Merry Christmas 2022

We just wrapped up two full days of Christmas festivities. We kept to our normal traditions again this year: Christmas Eve at my parents' house, Christmas morning at home, then breakfast at the Houston's, and the rest of Christmas Day in Star. On Christmas Eve, the adults always open their presents. Even though we don't usually exchange, Boomer surprised me with a calendar for my desk at work with photos for each month. My parents gave us money to use toward our Science Center membership, and we appreciate that gift all year long. I forgot to take any pictures from Christmas Eve, but Uncle Zack snapped this photo of Eli mesmerized by the Polar Express. 

On Christmas morning, Emmy and Eli woke up around 7AM. I peeked downstairs to make sure Santa came, and Emmy and Eli were close behind on my heels. Before opening any presents, they first wanted to finish off Santa's cookies. (...the first of many 'yes'es I said! We've thrown all rules out the window during Christmas break!) From Santa, Emmy got a camera, a talking Pikachu stuffed animal, and a wallet; Eli got a rescue station with a fire truck, police car, and ambulance; a set of walkie talkies; and a Spiderman watch.  

We agreed to be over at the Houston's by 8:30AM, so we hopped in the car, still in our pjs. After a delicious breakfast, Emmy and Eli opened their gifts from Grammy and Grandpa: a remote controlled dump truck for Eli, and a sketch projector and personalized sketchbook for Emmy. They both also got some clothes. In the commotion of opening presents, Emmy and Eli forgot to open their stockings from Grammy and Grandpa...so they still have that to look forward to. 

After a quick trip home to throw some things in a suitcase and to change clothes, we made the trip to Star and arrived around 1PM. While we waited on the rest of the family to arrive, Emmy and Eli went for a spin on Paw Paw's new golf cart. Goosie, Darby, and the kids arrived around 4PM, and our third round of presents began. Emmy, Eli, and Boomer all got new pairs of tennis shoes; Emmy got a snow leopard hugger and craft supplies; and Eli got animal figurines and cars. I got a matching Mommy-and-me bathing suit and koozies for my morning iced coffees. After all the presents, we had a traditional meal of turkey, mac-and-cheese, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, and green beans. Then Aunt Carlin helped all the kids make a gingerbread Christmas tree. 

We spent the night in Star last night and came back to Kernersville this afternoon. Unfortunately, Boomer and I have both been fighting some sort of stomach bug. Boomer had it during the days leading up to Christmas, and my symptoms started midway through Christmas Day. We are both hoping to get some rest over the next few days to make a full recovery before returning to work. Unfortunately, we don't have a very good picture of the four of us this year. The best we have is an early morning selfie in front of the tree. Merry Christmas from the Kennedys!

Cookies at Grammy's

After a short 3-day work week, we kicked off our Christmas break on Thursday with cookies at Grammy and Grandpa's. All of the cousins took turns helping Grammy cut out, ice, and decorate the cookies.  

Zander and Eli spent some time with Grandpa in the living room watching a Christmas movie and playing on the iPad. It's probably for the best, because we could only handle so many bakers in the kitchen at a time! Emmy and Maddox were the most enthusiastic. 

It was a long wait until the cookies were finally ready to be eaten. Our sneaky kids snuck bites of cookie dough and licks of icing when they thought we weren't looking. The finished product was worth the wait - delicious! 

While the kids and I baked cookies, Daddy had one more day of work. Based on this picture, it doesn't look like he was working that hard! 

On Friday, Emmy and I went over to one of her friends, Allie's, house from dance. Allie's mom Brittany invited us over for cookie decorating with another dance friend, Natalie and her mommy Selina. The girls had so much fun making their cookie creations. We all took home cookies to add to our growing counter collection of baked goods and treats. 

Other happenings of the week: Emmy had a mini dance showcase where the dancers showed off all that they have learned so far this year. 

We've also had some downtime at home for snuggles and crafts. We'll soon be heading off to our Christmas festivities at my parents' house and then off to Star tomorrow. For now, I am enjoying a slow morning at home. 

Our Anniversary

It has been another fun week of build-up to the big Christmas holiday. Emmy had her class party on Thursday, the 15th and then her final day of school on Friday, the 16th. She got a lot of goodies, including a personalized Santa hat, reindeer food to sprinkle on our grass on Christmas Eve, and other treats and prizes. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the party, but Grammy went in my place and took lots of pictures. It has been a whirlwind of activities at the elementary school, and we are so thankful for the teachers and friends that Emmy has met during her start of kindergarten.  

Grammy helped out again on Friday when Eli was under the weather and needed some extra rest at home. He woke up on Thursday with a cough, and it was evident that he shouldn't go to school. Boomer and I split the day, with Boomer staying home in the morning and me trading off after lunchtime. I was hopeful that Eli would make a magical recovery for Friday, but he was still not back to 100% that morning. Sadly, it meant that he missed the Christmas tea that morning, the class party during lunchtime, and the Christmas program in the afternoon. He and Boomer also stayed home from church this morning, and we did not go to the Candlelight Service this evening. I am crossing my fingers that everyone is healthy for Christmas! 

Today Boomer and I celebrated our anniversary! Well, actually, we celebrated yesterday on the 17th. Grammy came over mid afternoon to babysit, and we went out on a date. Our original plan had been an overnight trip, possibly to another Wake bowl game like last year. We had so much fun in 2021 heading down to Savannah and Jacksonville. Both of us would have loved to recreate that same trip again. However, after the late losses in the season, Wake got a crummy draw with a bowl game on December 23rd. With little time left to plan a getaway, we opted for a date at home. Our date started with a matinee of the new Black Panther movie, Wakanda Forever. We had skipped lunch and made a meal out of our large bucket of popcorn. After the movie, we had dinner at Lucky 32, a restaurant in Greensboro with southern cuisine like shrimp and grits, fried chicken, and jambalaya. I got one of their holiday cocktails called a Gingerbread White Russian; it was yummy! After dinner, we drove through the Sunset Hills neighborhood for their display of Christmas balls. It was a fun ending to the evening. Today has included the everyday things of marriage and parenthood: chores, laundry, grocery shopping, and taking care of a sick baby. Things look a lot different than they did twelve years ago...but I wouldn't change a thing! Cheers to 12 years!