Upcycling

Eva likes books. Eva has too many books. Eva wanted a new bookshelf.

Jason likes building. Jason likes his children. Jason wants to spend time with them. Jason suggested that they build a new bookshelf together. 

Win/Win. And do you know what is even more of a win? Because wood is getting expensive due to the pandemic, they decided to upcycle an old bookcase that we were going to get rid of. Win for me (no trip to the dump or Goodwill) and space in the garage too. 

They had to dismantle it a bit and make some modifications. They added casters too.

Eva painted it white. It took a  few coats so she had a wait two days to use it.

 

Here is the finished product. Pretty nice, huh?

Gingerbread Houses

This is one of my favorite Christmas Break traditions. We made gingerbread houses today. The kids (and Dad) are always so creative. They all had clear ideas of what they wanted to do this year and even requested certain candies to make their visions become reality.

Here are the finished products. Darby made a campsite, complete with a tent and campfire. The chocolate marshmallow trees were stacked like firewood and the Sour Patch Kids were sleeping inside on sleeping bags. There were more Sour Patch Kids roasting marshmallows near the fire. She even made a "candy reservoir" in the back to store Mike and Ikes. Hahaha. 

Brendan made a jail. He used orange Sour Patch Kids as prisoners (orange jumpsuits hahaha) and added guards as well. He included some bunkers and very little candy because it was supposed to be a sad place. Why he made a jail I just don't know but he's so funny. 

Jason went all Strongbad on it. He made a "thatched roof cottage". He even told me that he used "chiaroscuro shading". In the spirit of Trodgor, he lit it on fire with a small torch as I was interviewing him about it. All that happened was a marshmallow burnt but it was funny. 

Eva made a house that had a yard with landscaping. She added a garden path and a jellybean doorknob on the door. She said her favorite part was the entryway because she worked really hard on that part. 

Paige made a campsite as well. She made a path out of the campsite with M&Ms. Her Sour Patch Kids were sledding and some were caroling. I think she ate more candy than anyone else. 

 

Fruit Ninja

It's hard to find things to do on a school break when you are supposed to mostly stay indoors, a lot of places are closed and you have to mask up everywhere you do go. We found that there was a version of Fruit Ninja that you could download on the Xbox. It is super fun and we have been playing it a lot. It's fun because it's silly and more than one person can play at a time. Here are some shots of the "Strike a Ninja pose" challenge. 

 

Puzzles

Every Christmas Break we like to do puzzles together as a family. This time we did a new "Where the Wild Things Are" puzzle and an old "Little Mermaid" one. The first one was actually pretty hard since there were many similar colors.

 

Yukon Cornelius

We started something new this year. Some families have an Elf on the Shelf. We decided to put a twist on it and hide Yukon Cornelius around the house. Jason made up a story that Yukon is really a Special Forces operative. The game was that you were to hide Yukon somewhere downstairs. When someone else found him then they could re-hide him. The idea was to not hide him in the same place twice. The kids loved it and frankly, Jason and I did too. I got some pictures of the hiding spots but Jason got more. 

 

Christmas 2020

Merry Christmas!! I didn't get a picture of the kids with their stockings this morning but I think the gifts were a hit and the candy always is. This year Darby was the elf and passed out presents. 

Let's give you a little Christmas wrap-up, starting with Paige. She got a Frozen mini playset from her brother, lots of fairies, doll clothes, a Beanie Boo and some winter pants from the parents, and a copy of a D&D manual for her and Darby to share while they play with Brendan. 

Darby got a stuffed corgi from her sister as well as coloring books, books, Littlest Pet Shop toys, and a new Kindle from us. 

Eva has great facial expressions when she opens presents. She got a new Raven Queen doll from her sister. From us, she received sweaters, an Echo Dot with clock, new pajamas, a cross-stitch set, and a Bilbo figure that Daddy picked out. 

Brendan was very happy with his presents. He got a Gandalf figure (courtesy of Dad), fleece pajamas, D&D books, an Exploding Kittens expansion pack, and, of course, Legos. Grandma Caren sent him a fidget and Eva got him a funny shirt. 

Jason's reactions were the best. He loved the ties, tools and Funko doll of Ron Swanson that I got for him. 

Jason got me a large Willow Tree figurine of three sisters. I'm not sure why there is no photo of me opening it but I suspect that it is because I am always the one doing the picture-taking. ;)  He also got me an eye mask to use for my frequent headaches. It is comfortable and very thoughtful. 

Grandma Caren sent a family present that I opened. It was a taco serving set. 

But the winner of Christmas was this gift. Grandma Caren sent the girls a whole box of me and my sisters' old Barbie stuff. They played with it all day, ignoring other gifts. That made Grandma happy when we called to say thank you. 

And we had snow today! Can you believe it? It was only a small bit but I am calling it a white Christmas!

We spent most of the day playing with toys, watching the Star Wars trilogy, and preparing and eating Christmas dinner. It was a lovely holiday.