All in Two Weeks
We packed a lot into a couple weeks during break. The last time I posted was just before we headed up to Iowa the first time, to see my side of the family. I helped with Owen's winter party at school in the morning then loaded up the kids and headed north. We began the weekend by catching up with some friends in Huxley. Our neighbor's daughter had a home varsity basketball game, so we decided to go watch for awhile. Gracie ended up staying in Huxley with one of her good friends and was pretty excited to see a lot of people there. Owen also saw some of his old friends, but struggled to remember who they were. I didn't take any pictures while we were visiting, but it was sure good to be back and see some friends!
Making the drive to Iowa (#1)
We made it to Chad and Annie's around 9pm or so that night after watching basketball for awhile. The next morning after picking Gracie up from her friend's house we headed to Ames for breakfast. We went to a little hole in the wall cafe on Main Street called The Grove, which has pancakes about the size of your head. Owen could hardly finish half of his. We had taken Gracie here after she had tubes put in her ears, but I don't think she remember it. The kids loved it, and thought it was comparable to Hickory Park, but in a different way.
Owen digging into his ginormous pancake.
Gracie was a champ and finished hers.
Next: Skiing!!!
It has been 5 years since our kids (and we) have been on skis/boards. Annie had a birthday party to attend at 7 Oaks, which also has snow tubing, so we met her and some other friends/families there for a fun day! Owen had pretty much forgotten how to snowboard and spent most of the first couple hours relearning. Gracie got the hang of it pretty quickly and was well on her way to independence. She did not hesitate to ride up the lift and ski down by herself. There were no injuries (only one hard face-plant by Owen) on the day, so I would call it a success.
Gracie's first run
Gracie used my skis and boots and I watched from the bottom and provided moral support. She did great! I think that she will have to rent her own next time, though. Her feet are just enough bigger than mine, that I think the boots were uncomfortable.
Both of them getting ready to try the tow rope
Owen made it down the bunny hill
After making it down the bunny hill a couple of times, Owen felt pretty confident that he could manage going up the lift to the steeper hills. He was not quite ready and came right back to the bunny hill for some more practice. He hooked up with one of the instructors for several more runs down and after about an hour, was ready to try again. This time he had a little more success.
Up the lift
Owen getting a little help from Nick
Gracie was pretty comfortable being on her own!
The first of several Christmas celebrations
After a full day of skiing at Seven Oaks, we headed back to my sister's for dinner and gifts with our family. What a day! I think everyone was pretty tired after all was said and done.
Gracie's "sheep coat" from Annie
Nick showing Kaia her new "phone"
Wink! Oh, Gracie.
New shoes! I thin Gracie received 3 new pairs of shoes throughout the Christmas season.
A KC Chiefs water bottle that has a sprayer! Pretty exciting!
His face says it all.
The next day I got up to run before we headed south to Des Moines. We stopped in Woodward so Nick could see a couple of his former wrestlers that he coached several years ago. Since graduating, they have started there own wrestling program. We also stopped at the mall for a couple hours before heading to my aunt and uncle's for more Christmas festivities.
Here we are: The Blyth side of the family.
Home again!
We made it home before 10:30pm that night and were up for work the next morning. The kids both joined me for a little bit at work. Owen still had wrestling that evening and then we had about a week of break from activities. We spent Christmas Eve and Day at home and my parents came to join us on Christmas Day. Here we are before heading to church for the candle light service.
The football was a necessary prop.
Gracie decided she wanted her hair straight. It only took about 30 minutes to dry it and another 30 to straighten it. They both look great when they clean up!
The whole family!
At the Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia
We attended the family service again this year, but I think we might opt for a later service this year. It's great, but the kids weren't interested in participating in the pageant part of the service this year. It must have been 2 years ago that we attended the service that included a bunch of special music.
Gracie and Owen by our tree again
When we returned home, we had dinner and watched the Polar Express, as we have done for many years. I believe the kids were in bed by 10pm. Owen said that he was up quite a few times checking to see if Santa had come. Gracie said she slept all night and woke Owen up at 6:30am.
I believe she was still tired.
New hat and new boots. What more does one need?
Another new pair of shoes and lots of candy = happy boy
Smiles to confirm.
Notice the basketball goal. Santa wanted us to work for our gifts this year.
I believe Gracie took this of herself.
Santa also brought Owen a new hoodie.
Like I mentioned. The kids had to work for their present this year.
Santa must not have had time to assemble.
Owen received a couple more lego sets that he was able to put together pretty quickly.
Christmas Day was beautiful. Mom and Dad came up and the kids were able to ride the 4-wheeler and dirt bike in the afternoon. We have new neighbors down the road and they met up to ride together. It was a pretty laid back day and we enjoyed every bit of it.
Our gift to the kids was a trip to St. Louis to see Wicked!
We headed out the next morning to go see Wicked in St. Louis. We surprised the kids with tickets, and it was just as great as I remembered it being 11 years ago. I cannot believe it has been that long. We stopped at a BBQ place for lunch just before heading into the theater. I was really hoping that the kids would love it, but I looked over at Gracie a couple times and she was braiding her hair. However, just a couple days ago she stated that seeing Wicked was the best part of break. Owen was attentive throughout the performance and actually looked like he was more interested than Gracie.
Here we are outside of Fox Theater in St. Louis.
This was inside the theater
We made it over to the arch. We went in to see if we could go up, but it was sold out for the day. Maybe next time.
Every time we go through St. Louis, I always wish we could stay to do more stuff. We drove by Union Station, the new Aquarium, City Museum, and the zoo; all things that I would like to do with Gracie and Owen. I think they would love all these things. Maybe some day.
So, after returning from St. Louis that evening, we regrouped and packed for Iowa again. This time we traveled to the east side of the state to see Nick's side of the family. I think Nick had to work again on Friday before we left around 3pm to go to Muscatine. We made it there by 7 or 7:30 and spent the next two nights with family.
Gracie with Ruby. Ruby made both trips with us and did great!
Owen and Nick spending some time with Charleigh.
For the past 3 years (at least) Gracie and Ryleigh have put on a recital for all of the girls to dance in. Last year it was a bit long, so they shortened it up a little this year. They have a lot of fun getting dressed up and choreographing dances for their younger cousins. We had to make sure that Gracie didn't jump too high this year. Their ceiling is a little low in the basement.
Gracie stunting with Joslyn
Ryleigh and Gracie doing their duet.
6 of the girl cousins; Afton, Mallory, Joslyn, Gracie, Ryleigh, Aria.
Sawyer, Charleigh, and Alyce did not partake.
Finally presents!
Grandma gave Owen a Broncos remote control car. Perfect!
I will never get tired of his expressions when he is excited and happy.
And another pair of shoes for Gracie!
She always needs more decorations for her room.
Ruby wants in on the fun.
Gracie spending some time with Charleigh.
I must say, it was fun seeing everyone for the weekend. We had homemade pizzas again on Saturday evening and watched football for most of the time that games were on. This year was a bit different without Grandma Deb in attendance. I think it is the first year since I was 21 that I haven't had a Christmas with her, or at least some significant amount of time during the holiday season. I'm glad we at least got to see her back in September when Charleigh was born.
Annual cousin pic (14 in this one)
We had a few more lazy days and not a lot planned for New Year's Eve. We ended up going across the road to our neighbors' house for a small gathering and lasted until midnight! I don't remember the last time that I did that on New Year's! It was a fun evening with some games and a lot of laughs. Gracie was one of the only girls, so was a little bummed that she didn't have friends. But she managed to have a good time anyway. April took a picture of our family to document the event. Bring on 2020!!!
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