Christmas Break

I am doing my very best not to get all down in the dumps now that the kids are back in school and Christmas Break is over.  It is helping that school is cancelled for tomorrow because of EXTREME COLD.  I thought I had better post a few of the things we did during break before they become totally irrelevant.  Although the Christmas crafts are definitely past their prime. 

Atley had his very first piano recital. He played Good King Wenceslas and it was perfect. Not a single mistake.  We were really proud of him for all of his hard work and practice.

Harley and her preschool friends made Christmas ornaments.

We built our Gingerbread houses.  For future reference, IKEA sells the most adorable Gingerbread houses for $3.  They don't include icing but they really are perfect and might I add, quite tasty.

We enjoyed the snow.  Although this is the outfit Nash came up with when I told him to get his snow clothes on.  I'll admit it, I'm a little nervous about his future.

 

We used up our left over 4th of July Fireworks on New Year's Eve and we were all in bed way before 10PM.

The cat was never so happy as she was when this mischievous boy climbed onto the school bus this morning. I think she definitely needed a break.

 

Into the Woods on a Snowy Morning

We had two snow days and a delayed start this week and it was fabulous.  Part of that time we didn't have power so we had to search in the ice and snow for things we could burn to keep warm. Atley felt pretty manly throughout the whole experience.  One morning we went into the woods.  It was so quiet and peaceful. You would never guess that we were just minutes away from the most powerful city in the world.

  
 

Atley made the cutest little snowman. Harley named him Frozen. It was hard to say goodbye when it was time to walk back home. 

We had power long enough to make cookies.  Nash is kind of like the friend of the Little Red Hen.  He is never too keen on helping but he sure enjoys the finished product.

Eventually we ran out of things to burn but this didn't dampen the kid's desire to roast something.  One of our favorite campfire treats are roasted Starbursts.  So, they settled in around one little candle and roasted to their hearts content.

Of course we managed to squeeze in a craft or two including these pretty little snow globes made from mason jars and bottle-brush trees.

I think my favorite thing about the whole snowy experience was when we put back on our pajamas and crawled into my bed around noon. I read to them for almost two hours and they were perfectly content.  We didn't have any commitments. There was no place to rush off to or anything that absolutely had to be finished. There was no TV or Computer to distract us or video games to fight about. Those are rare days indeed and I think we all relished in the simplicity of the fleeting moment. Soon the power came back on and I had e-mails and phone calls that needed to be answered. Atley's teacher even felt the need to give him homework to do while he was snow bound.  After all, his text books are accessible online, he might as well be working.  I was slightly frustrated with that mentality but he got his work done and trudged off to school this morning with his snow-work snugly zipped in his binder.

Scott and I got a very rare few hours away from the kids last night to attend his work Christmas party.  Scott reserved a suite to watch the Washington Capitols play. I think everyone had a great time and I know Scott was relieved when it was over. It was a fantastic game that went into overtime and eventually into a shoot-out.  Our best player Alex Ovechkin even broke a few records. Since I have only been to 4 games in my entire life it was easy for me to call it the best hockey game ever.  We even got to eat Shake Shack for dinner-a little piece of burger heaven right there!

Colonial Days & a Christmasy Weekend

This year Atley's class is studying Virginia History. On Friday the school hosted a Colonial day.  It was really an amazing event for the kids. With the help of a lot of parents the kids had the option to attend 5 out of 12 classes in which they learned all about colonial life. The classes ranged from quilting, to colonial herbs & medicines, to calligraphy. I had the wonderful privilege of teaching tin-smithing.  That's right! I taught one hundred 4th graders who were all wielding potentially deadly weapons and sharp pieces of tin how to punch intricate designs with a nail and a hammer.  My ears are still a little sore.  The truth is it actually made me a little nostalgic for teaching.  We really had so much fun.  The kids performed Colonial dances like the Virginia Reel and ate a fantastic colonial lunch.  Of course we were all in costume.

Saturday night was our church Christmas Party. This gave the kids a chance to reiterate just exactly what they hope to find under the tree Christmas morning.

We also had a few minutes Saturday morning to craft, which is definitely one of my favorite Christmas activities.  We made these cute little snowman ornaments from battery-powered tea lights (Target $ Section).

 Today (Sunday) the snow and ice came. Church was let out early and Scott built a cozy fire. The kids sledded for awhile only to come in and warm themselves by the fire.  Then we roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores.  It was perfect. I felt so Norman Rockwell-ish. To top off our beautiful little piece of perfect Americana, we discovered that school was cancelled. You have no idea how much I needed a snow day! A day where I wasn't needed or expected to go anywhere. I cannot wait.

Popsicle Stick Christmas Trees

After recovering from food poisoning, I decided to eat my weight in cookies at the cookie exchange. Then we had a fun night with some good friends making Popsicle Stick Christmas Trees.

The big boys handled the hot gluing. 

At some point during the wild night, Nash must have grabbed my camera and taken a whole bunch of self-portraits like the gorgeous one above. 

Finally, we watched the autobiographical movie that our elf left for us.