Christmas with Cousins

For the Second year in a row, my cousin David and his wife Sanya offered to host the Myerscough Family Christmas. It's so lovely of them to open their home to all of us. And while the turn out wasn't quite as big as last year, we had so much fun with the family that was there. The girls had a great time visiting with cousins they don't see too often.

David always makes things interesting when he dresses up as Santa and delivers gifts. The kids all get a kick out of him, and I'm guessing he really enjoys it too. The girls were so happy to pose in their new JoJo Siwa bows. I don't even know who JoJo Siwa is!!! I have grand hopes of hosting everyone sometime this summer for a cookout. We'll see if we can make it happen!

Santa Session 2017

This is absolutely one of my FAVORITE Christmas traditions. And I believe this was the 6th time we had gone to see Santa at Laura Kruger's studio. My kids even know by now, that this is the REAL Santa. All the other ones are just his helpers.

The girls aren't shy at all. They hop right up and talk to him. They tell him what they want for Christmas. They ask about the reindeer and ask what kind of cookies he would like this year. So even though its always a quick visit, it's always well worth it! Already looking forward to next year, Santa!

Christmas Craft

Pinterest is the worst! It just sucks you in and next thing you know you have grand visions of all the stuff you want to do. But seriously, this was a win...except for the cost, LOL! I saw them and knew that we had to make them for the girls rooms.

We started with a planter pot, and a tomato cage. Mitch trimmed the cages down and attached them with zip ties. He's so handy. After that we wrapped lights around the cages, and then feather boa's from Hobby Lobby! The girls had fun decorating them with little twirly sprigs of glitter. We topped them off with a glittery ornament and they made the perfect Christmas Night Light! Pinterest WIN.

10 years

 It hardly seems possible that yesterday, Mitch and I celebrated our ten year anniversary. Some days it seems like we are still in those early days of romance and getting to know one another, and others it seems that he's always been a part of my life. I guess that's the thing about being with your best friend. I just couldn't imagine a more perfect person to complete my life.

I knew he had a little something planned for our anniversary, but I really had no clue what it was. I was happy to let him surprise me. But he wasn't the only one with a surprise. I found a baker to recreate one of our wedding cakes. I was thrilled with the way it turned out. I figured it would be a very special way to share our day with the girls. They loved it, and were so excited to see us recreate eating our wedding cake. Mitch was surprised too. He actually asked if it was one of the originals. It was even better!

Mitch whisked me away to St. Louis for a night. We checked into the Union Station Hotel that was decorated beautifully for the Holidays, we had a dinner at Eleven Eleven Mississippi...it was amazing. And then we headed to The Fox Theater to see the King and I. It was a Broadway quality production for sure. It was lovely to get away with my sweetheart for a night. I'm a lucky girl, indeed.

American Education

For one week in November, we celebrate American Education Week. During this week parents are invited to come and observe their children in the classroom. I started with Leah. Mrs. Gerhardt talked to us about what their day typically looks like and then we played a fun game. It's called Contig, and they actually have Contig competitions. I liked it! I think it's a great activity that we would be able to do together at home. So I grabbed an extra print out of the sheet so we can play.

Next up was Bug. Since Leah had Mrs. Hatayama two years ago, I kind of knew what was in store. But that didn't make it any less special. Kiersten and her classmates did a fantastic job,singing and then Mrs. Hatayama read a story about a turkey who wanted a disguise. So after that we got to disguise our own turkey. It was no surprise to me that she wanted to make her turkey look like Harry Potter. And she did a great job, too!

And finally I got to visit Hattie in her class. Every year the kindergarten classes host a Thanksgiving feast. So to kick off the afternoon we made feathered headbands for the kids to wear. They were given 5 feathers and had to write what they are thankful for. Hattie said she was thankful for her parents, friends, sisters, dogs and her teacher. After we were done with our craft they did an adorable Thanksgiving skit. The girls loved having me visit them, and I feel incredibly blessed that I was able to do so.

Scarecrow

This week Kiersten's class was making scarecrows. This is a fundraiser that Mrs. Hatayama does every year. Her class makes them, and sells them and the  money goes to Toys for Tots, to provide Christmas gifts to children in our community. Many weeks back I signed up as a volunteer for the day. But then I got scheduled for surgery on my shoulder After 10 months of battling my shoulder it was time to put adhesive capsulitis behind me.

I had my surgery on Tuesday Oct. 24th, and it's times like these I'm so glad that my mom is close enough to help. She stayed the night and went to school with Kiersten on Wednesday to help with the project. Kiersten's partner was Adrienne Parker, who we already knew from softball! And because Gigi can't ever say no, the scarecrow Samantha ended up coming back to our house. Anything for a good cause.

Leader's Retreat

For the second year in a row I qualified for Leader's Retreat with Plexus. That means a fantastic opportunity for Mitch and I to get away! Last year the event was in Dallas, and this year it was in Orlando. I was so excited to have two of my teammates with me this year, Alicia and Jodi. Having Jodi and Kevin along was super special and I'm so thankful that Plexus has given us an opportunity to get to know one another even better.

We arrived on Thursday EARLY! Got checked into our hotel and started checking everything out. We got registered, picked up our name badges and then went back to get ready for the party. Plexus certainly puts on a great party, and we all enjoyed the Havana Nights event! Friday morning we had a session, and then we spent some time at the pool. Kevin and Jodi went to Disney, and Alicia went to Epcot. That night Mitch and I went to Universal Studios but we just had dinner and walked around a bit before heading home. Saturday morning we had a session, and then we spent the afternoon at the pool. Saturday night, once again, Plexus treated us with a costume party! We had a great time and Kevin and Jodi nailed it with their costumes. The girls loved Mitch and I dressed up as Wayne and Garth! Sunday we weren't heading out until late afternoon, so thankfully we got some time in at the pool. Before heading home. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to get away with Mitch.

They'll put a spell on you

I was so excited about the girls Halloween costumes this year. They absolutely love the movie Hocus Pocus, so with three girls it was a no-brainer! And of course they were totally on board. At first there was a little bit of back and forth with who got to be which character, but it was easy. They each got to be the one with the matching hair color. And after they realized there would be wigs (for two anyway) they were even more thrilled!

This past weekend the swim team planned a Team bonding fun night! They wanted everyone to attend Boo at the Zoo together, so we of course went and loved having an opportunity to get dressed up a little early. Boo at the Zoo is one of our favorite family holiday traditions. Actually its pretty much the only one. This year, we went later in the day. After 6PM the train ride becomes a spooky train ride. But the girls still said they wanted to do it. This was a train ride I'll never forget. And I don't think they will either. They insisted on sitting at the very back of the train. So of course as we got going scary things started to happen. A man in a "Friday the 13th" mask jumped out at one point and really scared him. But then he continued to run after the train and grabbed the girls from behind. There was a lot of screaming and Kiersten threw her jack-o-lantern. Then "Jason" had to run and catch us again to give it back to her. Of course she had lost most of her treats so we had to back track back through the zoo to see if they would give us a refill. I laughed so hard. I don't think they'll want to do the spooky train ride next year. And if they do, they certainly won't sit in the back!