Schultz Family Christmas

Well, it was another cracker jack Christmas for the Schultz family! We traveled safely up north. Spent the night at a hotel in Mason City, Iowa. Ate Casey's Pizza for Christmas dinner, all because Mitch had to work in Marshall Minnesota, on the 26th. Fortunately, Shelby drove to Marshall to meet me, we left Tootie's car with Mitch, and then Shelby and I took the kids back to Montevideo.

Friday was pretty low key...Spaghetti for dinner. All the kids played. Dave got home from work and wasn't feeling well. So he went straight to bed. Todd and Lori arrived around 9, so we had a chance to really catch up with them. Then we all played Cards Against Humanity. The next morning Dave was still really not feeling well. He has spent 3 of the last 4 Christmases dealing with somehing medical...and now he is 2 for 2 on visiting the local ER. He and Tootie, went to the ER around 11:30 on Saturday, while Christmas dinner was being served at noon. They got back home around 2:30, and the diagnosis was a bladder infection. So went opened presents and spent the rest of the day without Grandpa. Thankfully on Sunday he was feeling much better and got to join us, and see the kids for a bit before we headed out.

The kids got lots of wonderful gifts. Frozen night lights, new dance bags, Flashlight friends...they never want for anything with all of our wonderful family. The gift I was most excited about this Christmas was the gift for my nephew Justin. My wonderful brother in law, Jeff, who works for the  NBA helped me score two tickets to the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Cleveland Cavaliers game the end of January. I'm really hoping that Mitch's work travels will allow him to join Justin for the game. They aren't just "tickets" they are  VIP tickets in the Treasure Island Club with complimentary food and beverage. Justin said he had been trying to get tickets to go see his idol, Lebron James, play but even the standing room only tickets were already up to $80 a piece. He was thrilled!

One of the highlights of the weekend was playing the games that Aunt Lisa brought. The kids really enjoyed them. You had to stuff a marshmallow into your mouth and read something on a card. Everytime adding another marshmallow, and everyone had to guess what was being said. It was a hoot. Bradyn, Leah and Kiersten really enjoyed it, and Justin and Mitch sure were good sports. Hattie thought it was hilarious, and subsequently probably ate a good 10 marshmallows. Oh well, it was the holidays!

Overall, it was a very nice time. Hopefully next year Grandpa can make it through the holiday healthy!

First Christmas on Southbrooke

Our first Christmas in our new home was a hit! Kiersten wrote the note to Santa to put with the cookies all on her own. I was a proud mama. The girls got so many wonderful things from their list. Santa must have thought they were REALLY good. They also got a few things from Mom and Dad too. It really did seem like a Frozen Christmas. There were Frozen costumes, Frozen pajamas. A Frozen Castle, a Frozen book, a Frozen Karaoke machine. I think I'm ready to "Let it Go", Lol. But the girls sure do love it all. It was a very low key morning. After gifts were wrapped, we cleaned up and started assembling. The girls got to play for a little while, before we had a delicious brunch with homemade biscuits and gravy and some fruit. Then we had to quickly finish packing. Mitch had to work in Minnesota the next day so we left town shortly after noon. We stopped for dinner at a Casey's and had Pizza and then made it to our hotel around 8. We checked in and hit the pool. The girls were pretty excited. Unfortunately with the hustle and bustle of the holiday we forgot to pack diapers and a winter coat for Hattie. Thank goodness for the swim diapers and two diapers I found in the van. Regardless, we stopped at Walmart first thing in the morning for a new coat, diapers and wipes. It may not have been ideal to be on the road but it was a Merry Christmas all the same!

Myerscough Family Christmas

Our Myerscough Family Christmas is always a good time. Probably because it's so small, but we always enjoy it so very much. Maybe because there is no rush. We got there around 1, and put Hattie down for a nap. The other kids played a bit. Mom had lots of appetizers out. We snacked and visited. Around 3 Hattie woke up, and by 4 we were opening presents. Our gift this year was supposed to be the Disney Vacation but mom just couldn't stick to the plan. Leah, Macy and Colby all got iPads, and some books, and a bag of clothes. Kiersten got her Isabelle, American Girl doll, Hattie got an Anna from Frozen Doll with a costume, they also got a book set and a bag of clothes. Gigi went overboard for the grown ups too. We are spoiled rotten by Gigi and Papa, that's for sure.

