|| Friday started like every Black Friday should. In my pjs, on the couch, with a hot cup of coffee, my laptop, and a leftover piece of apple pie. I scored some great deals on all my favorite shops and crossed a lot of people of my list from the comfort of my living room. I like to get a good chunk of my shopping done before December hits, but also love the energy of a few good Christmas shopping days, too.
|| Then, we decorated our Christmas trees. It was a cold and drizzly day and we spent most of it tucked inside our house. We all had a part - Beau was our setup man, I fluffed and fluffed, and the kids unwrapped every ornament we own. They were by far the most interested they had ever been and it was so sweet to see their smiles when they found a familiar favorite, or ask questions about the story behind one. We have collected SO many ornaments over the years and each and every one tells a story. Cruz took a special liking to a collection of penguin ornaments Beau collected as a kid, and Mila loved all the ones that played music for her. And while I will have quite the mess to clean up come New Years Day with all the unorganized unwrapping, it was well worth it giving them the room to explore it on their own.
|| We almost skipped out on this year's Holiday Hoopla. It was rainy and drizzly when we left the house, and decided we'd go grab something to eat and either hit Main Street or skip it and snuggle in for a movie instead. But there's just something about downtown at Christmas that makes you feel like you're stepping right into a Hallmark movie. The windows were dressed up especially pretty this year, the twinkly lights reflected on the wet streets, and the kids' eyes sparkled as they leaped over puzzles and giggled their way down the sidewalk. There was a buzz in the air and a magical anticipation that something big was going to happen that night.
|| Our favorite street side booth was open at Wilbos, and we decided to camp out there for a good part of our evening. Planted right across the street from the charming Black Hawk Hotel and Oster Regent, this little burger and drink lab makes me feel like I'm in New York City. And because we just couldn't give up prime seating like this on Holiday Hoopla night, I dashed into Peekaboo and purchased a $7 puzzle game to keep us busy and entertained. It worked like a dream! These kind of nights are my favorite - it felt like we were a thousand miles away in our own downtown.
|| By the time we made our way to see how Santa would surprise us this year, the rain had stopped and the temps were in the upper forties. The crowds were noticeably smaller this year and the kids could actually move! We found Jordan and Kelli and all made our predictions of how Santa would arrive. And it was Beau whose prediction was on point. As the kids anxiously awaited their turn to bump the giant clear beach balls back in the air, Beau said, "I'll bet Santa's going to show up in a big one of those."
Nailed it!
|| It was probably my favorite Holiday Hoopla to date. Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly impressed with Santa scaling down the side of a building or flying in on a helicopter, but this whole snow globe and snowflake parade was right up my alley. There was choreographed music, sweet little kids dressed like elves, and snow machines everywhere, including from our very own Buddy the Elf. And as the kids looked to the sky and squinted as blankets of Buddy's snow chilled all their faces, it reminded me of Disney. And if that didn't do it, the march down Main Street, across busy 1st Street, and the impressive fireworks show would have convinced me otherwise. There was even a train just as the finale hit. Welcome, Christmas - the most wonderful time of the year!
|| We ended our Friday night with our first cups of cocoa from the cocoa bar, bags of popped popcorn, and the Christmas Chronicles. What a fun night.
|| Mila and I spent our Tuesday of break listening to Christmas music and making quite the mess around here! Hosting Thanksgiving dinner for 17 people AND trying to decorate the majority of our house for Christmas is equally parts fun and stressful! I need to remember to see the forest through the trees, even when the trees were still in boxes in the basement! I am beyond blessed with a week off for Thanksgiving and have learned that if I run hard the first two days, the quiet and slow that's left on the other side is well worth it! Even though Mila did ask, "Will you please play with me?" four hundred times before 9:00 Tuesday morning! ;)
|| We did sneak in a coffee date before picking up big brother from school. She ate a cake pop, told me all about the Barbie camper she desperately wants for Christmas, and decided my hot cocoa is much better than Starbucks. What a compliment!
|| Wednesday morning we were all home! Well, except Dad and his busy open enrollment appointments. We started the morning with hot cocoa, lego robots, and banana bread, fresh out of the oven. I discovered Mila operates so much better with her big brother at home and soon enough, the entire cul de sac of kids were outside attempting to sled in the inch of snow we had. Mila and all the boys. Thankful to be in the calm after the Christmas decorating storm, I turned the music up and enjoyed an hour to myself prepping all the finishing touches to this home of ours.
|| I'm a bit of a nut about decorating the kids' rooms and always like to do a thorough cleaning session before the trees go up. It makes for a cozy space and the rooms look sweeter every year. The kids did their trees entirely on their own this year and did a great job.
|| Because we've hosted Thanksgiving the past few years, it's become tradition to treat ourselves to dinner on the town the night before. And because several of our friends also open up their homes for turkey, we made it a big family affair this year - kids included! We filled a good portion of the seats at Rudy's, set the kids up in the back with coloring books and three orders of nachos, and had such a great time. I loved Cory and his line of baby ducklings marching up to the ice cream case for two scoops each, games of telephone that stretched from the kids' table all the way around to us, and that round of tequila shots that added to our fun and festive spirits. I'm thankful for a lot of things, but these people are definitely among the top.
|| And then there was Thanksgiving morning. Beau was home, we taught the kids the anatomy of a turkey, and we ushered in the holiday season with staples like the Macy's parade, fresh baked cinnamon rolls, and a slow day of food preparation and pretty table settings.
|| By far my favorite table yet.
|| Cruz read us a little speech he created in school for us and it made me laugh and tear up at the same time. Grandpa Merle said the prayer and Cruz made sure he followed with his own words of thanks. My favorite part, "thanks for the stuff I don't like, I'm glad you tried." ;)
|| Great Grandma and Cruz at the piano together, serenading us all to Jingle Bells.
|| And likely the best meal we'll have all year! Beau's smoked turkey was the juiciest yet, all the sides were delicious, and the apple cider sangria with sugared rosemary was sweet and festive. Tracy and Teresa joined us this year, and we had a full house of four generations of family gathered around the table. Our blessings were not unnoticed this year as we all expressed thanks for good doctors, caring nurses, and a better Papa Curt. He made it on dang near every thankful leaf this year, except his own, which he used to thank my mom for her patience, love, and nursing skills the past two weeks. For a man who often has a hard time expressing emotions, this simple gesture of thanksgiving to my mom left us all a little weepy.
After so many dishes, and so many more calories consumed with dessert, everyone parted ways except Taylor and Kate, who stayed 'til 2! It was a good good night. And we still had three days to enjoy!
