcome to eight.  :-)