We had dinner around 6, ham, potatoes, vegetables and what not. For dessert there was rum cake, cookies, a variety of sweets and by 7:30 we were on the road headed for home. This year we tracked Santa on my phone...kids loved seeing where he was, and were anxious to get home and to bed, so he wouldn't pass us by.

Gingerbread 2014

When we moved to Decatur in 2011 I started this tradition with the girls. Now they look forward to it, and I'm not gonna lie...I do too! It s a little tricky, now that there are three girls that want to roll the dough, and three girls to fight over cookie cutters, but we still made it work. They loved decorating them. Well, at least Leah and Kiersten did. Hattie enjoyed the sampling, LOL. I love that we have something we can do together every holiday season. Someday maybe I will get brave and make my own gingerbread dough, for now I keep using the pre-bagged mix. Oh well, you do what you gotta do.

Bug's Christmas Concert

I'm kicking myself for not remembering to grab the real camera for Bug's Christmas program this year. We weren't in a good position to see Bug, but that's okay. At least I have these. She was adorable, as usual. Mt. Calvary Preschool had their program on a Wednesday at 11. It was short and sweet, about 15 minutes. The pastor came and told the Christmas story. And occasionally between scripture verses he would stop and they would sing an appropriate song for that part of the story. It was very sweet. They probably had 10 little songs to learn. Back in November Mrs. Kurecki sent a lyrics sheet home to practice. Not gonna lie, we only did it twice. There was one song that was supposed to be 4 verses. On a whim, Mrs. Kurecki decided to omit the 4th verse because they hadn't really rehearsed it, but Kiersten didn't get the memo and belted it out anyway. It was cute. So proud of my sassy little singer! After the program, Gigi took us all to Dairy Queen for lunch. It was well deserved. Performing is such hard work!

1st Grade Christmas Concert

Leah was so excited for her Christmas concert this year, and it made my heart happy. I worried that the transition to Mt. Zion schools might be difficult for her, but she is doing wonderful. Making friends and doing great.

She told me before the concert that she had a surprise. She didn't want Gigi and Daddy to know, but during the show, she was going to get to hug Santa Claus. I kept her secret, and of course she was adorable. Here are some pictures of her with two friends before the show. The top picture is of Emma Harmon. We know Emma from dance. Her family is moving to Bloomington over Christmas break and we are going to miss them so much. And the second picture is of Audrey Brent. I am good friends with Audrey's mom, so we were super excited that these two sweethearts were in the same class for their first year at McGaughey. Great job, ladies. It was a wonderful show!

Big Girl Haircuts

Well, two and a half years and I finally bit the bullet and had Hattie's hair cut. The rat tail in the back was just too much. At first she was totally nervous. She wasn't sure about it, but it didn't take her long to warm up. She was super excited about all the animals on the cape. And then Noelle made the chair go up and down...that was a big hit too. Now she aks all the time "haircut?". It's pretty cute.

Kiersten just got a trim to give her curls a little bounce. She will forever be my curly-Sue. But Leah...well, we got a real Big Girl haircut. We went with the elongated bob. Which means its shorter in the back and longer in the front. She loves it and she looks so grown up. And now I'm straightening her hair every morning before school. Thank goodness it's thin and doesn't take long. Someday their trips to the salon are going to cost me a fortune...I will enjoy these little trips while they last!

Santa Session 2014

Christmas Cards were mailed a few days ago, so it is safe to put these on the blog...Santa Session 2014! I look forward to these all year long. I think they are just beautiful. EVERY.SINGLE.TIME! I mark my calendar and set a reminder so I don't miss out...they sell out fast. Leah and Bug were super excited to see Santa this year. They had their list already to go. They even asked him what kind of cookies are his favorite...oatmeal chocolate chip, with mini M&M's, in case you were wondering!

Hattie on the other hand was still a little standoffish...however she didn't cry and climb off the couch to get away from him this year, so I call that progress. I think next year she will love him, and be just as excited as her big sisters!