Schaumburg Family Thanksmas

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is when my mom's family celebrates the holidays. This year Uncle Barry and Aunt Sandy weren't able to make it...But Carl, Jane, Jason, Tyler, Kevin, Jodi and the kids made the trip down. We don't see each other near often enough. But we certainly do enjoy the time we have together. We always play Bingo! Grandma started the tradition years ago, so of course we keep it going. My mom does a great job of finding lots of little things to wrap for gifts. You can't beat the Dollar Spot at Target!!! But mostly we just enjoy catching up, seeing whats new with everyone, seeing how much the kids have grown. I wouldn't miss this day for the world!

The Polar Express

Today we had our first experience with the Decatur Illinois Mom's Christmas Event...The Polar Express! I was volunteering all day long, so Mitch brought the girls in on his own. It was wonderful. I love being able to give back, and while this was for profit, the money goes back into events for our community!  There are 3 showings of the film. The kids get to get their ticket punched by a real train conductor, and after the show is over they get to go see Santa. My kids loved it!

We worked in collaboration with DOVE. For every toy you donated your name got entered into a drawing for an iPad mini. My girls each brought in two gifts. And were happy to put them in the donation box. This is an event we will participate in again for sure. So fun and a great way to kick off the holiday season.

Trimming the Tree, 2015!

Decorating the Christmas tree with these 3 yahoo's is seriously one of my favorite things to do. This year we had to start a little early, with my pending surgery. I think this is the first time I've ever had it up before Thanksgiving, but I'm letting it slide this year...I'm letting a lot of things slide this year.

They get so excited. The joy in their eyes is just too much. Of course they don't care at all about spacing the ornaments out, or getting different colors together. If it was up to them they would make groups of all the same colors, but it doesn't matter. Christmas for them is magical and even the tiniest bit of that magic goes a long way with my heart. This Christmas is going to be a little different, since we are headed to Arizona to see Laura and family, but it's all about being present, not the presents. And so I can't wait.

Mt. Zion Schools

This week was parent visitation week at Mt. Zion Schools. It was fun for me to go check out the girls classes and see what they've been up to. We made crafts, we played games. The Grade School we started in the gym and then moved to the classroom. Mrs. Hatayama did some activities on the Smart Board. Unfortunately I wrote down the wrong time so I missed all that. I did however get there for the last half. I got to help Leah as she decorated a turkey for Thanksgiving. She said her turkey is inspired by Belle from Beauty and the Beast!

In Kiersten's class at McGaughey, we started with a Smart Board activity as well. Each child had to write down their favorite Thanksgiving Day foods. Then we did a tally of them on the board. Afterwards we decorated feathers and made headbands for their Thanksgiving feast. At the end of our time together the kids sang some songs. It was adorable. I love this age!

Halloween 2015

Since Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, we decided to go to Charleston. Gigi and Papa love to see the kids all dressed up. Mom had a pot of Chicken Tortellini soup and pulled pork sandwhiches, veggie tray, chips and dip and of course dessert. My Grandpa, Merle came to see the kids as well. Later in the afternoon my cousins Tiffany and Melissa came over with their kids. It was fun to see them. And even more fun to see all the kids together. I think Grandpa enjoyed seeing all his great-grandkids playing and carrying on.

Around 5PM we headed out for Trick or Treating. We started in Matt and Cynthia's neighborhood where Uncle Kevin scared the Bejeezus out of the kids with all his spooky decor. It was all in good fun, and Hattie was fine after Uncle Kevin showed her how to move the Skeletons on her own. After that we headed back to Deerfield so the kids could trick or treat in Gigi and Papa's neighborhood. We loaded up into the car to head home and it started to rain. Perfect timing and another great Halloween in the books!

Pumpkin Carving

Mitch is seriously just the best dad of girls. He just does and does, and goes with the flow. Whether its dance, tumbling piano, Fairy Tale Ball. Halloween is no exception. He indulges them so much. I said lets just get one pumpkin. They are a lot of work to clean and carve. But, no, he wouldn't have it. They each got their own. And the each got to pick their own design as well. Hattie had picked out some rubber sticky mice, so hers was simple. Just some circles for the mice to go in and out. Leah chose the witch, and Bug chose the cat. When those were done he even roasted the pumpkin seeds. We are spoiled indeed. I will say though, that Halloween is way more fun as a parent...seeing the kids all dressed up and excited for the events. The month and holiday do not disappoint. Looking forward to another fun holiday this weekend.

Scarecrow for Sale

I guess every year Mt. Grade School makes scarecrows to sell, and the money that they raise is donated to one of the local causes. Leah was very excited about it. I found some old jewelry, some badanas, some scraps of felt and sent it to school with her. On the day of construction they had parents that volunteered to come in and sew and hot glue them together. I wasn't able to attend because I was working in Lincoln, but Leah's friend Ella's mother was there. She sent me these pictures. Leah, Ella Phares and Mark Mavis were on a team together. The called this scarecrow the Rock Star Scarecrow. Leah loved it, she wanted me to buy it for our porch. Laura Phares beat me to it, darn ;)

Boo at the Zoo

It seems we have a lot of traditions that take place in October...I'm not going to complain. It's probably the prettiest month to be in Illinois. This one is definitely a favorite. Every year, Scovill Zoo host Boo at the Zoo. They have the zoo decorated for Halloween. There are tons of carved pumpkins that line the path. There are displays around every corner. When you enter the park, you get a pack of tickets. You turn in your ticket at different check points to get your treat. The kids love it!  We were super excited to have my cousin David, his wife Sanya, and their 2 kids Ryan and Lia join us this year. The kids had a great time, and I definitely enjoyed catching up with some family.

The highlight for my girls is definitely the talking pumpkin. You can see Hattie at the table talking to it in one of the pictures. She thought it was a hoot. Oh and the carousel ride. This year even some of the carousel animals had on their costumes. Always a good time!