Weekly Happenings - 12/29 - 12/31

1.  On Sunday afternoon, Grammy & Grandpa came up to get the kids for a few days of grandparent camp!  They stayed at their house until Wednesday after lunch and man did they have a ton of fun during their getaway!  They went to the aquatic center, traveled to Warrensburg for play time at an indoor play place, made play dough, went to the donut shop and played tons of games (of course!).  They stayed pretty busy and had lots of fun.  After they got home, we all went to Stroud's for an early New Year's Eve dinner and it was super yummy!

2.  Later on New Year's Eve, we joined our friends, the Heckman's, for a little NYE party!  We enjoyed spaghetti & meatballs, playtime, wine (for the adults) and sparkling cider (for the kids) and brownie sundaes for dessert!  The kids made it until almost 10!!  We had a great time celebrating and (almost) bringing in the new year with friends.

Weekly Happenings - 12/22 - 12/28

1.  This week was all about preparations for Christmas!  We stayed busy finishing-up our Advent calendar!  Here is one pic I captured of our tree & stockings before the big day.

2.  Christmas Eve started out a little rough - I woke-up with Pink Eye!  But after a quick trip to urgent care and the pharmacy, we were on our way to Grammy & Grandpa's to celebrate our first Christmas!  When we arrived, Santa had left goodies in everyone's stockings then the kids were ready to dig in to opening presents!  They opened their own then went around the room helping everyone else open theirs.  They were so excited not only for their gifts but for the gifts they had brought for Grammy, Grandpa & Grandma Minutn!  Then it was time for lunch - Joe & his girlfriend, Nicole, joined us, too!  Of course, we had Jesus' birthday cake as our dessert for lunch and the kids helped out by blowing out the candles!  Peyton took-up with Nicole quite quickly and convinced her to play games with her (and Grammy & Grandma)b all afternoon while Garrison took his rest.  A great time was had by all!  Shortly after a quick dinner, we were on our way home to get cookies ready for Santa!

3.  Once we were home, we first went outside to spread reindeer food for Santa's reindeer, then got jammies on and made a plate of decorated cookies for Santa plus some milk!  The kids were pretty jazzed but didn't want to be awake when Santa arrived so they were off to bed.  We wrapped-up our evening with a read of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Daddy.

4.  Peyton did great and slept until 6:30 like we had asked her to!  She ran down to wake us up but of course we had to wake Garrison up before we could check-out the goodies Santa left for everyone!  It was an awesome Christmas morning!  The kids had so much fun exploring their gifts from Santa, Daddy opened as many boxes as he could, as quickly as he could so the kids could play with their new toys.  Then it was on to opening gifts from each other.  Both kids liked playing "Santa" and handing out gifts.  I think they were just as excited again for the gifts they had picked out as the ones they were receiving.  We spent the rest of the morning relaxing as a family, enjoying fruit rainbows for breakfast and watching the Disney Christmas parade on TV.  After lunch it was time to head to Gramd & Grandpa Todd's.

5.  We arrived at Grandma & Grandpas and had a great time playing with our cousins before it was time to open gifts.  The kids had a hard time waiting until everyone arrived but were super excited once it was time to open!  After gifts it was time for a tasty dinner and then of course, more play time!  Garrison didn't used to like playing with his younger cousins but now they get along great!  And of course, Peyton & Whitney are near inseparable.  They all had a fun time and shared their new toys and goodies so well!  Check out one of Chad & his brother's gifts - almost difficult to tell them apart! ;)

6.  On Friday, Peyton had a make-up piano lesson as her teacher had been sick and she did so well!  She even recorded some of her Christmas songs - I can't wait to hear how she did!  Then Peyton & I went to lunch with my friend Marla & her family as they were passing through town.  The day was wrapped-up by us taking the kids to meet Grandma Todd for a night at Grandma & Grandpa's!  They enjoyed dinner at Pizza Hut and play time before bed.  Garrison woke-up in the morning and told Grandma he has chocolate for breakfast every morning.  Um, no, buddy!  Since he couldn't convince Grandma he needed chocolate, he convinced Nana he needed taffy later in the day. :)  

7.  Later on Saturday, we met back up with the kids at Todd Christmas.  It is amazing how many kiddos have joined the family since I first started going to the event!  Here is a pic of most of our kiddos (minus Lucas) enjoying dinner in-between playtime in the gym & gifts from Santa!

Weekly Happenings - 12/15 - 12/21

1.  A few weeks ago the kids had pictures taken at daycare.  The company that comes to take the pictures is purely amazing.  Check-out these - a few of my favorites!

2.  We stayed busy again this week with our advent calendar activities.  Here are a few pictures from some of our activities - 

Neighborhood sleigh ride - the kids had a blast!  We enjoyed hot chocolate & cookies (4 or more for Mr. Garrison!), a fun ride on a horse-drawn "sleigh" through the neighborhood to check-out the lights and great conversations with our awesome neighbors.  Such a great activity!

