The Kassel Family Project Life 365

After a lunch of pizza at our house, Andrea and I decided to take the kids to Going Bonkers! for a couple of hours of fun.  Both Laura and Kathryn were off to climb, play, and slide the minute they got their shoes off.  On the other hand, John was still a little freaked out about climbing all the way up to the top and going down the “big slides.”  I asked him if he wanted me to go with him down the slides.  He was leery, but said he would if I took him, so up we climbed!  On the way to the top, he was actually hurting my hand because he was squeezing so tightly.  John was scared when we got to the top, but he sat down next to me and we slid down the first big slide.  He was laughing by the time we got to the bottom of it and wanted to go again.  As we headed to the next slide, he was much more confident about climbing around so high off the ground.  He loved the second slide as much as the first.  At the bottom of the second slide, we ran into Laura and Kathryn who asked John to join them on their climbing adventures.  He turned to me and said, “I’m going with them, Mommy.  You go back down.”  Once back on the ground, I texted Andy to tell him that John had finally conquered this fear.  He was just as excited as I was.  Another check off of John’s list!

Merry Christmas!  Christmas Day started rather late for us.  Laura and John must have been *really* tired because, for the first time, all four adults were up and waiting on them to wake up.  Finally, John wandered upstairs just a little after 7:00 am.  Andy asked him if Santa Claus had come and he mumbled, “I don’t know.”  John didn’t even notice the piles of presents as he stumbled past the Christmas tree!  Laura was up less than two minutes later, and we all heard the excited squeal followed by her running up the steps.  It was obvious that *she* remembered to look!  It was just so much fun to watch the kids open their presents.  One of Laura’s big gifts was a camera from her Daddy and me.  She was so excited to see it and couldn’t wait to take some pictures with it.

One of John’s favorite gifts was an Angry Bird stuffie.  He was so excited and was showing it off when I snapped his photo.  My son…the Angry Bird!

In addition to lots of presents from us and Grandpa and Grandma, the kids got lots of presents from Santa.  Laura’s gifts from Santa were all things for her American Girl doll.  She now has “Honey” (a pet dog), a dresser, lots of outfits and accessories, and a hair styling kit.  Lauren is now a very well-dressed doll.

John received all things Hot Wheels from Santa.  His favorites were the track pack and the T-Rex Takedown set.  I think many, many hours of building tracks and racing cars is in his future!

The rest of the day was spent with the kids playing with all their toys and the adults relaxing, eating, and enjoying the day.  It was a fun, family Christmas!  We all had a great time, which is just exactly as it should be.

Merry Christmas Eve! It was a day full of Kassel Family traditions. First, Grandpa Ken and Grandma Marilyn arrived to spend Christmas with us. The kids were *very* excited to see Grandpa and Grandma! We had a relaxing afternoon that was followed by a delicious dinner of Marilyn’s Lasagna. Next, the kids and I made Reindeer Food, a mix of oatmeal and red and green glitter, to spread on the driveway so that the reindeer could snack while Santa Claus delivered presents to two kids on the “Nice” list.

After making Reindeer Food, the kids took a bath and got dressed in their Christmas Pajamas. Then, it was time for Daddy to read “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

After a short nap for John and non-stop talking by Laura, the kids waved goodbye to Chippy, our Elf on the Shelf.  We will miss Chippy, but he will be back next Christmas season!  We then headed outside to spread the Reindeer Food on the driveway.  Santa’s reindeer will be happy and well fed after visiting our house!

The kids decided they wanted to attend Christmas Eve service at church this year, so we headed off to church with the kids dressed in their Christmas pajamas much to the amusement of the other church goers.  It was a great service and the kids were excellent!  They loved being able to light and hold the candles at the end of the service.  Upon arriving home, the kids had a small snack and then helped us prepare the cookies and milk for Santa.  We put them downstairs by our Christmas tree and put the kids to bed.  After an exhausting day, the kids were ready for sleep!  Andy and I relaxed upstairs with a nice glass of white wine until we heard some noises downstairs.  By the time we got downstairs, the cookies were mostly eaten and the milk was all but gone.

Our stockings were stuffed…

…and presents for Laura and John were by the Christmas tree.

Santa Claus had come and gone!  Finally, Andy and I climbed into bed because Christmas morning would come quickly.

I took a few photos of the kids in front of our Christmas tree today.  They must be getting used to me snapping all these pictures because they did not protest and I had no bad photos of them.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Laura looks so grown up!

John cheeses big to show off his “AWESOME” Christmas sweater.

Two beautiful kids in front of our Christmas tree.

Go Ridgeway Elementary Rams!

It was a day of kiddo Christmas parties.  Andy and I had to “divide and conquer,” so to speak.  I signed up to help with Laura’s party months ago, so Andy went to John’s party.  Laura’s party was a busy hour with a stop in every Unit A classroom.  They made a craft, played a game, read a book, did face/hand painting, and ate snowcones!  She had a great time (and I got to make snowcones, which turned out to be the easiest snack ever!)

At John’s party, the kids got to eat snacks (and a LOT of them!), sing songs, and open presents.  John was a little clingy with Andy there, but he still had fun at his party.  Also, John was so excited to get Play Doh as his present!  When Laura and I got home, John was playing with his Play Doh and having the time of his life.

It was a great afternoon for both of our kids.  Laura and John are now on Winter break for the next ten days and Andy and I get a smattering of days off too.  I can’t believe Christmas is almost here!

It was our first snow in 310 days and, despite the nasty wind, it was beautiful to watch it come down.