Pure Christmas Magic...from Hill to Hill

We received an invitation to come down to Arkansas for a dinner with the Hufford side of the family. We have been politely declining for so long, I almost said 'no' out of habit. 

I'm so glad we didn't.

I can feel our family changing and I know these kids need more time with their family. I figured a trip down to see their grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins would be the very best way to spend the short time we had together for Christmas. 

We arrived a little early and headed down to Lowell to visit our old house. It was neat to see it, but what the big kids really wanted to do was visit Treasure Hill. I'm not sure if they already knew that the "hill" was really just a little slope that I used to bury little shiny rocks and coins in for the kids to find. 

They didn't seem to mind. I still felt all the love and magic right there. 

We drove over to the "new park" and walked around a little before heading over to visit the family at the Allred's lovely Donkey Hill. 

We had a pizza feast!

We had a nice time visiting and catching up with everyone that we haven't seen in so long. As the last people were heading out the door at the end of the night, we could here a robust rendition of "How Firm a Foundation" coming from the music room. It was so fun hearing the boys singing together with Megan on the piano. 

And then we sang and sang and sang.... and my heart was so happy. 

We even persuaded Bryce into playing his baritone for us and it was absolutely gorgeous. I love that rich and mellow tone. 

And only Aunt Sarah could convince these kids to put on an improv dance performance. Anyone reading this....go find the videos..because they are FABulous. 

We sang our last songs of the night, our very favorite, 'Colorado' and 'Camel Rock' by Chuck Pyle...and we were off to sleep. It was an extra gift to have the chance to have all of my Six right there to hug and tell them I love them. 

I woke up the next morning and came out to see these two. 

I thought they were birdwatching out the windows, but they were really talking to Kassie on the phone! Even better. 

We had a quick bowl of cereal, wished the donkey's a happy holiday and headed home for our Christmas Eve activites!

Unforgettable. 

Summer Smackdown begins.

3 weeks. 

That's how long it took before the fighting reached a fever pitch and I did, indeed, turn that car around. 

We were on our way to Science City and way too many of my daughters were going to war over loud breathing, water bottle ownership and seating arrangements. 

2 blocks from the house, I pulled a "U-ie" and proclaimed that I no longer wanted to spend any time with "you people".

We pulled into the garage at a frightening speed and I requested that they all kindly "get all their crap out of my van".

Then I went inside and finished off the first season of Severance while I patiently waited for them to knock and apologize one by one. 

It had to be done.

I let them stew for a few hours and then we set out for the Asian Market in search of unfamiliar snacks we could try. 

They were mostly not that great. But those strawberry jalapeno crisps we snagged at Trader Joes were a revelation. Everything else was about as good as one of those pink snowballs...except for the Mango and Cookies and Creme crisps. 

Yuck. 

They also chose some Taro Boba Tea to stew up later, and that was a hit. 

You win some and you lose some....we can suffer through Science City next week. 

Till then, you can find me in my closet with a box of those crisps and some cream cheese making my summer a little tastier.

Christmas Day 2019!!

Territories were laid. I love Mat and Meg sitting in the corner hanging out and waiting for Dad to come down.

He was taking quite a while...there was time for a quick puzzle.

Permission was granted to explore the stockings!

Everyone freeze! We need to put up the star! Eefie's turn!

My favorite thing about this year was the way the kids stepped in over and over to help each other out. Anna on standby to help with any difficult words...

Everyone one watching with smiles as Everly pried her massive unicorn out of the Santa bag....

I made the mistake of giving Laney a Tamagotchi....it was the worst gift ever. It was beeping and she couldn't understand the instructions. She cried for at least 15 minutes and yelled, "I hate that thing!"

Mathew did his level best to help her learn about it and see that it could be fun. In the end, he agreed to adopt it.

She LOVED her wolf statue, though! She's just not a techy kid...lesson learned!

I got a watercolor kit.. I'm so excited to try it out! Mark did his research and got me things I didn't even know I needed! Love is in the details!

Mark got lots of Rogue and Cubs gear...

And we got to enjoy watching the kids have a fun morning.

Anna got her stylin boots and a massive pile of scrunchies.

Mathew got the Vector...an adorable little robot. He was a little excited!

Megan had a hard time making a wish list this year, so I went with my gut and got her this cute chalkboard calendar....it's exactly what her organized, color-coded heart needs!

Ethan got a DNA kit...that boy loves family history...if only we could give him the gift of Viking ancestry!

He spent most of the morning reading through the genealogy book that Grandma Jean sent us.

Everly got so so so many Barbies (borbees). She is set for the day!

We kicked around and played with our toys the rest of the day....Mark and Mat talked computers and we all snuggled down in our new fuzzy blankets (we gave each other SOOO many)

Mark and I snuck in a quick workout...

And the girls were engrossed in their Barbie dramas.

It was a wonderful Christmas!!

EFY 2019 -- Mathew and Megan

I love that these two get to go to EFY together this year!! 

Mathew was feeling independent, so I helped Megan get all settled in her room. She had the advantage in her first year, thanks to Mathew's sage advice...treats...don't forget to bring treats (or sheets).

She is roommates with Hope Wagner, which should be good for both of them.

We all went to lunch before we said goodbye to the kids, but first!! We've been itching to do this for 3 years......