We had a great New Year's Eve here at home.
Earlier in the day, the kids and I went to the store--with the exception of Christmas, it was the first time we'd left the house in over a week. Alice got to try out her new boots and ride in the seat of the shopping cart for the first time.
Later on, we tried out the crayon maker Jack got for Christmas.
Four new swirly crayons!
At 5:00, we started our New Year's Eve bags.
The 6:00 bag had a new I Spy puzzle!
At 8:00 (7:00 was making dinner and brownies), we played one of the new games Jack got for Christmas.
He loved getting to open the bags, but he was nervous about getting too close to the fireplace.
9:00 was time to make our noisemakers.
All done! Can you guess who made each one?
At 10:00, we started a new Scooby movie. 11:00 was time to pop some popcorn. After the movie, Jay and Jack watched a little He-Man and Jack nodded off for a few minutes.
He was ready to go again at midnight, though!
Alice only made it until about 9:15.
She was, however, ready for the New Year bright and early this morning!
~~~~~~~
New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain
We've had a bit of crazy weather the last few days. The week started off fairly warm, and Wednesday afternoon we had rain showers.
And even a rainbow!
I'm guessing that Oklahoma is one of the few places you'll see a weather advisory like this.
Thursday (while Jay and Jack were out finishing up shopping), the rain turned to sleet...
,,,and then to snow. By bedtime, we were in the middle of a blizzard warning.
It had stopped by the morning and everything looked beautiful. This is the view out the front windows.
And here is the back yard.
Jack played outside for a while.
Jay worked on digging out the car. It wasn't going to happen. Eventually, my brother-in-law, Kevin, came to get us in his giant SUV.
It's a good thing he did, because this was the scene in front of our house. I don't know if you can see it well, but in the middle of the picture is a guy about to try to tie his truck to the phone pole to get out of the ditch. It took us almost an hour and a half to get to my sister-in-law's house--usually a 25 minute drive. My nieces counted close to 30 cars in the ditches on the way.
Once we got there, the kids spent a bit more time outside. Since it's not supposed to be above freezing for a few more days, I think the snow boots are going to be put to good use!
My parents took the kids to stay at the same hotel we visited last winter, so I brought Alice by to try out the pool.
She looks excited about it, doesn't she?
It didn't last.
I guess it was a letdown.
She did like hanging out poolside and watching the other kids. At least the swimsuit was only $2.98.
We had a great New Year's Eve here at home.
Earlier in the day, the kids and I went to the store--with the exception of Christmas, it was the first time we'd left the house in over a week. Alice got to try out her new boots and ride in the seat of the shopping cart for the first time.
Later on, we tried out the crayon maker Jack got for Christmas.
Four new swirly crayons!
At 5:00, we started our New Year's Eve bags.
The 6:00 bag had a new I Spy puzzle!
At 8:00 (7:00 was making dinner and brownies), we played one of the new games Jack got for Christmas.
He loved getting to open the bags, but he was nervous about getting too close to the fireplace.
9:00 was time to make our noisemakers.
All done! Can you guess who made each one?
At 10:00, we started a new Scooby movie. 11:00 was time to pop some popcorn. After the movie, Jay and Jack watched a little He-Man and Jack nodded off for a few minutes.
He was ready to go again at midnight, though!
Alice only made it until about 9:15.
She was, however, ready for the New Year bright and early this morning!
We were able to get out of the driveway on Sunday to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family.
Jack loves his lion Pillow Pet!
Alice got some fun things, too--and more pictures than the last time.
The Curious George zoo game has been a big hit. We've played it multiple times each day.
Alice has enjoyed playing with her new purse. Yes, she is definitely going to be getting some stereotypical girl things.
She's not too sure about the bath fountain Santa brought, though.
Christmas Eve was spent preparing for Jack's big surprise. Jay has been collecting He-Man toys for Jack for the last five years, but Jack thought you couldn't get them anymore unless you had a lot of money. Yes, we told him that.
When Jack went to bed, Jay started building.
What do you think the castle knows?
When he had it finished, we put it in the school room under a box.
They never made a toy of Cringer, so Jay made one.
Christmas morning was very exciting for Jack!
The whole gang all together. Jack (and Jay) have spent a lot of time with these guys this week!
We left Santa his milk and cookies last night.
I was afraid to let Jack hold Alice on the bricks, so here is the proof that she was up to leave Santa his treat, too.
Once the kids were in bed (well, really just Jack, since Alice hung on until almost 11:30), Jay got the rest of the presents out and had some work to do.
This morning, Jack was up around 7:00 and ready to get started.
Things were looking good even in the stocking.
And they just got better under the tree.
Jay got a Snuggie from the kids. I think it makes him look like a wizard, but it should be nice in the freezing cold guy room.
The fun continued at Jay's sister's house. My brother-in-law scored two Zhu Zhu pets for Jack, not even realizing how popular they were.
This is the best shot we have of Alice with her presents on her first Christmas--and it's cropped from another picture! It kind of makes me glad Christmas with my family was delayed so we can take better pictures next time!
We've had a bit of crazy weather the last few days. The week started off fairly warm, and Wednesday afternoon we had rain showers.
And even a rainbow!
I'm guessing that Oklahoma is one of the few places you'll see a weather advisory like this.
Thursday (while Jay and Jack were out finishing up shopping), the rain turned to sleet...
,,,and then to snow. By bedtime, we were in the middle of a blizzard warning.
It had stopped by the morning and everything looked beautiful. This is the view out the front windows.
And here is the back yard.
Jack played outside for a while.
Jay worked on digging out the car. It wasn't going to happen. Eventually, my brother-in-law, Kevin, came to get us in his giant SUV.
It's a good thing he did, because this was the scene in front of our house. I don't know if you can see it well, but in the middle of the picture is a guy about to try to tie his truck to the phone pole to get out of the ditch. It took us almost an hour and a half to get to my sister-in-law's house--usually a 25 minute drive. My nieces counted close to 30 cars in the ditches on the way.
Once we got there, the kids spent a bit more time outside. Since it's not supposed to be above freezing for a few more days, I think the snow boots are going to be put to good use!
