December in Review
This December was pretty unorthodox, even for us. Jacob had to attend Air Force officer training school in Alabama for the first two weeks of the month, and then had to make up for lost work hours as soon as he got back. So he almost completely missed out on the usual holiday festivities. We had just enough time to celebrate Thanksgiving, put up the tree and then he was off. I had to finish decorating the inside of the house on my own and we didn't even get to the outside. Ah, well. At least we saved on the electricity bill, right?
Probably my least favorite thing, though, was doing all the Christmas shopping for the boys pretty much on my own and trying to confer with Jacob when he was able to get to his phone or email, which wasn't often while he was at OTS. I was pretty much left to my own devices, which takes a lot of the fun out of it for me. I enjoy browsing with Jacob and considering together what will make the boys' Christmas magical. I depend on Jacob to be the check to my balances on things. And he has such a great sense of fun. I did the best I could and we tried to have some holiday workshops, as is tradition, and carry on what we could, including Jacob when he was available.
So, here is December in a nutshell...
1) Standing in the freezing cold at Manito Park Conservatory to see the lights for the first time - sort of like the cactus garden at Ethel M's in Henderson! We were among the very last admitted inside before it closed. The line took FOR-EV-ER and it was hard for the boys to wait, especially in the freezing temperatures (we had already been forced to drop out of line waiting for the "Journey to Bethlehem" on the south hill earlier that week). Luckily, Brendan and Riley found some treats at the nearby park office because it happened to be the Open House night, so that helped. The lights were lovely and it was much nicer and warmer inside.
3) In school, Riley wrote about what he would be like if he were an elf. I especially liked his special talents.
4) We got some snow!It would be our second white Christmas in a row! Caleb and Brendan got right to work while the snow was good and wet, creating some Calvin and Hobbes-esque snowmen. I didn't get a shot of Brendan's, which was built on the ledge of the deck out back and fell to his demise. Caleb wanted to be sure that his was captured for future generations, though.
Probably my least favorite thing, though, was doing all the Christmas shopping for the boys pretty much on my own and trying to confer with Jacob when he was able to get to his phone or email, which wasn't often while he was at OTS. I was pretty much left to my own devices, which takes a lot of the fun out of it for me. I enjoy browsing with Jacob and considering together what will make the boys' Christmas magical. I depend on Jacob to be the check to my balances on things. And he has such a great sense of fun. I did the best I could and we tried to have some holiday workshops, as is tradition, and carry on what we could, including Jacob when he was available.
So, here is December in a nutshell...
1) Standing in the freezing cold at Manito Park Conservatory to see the lights for the first time - sort of like the cactus garden at Ethel M's in Henderson! We were among the very last admitted inside before it closed. The line took FOR-EV-ER and it was hard for the boys to wait, especially in the freezing temperatures (we had already been forced to drop out of line waiting for the "Journey to Bethlehem" on the south hill earlier that week). Luckily, Brendan and Riley found some treats at the nearby park office because it happened to be the Open House night, so that helped. The lights were lovely and it was much nicer and warmer inside.
2) Caleb and the Central Valley bands and orchestras got to play their Christmas concert at the Fox Theatre downtown! It is an amazing art deco style theatre and the kids sounded amazing. Brendan, Riley and I had an incredible view from the balcony. What a great night!
3) In school, Riley wrote about what he would be like if he were an elf. I especially liked his special talents.
4) We got some snow!It would be our second white Christmas in a row! Caleb and Brendan got right to work while the snow was good and wet, creating some Calvin and Hobbes-esque snowmen. I didn't get a shot of Brendan's, which was built on the ledge of the deck out back and fell to his demise. Caleb wanted to be sure that his was captured for future generations, though.
5) Surprise gifts arrived, including this box of imported British sweets courtesy of Aunt Trisha.
6) We went to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Caleb and Brendan had been chomping at the bit, trying to avoid spoilers online and friends at school while we waited for Jacob to get home from OTS so we could see it together. We spoiled ourselves by going to the downtown theater with the cushy reclining seats!
7) Actual gingerbread house decorating was fun. I scored a great deal on some kits at Walgreens. Each kit came with five or six mini houses, which were just perfect for individual decorating. Each person got to pick the style of house they liked and go for it. A lot of candy was consumed used in the making of these gorgeous structures.
8) The first day of actual winter break for the boys consisted of battling it out on Super Smash Bros on the Wii U. Ah, male bonding.
9) The holiday workshops began!
10) This was Jacob's year to have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off! So, we enjoyed attending church on Christmas Eve together and then had Christmas morning to opening gifts and lounge around in our pjs until dinner. The kids blessed us with a 7am wake up call! A Jerdon family first.
11) We enjoyed our traditional English Christmas dinner complete with Christmas crackers. Everyone was required to put on pants after a day of slummin' it. And despite Jacob's face, he was happy to be there and to consume a home cooked meal after so many days living on cafeteria food.
12) My parents finally came for a visit! They hadn't been up since we first moved and they came up to watch the boys while I flew back to Ohio for Jacob's residency graduation.
It snowed pretty well while they were here, so we took the opportunity to show them the local sledding hill. We also had some indoor fun and took them bowling and to a nice pizza joint in Liberty Lake called Office Brothers Pizza. It was so good! A great way to end 2017!
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