Sammamish Christmas, Part 4 (New Years Eve)

We had a simple New Year's Eve at the house celebrating with the kids. Derek and Faye returned from Portland and it was good to have them back in time for all the fun. We played Minute to Win It games, did sparklers in the driveway, and then watched the countdown in London on Youtube to ring in the new year. 2020 was a lemon of a year and I don't think anyone was too sad to see it end. 

We had four events - dropping mini marshmallows in your partner's open mouth, transferring cotton balls with Vaseline on your nose, transferring goldfish with a straw, and shaking ping pong balls out of a box strapped to your waist. 

Charlie was scared at first and stayed inside, but then decided to come out and try one. He did great!

Sammamish Christmas, Part 3 (Cousin Come and Cousins Go)

Over the next few days it was a revolving door as cousins came and left. Derek and Faye went down to Portland to see her family right after Christmas, then the Hindman family arrived the next morning, and finally Nat and Brodie took off a couple days later. It is always so crazy when there are that many kids in the house.  At the same times, however, they also keep each other entertained so even though it's wild, it's less work in a way. Unless it's a meal time, then it's all hands on deck to feed the hungry horde!

Recreating a picture of Charlie and Briggen in front of the Christmas tree from two years ago when they were just babies - look how much they have grown!

Enjoying a bath together

This was one of the cutest moments of them together that Nat happened to walk in on. They had both gone down the the playroom and decided to read a book together, only it was a chapter book that didn't even have pictures, but they both laid down to pretend they could do it!

Saying goodbyes

We had a virtual meet up with our Howe cousins a few days after Christmas. Tim had thoughtfully mailed us a "party in a box" that had everything we needed for a good time - mustaches, mad libs, a scavenger hunt - and then had pizza delivered to top it off. Fun times!

Brownie tasting event to determine the best box mix on the market. I can't remember for sure, but I think the winner may have been Walmart!

Getting in some snuggles with GG Grandma

Grandmari had several home depot kits put away for a day of building with cousins. All the little boys got to make battleships. I didn't take any pictures while they were hammering (my focus was on keeping destruction to a minimum), but here is Charlie with his finished boat.

After the kids went to bed, the adults who still had energy would play a few games. This one was called Spyfall, and we had a fun time learning it together. Grandma was actually very good and had us fooled multiple times!

After the Fish Fam left we went up to the cabin for some snow play. The kids had fun sledding in the driveway and climbing around on the snow walls. Charlie surprised us all by lasting longer outside than all his older cousins. 

Baby Griffin on the inside looking out

We came back to the big house after playing in the snow and I got to take all kids, minus Griffin, in the hot tub. It was raining, but with that much splashing it didn't even matter. 

Sophie and Anne had the best time playing together that week. Out of 10 cousins they are still the only girls and always have the best time when they are together!

Sammamish Christmas, Part 2 (Christmas Eve & Day)

Christmas Eve and Christmas are always such exciting days with kids. Luckily we had lots of activities to help pass the time as we counted down the hours until Santa arrived. We also had the Fish fam, Derek's family, and GG grandma arrive, which added to the fun (and noise)! It was so good to be together, even if it meant running the dishwasher three times a day.

On Christmas Day we went down to get the kids from the playroom, and found that they had already snuck upstairs to check out what Santa had brought. Stinkers! I guess that's Santa's fault though, because he gave them headlamps in their stocking which was basically an invitation to go snooping around in the early morning hours. They were thrilled with the gifts and each received a letter from Santa about their main present that was waiting at home because Santa knew it would be too big to fit in our suitcases. Maybe he is a smart guy after all!

Decorating gingerbread houses. Check out Davey in that top photo - he just couldn't help himself!

Making cookies for Santa - It's always a tricky getting the spritz dough gun to work properly, but Uncle Brodie had the magic touch that day!

Playing Christmas bingo before bedtime

The cookies the kids made earlier were very popular. It's good Grandmari remembered to set some aside for Santa or there wouldn't have been any left!

Reading the Night Before Christmas

GG Grandma arrived with Paco just before bed and the kids snuck in a few snuggles before saying goodnight. Davey especially loves her and jumped right in her lap.

After the kids were in bed, the adults played a new game the Fish Fam taught everyone. You put bills down all over the table and then roll a soda can at the targets. If it stops on a bill, you get to keep it. The girls were clearly superior at this game!

Santa came! His bag must have been much lighter after leaving these full stockings and extra surprises for our family.

Four very happy kids on Christmas morning

After Santa gifts we had breakfast, and then opened the family presents under the tree. These kids sure were spoiled this year, and loved every minute of it.

Our code names theme for the year was breakfast cereals. I had a fun time helping to make all the name labels. This year I was Honey Bunches of Oats :)

Sammamish Christmas, Part 1 (Travel and Pre Christmas Fun)

People always wonder how long our family will keep traveling over Christmas break, and unless something changes, I see us continuing to do it for the foreseeable future. Dave and the kids will always have 2-3 weeks of time off for break so it just makes sense to make a trip of it. This year we had a full month away from home because we had Sophie miss a week on either side of break, in addition to the days she already had off. The school wasn't thrilled about her missing 10 days, but it gave us plenty of time to spend with family and friends, so it was worth it!!

We left the Howes house for the airport at 5:30 am. Luckily these kids are experienced travelers and so moving through security with 4 extra bodies is not as painful as it could be.

Catching up on some sleep after our early morning flight

Watching and waiting for our airplane during our layover in Denver. The three big kids posed themselves, and then we added Griffin to the end :)

Davey found a Big Foot at the airport just like the one on his shirt!

Dave turned 37 - happy birthday!

We took Davey and Sophie to Mini Mountain for a lesson to get them more comfortable on skis. Unfortunately they were never able to test out their new skills on the ski hill, but the practice was still good for them.

This was Sophie's second lesson, and Davey's first. They both did great!

I have never loved baking with kids. For some reason it just makes me grumpy. Luckily Grandmari has a sense of adventure though, and helped the kids make sugar cookies.

Wearing aprons made by GG grandma for when me and my sisters were little

Their cookies were not quite masterpieces...

... but they sure had fun making them!!

The kids love the hot tub and were always begging to go out for a swim, day or night, rain or shine. Dave doesn't love hot tubs, and I do, so I'm the lucky one who always get to get in with them. It's always a very wet experience. 

One time while we were swimming we heard a splash, and turned around to find a little bird that had fallen in! Our animal lover scooped him up and put him on a towel with some bird seed to dry out and recover. He sat stunned for awhile, but must have flown off after because when we got out of the hot tub he was gone.

Charlie loved playing this bingo game, which he called "Flamingo"

Grandmari was prepared with lots of crafts for the kids

I was feeling a little sad that Griffin would not be able to sit on Santa's lap for a picture this year (covid). I have photos of all my babies with Santa and love them. Big sister came to the rescue though as "Sister Claus" and it was so sweet!

All dressed up for Christmas Sunday. Davey was so excited about that dinosaur sweater that I found months ago. It was a little big so it should fit next year too.

On Monday we went up to the cabin for a quick stay before the rest of the family arrived. We were able to eat some fresh snow cones, read lots of books, and enjoy the mountain scenery. On the drive up Davey looked out the window and said. "We're in the land of Christmas trees! Wait, who planted all of these??"

There was lots of fresh snow, and since Paco wasn't there, it was Dave's job to clear the driveway. The kids helped him for about 2 minutes, and then left to go play in all the powder.