First, we went shopping so the kids could pick out their gifts from their grandparents who sent gift cards. Miriam debated a long time before choosing foam curlers. She was patient when I put them in her hair, but sleeping on the curlers was not comfortable. In the morning, she had curls Shirley Temple would be proud of, but they really bothered Miriam. We fixed it by taming the volume into cute pigtails.
My dad came to visit us, bringing really fun toys.
One of them is a toy every little boy needs.
You can get your own at http://www.blutrack.com/
Have you ever wondered what will happen to your walls if you send lots of cars down the stairs?
Michael's parents sent us money for Christmas that we used to have a play day with the kids.
This year, we started out at:
which made the kids really really happy. We got there at 11:00 and had the play area to ourselves for a half an hour before more kids arrived. After we ate, we drove to the movie theater to watch:
We were second in line to see the movie and had to wait 20 minutes before entering the theater. We got seats without chairs in front of us, so the kids could see more easily. Before the previews even started, every child was required to make a mandatory bathroom trip to get rid of all that soda they drank at McDonalds.
Everyone loved the first 30 minutes. Joshua especially loved the Cars 2 preview. Emily and Miriam laughed and giggled throughout the whole show. Adam sat quietly and stared. Olivia was good as long as she could sit on her daddy's lap. Joshua was a tornado. He started in his chair, but when the candy ran out, he climbed into my lap. Then, after an hour, he collapsed in a moaning heap on the floor. Yes, you read right. The theater floor. It wasn't sticky yet, because it was early afternoon, but still the thought of my child rolling on the floor of the movie theater is awful. Joshua had had enough of the "girly show" to last the entire day. I tried tickling his back to calm him down, but it didn't help. At one point, near the end of the movie, Joshua stood up and started chanting, "I hate this movie, I hate this movie!" And then my hand was clamped over his mouth. He stopped his noise, and we endured the rest of a great movie. I recommend it to everyone - except 4 year old boys named Joshua.
On New Year's Eve we went sledding.
It was below freezing outside, so we bundled the little kids in snow pants in addition to coats, hats, cloves, and boots. Everyone had fun except Olivia. She got too cold.
Michael and I took turns sitting in the van with her and watching the kids slide down the hill. Olivia loved watching from the van where there was no wind. You can hear her cheer her sisters on in this video:
The parent who wasn't in the van with Olivia took turns helping the boys go down the hill, and climb back up. On the last run, our big inflatable tube, that holds more than one person got a 6" gash that instantly deflated the whole ride. That's why it was the last run.
I think the boys need to ask Santa for their own sleds next year.
We put the boys and Olivia to bed at the normal time on New Year's eve, and let Emily and Miriam stay up as late as they wanted - until midnight. We ate dip, had pie, played our new Christmas games, and watched a scary movie. (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) After an afternoon sledding, I'm surprised they were able to stay awake until midnight.
1 comment:
Looks like a very fun week! I'm with Olivia... if it's freezing cold I want to sit in the van too!
Post a Comment