The Entire Month of December in a Single Post

 I am way behind on blogging. So here goes the abbreviated version of the busiest month of the year.

I started the month with a series of illnesses. First was a sore throat. Then came DOUBLE pink eye. My right eye was swollen shut during the worst of it. I was pathetic and cried and made Paul stay home from work so I could die in my room. As the pink eye resolved I developed a sinus infection. Great way to start off the month, right?

I recovered from the plague just in the nick of time to celebrate birthday #26. Pumpkin pie is slowly becoming a birthday tradition for me. It's just so darn good.

 

 

 Next up was the Wyoming Ward Christmas Party. Santa always makes a debut at the party and the kids loved it. Kate was a bit wary but Vince was a champ and gabbed to Santa about how much he wanted Rescue Bots for Christmas.

Throughout the month we kept busy indoors. We did a lot of building with legos, playing with instruments, getting dressed up, baking, reading, and made the occasional trip to the indoor park at the mall and the Grandville library. 

 

Another highlight was making gingerbread houses with our church friends. My friend Kate headed up the idea and she did a phenomenal job. I think the kids ate more candy that day than they did on Halloween! Sadly, I only snagged one dismal photo of the event.

 

Another item of note was seeing real reindeer! Thank you KDL for being so awesome!

 

Christmas morning came and the kids were so excited. I love that the older they get the more they can anticipate the holidays and traditions we have. We opened presents, sent Vince on a hunt to find his train set, and ate caramel sticky buns. Sooo good! Nana and Grandpa Griffioen joined us that afternoon. We celebrated Christmas dinner with a fiesta. My friend, Christie, makes delicious homemade tamales so we ate those alongside guacamole & chips, Spanish rice, corn, and jarritos. My parents stayed the night and on the 26th we tried the Shark Tank restaurant, Tom & Chee. It was hit with the fam. 

 We ended the month at the library where they had a countdown and new years celebration at noon. The kids made hats, party streamers, and blew into kazoos until they deteriorated from massive amounts of spit. It was a total hit. 2015 went out with a bang!