Christmas Day

This year we tried something new with the kids for Christmas. We let them stay up until around 10pm with the hopes that they'd sleep in in the morning. It worked...to a point. At least they weren't up at 5am! They were told that 8:00am was an 'ok time' to wake mom and dad. So, Ariel was awaken at 7:15am by 'Christmas Carolers'! LOL I am such a big meany that everyone must have breakfast and be dressed decently before we open presents, so we all wandered into the living room around 8:20 or so. DJ & Jr are the official present pass-outers, and they do their job rather efficiently so as to get on with the present opening. We go from youngest to oldest, seeing as mom and dad are the most patient (perhaps because they pretty much know most of what's been wrapped for them). The 'big' deals this year were:

Jr got 2 games (Don't Break the Ice and a Dora Memory game), a Wii game, and a digital camera (we happen to have over 25 of those disposable cameras waiting to be developed, so this will save us money in the long run, I predict they will pay for themselves within a year).

DJ got a basketball & football (from his sisters), a car racing game for the Wii, and a digital camera.

  

Tori got a large make up kit, a digital camera (better quality than the little ones'), and a new cell phone.


Ariel got a large make up kit, a digital camera and a new cell phone (though her snow globe from DJ was a very impressive and touching gift, there's a story there...I'll work on having her tell it later).

 

Tracy got a Shiatsu massager, Bath & Body works gift set & scented candles with a candle warmer.

 Don got Wii games, ties from the girls (a tradition for them), and 2 tool sets that he asked for.

 The rest of the day was spent playing with the new 'toys' and eating junk food. I decided that trying to keep the Christmas candy around for a long time was just prolonging the sugar highs, so I allowed them to eat it far faster than I usually do (as long as they ate 3 meals per day). We made phone calls to family, took naps, and got ready to have dinner at the Banta's. I made sweet potato casserole (which my family swears is their new 'very favorite' dish!), and we enjoyed a few hours over there with the Bantas (Don's sister and her family) and Don's mom (who was visiting from Utah for Christmas). 

 When we left, we debated whether to head for Aaron & Holly's place that night, or wait for the next morning, and we all decided that heading up immediately was the prefered plan (ok, Don wasn't as excited as he's the one who does the driving, but we took snacks along, so we were happy). We made it to MI before midnight, and enjoyed a very nice visit with the Hoyt clan up there. The kids enjoyed their snow as we didn't really have much to speak of. We left on Saturday trying to beat a rain/wind storm back to Elkhart. It was an interesting trip, and slightly tense at times due to fog, rain, wind and stupid drivers (who on earth travels in bad weather 2 days after Christmas anyway!?)

 We got home safely, showered and into bed at a decent hour so that we'd be up and to church on time (Ariel's the ward chorister, she's very particular about being AT church every week).

Thus another Christmas passes in the Wilson household.

Tori's B-day

 
 

Tori turned 14 last month, something she's been counting down for since this summer I think. We had the Bantas over for cake, ice cream and presents since this isn't one of the 'big deal' birthdays in our family. 

Ages 8, 12 & 16 get bigger celebrations (age 8 they get baptized; age 12, they go into the youth program at church and 16 is just a big deal birthday (mostly 'cuz they're allowed to 'date' at that age). 

Growing up too fast, that's all I have to say!

Wow, the holidays got me a bit behind!

Ok, folks...sorry I've been a month without a post. It's been kind of busy in our world lately, most of which I will explain in separate blogs. There was Tori's 14th birthday (yes, she can attend dances now, and is THRILLED beyond belief), then my mother-in-law's visit, Christmas break for the kids from school, my sister-in-law's birthday, Christmas, a short visit to MI to visit family, a harrowing trip home from said visit, New Year's Eve, Don's trip to Utah, kids went back to school and the snowstorm. I'm not at all sure each of those will get an individual entry, but that's what's been going on since my last entry.

Christmas Formal

Ariel's first school dance was the Christmas Formal held on the 6th. Her friend Katie came over earlier in the day so that they could get ready together. Ariel and Katie took Shawn with them to the dance, and he arrived slightly early as well. They enjoyed some pizza and just 'hung out' for a couple of hours before the dance. I wish I'd taken pictures of the snow that night! It was near blizzard conditions, but we got them there safely, and then home again.

This is the table where hair, nails and make up were done. They didn't actually USE everything you see, but it was available to them. I did Ariel's hair. I just did what I'd watched the hair dresser do for her Halloween costume, and it came out pretty ok...not nearly as good as a professional, but pretty decent.

Make up in the big mirror in the dining room just made sense. The lighting was way better than a bathroom or bedroom.

Ariel's never worn eye liner before, so I helped her with it...she looked so beautiful!

    

Apparently, guys aren't used to the complicated rituals of getting ready for a big dance. Also, Shawn does not have an older sister who wears make up or does her hair up 'fancy'...so, of course, he was curious about what Ariel was doing. And Ariel was just NOT happy that Shawn was watching her do make up. It was a cute scene that Don happened to capture in this picture which he titled:

 'Rejection with a Reflection'

And here's our 'little girl' all dressed up! Yes, that IS our Christmas tree this year (we're going to get an artificial one after Christmas when they aren't so expensive).

    

           Ariel and Shawn          and Ariel with her good friend Katie.

   

OK, so the picture is slightly posed...but how fun is this!? What a lucky guy, huh? A beautiful young lady on each arm!

   

The 3 of them had an absolute blast at the dance! I was so glad for them. There were tons of pictures, but this is a really good sampling to show off.

