Happy Birthday, Papa!

I think our year ends the same way every year. We always celebrate Papa. Growing up, he always said "everybody celebrates my birthday, there is always a party. " And he's not wrong. But this party is my favorite of all. This year was number 67. It doesn't seem possible. It is also usually our last chance to see Gigi and Papa before they head west for the winter. We had a nice lunch. We taught Papa and Macy how to play Farkle and we had lemon cake. Already looking forward to our next time together.

Made it to Monte

Our trips to Monte are always quick. That just means that we have to pack in all the fun we can in a short time. And we do! We always play games...of course, Farkle. And the kids get to craft...this year they painted. They play on the Wii, and this year they got to spend some time in the snow. We had an extra full house this year. Justin brought Megan, Shelby brought Jake and Rylee brought Alex. And even though there were 19 of use. I wouldn't call it cramped. I'd call it cozy!

The girls got lots of nice things, including swim stuff they'd been needing. They always enjoy their visit from Santa. This year he had a poem that included their names. It was fantastic. But most of all they just loved being with family they don't see near often enough. I think you can tell from the last picture...they were wiped out. Everyone had a nap on the way home. 

Metropolis

On Thursday morning we loaded up and headed to Minnesota. Well, sort of. We actually made plans to stop in Eau Claire for the night before finishing our drive on Friday. We made it to Eau Claire a little before 4 and got checked in. It didn't take long before they were off and checking things out. I ran to Shopko and found some good deals. When I got back Mitch had the girls dressed and already enjoying the water park.

But the highlight was that they also have an arcade and a trampoline park. While Mitch and the girls were checking everything out a kind person handed him 4 all-access passes for the arcade. That meant unlimited gaming! We had a blast. The girls played all the games. They were racing cars and motorcycles, and killing dinosaurs in Jurassic World. Around 8pm we let them hit up the trampoline park for an hour. They were thrilled because they had a Ninja Warrior Obstacle course. While they were jumping Mitch and I enjoyed the arcade. We mastered Walking Dead and almost conquered Jurassic World.

When the girls were done we enjoyed Bumper Cars and a laser maze. Then we teamed up for several rounds of bowling. We spent over 3 hours gaming and loved every minute of it. The next morning they enjoyed the pool for an hour or so before we cleaned up and hit the road. Thankful for the break and ready to get to Montevideo.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning is always a fun one. The girls are excited and can't wait to see what Santa has brought for them. This year I don't know how they ended up with anything but coal. These girls have been fighting non-stop, picking on each other and somedays just being plain mean. But to everyone else they are as sweet as pie. Polite to teachers, neighbors and coaches...and not a problem anywhere but here. I guess I'd prefer it that way.

They scored all the top items from their wishlist. Lots of LOL dolls, Coding robots, Harry Potter Legos and more. The top gift for Leah and Kiersten was the hand operated drones. They loved sending them flying all over the house. And Papa had a good time teasing them and keeping them out of  their reach.

We had a nice Christmas brunch. I made a bacon cheddar quiche and Mitch made a vegetarian one with tofu. Needless to say, we won't be making that recipe again. Maybe we aren't tofu people. But thankfully there was strawberry bread and sweet potato hash too. We watched A Christmas Story and just enjoyed being together. It's nice that we can just be home and the girls can play with their things all day. I think I could get used to quiet Christmases at home.

Myerscough Family Christmas 2018

Okay, so per the usual, this is a total picture overload. I just love the time that I get to spend with these people. They are my people, my home, my happiness. And of course our time together always goes much too quickly. Aunt Laura, Nat and Jo arrived in Illinois on Wednesday evening so they came to visit us in Mt. Zion on Thursday. We had pizza and the kids played and I got to catch up with my sister. The cousins always have so much fun together.

Friday we had a half day of school. But we were able to get to Charleston by 4. Gigi, Aunt Laura and Uncle Jeff took all the kids to go see Mary Poppins Returns. I went to the nursing home to see Grandpa Merle. We had a short but nice visit. It made me smile to see him enjoying his dessert. He always has had a sweet tooth, and that remains. He ate a cookies and of course his ice cream. After the movie we all gathered at Gigi and Papa's house for dinner. There was some mean games of pool taking place downstairs and electric battleship in the kitchen. The little girls had a blast playing dress up. Leah and Kiersten went to have a sleepover at Uncle Matt and Aunt Cynthia's.

Saturday morning we were up and moving, but mostly having fun socializing. Mitch helped Gigi in the kitchen, of course. We had a family dinner early afternoon. Uncle Matt fried up some Walleye, it was amazing. Uncle Kevin stopped by to say hello and we had a wonderful visit. Then it was time for the gifts. Lots of cute clothes, all things Harry Potter, and lots of STEM toys. My favorite gift of the night was the Ugly Christmas Sweater featuring President Trump that we got for Papa.

The night quickly came to a close with stockings and our matching Christmas Pajamas. I just love the "Christmas Cousins Crew" shirts that we got for the kids. After we gave our hugs good bye and loaded up in to the car. There were tears, from both the girls and myself. Hattie said "I don't want them to go." I know the feeling well...Arizona seems so far at times. We absolutely treasure the time we have together.