Christmas 2019

Going into Christmas we had plans for a marathon week with four separate celebrations. We started with the McClarty side at Aunt Lynette and Uncle Allan's. Almost all of the family made it so it was a large crowd. The boys loved hanging out with the older boys and we even managed to get a sibling picture with Pepe and his sisters, lots of pictures of me courtesy of Kieran, and a second-cousin shot too!

We spent Christmas Eve with Nonna, Pepe, Gran, and the Ketelsens. Zach insisted on wearing his Spiderman costume all day which was very entertaining. The little guy was pretty excited about the camera we gave him for Christmas and insisted Nonna pose for a photo shoot which was also very entertaining! The boys and I made homemade pasta for part of dinner as a nod to Papa who always made lasagna for Christmas Eve.

 

 

Christmas Day started with the boys going through their Santa bags and opening up a letter from Santa explaining there would be a bunk bed delivered to our new house and they will get to share a room when we move (they had been asking for this non-stop). We had decided not to exchange gifts this year with my side of the family and instead just spend the day together. It was a very quiet day as Uncle Peter had undergone heart surgery and was not recovering well. There were phone calls back and forth with Auntie Laurie, a few attempts at a board game, lots of worry and serious conversations. It didn't feel like much of a holiday but it was nice to be all together and we did our best to enjoy the time we had together.

 

 

 

The next day we got together with Grandpa's side of the family. When we planned the get together we were so excited that the Great Grandmas would all be there and Aunt Penny planned a really fun gift exchange game. Unfortunately the Burchett house had been hit with a bug and they didn't make it so the boys were bummed to be the only kids but they got plenty of attention and had a lot of fun helping out with the game. It was another night that felt a little different than usual. More phone calls with Auntie Laurie each time with worse news. We all had a hard time not being able to be with her and felt guilty having any type of celebration knowing what they were going through.

 

 





November 2019 Happenings

Kieran's Birthday was a few days before we left for Hawaii, we had planned to have a family get together but a few of us got sick so we had to cancel. He still got to open presents and have his pancake breakfast. We also made up for the missed dinner with a fun day playing arcade games, miniature golf, and eating pizza. On his actual Birthday he got to celebrate at school with his classmates, which of course include Lyla.

 

Unfortunately we were out of town for Reed's soccer party but Kieran had his when we returned. Reed had a ton of fun playing soccer again this year but his team really struggled and more help/guidance. Kieran did great and even though he was one of the youngest on the team, was one of the stronger players. It was also great to see Jon and George coach and how well they did with all of the boys.

Some of us ladies got together to celebrate Baby Ikuta and Brooke. Denae planned a fun night where we all made wreaths and got to spend time together.

Reed's school has a feast every year on the Friday before Thanksgiving week. The room moms go all out decorating and the entire school has lunch together. It was a beautiful day to be outside and the kids had a great time. One of Reed's classmates also has some food allergies so I made the two of them special pumpkin shaped rice krispie treats. As soon as the feast was over we headed to the coast which has become or annual Thanksgiving break tradition. We only stayed for the weekend this year since we had just returned from vacation but it was still great.

Grandma and Grandpa hosted Thanksgiving at their new house. Everyone really wanted family pictures so we spent some time outside getting some great group shots. We also had fun playing a few different games. After a nice lunch we headed to Nonna and Pepe's for dinner. I failed to take very many pictures but we had a great time and even managed to break the boy vs. girl tradition and played co-ed board games instead.

With Thanksgiving being so late we spent the weekend after decorating for Christmas. The boys really got into the spirit - camping out by the fireplace reading Christmas books and decorating trees. They asked if they could decorate a tree just for Dodger, which was so sweet and sentimental, I had to say yes (and wipe away a few tears).