Ho Ho Ho Hoopla

This year Christmas started on Christmas Eve while family was all still here. We had a little cousin gift exchange and a yummy turkey meal. Once we arrived at Ken and MarGene's the kids were so excited Andrew went right to the tree and found one of his presents. I quickly had to stop him from opening it until it was time.

All the kids were eager and lined up for a quick photo op before they took their spots for gift opening. Jeff, Jared, & Ken passed out the presents and the chaos of opening began. This year instead of making each person go one by one we just said once you get a gift open it. This made it a bit tough to keep up and see what everyone got. It seriously was wrapping paper and presents everywhere type of thing. All was fun and smiles were all around. I don't think I saw any of the kids sad. Everyone loved what they got this year.

Among our gifts Jeff was excited to get a medley of classic DVDs movies from his childhood. We've already watched Blackbeard's Ghost and Gus the Mule. We've got several others waiting for their turn in the rotation. We also got a cool statue of Christ that I've got to find a special spot for. We had a great time with family and were sad to see them leave. It is always hard to see everyone go home and wish we could see each other more often.

This was a warm up for our own Christmas on the actual Christmas day. Around this house presents wait until we are all good and ready to get up. I find it funny that Jeff and I are both awake and ready but have to wait for the kids. Andrew came out first at 8:45am and saw that the cookies and milk for Santa were gone. He was very happy and excited to see this. We had to tell him to go ahead and wake up Meg so we could get started.

We wasted no time opening the gifts under the tree. Loved the pillow pets from Grandpa Wilson and the knitted hats from Granny Annie. Our kids were opening machines and wanted to see everything they got before they decided what to open first. They were both very patient and waited for each other. It is cute to see them grow up and get just as excited as the year before. They loved everything they got and didn't complain or feel like they missed out on anything. I guess we did a pretty good job in our purchases.

After the mayhem was over we separated the stuff and Jeff took Andrew to make room for his new stuff while I took Meg in her room to find a spot for her new stuff. During this part of the day Megan started to lay down on her bed and really stopped helping me saying she didn't feel so good. Little did we know at the time that this was just the beginning of the stomach flu for her. She couldn't keep anything down and was in bed pretty much all of Christmas Day. It even carried over to Sunday where she was still tossing her cookies. She didn't get upset she just wished she could feel better. It wasn't until Monday that she actually bounced back and was ready to play.

We had an awesome Christmas and are so thankful for everything and everyone in our lives. It was great to see family. Love seeing the glee on my kids faces. This all made our year worth it. We hope next year will bring us just as much joy and maybe more.

Getting Wet

Now for the main event at the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park. This was a largely anticipated event that seemed to take forever to get here. We usually do our VF gatherings in November for Thanksgiving. This year because of crazy schedules we had to bump it which made it seem even longer of a wait.

Once we arrived we wasted no time changing into our swim gear and hitting the water. We learned a few things from last year and definitely came prepared this year. The kids remembered most of what they played on last year and knew exactly what they wanted to hit up first. We all split and headed out to what we wanted to do.

It was really nice having so many adults around. We did a great job of dividing up to watch each others kids. It gave us an opportunity to go on rides with those we don't get to see often and spread things out. It really worked well for us.

We had two days and one night at the lodge. We packed as much in as the little ones could handle. It's sometimes hard to remember their little bodies can get tired out more quickly than the adults. We did our best to stay hydrated and had lots of yummy snacks throughout the day.

We had a little drama with the girls this year. We have the 3 older ones that like to play together and for some reason that odd number 3 can cause someone to get left out. This was the first year of really having that issue. Usually everyone hangs out so well and gets along with everyone. It wasn't a major issue just the beginning of maybe more drama in the future as they get older and into other things. It should be interesting to see our next gatherings.

The lodge also had some cool events planned in the lobby. They had story time, visit with Santa, a puppet like show, and it snowed indoors.

The lobby was so packed and I have to say some of the parents were a bit over the top but our gang surely loved every minutes of the extra activities.

After the second day it was time to head home. We kind of played it by ear and as the kids came in and said they were done we'd slowly begin to pack up. Laurie's fam headed out first with Ken and MarGene. Shortly after Dan's fam and mine called it done and began our pack up. Two full days of going surely wore out this group. Andrew didn't even make it home before he fell asleep in the car from all the excitement. It was an awesome gathering and I'm so happy to be apart of it. We've already started to throw out ideas for next year.

