Pre-Christmas Week

Monday – Allison and I took the kids to Leapin’ Lizards when it opened at 9:30. We played until 11:15, went home for lunch and Ben’s nap. The big kids played Wii in the afternoon, and I made a huge pot of Brunswick stew and a loaf of bread in the breadmaker. My mom got off work at 4:30 or so, and we had four missionaries for dinner at five. It was interesting to talk to the missionaries; two are waiting for visas to Brazil, one is on a Spanish-speaking mission in Columbia, and one English-speaking. Brunswick stew must be an acquired taste, because they didn’t eat much.

Tuesday – Allison and I took the kids to EdVenture when it opened at 9 a.m. We headed straight for SnowVille, the winter exhibit my kids adore. A local news crew (one cameraman and one anchor) were hanging out, and my kids (and I) made it briefly on the 5 and 7 o’clock news. We played until 11:30 and headed home for lunch and Ben’s nap. The big kids played Wii all afternoon. My mom and I went to get our hair done, and I thought her stylist Cara did a fabulous job cutting my curly hair. Better than the three cuts I got in Buckhead. I was apprehensive at first, but thrilled when I learned that Cara had taken “DevaCurl” classes. I got it cut to about chin length and I love it. I can still just barely put it in a ponytail. After our appointment we picked up the kids and went straight to Grandma’s house for dinner. The traffic was horrible but we made it at around 6:30. Grandma had made vegetable soup (amazing– okra, corn, and tomatoes over rice) and picked up a few platters of chicken from Chick-Fil-A. Olivia, Chris, and kids were there and we exchanged gifts since they will be in North Carolina with Chris’ family for Christmas this year.

Wednesday – Christmas shopping all morning with Mom while Dad kept Benjamin and Megan and Gavin (surprise!) played Wii. Apparently Dad took Ben on a LONG walk and put him down for a nap around noon. Mom and I got home at 1:30, then went with Dad to a funeral for a family friend. Ben was still asleep when we got home. I made spaghetti for dinner and couldn’t even make it to halftime of the Boise State game before I went to bed.