Parentheticals

This is a multi-week post since we have missed a few weeks. On the week of the 18th the following things happened: On Tuesday the 20th Timmy, Gideon, and Mike went fishing with Grandpa Mike while everyone else went to have a girls night with Grandma Sheila. The boys had a fun time trying to catch fish, and then eating some gelato while the girls all made lots of deserts and had fun. On Wednesday we did another activity dudes where we talked about family history and told stories about our families. Mike told about how Grandpa Yoder milked the cows for his adopted grandfather, and how it got turned into a movie. We watched the movie on YouTube. We also put the roofing material on the new kids play-shed that week and got the skylights installed. The kids finished up their acting class on Friday they did their final showcase. They performed a small musical, some acting games, Babylon stories and an opening and closing song. The kids had a really fun time at acting class, and they want to ...

We are starting the 12 Days of Christmas early this year. Usually, the 12 Days of Christmas are supposed to start on Christmas Day, but since The Poulson Grandparents are taking Rea and Sara to Disneyland for their combined 8th birthdays this year, we are not going to have twelve days together after Christmas. So far, the kids made their own peg doll nativities and candy cane sprinkles and gingerbread houses (at the library - Alison's favorite gingerbread house making experience ever), and today we drank eggnog and sat by a fire and read all our Christmas books. We're looking forward to having a picnic under the Christmas tree, putting on a Christmas play, making gingerbread men, going sledding (or dancing the Nutcracker if there's no snow), making neighbor gifts, going caroling, watching Christmas movies, and celebrating Twelfth Night before it's over. We also celebrated the Solstice on Saturday by eating butternut squash (to symbolize the sun) and telling stories ab...