December 26th is always the hardest - the big festivities are over, the anticipation is all gone, everyone is tired... So we get out all the gifts and start trying them out! Ethan got to finally try out his bike!
He was pretty discouraged. It wasn't "easy" and he didn't have a big place to ride... But, we promised to try again out at the house where we usually ride, and he was appeased....
That night we threw the big family reunion at the U's - bring an appetizer and a smile! I made pizza dip - and had fun being crafty with the ingredients.....
I haven't made pizza dip in a very long time and boy is it good! - Just cream cheese, pizza sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella baked together and served with tortilla chips. Yum. The kids played on the Wii downstairs. It was like a jr. high dance - a couple of kids dancing and the others standing around staring at each other.
It was fun to see everyone meeting Connor for the first time - and he definitely entertained. He officially became a crawler this week and showed off for everyone!
These two put themselves in charge of the food table. And ate and ate and ate. Just chips though.....
Upa gave out rides on the Christmas tractor. The kids waited with their tickets in the folly and then he drove them all over the yard.
The Christmas lights made it especially festive - and the kids laughed together over the bumps.
Claire and Connor got along very well - reminding us all of when we were the ones taking care of Claire!
Lexie and "Uncle Danny" had fun plunking on the piano and playing duets together.
Lucas took charge of the crowd - handing out instruments and instructing us on when we could clap and not. He also threatened notes home to our moms if we didn't listen. After putting most of us on the naughty list.
We love getting to see everyone! The next day it was back to the Y - this time bringing Uncle Kevin, Auntie Katie, and Maddie along. The basketball game was a bit rougher....
And lots more fun with more people. Ethan idolizes his Uncle Kevin and loved getting to play with him.
We hit up Round Table for way too much pizza and then back to our house to play for a bit. Maddie got a turn with the mic and she was hooked!
Kev and the big kids played an Angry Birds game for a bit - catapulting things across the room!
That night we headed out to a local pizza joint to celebrate each other and Brian's upcoming birthday. We had a great time - they put us in a room by ourselves so the kids could run around as much as they wanted. Brian dumped a Mr. Pibb all over his lap, but other than that it was uneventful. I got to hold Connor almost the entire time. Love that. Ethan had fun playing with him too. He loves babies.
We headed back to the house and put the kids in their Angry Birds t-shirts for a quick picture. The shirts are cute (we bought them) and unfortunately they have a horrible smell. So they wore them for the pic and then we stripped them off quickly before anyone got dizzy. We have washed them 5 times, left them outside, baking soda'd them, and they still stink!
The next day was a sad one... We knew it was the last day and had a hard time coming to grips with that! Brian was back to work - making us sad too. Uma, Katie, and I went out to a yummy lunch in Poulsbo and then it was back to just hang out and have fun together. Ethan and Morgan spent the afternoon making up songs, which were really just passive aggressive competition songs: "I am 14, you are 13. No, you are 14 I am 15" and so on.... All in melody - too funny!
We ended the evening with a delicious spaghetti dinner - yum. The kids got it EVERYWHERE, but it was fun.
After dinner and then a bit more playing around, we headed out. I cried the whole way home, and the boys were quietly sad, but we made it. I hate saying good-bye! I know it is so hard for them to be here, but it means oh so much to get to see them!
The next day was Brian's actual birthday - #31! It was cold and rainy, but we decided to ferry over and meet Brian for dinner after work. The boys were tired and slightly grumpy, but excited to see their dad.
The boys were excited to celebrate Daddy - though we didn't do the singing thing since we were kind of in a hurry.
The ferry ride home was rough. Ethan was a bit of a mess - culminating with him kicking off his shoes on our way off the ferry and me dragging him, walking in the rain, in his socks. Mama was a bit irritated....
The next day was New Year's Eve and we started our day by taking out the bikes! Ethan looked like such a big kid!
Lucas was looking good too - and was straight back to putting on "shows" for all the imaginary people.
Brian and Kenya raced Ethan - and Ethan made sure to always win. If he didn't he was not happy. Kenya really enjoyed the jogging!
Duke came along too - and loved being out in the fresh air. We're working on basic obedience training and working the dogs out more - good luck......
After lunch we headed out to Pt. Townsend to meet Angie, Nick and Cole (after a quick stopover at the U's). We started out with hot chocolate and french fries at a cool 50's diner - yum! The boys were obsessed with the jukebox - not that we had any money for it...
After that we went outside to a little park and Cole and Ethan went nuts running around screeching. They were crazy, but had fun. Lucas too, though he was a bit more reserved....
We had a delicious pizza at a cool local restaurant overlooking the street - so pretty with all the lights! Then we headed over for the "First Night" activities in town. The kids played carnival-ish games in the old jail cells, and had a cupcake walk - which Cole loved!
There was a cool Native American art activity, and even live music and face painting - the boys were fire boys. They were insistent that they threw fire at people....
And then it was time to say goodnight and start the drive home. It's not so hard saying bye to those guys, as we know we'll see them soon. Especially since our newest nephew will be born in just a few weeks! We can't wait to meet Cooper!
The new year is going to be great! We have lists galore of all the things we are going to do to get organized and we've made a good start. We still have a lot to do in the little time we have left before we go back to work, but press on we will!
And speaking of.... I better go attack the bathroom (cleaning it, I mean!)!
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