VF Family Cooks up Holiday Cheer

The second half of our group arrived Tuesday night while we were out bowling. So Wednesday we could gather completely and let the fun begin.

Some years back we started a little tradition whenever possible of doing some type of service project as a whole family. Ken usually is in charge of getting it put together and the family supplies the labor. This year we made and decorated cookies to take to a shelter.

Ken and MarGene got us all aprons to help in our decorating efforts. Each family was a different color and we all had our names on them. The kids loved getting in their aprons and couldn't wait to decorate. No one complained or bickered one bit. It was a nice group effort to help all the little ones get creative.

I don't think any two cookies really looked the same. We had plenty to decorate so even the adults got a chance to show off some creative talent. We had a variety of different looking cookies when all was said and done.

The cookies were baked and frosted Thursday night while we were gone. We got to help with the decorating which was really the fun part. Kids would shout out which shape cookie they wanted to decorate and then what color gel or sprinkles. We had plenty of adults around to help out as the shout outs came.

I think it was fun for everyone to get in the kitchen and do their part. In the spirit of service it all went smoothly and everyone was happy.


After the decorating efforts the kids just played and hung out till our next event. We were gearing up to deliver the cookies to the shelter on the way to the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park. I can't believe how well behaved our crew of 9 kids were. I think we are moving on for the constant supervision and on to the next stage of growing up.

Nice Try & Good Job

Jeff got a fun work Christmas party this year to help celebrate the season and all the hard work. In the past the parties have been more geared to adults so Jeff has usually gone solo. In addition, our kids have been a bit too young for some of the things that they have done. This year however was a bowling party and families were invited.

It did come on a night during our VF family gathering but we decided we wanted to go and celebrate with the UR company. Megan and Andrew were really happy for the chance to go and were excited for night time to come on Tuesday so we could go.

There was a nice buffet spread that we all enjoyed. The kids were super good for us and loved bowling. Andrew started off using a ramp to bowl and got sad after his first couple for tries when it didn't go the way he wanted. After that he abandoned the ramp and bowled regular. He had better success and was much happier. He would sit patiently and wait his turn. After each of my turns he would say to me "Nice Try Mom or Good Job." He was super cute and a great sport.

Megan had an equally good time. She was having a blast trying to get a strike. She was a good example for Andrew and a great helper. She took a few shots with the camera for me as well as would sometimes hand me my bowling ball to help out. As the kids get older these type of outings become a lot more fun and much easier to manage.

I'm glad we had the chance to go and mingle with Jeff's coworkers. It was really fun and nice to see my kids grow in their maturity. I look forward to our next family outing and the fun we'll have.

Dan & Roxi's Fam land in WA

Dan & Roxi's family arrived first for our annual VF gathering. Megan and Andrew were super excited to see their cousins. We didn't waste anytime with making plans as to what we wanted to do. First up was a sleepover of course.

I took the girls, Taylor, Megan, & Brianne. I then sent Andrew over to Ken & MarGene's so he could spend the night with Alex and have a boys night. I think this was the most peaceful over night I've ever had. The girls got along really well and I had no problems at all. We had movie time, popcorn, played Wii games, went to the mall and had a yummy McD's lunch. It was a really fun day for us.

I'm told that Andrew and Alex had an equally fun time. They played Wii games and had McD's as well. They were like two peas in a pod and got along great. It is nice to see him actually have a friend to play with and enjoy so much.

After we were done with our separate days we waited for Jeff to get home from work and gathered for some Round Table pizza dinner and then Zoolights. The weather was cold but it was a nice clear evening and we didn't get any rain. We had some spare gloves and hats to gear up with and enjoy our night together.

It's kind of hard to explain the beauty of Zoolights. The pictures don't seem to do it justice. It is really a very nice set up and well done. I always enjoy just taking it all in and marveling at the hard work to put it all together.

We had a great couple of days visiting with Dan & Roxi. It was nice to have some one on one time. We were also excited for the second half of our group to arrive to make us complete. We really enjoy all the times we get to gather as a family. Each year we make some great memories and this years gathering was just getting started.