2011 Christmas Memories - Day 10

Today was another busy day in our house.

We woke to find Gundy had built himself a cruiser out of Legos.  You need to go see who his buddy, Charlie is hanging out with today at The 4-Crow's.

Then off to Hannah's bowling league.  Today was her last day of 2011.  We will be back in January with two tournaments.  Woohoo!

After Hannah got done, we had to beat it back to our home town to meet Jordan and Jimmy at the scout pack meeting or Christmas Party.  Santa Claus came to visit at the end of our party.  This was the first time Hallie Jo had seen a live Santa that close and she was waving at him from down the hall and then screamed across the room telling him what she wanted.

She was not hesitant at all to sit on his lap.  Jordan and Harlee joined in on the fun and we did get one family picture with the jolly old guy.  All the scouts got their pinewood derby cars as gifts to be used in March and the siblings got coloring books and crayons.  Hallie Jo and Harlee opened theirs right away and put them to good use.

Later, we left Harlee, Hallie Jo and Jordan at a local church who offered childcare for the evening and took Hannah to serve with her friends at the local Baptist Children's home.  While we were kid-free, Jimmy and I joined other preschool volunteers from our church at dinner in the same Amish home I ate at last month with my mommy friends.

Again the food didn't disappoint and the company was great!

We finished the night by reading two books with the kids.

 

2011 Christmas Memories - Day 9

We were jam packed full of fun today.  The older kids had their last day of co-op classes for the fall semester.  Harlee and Jordan were in choir and p.e. classes while Hannah was in a geography class.  Today they were studying Israel and Jerusalem.  Hallie Jo hung out with me away from the rest of the group so we wouldn't pass on any sick germs.  She was SO bummed she could not go to her classes too.

Hallie Jo's booty is worse and she started crying every time she needed to pee.  I made a doctor's appointment to rule out whether it is rash causing the pain or a bacterial infection.  We didn't have success obtaining a sample in the office so now we have to try to do that at home and deliver it to the lab ourselves.  Oh, the joys of parenthood.

After co-op, I took the kids to Shepherd's Cross to visit their live nativity, have a snack during a short film, make bird feeders and listen to a story from "Elizabeth".  We had a pretty good time but Jordan said he was disappointed that the nativity was silent, no talking at all.

We finished off our day at the local Christmas parade.  Jordan's scout pack walked in the parade.  He said, "That was totally wicked!"  He even did a great job of tossing candy and making sure he had enough for the end of the parade to share.  Jimmy got the great job of walking with the other leaders and boys while the girls and I enjoyed it from the sidewalk.

I must have worn out the kids because Jordan and Hallie Jo fell asleep before I could get dinner fixed after the parade.  In the meantime, Harlee and Hannah got to open and read our books and we talked about where we found Gundy earlier today.  He was playing Star Wars Trouble with Optimus Prime.

Join my friend ShaRhonda and her family's elf, Charlie over at The 4-Crow's.

 

Black Hawk

The weekend after Easter, Lil Man and J got to go with the Boy Scouts to visit a Black Hawk helicopter. This was an opportunity not heard of due to security. Lil Man was overcome with excitement because one of his top favorites is anything to do with the military.

Derby Car Races

Lil Man and JB participated in the local Boy Scout Derby Car Races. They both came out winners with Lil Man placing 2nd in speed and JB placing 3rd in speed.

Blue & Gold Banquet

In February, we had Lil Man's Blue & Gold Banquet with his Boy Scout pack. We had a yummy lunch where they served bbq brisket and smoked salmon. Lil Man was also awarded his belt loops for BB Gun Shooting and Badminton.

The highlight of the banquet was the cake auction. Each scout and their dad had to bake and decorate a cake without any help from the females in the house. I was pretty proud of my men. They ended up with a pirate ship on the cake.

Cub Scout Belt Loop Fair

We trekked through a lot of cold drizzle to let Lil Man take part in a Cub Scout Belt Loop Fair. He got to participate in a variety of activities. After completing each activity, the scout leader would sign-off on their cards and later at our pack meeting, Lil Man received his belt loop.