Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tea Party
Annabeth and I had a little tea party today with the new tea set she got for Christmas. It is real porcelain so it requires adult supervision. We brewed real red raspberry tea in the pot and even put milk and sugar in the proper dishes. We had a couple crackers as well. I don't think Annabeth was too fond of the tea even with milk and sugar, but she loved having a tea party. She is really looking forward to having one with Grandma Linda when she gets here in a couple weeks!
Puzzling
When Roz is here for a holiday we like to work on a puzzle. We have tried when Roz isn't here but never get very far without her guidance. In our family Roz is the puzzle master!
I got several larger puzzles at a garage sale this year. They probably aren't designs we would have chosen ourselves but they were good enough. This one was 1000 piece boat scene.
We set got it out Christmas Eve and finished it up Monday morning before Roz and Trevor left.
I got several larger puzzles at a garage sale this year. They probably aren't designs we would have chosen ourselves but they were good enough. This one was 1000 piece boat scene.
We set got it out Christmas Eve and finished it up Monday morning before Roz and Trevor left.
Silly String War
I put a can of silly string from the dollar store in everyone's stocking. Before Roz and Trevor left we had a little silly string war. Some people sprayed out half their can before we even started, others just sprayed themselves instead of others. Overall, it was about 30 seconds of fun.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Wesley Paints
Here is a photo of Wesley working hard on a paint by number he got for Christmas. We're trying to encourage him to find some non-electronic hobbies!
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Christmas Hike
Uncle Johnny invited everyone to a hike while Roz and Trevor were here. Saturday morning Johnny drove here and then the gang headed to San Tan Mountain Regional Park for a hike. JD, Annabeth, and I stayed home so we didn't slow them down.
Here are a few photos from the hike:
When they were done, they came back and got the rest of us and we headed to In N Out for a post-Christmas hike lunch.
Here are a few photos from the hike:
When they were done, they came back and got the rest of us and we headed to In N Out for a post-Christmas hike lunch.
Shown Family (Fried Chicken) Christmas
We had a very busy Christmas week this year. I am going to start at the end and work backwards. :)
We got together with the two other Arizona Shown Families for a Christmas get together on Saturday, December 27th. We decided we liked last year's menu of fried chicken enough to do a repeat. This year, since Roz and Trevor were here, we hosted at our house.
On the menu was: fried chicken, a potato casserole, deviled eggs, cheese/sausage/crackers, veggie tray, chips of various kinds, Christmas cookies and goodies, and a homemade pecan pie. We all ate way too much and then exchanged gifts.
The kids were super happy with the Minecraft books they got. They blocked out the rest of us for a few minutes to check them out. I love seeing kids excited about getting books!
GGS and Grandpa didn't forget Libby. She loves her new toy. It didn't take her long to figure out it squeaked. The rest of the night we kept hearing squeaks.
Do my in-laws know me or what!? Chickens, goats, and Downton! Makes me want to sing…"these are a few of my favorite things…"
Hope you had a great Christmas and spent some time with family too!
We got together with the two other Arizona Shown Families for a Christmas get together on Saturday, December 27th. We decided we liked last year's menu of fried chicken enough to do a repeat. This year, since Roz and Trevor were here, we hosted at our house.
On the menu was: fried chicken, a potato casserole, deviled eggs, cheese/sausage/crackers, veggie tray, chips of various kinds, Christmas cookies and goodies, and a homemade pecan pie. We all ate way too much and then exchanged gifts.
The kids were super happy with the Minecraft books they got. They blocked out the rest of us for a few minutes to check them out. I love seeing kids excited about getting books!
GGS and Grandpa didn't forget Libby. She loves her new toy. It didn't take her long to figure out it squeaked. The rest of the night we kept hearing squeaks.
Do my in-laws know me or what!? Chickens, goats, and Downton! Makes me want to sing…"these are a few of my favorite things…"
Hope you had a great Christmas and spent some time with family too!
Friday, December 26, 2014
Christmas Afternoon
In addition to the Home Alone movie marathon, we tried to come up with a few other fun Christmas activities. I ended up finding an Amazon Lightning deal that would make a great gift for anyone. I wasn't sure who to give it to so we decided to make it a prize for a game. We decided on a game of chance and not skill to level the playing field.
