Hello and happy Monday!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. A week from today, I’ll be headed back to school…but let’s not be negative, shall we?!
I feel like my two week break has been broken into two parts. The first part was all about the holidays and this week will be about having a bit more time to relax and accomplish some things on my to do list like tidying up and going through closets!
I’m linking up with the Hello Monday ladies to share about all our Christmas fun the past week or so.
Before we get started, I’m linking Friday’s post which was my…
…this is one of my favorite posts to write, but it posted late. I had scheduled last week’s posts ahead of time, and I apparently set the date for Saturday. Anyway, for me, it’s a fun look back on the year.
Now, on to Christmas…
Going all the way back to Friday, December 20th. This was our last day of school before break. Hadley and friends had their Secret Santa party that evening to kick off break, and they had lots of fun.
On Saturday I was feeling the Christmas “time crunch,” and made time to watch one of my favorite movies…The Holiday.
Sunday (the 22nd) was our Christmas morning for our family of four. In true teen fashion, the kids slept in a bit. Hayden was up first at 9:15, and went and woke Hadley up. I remember the days of telling them not to leave their rooms before 6:30! haha
Ready to open gifts.
Per tradition, they picked out gifts for each other:
My favorite gift was this necklace from Trav and the kids. It’s the kids’ birthstone.
Travis is always creative with the present tags…
Then it was stocking time, Homer got some treats in his stocking.
We said Homer looks like he’s smiling 😆
Hayden was excited for his new golf clubs and Hadley loves her new Dandy sweatshirt. (I think these sweatshirts were the #1 request from most teen girls)
That morning, I watched another favorite movie that I always watch around Christmas…While You Were Sleeping.
While we had breakfast and hung out, I used the simmer pot ingredients from one of my students. The house smelled delish!
That afternoon, my brother and his family came over, so the kids could swap gifts. While they were also going to KC for Christmas, we didn’t want to haul so many gifts back and forth.
We hung out the rest of the afternoon, and then Travis fixed steaks that one of his clients sent for our Christmas dinner.
Instead of pulling out the Christmas China (that I love), I just kept it simple with the plates from Target that I’ve had for years.
On the 23rd, we went to Louisville for Trav’s family Christmas. All the cousins are getting older, and some live out of state, but they all made it back to Louisville for Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, we continued our Christmas journey and drove to KC. Our first stop before hitting the road was Starbucks, of course. The cold brew with peppermint foam is my fave of the holiday this season.
We made good time to KC and got to my mom’s house after our seven+ hour drive. We had a few minutes to rest, and then everyone showered and got ready for Christmas Eve.
We got a good family pic!
We made our way to my dad’s cousin’s house who always hosts Christmas Eve. We hadn’t seen the Major in a few months, so it was nice to see him and our extended family.
That’s usually a late night for us after a long day, so we were ready for bed that night back at my mom’s house. The kids slept in a bit and then we had Christmas morning at my mom’s.
I got a gift from a blog reader! One of my mom’s friends reads my blog, saw this book and thought of me! So sweet. Thanks, Ann.
Then, while we lounged around, we (mostly me) watched…
…before breakfast.
My mom had baked and decorated cute cookies… (Hadley helped her make another batch later in the week)
Then, we went to my dad’s house for the afternoon. The Chiefs were playing, and won.
My dad had cinnamon rolls for us from a favorite bakery. They hit the spot.
On the 26th, we went to my Gma’s house to make waffle cookies. The kids have gotten used to making them on the 100+ year old waffle iron.
Success!
Almost too good to eat…almost…
That evening Trav, the kids, and I went to see the Plaza lights.
We hadn’t taken them there for quite a few years.
We walked around for a bit and popped in a couple of shops.
Then, we headed back towards where my parents live, and had dinner.
One of my Christmas gifts from my mom this year was an actual light from the Plaza lights. I put it on my tree as soon as we got home this weekend.
My Plaza pics don’t do it justice, but I’ve shared this professional photo before…
The Plaza lights are just a neat KC tradition, and I remember going to see them plenty of times when I was a kid.
My brother and his family got to KC that evening, and then on the 27th, we hung out with them a bit and just had a low key day.
I always make Shay‘s Peppermint Mocha Bunt Cake, but decided to make it in KC rather than for our earlier Christmas meal in Lex.
I figured more people could enjoy it that way…
That evening, we went to my Gma’s house for Christmas with her and my aunt and uncle.
We snapped a few pics.
It was a really nice evening. After that, we headed to see the Magic Tree to cap off our time in KC.
It’s just another neat little KC tradition.
The kids and GG.
My mom with my brother and me.
Glow up moment for Hadley! haha
…I apparently lied to my kids at my Gma’s house when I said those would be the last photos…
…of course, we needed one more family pic.
We headed back to my mom’s house after the Magic Tree and started to pack up as we were heading back to Lex the next day. I actually “hit a holiday wall” and was asleep almost as soon as we got back to my mom’s.
We had such a great week in Lex, Lou, and KC with friends and family. My goal yesterday was to not leave the house and stay in my pj’s all day. I, in fact, met that goal! I watched You’ve Got Mail (another fave I watch around the holidays), unpacked, did laundry, placed a grocery delivery order, so we had breakfast, lunch and dinner options, and even got a little nap in. While I’m always sad to leave my KC family, it was nice to be home and get my life together a bit yesterday. haha
The blogging world is often quiet this week, but I still have more favorite posts to share…like the books I read this year, including my top 5 faves…and a recap of 2024!
I hope you’ll come back!
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