A trip to Union Station & Crown Center!  Daddy had to work on Friday but I was able to take-off to spend Peyton's first day of winter break with both kiddos.  We started at Crown Center by watching candy being made, looking at the decorations, shopping at the Crayola store and dining at Fritz's (the train delivery and shakes were the biggest hits for lunch!).  Then it was time to head to Union Station!  The decorations were fabulous and the kids really took it all in.  We visited the holiday train for the first time, watched all of the model trains inside the station and finished off our visit with a treat from the Chocolate Factory!  It was a fantastic day!!

No pictures but on Saturday we went to Deanna Rose to watch the dancing lights - it was a great show and we took in all 35 minutes of the lights perfectly timed with the light show.  The kids really got into it this year and had a great time!

Earlier in the week we made reindeer food to put out on Christmas Eve.  Sunday we finished up our Santa prep with icing cookies to leave for Santa.  Peyton & Garrison had a great time decorating, talking about which colors they wanted to use, how they wondered which ones Santa would eat first and all kinds of other fun exchanges.  After they were done, we made baskets of goodies for our neighbors and delivered them to our friends - a fun activity that helps us get into the holiday spirit!

Another fun week and only a few more days until Christmas!!!

Weekly Happenings - 12/8 - 12/14

1.  Our Advent Calendar activities continued this week - some of the highlights included a bubble bath, decorating our door like a snowman, having a Christmas cookie for a snack and driving around to look at Christmas lights while enjoying an ice cream cone!  The kids are so excited this year to find the elves each morning and to check-out our activity for the day.  I must admit, it is a lot of work to plan and execute the month of December but it is so much fun, it is worth everything that it takes!!

2.  Peyton was named to the Principal's Pride Squad this month for exhibiting the school's values - go Peyton!!  As a reward, she gets to have lunch with the principal and has earned a free breakfast at a local restaurant!  Peyton has been doing very well in school and has earned a Book It pizza each month for reading and the opportunity to have lunch with her teacher by having lots of "purple" days!

3.  On Friday, I took the day off and got to spend it with my Mom (Grammy)!  We had an awesome day but man were we busy!  We shopped for a bit in the morning, slowed down to have lunch with Peyton at school - she was super surprised and excited we came! - shopped some more in the afternoon and then wrapped up our day with a trip to Garrison's holiday party.  It was a great day, a nice step away from reality for us both!

4.  Garrison had his holiday party with his class on Friday.  They were all so excited for their special treats!!

5.  On Saturday, Daddy & I took Peyton and her friend, Addie, to The Nutcracker!  This was Peyton's first trip to the ballet and man was she excited!  We all got dressed up, had a fun trip down to the Kauffman Center, enjoyed the ballet and then wrapped-up our fun-filled day with dinner at Lidia's!  The girls did a great job of paying attention to the ballet and thought the whole thing was fancy and great fun!  Peyton said "all the songs" were her favorite and she hopes to take Garrison when he gets a little older!

6.  Since Garrison isn't quite old enough to enjoy the ballet, after a birthday party with a friend on Friday night he got to go home with Grammy for a visit by himself - his first without Peyton!  We weren't sure how he would do but we worried for no need - he had a fantastic time!!  He helped Grandpa with a few projects, went bowing with Grammy, Grandpa & Grandma and made crafts and special treats with Grammy!  After church on Sunday, they brought our boy back to us and we all enjoyed a tasty brunch at Blue Moose - what a way to end the weekend!  Garrison asked about his sister a few times but he had a great time and had lots of fun stories to tell when he got home!

Weekly Happenings - 12/1 - 12/7

1.  We are continuing the tradition of our family activities each day of Advent and this year we have a new Advent calendar that I made a couple of months ago!  The kids get so excited to see what our activity is each morning!  So far, we have written letters to Santa, donated toys, went on a luminary walk at the Arboretum, attended the kids' holiday program for daycare and decorated gingerbread houses to name a few!  More fun in store for the next couple of weeks!

2.  With the arrival of the holiday season, our elves, too, have arrived back at the Todd residence!  Cookie & Tinkerbelle (whom Peyton wishes to rename Elsa!) have arrived and are having a great time hiding each morning when they return from visiting Santa to report in on the kids' behavior.  Peyton & Garrison asked the elves to deliver the letters to Santa and Peyton sometimes visits with them to send messages back to Santa!

3.  On Thursday, the kids had their annual holiday program for school and it was great!  Grammy & Grandpa, Grandma Mintun and Grandma & Grandpa all came up to have dinner with us before the show and to see the kids perform.  After dinner, Grandpa Todd & Daddy helped lift Garrison up to put the angel on the tree.  Then it was time to head to the program.  Garrison's class sang "We Will Jingle" and he did a GREAT job shaking his jingle bells and singing the song - you could tell he had practiced and he knew the song really well!  Peyton's class did a tribute to Stomp and she was one of the tap dancers.  Still crazy for me to believe she is in the "school agers" group now - such a big girl! Her performance was great and she knew all her steps!!

4.  On Saturday, Peyton had her first Girl Scouts outing to Paint, Glaze and Fire to paint Christmas ornaments!  It was so fun to see her with her friends and she did a great job painting!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!