We ended up choosing a game of Christmas Bingo. I found some cards online and printed them. Then we set the timer on Jerry's phone and called out a space every 30 minutes. It was a close game, several of the kids were just one call away from winning.
But in the end Trevor won the Packers Light Up Pillow Pet! Congratulations Trevor!
All the boys, including Trevor, spent some time putting together their new Lego sets.
A bit after noon we started prepping the food for an all afternoon snacking feast. We had quite the spread. Chips & dip, veggie tray, cheese/sausage & crackers, bacon wrapped pretzels, meatballs, and hot wing chicken dip.
Followed by Christmas goodies of all kinds.
Merry Christmas from the Shown Family!
We ended up choosing a game of Christmas Bingo. I found some cards online and printed them. Then we set the timer on Jerry's phone and called out a space every 30 minutes. It was a close game, several of the kids were just one call away from winning.
But in the end Trevor won the Packers Light Up Pillow Pet! Congratulations Trevor!
All the boys, including Trevor, spent some time putting together their new Lego sets.
A bit after noon we started prepping the food for an all afternoon snacking feast. We had quite the spread. Chips & dip, veggie tray, cheese/sausage & crackers, bacon wrapped pretzels, meatballs, and hot wing chicken dip.
Followed by Christmas goodies of all kinds.
Merry Christmas from the Shown Family!
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Christmas Morning
Christmas morning the kids got up a little earlier than in years past. They tried to be quiet, but were pretty excited. Jerry and I were awake not long after them, but we didn't want to wake Roz and Trevor too early so we didn't start opening gifts until they joined us around 7am.
For the first time ever we were able to take a traditional photo in front of our own tree with ALL seven kids in the photo! Annabeth wasn't born the last time Roz was in our house on Christmas morning.
Jerry hands out all the gifts and then we take turns opening one gift at a time. This allows everyone to see what the gift was and slows things down a bit so we aren't done opening presents in five minutes.
I read online about wrapping a big box in wrapping paper to use as a pretty "trash can" for the wrapping garbage. You can see it between JD and Trevor in the photo above. I cut a big hole in the top and we cleaned up as we went. It worked great and I will definitely be doing that again.
We don't go to crazy with gifts, but everyone ended up with a nice little pile in front of them.
Trevor surprised Jerry with a signed Jake Plummer Cardinals jersey. Very cool! He will frame it and hang it in his office at work.
When I was in Minneapolis in September, I looked all over at Junk Bonanza for wooden eggs. I didn't find even one. Roz ordered me some on Etsy. They are perfect! I can't wait to find a cute basket to display them.
While we were opening gifts we had our breakfast casseroles baking. When the fun was done, breakfast was ready! We had the two egg casseroles (one with bread, one with hash browns), pineapple, lemon poppyseed bread, and the donut snowmen.
For beverages we had juice boxes (that were supposed to go in the stocking but there was no room left for them) and hot chocolate. Our good friends gave us a "Cocoa Grande" machine that makes a big batch of hot cocoa and keeps it warm. It was perfect for a big family Christmas celebration! The hot cocoa was, of course, served in the new personalized mugs everyone got on Christmas Eve.
For the first time ever we were able to take a traditional photo in front of our own tree with ALL seven kids in the photo! Annabeth wasn't born the last time Roz was in our house on Christmas morning.
Jerry hands out all the gifts and then we take turns opening one gift at a time. This allows everyone to see what the gift was and slows things down a bit so we aren't done opening presents in five minutes.
I read online about wrapping a big box in wrapping paper to use as a pretty "trash can" for the wrapping garbage. You can see it between JD and Trevor in the photo above. I cut a big hole in the top and we cleaned up as we went. It worked great and I will definitely be doing that again.
We don't go to crazy with gifts, but everyone ended up with a nice little pile in front of them.
Trevor and Roz got the majority of their gifts in envelopes which is probably just the way they like it! But we stuffed their stocking with goodies and wrapped a bunch of small items so they wouldn't feel left out of the unwrapping fun!
Trevor surprised Jerry with a signed Jake Plummer Cardinals jersey. Very cool! He will frame it and hang it in his office at work.
