There is nothing like getting ready for Christmas to remind one just how fast a year has passed. It truly seems like only months ago that I finally packed up all of the decorations from last Christmas. That's probably because it really was!
Our annual tree hunting trip to Alvo. Every year they cover a little more of this sign!
Everyone checks out the trees, finds their favorite and takes a picture beside it. All of the kids joined Esther! Without prompting, she sat down beside the littlest tree--you'd miss it if you didn't know it was there!
^^Never gets old!^^
The tree that we picked is the one behind us. It is ridiculously huge, but Tim has been eyeing it for years. (In the end we brought home a slightly smaller but still humongous one and put it up in the pool room.) I'm not convinced that is the right room for a tree, but I'm sure if we do it a few more times, it will become the new normal.
It was lovely to have sunshine and warmth to tree hunt this year. Much, much better than the subzero temps of last year.
The break from school never seems long enough to accomplish all the things we want to do...the traditions we want to keep or restore or begin. Tim's mom used to make rosettes by the hundreds and take them to the nursing homes. She hasn't made them for several years and Tim really wanted to do it this year, so Grandma brought over the irons and the recipe and they got to work.
I'm not sure who had more fun, Tim or his mom! They and several of the kids worked for hours getting all the kinks out and made trays of beautiful rosettes...
...and just like Thanksgiving dinner, they were gone in 1/10th of the time it took to make them!
The kids begged to make and decorate sugar cookies and/or gingerbread houses. Sometimes a mom is just tired, and/or forgets to make the sugar cookie dough. This year we did something a little different and decorated a forest of sugar cone trees. Just as messy as gingerbread houses, but the consensus was that it was fun. Everyone participated, so the trees ranged from painted green with edible spray paint to quite elaborately embellished.
I'm not even sure about what's going on here, but the photo obviously needs to be included! This must have been a before shot since she is stripped down in the decorating photo!
It was a magnificent forest.
Even Esther was intrigued and studied them very closely!
Decorating the tree is also a very high priority tradition. Things happen the same way year after year with the kids opening up a new ornament to kick off hanging many of their ornaments that Tim passes out to them. .
There is music and hot cocoa or cider involved, and reminiscing about years past with the hanging of each previous year's ornaments...
And typically a tantrum or six.
We got the tree decorated just in the nick of time for it to be up before we traveled west for Christmas. EARLY morning departures make for much quieter travel--once the fighting over who is sitting too close to whom subsides. They also mean that by the time everyone wakes up it is time to stop for a while and refuel the gas tank and the people tanks.
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| The inside of the van windows |
It was COLD for traveling. I'm pretty sure everyone was reminded 28 times to have a hat, coat and gloves for the trip, and we did pretty good...only one wayward child was traveling in subzero temps without proper outerwear!
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| Our view outside of our room on a snowy, sunny Christmas Eve morning! |
This is the Stricker Christmas. My Grandparents, their three children, two children-in-law, five grandchildren and spouses and 17 great-grandchildren--eight of them under 4! What a riot! Every other year we gather.
This is the second time we've gathered at this place--a YMCA camp that sits right beside the river and the monument with room for everyone to stay comfortably and a huge room to gather all day and night together.
These will be great memories with their great grandparents for sure!
And cousins! Oh how I wish they lived closer together! It takes these two less than 60 seconds to reconnect!
My Grandma E--my mom's mom joined us this year too which made it even more special. Lots of love going on in this room!
Then there are these three! The years ahead are going to be so much fun, and quite probably just a little crazy!
And then of course Willa's best "fwiend" Penny. Just chatting at the cider bar.
Family is so wonderful. We feel so fortunate every time we get to spend time with this group. Definitely some core memories happening here!
All seventeen of them.
Grandma E and her clan.
Even though the break went really fast, we did a lot of relaxing...tv watching, game playing, eating, sleeping, repeating. This game is intense and then we added a twist...
Beanboozled...I've never seen 50 jelly beans last so long in our house! Gross!
We wrapped up the year with more lounging and game playing and eating with an afternoon with Tim's family, and then rang in the new year like old people.
At approximately 8:30!
We completed the break by resurrecting another tradition that we haven't done in a year or two by going to a movie with these friends! Twenty years ago, two young newly-wed couples were giddy to share their own exciting announcements with each other (expecting babies within a week of each other), and now just look at the crazy and beautiful chaos that we've created! LOVE IT! 2018 is going to be a great year!
...and just like Thanksgiving dinner, they were gone in 1/10th of the time it took to make them!
