New Year's Eve

We started off the day with some blue candy! I'm pretty sure this was the bluest her mouth and teeth have ever been!

We got it mostly cleaned off and then headed to Yard House for lunch. Of course, we had to get the giant pretzel!

We came home and got ready for NYE! Brett and Erin came over with all the kiddos, so you know it was loud and nuts! We had make-your-own pizzas for the kids. Matt went all out this year and got steaks, Alaskan King crab legs, baked potatoes and asparagus for the adults!

We always have a bunch of fun props for NYE. And of course, Avery loves to model these for us!

Milo was being the bestest dog and really want to try some crab legs... unfortunately, he did not get any.

We had an ice cream sundae bar for dessert.

We did our balloon drop at "midnight" or like 9:30 for the kids!

Ortho follow-up, a trip to the bank and some shopping

This morning, I had a follow up appointment for my broken foot. The doctor said I had to keep the boot on for 5 more weeks. Um, ok. He said I could drive if I needed to. Well, his exact words were "I can't tell you that you can't drive". So, I take that as "go for it"!

While I was at the doctor, the girls went to the bank to deposit their birthday and Christmas money. They got a little stuffed animal and some "dollars" to spend at the stores in downtown Downers Grove. Then, Dad took them to Starbucks for fancy drinks.

After lunch, I took the girls shopping to spend some of their other Christmas money and use their gift cards. They found some fun things and even have money left over. We didn't make it to Target yet, but they have gift cards to use there as well.

Stopped for a picture at Von Maur

One of Avery's purchases - fancy fake nails

Funtopia

With the girls off school, we were trying to figure out something fun to do so that the girls weren't on their iPads all day!

We went out to Lazy Dog for lunch. The girls love the HUGE glasses of Fanta they get here! Avery also decided to dress up as a bandit with her napkin... where do they come up with this stuff?!?

Later in the afternoon, we went to Funtopia (a rock climbing place in Naperville). I thought it would be packed because it was raining and kids are off school. But, it was not bad at all! They climbed a bunch of walls and then did the elevated ropes course. Avery does the first half of the course only, but Morgan did the whole thing. The second half is more difficult and you have to be a certain height to do it. Morgan also did the big slide. By the time we left, they were so tired and their hands were bright red. They had so much fun!

Exhausted!

Here are a couple videos I took:

 

 

Wonka

We took the girls and some of their friends to see Wonka at the theater on Wednesday. I think the girls all loved it. Avery and some of the other girls kept commenting on how cute they thought Timothee Chalamet is... oh boy!

Trying out some new spa gifts

In addition to the manicure supplies Avery got, they also got other spa gifts.

Morgan got a foot spa and of course, we had to try it out as soon as possible! She even liked putting her hands in it - ha!

Avery got some fun face masks... I think this one was a Christmas one that smelled like watermelon.

She also got an eye mask that is filled with Orbeez type things that you put in the fridge/freezer. She said it felt so good!

Christmas

Merry Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve and Erin's house again this year. They catered in City BBQ, which was delicious! We played Rummikub and the kids played Ping Pong on their new table in the basement. As it seems is tradition, Avery was not feeling well. She was sick last year on Christmas Eve, too! She ate a ton of popsicles all day and loaded up on Tylenol. :)

When we got home, the luminaries were all lit in our neighborhood. This is always so pretty! Because of the rainy weather, some of the bags were a little mushy.

We all said good bye to Twinkle Toes, our elf, and then went to bed. Avery had lost a tooth, so the tooth fairy and Santa came on Christmas Eve!

We managed to keep the girls in bed until almost 7AM. Then, it was time to open presents!

The girls both asked for Airpods for Christmas and were really excited to see that Santa had brought them!

All of their gifts were wrapped in super cute dog and cat boxes!

After they opened their gifts, we gave Dad his gifts. The girls got him a hot sauce making kit, some Iowa shorts and pants and a new wallet. They also got him some riddles because they love guessing the riddle answers while we're waiting for our food when dining out. He usually reads them off his phone, but now we have a bunch of cards to read.

Avery eating more popsicles!

The girls got fun Airpod cases... here's Avery's Starbucks case.

Our Christmas morning tradition... Bloody Mary's!

Also, our Christmas morning tradition... matching pajamas!

Ruth came over for brunch and to exchange gifts. I forgot to take pictures while she was at our house. After she left, we chillaxed for a bit before the craziness.

Everyone came over to our house around 2:30. We opened gifts in the basement.

My mom had a fun idea to have the kids each open an ornament gift and whoever's name was on the ornament, that person got to open their gifts from Mama and Papa. So, Calvin went first and somehow he selected his own ornament! Then, Hunter selected his own ornament! Then, Beckett selected his own ornament! This game was NOT going as we thought - ha! I think everyone except Grayson and Avery picked their own names.

Later, Mama had a game for the kids to play with prizes!

Then, Avery opened her nail salon! Aunt Sandi and Uncle Brett had gotten Avery a bunch of manicure stuff - like a nail dryer, a little stand to put your hand on and some fun nail polish. So, she set everything up and even had spa music playing to relax you. Ross was the first customer!

Then, Grayson took a turn.

Then, Morgan and Beckett. Everyone had to tip Avery a dollar or two!

While this was going on, we were eating a delicious lasagna dinner courtesy of Matt! We had so many tasty treats for dessert thanks to my mom and my brother!

Of course, Milo also got a Christmas treat... some Frosty Paws!

Papa was next on the list for a manicure. He got a fancy one with multiple colors!

Here is the beautiful flower centerpiece Matt got for the island!

As always, we had a crazy, wonderful day with the family! It's always so sad when the day is over and everyone heads home. I love Christmas, but it seems to fly by so fast!

Oh, I will add a picture later once Brett sends it to me... but we all had matching pajamas on that Erin got us and we took a big family picture. Even Milo was in the picture! I can't wait to see how they turned out - ha!