Happy Birthday Jesus!

The other day Claire worked on making her birthday cake for Jesus. This year she got very creative and used her piping bag to do some fancy decorating!

 Claire's elf, Eddie, brought her a few gifts this year. He had some very crazy wrapping skills and some very crazy gift ideas! Each gift he gave, he wrote a note. Claire got Dominoes that she has to learn how to play and teach him when he returns, a color by number book to help her relax because he knows how crazy she can be, some dog dental sticks because he knows she doesn't like brushing her teeth so he thought she might want to try dental sticks instead! Then he also got her a small aquarium that you add water to and the fish grow larger in a few days- he said this is the best kind of fish because you don't have to feed them. Finally he got her a puzzle with different fruits on it and dared her to do the puzzle and then try each kind of fruit from the puzzle and a notepad with inspiring sayings on to keep her spirits up while he is away. Pretty thoughtful elf after all!

 Claire's wish list included a pet rock. So, Claire got a pet rock named Fred. The noted told her his name and asked her to color him. Crazy gift request but easy to fulfill!

 Claire got Jeff a chess and checkers board. Jeff spent some time teaching Claire how to play chess. He better be careful, she is one smart cookie and catches on quickly!

 A request from Santa was AirPods. I love the excitement on her face when she opened these!

 We plan to take Claire on a vacation in August to a surprise place. We thought it would be fun to order her a puzzle with a few of the things that we will be doing on our vacation on it. She has until August to put together this 1000 piece puzzle to find out where she will be going! The hard part is we took away the finished picture so she has no clue what she is making! We will see how determined she is to find out where we are going in August!

 Another item on her wish list was lollipops in cotton candy flavor. She asked for a lifetime supply...this should make it a few months at least!

 She had asked for some specific books and was pretty excited to get some of the ones she asked for!

 An Apple watch is something she has been asking for for over a year. We finally caved and got her one. She was super surprised and excited when she opened this final gift! Also in the picture is a large stuffed animal hamster (which Santa got her since it was at the top of her wish list to him- Claire names him Chunky).

 We finished our Christmas celebration by lighting many candles and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus! He is the reason we celebrate today and to Him we owe everything! God has been so very good to us and our family. Praying for a wonderful new decade ahead!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

"Back to the 50's" 5th grade musical

Claire had her 5th grade musical tonight. It was so much fun to watch the kids have a blast! Claire had a speaking part and played a sleepy girl at the beginning.

 They even had an old car out in the parking lot for the kids to take pictures by. It was a fun night and who knows, Claire might just want to take up theater!

ICE at The Gaylord- Charlie Brown Christmas

We decided on a whim to drive up to Grapevine, TX last weekend to see the ICE exhibit at The Gaylord Hotel. It was wonderful and I am so glad we got to experience it!

Claire brought her good friend Karsen along and they had so much fun! Here they got to put their hands in ice! Not a big deal for our family in MN, but for these kids, it is very unique!

 Before entering the freezing cold exhibit, everyone is all smiles and is warm!

 The first display when you enter the exhibit

 The talent that goes into making these characters is amazing! Every character was detailed to the max.

 Still smiling but we are all freezing by now! Wish we would have brought our hats and gloves!

 The girls got to go down a two story ice slide!

 At the very end, there is the nativity scene made of ice. So amazing, the picture does not do it justice.

Frosty Fest at Black Elementary

Every year Claire's elementary school puts on a winter fest with games that are focused on math and reading skills. Here Claire is working on cracking a code by using math problems to be able to open the three locks on the box and get her prize!

 This was a fun "connect 4" game

 We didn't get to stay very long because of swim practice, but Claire got lots of candy anyway and had a fun time! Sad thinking this is the last year we get to do this activity.

Making Christmas cookies across the miles

My sister and her daughter, Ellie, had the same idea as we did last weekend. We both planned on making the Christmas cookies our Dad always loved to make. So we decided why not make it a family affair and baked and decorated while doing FaceTime! It was a tradition with my Dad to put flour on your nose when you baked, so we find comfort in keeping this tradition alive. He also loved to add some mint extract into the dough to add a slight taste of mint so of course we did that too!

We all had fun spending the afternoon "together". Why let the miles get in the way?!

Claire and I were the first to get a pan into the oven!!! Had to add a little competition to the baking session!

Claire and Ellie had so much fun decorating cookies while visiting on the phone. 

Showing each other our decorated cookies! What a fun afternoon and I am pretty sure this will become a yearly tradition! 

                                       

Claire and I are not quite as detail-oriented as Ellie but they still taste amazing!

                                       

Christmas in the park

We went with some great friends, the Moore family, to Burroughs park for a Christmas event. They had it decorated with fun fixtures. 

 Claire wrote her letter to Santa and mailed it in their special mailbox. This year she has asked for Airpods, a large stuffed animal hamster, markers, a hoverboard, and a new Nerf football. We will have to see what Santa decides to deliver this year!

 Claire, Jackson, and Emily had fun playing some games while the parents waited in line to see Santa.

Looking a little big to be sitting on Santa's lap!!!

 Our family with the Moore family. So thankful to have this wonderful family in our lives! We have so much fun together!

 On to the petting zoo next. Claire enjoyed feeding the animals.

 These crazy kids waited in line for 30 minutes just to play in the snow! I know our family in Minnesota will think that is just insane! Although you don't see people playing in the snow in shorts and a t-shirt very often! Only in Texas!

 Had to add this cute picture! Our church does such great photo spots for Christmas!