January 24-25

Well we survived our post Aunty Karyn visit week. I don’t know that we accomplished too much that is interesting to others on Thursday but we had fun together and that counts for a lot.

Blocks!

Trinity and Echo worked on their educational games on the iPad… sharing is getting easier and easier for the girls and electronics.

Hard at work TOGETHER

I tried something slightly different with the kids and their birth year animals… we copied out each mini booklet from Activity Village and their Zodiac books… then, like the official year of the snake one HERE… I had each of the kids come up with one nice trait about each of their siblings. We wrote them down along with mine and Ken’s. We even did Echo’s (not pictured)… there was the perfect number of pages for each kid (except Echo who we had to put Daddy’s on my page too). It was a great way to consider positive elements about their siblings and still do something with a Chinese New Year theme… though I had to explain multiple times that “they play Lego with me” is NOT a trait!

What year are you?? Check the chart at Activity Village!!!

With a little regular daily learning and some cuddly time with Cabbage Patch dolly and a bean bag chair… well we did rather well!

So comfy

Friday was supposed to be a library book day but our branch apparently does not open until noon and we were out around 11. Oops! But we did make it to Target to get supplies for our visit to the Novak’s on Saturday. We are now ready to get our read on for Chinese New Year! 

But first – for our Friday dinosaur fun we drug out the Melissa & Doug stamp set… Trinity, Zander and Emanuel made the best pictures! 

Dino-riffic

It is an overnighter with the cousins here as well. I love when the kids get along and play… though 7 IS louder than 5 I can tell you!

Picture these 4 over a decade from now, replace sippies of juice with beer bottles.

Supper

Gotta end the evening with a movie right??

They did NOT watch Barbie… just the promo!

Of course we did MORE than that… Gavin got a 100% on his spelling test, Zander only one wrong… Lego time continued for Gavin and Zander made a birthday card for his god-mommy. All in all, the day was good!

Thumbs up

December 28-30

Christmas continues past the day for us, it always has. The 29th was no different. We had our dinner with my dear friend Shandai and then gifts and the like. It was a visit long in coming, I think the last time we had Christmas together we were in University still! We had Ken’s stir fry and sat and visited for hours.

Together again

The gifts were met with great excitement, especially Echo and her new mittens. Talk about something we ALWAYS need more of! Echo was determined to wear hers and show them off as much as possible.

Gifts!!!

It was fun to sit afterwards with our crafts – Shandai with her hat and myself with my backpack that is ALMOST looking like a backpack. We just sat, chatted and crafted and it was AWESOME!

She knows me so well!

Of course earlier in the day Ken and the kids had to build another of the toys… this one a marble set.

Quite the building

And Echo had to get her Hello Kitty on! Note the purse made by her Aunty Kat in South Carolina. 

Stylish lady

The 28th, to back track… was quiet. Really the kids did not want to be anywhere but home with their toys.

Hello Kitty game with a Cabbage Patch Doll supervising

Of course the twins had to get to work on the last of the Lego sets. This was the one the boys all pooled their remaining Christmas money for… based on the new movie The Hobbit.

Zander front

On the 30th we upped the fun with the addition of the kids’ cousins for an overnight stay. Which meant an immediate congregating around the Skylanders game of all the boys. Ken and I have put our foot down that they must READ as much as they can and not just click through the game or their time will be cut way back! But the problem solving skills and the math skills (gotta figure out if they have enough for upgrades, how much more is needed etc) is rather helpful.

Magnetic attraction

Of course after the arguments started it was time to head outside. Though Zachary forgot everything and had to borrow mittens and a hat and was only out for an abbreviated amount of time. 

A chilly but lovely day

Mittens by Aunty Shandai

Hat by Aunty Kat

Hat by me, mittens by Shandai

There was time in the evening for a rousing game of Yahtzee. And I mean ROUSING! We did discover that too many kids increased the bad behaviour and restlessness but that math skills were at work for everyone from Emanuel on up!

Playing with Nana

Nana had a late mailing arrive from Hong Kong as well – rings that light up… so of course we had to have a light show all over the upstairs! Even Echo had one on her fingers shining it everywhere.

Light show

A house full of Post Christmas energy kids… what a full house! I think our first Christmas season in Minnesota has been a rousing success. I have called my mom, talked to the rest of my family via the internet… seen pictures from friends’ celebrations (I hope to get enough to fill a blog entry). 

One more – hat by me, mittens by Shandai!

December 26-27

The day AFTER Christmas is very different here in the USA. In Canada it was Boxing Day and for the most part a day off… here in Minnesota we got mail and a lot of people went back to work. It was time for our family to play with their gifts and the adults to take a break. One last day before we ease back into the every day and the “get things done” mentality.

Boxing Day in their South Carolina pj’s

Ken and I ducked out that night to do a little post Christmas shopping. Target wasn’t busy and a lot of the shelves were bare but we had a few awesome finds… first off, Trinity’s Christmas list was completed in the shape of a lovely Holiday Cabbage Patch Doll… Jaelyn Bella (I had to laugh, that is my friend’s Bree’s handle as Echo’s first name was BREE).

A girl and her dolly

And then, while perusing the baby section we came across a miss shelved and reduced Nano bug set… talk about a GREAT find, for Mr. Emanuel!

A very happy boy

I got a second to photograph the package I got in my exchange with my Christian Cross Stitch egroup. I am so in love with the little beaded ornament kit… and well… everything!

So much fun stuff!

The day after the day AFTER Christmas had us facing the idea of school on a minor level again… but we also had our big outing to spend the Christmas money. Well… the kids did. For 2 days running I was thwarted with the hunt for the Kindle Fire case. BUT on the other hand the kids managed to purchase a variety of things, Skylanders, Legos… a potty… a little stressful with 5 kids still buzzing from Christmas but they did well.

It is hard to bring the kids down a bit excitement wise when there is still Christmas trickling in. We have plans for a dinner, packages on their way and of course the very visible reminders of Christmas here in the house. Oh and of course, New Years. Though we do not do anything with the kids really that night. I plan on printing off some simple worksheets for them to do.

Hard at work on her Hello Kitty DS game, in Hello Kitty pj’s of course