Christmas 2017

We had a great Christmas this year. The kids scored some serious Lego sets and some fun unexpected stocking stuffers. I always have a fun time trolling Target and finding little stocking gifts for $5 - $10 each. Even Freckles scored some loot this year. 

We did the typical schedule this year. Christmas Eve service at church in the afternoon then the entire family at our house for fondue. Afterwards the kids opened their pajamas, popcorn, and cocoa, and we watched the movie Elf. During the first half of the movie I played around with the big present to myself, a Wahoo Kickr Smart Trainer for my bike. I have been doing a lot of indoor riding on Zwift since "opening" it. Santa, I know him.

After Christmas morning at our house we went over to my parents. We grabbed everyone coffee and hit their house for round two of presents at about 10:30. I say round two, but it was really round one for the adults while the kids handed out gifts.

As I've mentioned before, this year was all about Legos. Julia and Jonathan got several sets, many that included over 1,000 pieces and manuals the size of a typically magazine. It was pretty impressive how diligently they persevered through each one. It was so intense that many times we had to force them to stop building to eat food or simply to just take a break. They are still too young to realize that they need to take a break for their own well being. I was very impressed just how smart and skillful the kids were at putting the sets together. They are now ready for whatever IKEA brings their way in adulthood.

Breckenridge Videos

Breckenridge

This year the family decided to spend a couple of days up in Breckenridge. The winter has been mild and we haven't had any snow in town yet, so we had to head up into the mountains to have some fun. Additionally, the kids are at the age where three to four weeks off of school and no change of scenery is just too long. We decided to go the week before Christmas since the times around Christmas and New Year's was too busy, booked, and expensive.

I found a sweet mansion in Highland Hills on Airbnb. Each group of the family had their own wing of the house, and the living area/kitchen was very accommodating. We had a really good time.  We went cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and tubing. We originally had reservations for snowmobiling, but they were canceled due to the lack of snow up there.

Although I don't have any pictures of sledding, this was by far the highlight of the trip for me and the kids. We found a great hill behind the elementary school and spent an entire afternoon there going up and down the hill over and over again. Everyone except Stacey had a turn on the sled, since she wasn't feeling well and stayed at home. The rest of the family only did a couple runs, which we appreciated by the kids.  I had a great time too.  Tell you what, I'll upload the videos of us sledding here in a bit, even though they won't show up on the blog book.

It was also nice to spend a couple of days in the mountains without having to make the 5 hour round trip in the same day off top of the activity. Although I could have stayed a couple of more days, it was nice to come back home and be out of the snow. I am glad I don't live in a place where it has snow all winter long. The only causality of the trip was Jonathan's blanket. Nigh-nights was left at the house and we are having it mailed back to us after about two weeks without it.  

First Tooth

Jonathan lost his first tooth today.  His bottom two teeth have been loose for a while, but it took an accidental bump in the mouth while we were wrestling to jar it loose. His second bottom tooth came out a couple weeks later when he opened a water bottle with his mouth.

The other two pictures are bonus shots. We were having fun at Starbucks with Panda (also, check out the spiked hair) and I couldn't pass up this shot of Freckles on my lap the other night. So cozy.

Happy 10th Birthday Julia

Happy 10th Julia!  You're now in double digits like the rest of us. This year Julia decided she wanted to have a spa day at Great Wolf Lodge and sleepover at our house with her friend Cadence. The girls got their nails done and were given girly things like hair scent and tiaras. Jonathan and I spent the afternoon and night at my parent's house since they were out of town. When we got back the girls showed us the dozens of different "potions" they had made that morning.

The following weekend the Johnson's were in town to celebrate. We had a typical small family gathering at our house for presents and cupcakes. Both kids were allowed to open their Christmas present from papa and nana too since they were in town. The kids are all about Lego sets year.  They are working on building Lego City in their playroom in the basement.

I think Julia had another great year and birthday in 2017.  I am very proud of the young lady she is today and am looking forward to many more happy memories together. 

Indoor Soccer Highlights

I haven't been posting videos on the blog anymore since they don't transfer over to the book that we print.  However, thought I would share some of the videos I took this weekend at Jonathan's indoor soccer game.

He's really fun to watch. This winter he's playing with other kids in first and second grade. So, although some of the kids are a grade ahead, you can't really tell. He isn't afraid to mix it up, and is pretty quick which is beneficial on the small indoor field.  All in all he's having a lot of fun and we're glad it's a positive experience for him.

I have been helping coach when the main coach is out of town. His team is typically winning each game pretty big, say 15 - 5, and he usually bags a handful of goals.  I think in this game he scored 5 goals. He's definitely into the action. I am happy that he's having fun and the effort/hustle that he's showing. Go Buddy!

First Grade Christmas Show

Starring Jonathan Sudduth as an elf drummer in Santa's rock 'n roll band...