When I was in Minneapolis in September, I looked all over at Junk Bonanza for wooden eggs. I didn't find even one. Roz ordered me some on Etsy. They are perfect! I can't wait to find a cute basket to display them.
Slowly the living room transforms from a room full of gifts to a room full of toys and new belongings. Trying to find a home for all the new stuff will have to wait. The living room is allowed to stay a bit messier than normal for a day or two.
While we were opening gifts we had our breakfast casseroles baking. When the fun was done, breakfast was ready! We had the two egg casseroles (one with bread, one with hash browns), pineapple, lemon poppyseed bread, and the donut snowmen.
For beverages we had juice boxes (that were supposed to go in the stocking but there was no room left for them) and hot chocolate. Our good friends gave us a "Cocoa Grande" machine that makes a big batch of hot cocoa and keeps it warm. It was perfect for a big family Christmas celebration! The hot cocoa was, of course, served in the new personalized mugs everyone got on Christmas Eve.
It was a late, leisurely breakfast followed by playing with new toys, relaxing, and a Home Alone movie marathon!
Sibling Exchange 2014
Right before bed on Christmas Eve the kids did their sibling gift exchange. This is a special and exciting time for them. We were so happy to have Roz with us this year!
Youngest goes first. Annabeth was so excited she didn't even wait for us to give the okay. She opened her gift as soon as it was in her hand! She got a wooden bead necklace set from Eli.
JD got two Lego sets from Wesley. Wesley double wrapped them inside another box to throw Pickle off track when he shook the box. We wrap the sibling gifts and put them under the tree right away. Since the sibling gifts are the only ones under the tree before Christmas they get "investigated" and guesses are made. Wesley's double wrapping worked. I think JD was pretty surprised!
Justus was a wise shopper and made his $10 stretch. He got Hayden an ASU baseball cap, a sketch pad, and some colored pens for drawing.
Justus has been telling Annabeth for months all he wanted from her was Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies. So that is what she got him! FIVE boxes all to himself!
As you can see, he was in Cosmic heaven!
Roz got Eli a much needed new set of headphones. Now he can use his own set to listen to some audio books!
Hayden had a hard time coming up with something for Wesley. We thought and thought. One day we were in the dollar store and Wesley asked for a cat calendar. I told him no. Later I thought maybe a calendar wasn't such a bad idea after all, but to make it more fun we chose a page-a-day cat calendar on Amazon. Wesley loved it! He's not allergic to the photos of cats, just the real thing.
JD had to find something for Roz that was small and portable so she could get it back home in her suitcase. Roz gave us a little hint and he spent his $10 on several tubes of Burts Bees chapstick. Roz opened one up to use right away.
It was another successful sibling exchange and since the wheel goes all the way through 2018 we already know who will be shopping for who next year!
Youngest goes first. Annabeth was so excited she didn't even wait for us to give the okay. She opened her gift as soon as it was in her hand! She got a wooden bead necklace set from Eli.
JD got two Lego sets from Wesley. Wesley double wrapped them inside another box to throw Pickle off track when he shook the box. We wrap the sibling gifts and put them under the tree right away. Since the sibling gifts are the only ones under the tree before Christmas they get "investigated" and guesses are made. Wesley's double wrapping worked. I think JD was pretty surprised!
Justus was a wise shopper and made his $10 stretch. He got Hayden an ASU baseball cap, a sketch pad, and some colored pens for drawing.
Justus has been telling Annabeth for months all he wanted from her was Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies. So that is what she got him! FIVE boxes all to himself!
As you can see, he was in Cosmic heaven!
Roz got Eli a much needed new set of headphones. Now he can use his own set to listen to some audio books!
Hayden had a hard time coming up with something for Wesley. We thought and thought. One day we were in the dollar store and Wesley asked for a cat calendar. I told him no. Later I thought maybe a calendar wasn't such a bad idea after all, but to make it more fun we chose a page-a-day cat calendar on Amazon. Wesley loved it! He's not allergic to the photos of cats, just the real thing.
JD had to find something for Roz that was small and portable so she could get it back home in her suitcase. Roz gave us a little hint and he spent his $10 on several tubes of Burts Bees chapstick. Roz opened one up to use right away.
It was another successful sibling exchange and since the wheel goes all the way through 2018 we already know who will be shopping for who next year!
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