Last weekend we went to check out the lights display at the zoo. This year they had a special animal lantern display and it was absolutely amazing. Each one we saw was more impressive than the last and we just couldn't decide which was our favorite. They had all of the animals and the lights were brilliant. It was so fun to walk through the zoo and see each of the displays. Now we want Brian to add something equally amazing to our light display at home!
Another Christmas in the books and the countdown returns for next year. I know for a lot of families it was a strange feeling Christmas but for us it was our normal tradition including pajamas all day and our favorite meals. I think we may have gone a bit overboard this year on gifts, as least if you count Lego sets as an indicator. It was a wonderful day and the kids loved all of their gifts and spending the day creating new things and playing new games. Uno, Clue and Shut the Box were all new additions to our game collection that we had fun playing.
The kids were busy this holiday decorating gingerbread houses and sugar cookies. Baking is one of my favorite holiday traditions and it keeps getting better as the kids get older and can help. Addy is becoming a big time baker and often makes things all on her own. Here are some of the kids creations.
I'm sure there are lot of kids who love legos but I have a hard time picturing anyone who loves them more than Cameron. For his birthday he got a few new sets and we got him a new lego table because he has outgrown the old one. One of his gifts was an 1,100 piece Star Wars lego set. His mind was blown. He and Addy were heads down and in between his party and birthday celebrations, they finished it after dinner! I thought it would be days of entertainment, nope not even 1 full day. The kids are incredible and now of course so is our ever growing lego collection. Two tables and going strong!
I know I say this every year but I really can't believe that Cameron is already 8 years old. It sort of just feels like yesterday that he was this little (but not ever actually little) boy with a cute accent and an adorable smile. The adorable smile is still here but there is nothing little about this guy. He happened to have his Dr. appt this week as well and he is 95%! No wonder I can't carry him anymore.
For his actual birthday in addition to getting spoiled with presents from family, he had his 2 buddies over. They played outside, watched football in the garage and went from hockey to football to catch to darts to wrestling and then back through them all again. They were sweaty happy boys by the end. I was thrilled that he got to be with some friends, even if it was just in the garage. One of his gifts was a skateboard so now I can worry every time I see him on that:) Of course it comes naturally to him and he's better on a skateboard than I could ever be.
We topped his birthday week off with a parent teacher conference and his new teacher had wonderful things to say about him. We couldn't be more proud of our wonderful 8 year old boy!
Over Thanksgiving Cameron decided to get a mohawk! We had been talking about it for awhile and he decided he wanted to give it a try. When he came home I couldn't believe how old he looked! He's like a little man with his cool spiky hair. He was so excited to show his classmates on zoom.
With all this time spent at home there are only so many games and movies you can watch, but there are always more books to read. It never ceases to amaze me how my kids will get wrapped up in a book. Brian and I go to the library at least twice a week to pick up all of the books they've put on hold. Both kids have been keeping a reading log for school and that made them even more focused on their reading. We do a lot of family reading time which I love but I'm most impressed when I realize the house is quiet and its because the kids have just decided to read on their own. It also cracks me up how many times the kids are asleep with a book in their hands. Here is just a sample of photos of them recently to display the many flavors of reading that take place in our house.
As our extended holiday time comes to an end I am grateful for another wonderful Thanksgiving. While it isn't what we expected I really have come to appreciate the quiet moments of the holidays and time together as a family. We cooked a turkey this year for a change and now have explored all of the turkey casserole recipes we can find! We got some long walks in, shopped from our computer and of course listened to nonstop holiday music. Brian got all of the lights up and the kids decorated gingerbread houses. It was a wonderful holiday and I'm as grateful as ever for all of the blessings we have.
