12/21-12/27/2017 - Christmas!

Thursday, 12/21, I drove to OP to join Amanda, Peyton and Garrison for a pre-Christmas day of fun!  I took the kids craft bags that the bank had given out, and the 3 of us had fun making all the fun crafts while Amanda took a work call.  We did some shopping, including a trip to Scheels for the ferris wheel, bowling and new shoes for Garrison.  We had a yummy lunch at Olive Garden with lots of laughs.  We also made our annual rice krispy treat wreath - Peyton made most of it by herself and Garrison helped decorate with red and green M&M's.

On Friday, Kelly and I went to the Landmark in Lowry City for a roast beef lunch and ran some errands together.

Christmas Eve, I played the gathering music at the 8:15 and the hymns at the 4 pm. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.  Then we went to Siegers for pie afterward before driving to OP.   The Todds were already home when we arrived.  We had fun visiting with the kids for a while before they went to bed - Chad read them Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Peyton was the first one up on Christmas Day - 5:15 a.m.!  We waited to start the chaos until Garrison woke up a little after 6 a.m.  They loved seeing what Santa brought and opening their gifts from Mom & Dad.  We took a little break and had cherry coffee cake that Peyton had made for breakfast and then opened gifts from Grammy and Grandpa.  We all had a wonderful time.

Later in the morning, Peyton played the piano while we sang Christmas carols - she did a great job!
We played games and the kids played with their Christmas gifts.

Amanda sat a beautiful table with china and crystal.  We enjoyed a glass of wine before lunch and then had a  yummy meal of ham, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, broccoli, rolls and cheesecake.  The kids blew out the candles on the cake for Jesus' birthday, and we sang Happy Birthday.

After lunch, we played games, etc., and then we brought the kids back to Clinton with us where they ran into the house to see what Santa had left for them in their stockings in Clinton!

The next day, we drove to Springfield for what Peyton called a "dream vacation"  How cute.  We went to the Wonders of Wildlife - Aquarium and animal museum - which took about 3 hours to walk through.  We had lunch at Cheddars.  The kids thought it was great eating at the restaurant where Daddy had proposed to Mommy.

We stayed at the Marriott where we all enjoyed swimming in the indoor pool.  The kids thought our room was great because we had a kitchen (which we did not use).  They talked Grandpa into going to get them McDonald's for dinner so they could eat in bed - after all, we were on vacation!   We played Snakes and Ladders and Trash before going to bed.

On Wednesday, we had the hot breakfast buffet at the hotel.  The kids loved going back and back and back to get more food - they ate some of it!  They like independence.  After breakfast, the kids and I swam a second time and had a blast at the pool.  After showers, we packed up and drove back to Clinton.  After a quick lunch, we took them back to Overland Park and then came back to Clinton.

A great week - blessings galore - love making family memories.