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.

Pictures for previous post - Mintun/Arthur/Todd Christmas 2017

Bonus Day with Kids and Mintun/Arthur/Todd Christmas 2017

I couldn't get all my pictures to import, so will have to add the pictures from our Christmas celebration later.

Amanda was in Reston, Virginia for work earlier in the week - Chad came down with a horrific stomach bug - so lucky Grammy got to go to Overland Park to stay with the kiddos for a few days!  Yay!  They were so happy and so surprised to see me walk into Y-Care to pick them up Tuesday afternoon.  It warmed my heart.  That evening we went to Burger King for dinner which they enjoyed.  We made cinnamon applesauce Christmas tree ornaments which was a lot of fun.

On Wednesday, they got to sleep in a bit because I took them to school later than usual - again a hit!  I picked them up as walkers.  Peyton did her homework - we ate leftovers for dinner - and then Peyton went to religion class.  

On Thursday, I took them to school later again and then came back to Clinton.  Amanda was flying in around noon and would be able to pick them up from school.  Chad went back to work on Thursday.

Around 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening, I came down with the dreaded stomach bug which could only be described as vicious!  I was up all night with the bug and rested most of Friday, feeling a little better by Friday afternoon.

We enjoyed our Mintun/Arthur/Todd Christmas gathering on Sunday, December 10 at our house.  Mark had been catching a lot of crappie and brought fresh filets for Mary to fry for lunch.  We had a great meal, there was a wild game of hot potato, the kids and I put the ribbons on our cinnamon applesauce ornaments, played our annual Saran Wrap Ball game, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had a wonderful day.

We are blessed.

Thanksgiving 2017 and Peyton's 9th Birthday

Unbelievable, but Peyton turned 9 years old on November 20, 2017!!!!  She had a friend sleepover birthday party at home the weekend before  her birthday, but we had her Clinton birthday on Thanksgiving evening!  She had requested a swimming pool birthday cake with Girl Scout thin mints crust, so that is what I attempted to create!  She had fun blowing out her 9 candle and opening her presents.

On Friday, we had our 13th Annual Christmas Baking Day, and it was a blast.  We made 20 pint jars of homemade hot chocolate mix, Garrison and Amanda unwrapped all the mini-peanut butter cups and different kinds of Hersey kisses, Peyton did a great job measuring and mixing up the cookie dough, etc.  Peyton had chosen a couple of new recipes off Pinterest.  Peyton was ready to start at 8 a.m., and I think we finished around 2 p.m. Fun, fun, fun.

Ron and Chad traveled to Warrensburg to play golf at UCM golf course and had a great day for it - warm - Ron even wore shorts!  In November!

We all went to Square 109 for dinner before attending the Lighted Christmas Parade on the square.  After the parade, the kids visited with Santa and Mrs. Claus in the courthouse.

We woke up to no power on Saturday - the day of our Thanksgiving celebration!  I was a bit panicked at first, because the chicken dish we were having had to bake for 3 hours, but no worries, it came back on a little after 8 a.m.  We worked in dipping pretzel rods in the morning, and the kids had a great time playing beauty shop in the front room.  We all had new hairstyles!  We, of course, used our family autographed tablecloth.  I had a few tears putting it on the table - seeing Mom and Daddy's signatures - but, it is a treasure!  Mary has done such a wonderful job embroidering it each and every year.  The kids loved seeing their signatures and their handprints from when they were babies and too small to sign their own name.  Luckily, Mary has agreed to embroider it again this year even though they were unable to attend due to being on vacation on the East Coast.  Our meal was delicious, and we enjoyed family time around the table.

It was wonderful to take a moment to count our many, many blessings.  God is good!