For those of you who are curious, we managed to find the dress and shrug on major sale, and paid less then $35 for both of them TOTAL! The shoes (which you can't see), were very cute flats that we actually paid full price for ($18). Can't beat that for a formal dance!

Day Four of the Wilson Family Camping Adventure

7:30am: A bit harder to get going, but we were pulling away from camp an hour ahead of schedule! At 8am, we’re headed to McD’s for breakfast (Don’s idea as a treat to the kids for doing so well this weekend). Not even 9:30am, and we’re half way thru’ Maryland already! Tons of fog this morning all of the sudden…got some pics, it’s kind of pretty.

Driving thru’ PA in the fall is so beautiful. Don and I were talking about the variety of colors…shades of greens, reds, oranges and yellows. It looks as though someone melted a box of crayons on the hillside!

4:45pm: Finally got Ariel at Jessica’s church building! It took way too long, but it’s hard to say goodbye to her 'bestest' friend again! We’re barely into Ohio and the sky is ominous looking (took pics). Not sure I’m excited to head home with this in our way! Picked up some leaves at the church…PA has prettier leaves for sure!!

Is that not a BEAUTIFUL picture of the sky? Ariel pointed it out and asked for the camera...I think she did a great job capturing it while we were driving and the clouds were moving!

WHEW! LOL 9:00pm: arrived home in a light rain. Ariel and Tori are both exhausted and don’t want to shower, but they just have to at this point! Jr falls asleep really fast, and DJ wasn’t far behind. We brought in only the kids and left everything else for later. Everyone was in bed (and probably asleep!) by 10:30pm. Apparently, family vacations are exhausting!!

Day 3 of the Wilson Family Camping Adventure

Ok, ok...this has taken me quite a while to get back to. I'm sorry, I'll try to do better!

Saturday, 7:10am: up and going. I think we all slept better last night, perhaps due to exhaustion! LOL 

8:15: Leave the campsite and head to Wal Mart for umbrellas and a couple of coats that won't soak up the rain all day. Stupid rain! *grumbling*

We found a really decent parking space on the street, close to the Washington Monument. Took some pictures as we went along. Again, I can't wait to see what the kids took pictures of themselves!
First you'll see some pictures of the FOG on the way to DC...and the 'lovely' skyline we faced.

Washington Monument. Tori will be unhappy that I posted the picture with her hair blowing up into a 'Mohawk' style...but I did that to show you how windy it was that day! Thank goodness it was in the 50's, or we'd have gone home much sooner!

World War 2 Memorial fountain area. Got a picture of the kids &Don in front of the fountain with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. Then, I put the kids on a random ledge for a picture with the fountain in the background. I didn't even realize it was next to the Colorado pillar! So...here's a shout out to family in Colorado (hey, at least I'm honest, I could have told you I picked that one on purpose!). Then, we found the Indiana pillar, and Don took a much better picture of the fountains in the background.

I am NOT one who likes to have my picture taken, but this seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Being that my birthday happens to fall on Pearl Harbor day, I had Don take a picture of me next to the pillar that has the dedication to Pearl Harbor on it.

Ok, I had to show you all the absolute FAVORITE part of the day for DJ and Jr. What you're looking at (in the greenish water) is the 'reflection pool' that's between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial...it wasn't a good day for 'reflecting' apparently (too windy and icky). But, the ducks were having a great time eating. Now, having grown up in a not-so-rural area, DJ and Jr were absolutely excited about seeing live ducks. But, the really important part was that they were eating...and not bread that people were throwing to them...they were eating what was under the water. Therefore, these became known as the 'duck butt' pictures to them. They laughed forever about the 'duck butts' I'm sure we'll see a few pictures in their cameras!

On to the Lincoln Memorial. Quite a walk, though it doesn't look like it's THAT far from the Washington Monument. You can see how absolutely THRILLED the kids are to be there and having their pictures taken! LOL I got a nice picture of the Washington Monument in the background while we were there.

Then, due to the rain, we headed home (stupid rain). Jr was soaked as holding the umbrella up in the wind and trying to keep up with the long legs was just too much, so she folded her umbrella down and just tried to stay under mine (which didn't work out so well for either of us). We were going to check out the National Aquarium, but they don't take plastic (fair warning to you!), so we gave up for the day (though we sat in the lobby of the National Aquarium to rest Jr's legs and warm up a bit before trekking back to the van.

Back at the campsite, the kids had a great time running around outside and throwing stuff into the creek next to our campsite. The rain had stopped and the creek was flowing much faster, so this was entertainment enough for them.
     

Don was showing DJ a map of our camping site while we were 'stuck' there.

Don got his computer out to burn some time. We got a fire going around 5:30pm. This time, mom (with her vast Girls’ Camp experience!) got the fire going while dad split the wood into smaller pieces to catch faster. Don said that I'm the new 'fire starter' for camping, 'cuz I manged to get the fire going faster than he had the day before! LOL With it being so wet around here, we did pretty well. We cooked hot dogs and had applesauce cups. Then, ‘cuz we brought hamburgers and they would not last ‘til Sunday night, Don got out the frying pan and cooked them up. By far, these were the best burgers ever! They were SO juicy!! The kids got a kick out of it when Don caught the grease in the pan on fire (it helped cooked the burgers, I’m sure!). Then S’mores…YUMMY! Don’t get tired of those! An earlier bedtime tonight with a movie (Don and I watched one for us on his laptop).                                                                            I’ll admit to some frustrations, but things went pretty well on the whole. Jr’s teacher at school has a way of helping her student deal with issues at school that can be upsetting. They put their hands out and say, ‘No big deal!’ Well, at one of my frustrations, Don did exactly that…and it even works for big people!