Relaxing Bliss.....

We’ve not really done anything of major significance since Christmas other than relax. It curious, we’ve done so little of that recently, that it feels like we are wasting time or simply not getting stuff done. I have enjoyed it though.

Now of course we have been doing something, if we didn’t the kids would be walking the walls and we’d be pulling our hair out. We’ve done many little house projects, playing with the kids, cooking and eating together, movies, naps, arts projects, playing puzzles, games and with new Christmas presents. Another few days left of relaxing bliss…..ah…

Christmas Day

We all had a fantastic day. Simply seeing how excited the children were this morning made it such a memorable occasion. They flittered all their presents all over the place with excitement, barely seeing what they had received until all was quieter a few hours later. Santa is such a good man and of course many thanks to all you out there who also gave us gifts.

We also had a great day with Brad, Lisa, Marcia and Kaisa with all their children of course. We had a delicious dinner and a very tasty dessert, just way too much of everything. It was truly a very special and memorable day all round.

Almost time for Santa

Boy have we got excited kids. All three of them are wound up like you would simply not believe. They’re all in bed now though. We had a very relaxing day with Lisa and Brad, we essentially ate food all day. Thanks for a great day.

We got home, did baths and got them all dressed in their new elf pajamas, left Santa some cookies and milk, read the book “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”. They’re in bed but a long way from sleeping….it may take a while.

Christmas Eve

Wishing you all well on this Christmas Eve. Everybody is both busy and excited here. Lynne and I have been preparing for dinner tomorrow most of the morning and the kids are trying hard not to bubble over with excitement. The vegetables are all prepped, deserts baked, and a few other items taken care of. We’ll be spending the rest of the day with Lisa and Brad so we needed to get fully organized. By the time we get home later tonight, Santa’s arrival will be imminent.

Yesterday Lynne did some painting with the girls, shown below is a horse she did with Isabel, and Anja’s independent effort at an apple. We also managed to all watch The Polar Express as is tradition in our house the day or two before Christmas.

Dinner and Hairdressing

Last night we hosted Randy, Lorraine, Kay and Nancy for dinner. We had a very relaxing evening, always a pleasure to host such good company, the highlight of which was the hairdressing session that Kay allowed the girls to undertake. She was very patient as the girls played with her much like they do their Barbie’s and My Little Ponies. Thank you Kay, you made their night and thanks to the rest of you for a wonderful evening.

Cookie Decorating

Christmas may have officially got underway today here at our house. Brooke and the kids baked lots of cookies yesterday and hosted a cookie decorating party for 10 children this afternoon. I arrived home close to the end of this party and it was clear that everybody was enjoying it. Thanks Brooke.

Need to Focus on Study

This is the blog post I should not be writing, it means I’m not studying. I have two final exams this weekend, Statistics on Friday and Competitive Strategy on Saturday. Finding it hard to keep myself sufficiently focused for an extended period of study. It’s probably the subject matter. Having lectures on these topics was very interesting but sitting studying for exams not so exciting. Which would you find more attention grabbing: understanding Porters forces that affect industry competition or understanding the sum of variances in regression analyses  (shown below)? I think you’d write a blog post too…..

Visit to Purdue Gingerbread House

Yesterday we had our annual trip to the Purdue Memorial Union to revel in the delight of their massive Christmas tree and ever-expanding Gingerbread House. The kids are always fascinated with the house, mostly since it’s fully made of edible goodies. It’s incredible to watch them, plus all the other little children of course; they simply cannot keep from picking little bits from it.

I was particularly excited to see it myself this year since I had heard an interview with Cheri Vaughn on our local radio station, she is the baker and maker of the house. It was interesting interview.

Connor's 3rd Birthday Bash.....

We had a very exciting afternoon celebrating Connor’s 3^rd birthday. There was lots of food, drinks, cake, ice-cream, singing, play, and most of all lots of very excited kids. They all knew each other very well from other parties and school so they were running all over and all very relaxed. Great to see, the memories.

I took many pictures as usual, some of which are shown below but many others here. A huge thank-you to all who came, helped out and brought presents, made it a fun event for Connor and us. You're all such good friends, we're lucky to have you. A big thank you again to Brooke who made a special effort with his fire truck cake which tasted great, I think it was her best effort yet, many many thanks. Finally, a special note to Granny Owens who continues to send each of the kids their birthday outfit. Today was no different and he loved the clothes.