the after christmas festivities

The after Christmas festivities were just as much fun as the pre-Christmas festivities.   The day after Christmas the Wise family went bowling.  Chris took the big kids and I stayed home with Hudson and Nathan.  The kids all had fun! 

Everyone acted like it was so sad that I didn't go bowling.  Normally I'm not one to "sit out" but, honestly, the thought of taking Hudson to a bowling alley sounded like torture.  I could just imagine him sliding down the lane.  No thanks.  Plus I got to stay home, clean up Christmas, and have a little quite time.  Totally worth it.  

For Christmas this year we focused more on giving the kids experiences rather than gifts.  They each got a couple of books and a shirt and something from Santa, but Madison was the only one who needed anything big, her bike, so we opted on spending the money on fun things to DO!  Madison's gift was her first trip to the American Girl store!   We got her look-alike doll's ears pierced and both her dolls' hair done.  Kaya was actually my doll when I was in high school, you can imagine what 10+ years had done to her long, course hair.  

We had brunch, too.  Grandma joined us.  Madison wore the dress that she got for Christmas that included a matching dress for her doll.  I made her both dresses.  

The boys' gift was Top Golf with dad.  He didn't take any pictures, but I know they had fun.  They went with uncles and cousins, so I'm sure it was a great "man night". 

We also spent an evening playing some serious rock band.  Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to mess around when there aren't any kids around.  I'm glad we still have some "fun" left in us!

On Sunday Grandma and Grandpa and Sean and Nathan left.  We had a fun visit and were sad it was so short.  Hudson was super cute in nursery that day though.  He's my little buddy and he's finally starting to be able to participate a little big.  Doesn't he look so grown up with his bow-tie in his chair?

Monday I took the kids to the Ross Perot museum downtown.  I got a sitter for Hudson and I was so glad I did.   It was crowded!  It was also really nice to be able to focus on the kids and to take our time.  I feel like I'm always around the big kids, but not really "with" them since I'm always running after the tiny tornado boy.  We went to the 3-D robot movie first.  

Madison brought her bff Ashlee.  

The kids all tried out the slow-mo simulator.  I was impressed Jaxon could get his leg up this high in jeans. 

Awesome view of the city from the museum.  

Then we met Chris for lunch.  Now that Chris has a new job he gets a lunch break.  At his old job he had to clock in and clock out, even though he was salary, so if he left for lunch he lost an hour.  Now he can take lunch every day, so we are excited to go visit him for lunch sometimes!

The kids thought posing on these pillars was cool.  

Maid and Ashlee

Then we came home and the kids got super creative.  They were inspired by the robot movie and the piles of Christmas boxes in my garage, to create their own robots.  They came up with some cool things.  Jaxon's has a computer attached to it to upload data.  

Madison and Ashlee attached wheels to theirs and it had medical supplies in its head like BayMac from the movie Big Hero 6. 

New Year's Eve we went over to some friends house to celebrate.  I had every intention of putting my kids to bed around 10, but they kept playing happily all the way up until midnight.  

There were lots of kids there and I kept expecting one of my kids to have a huge breakdown, but they didn't.   They had a blast and they loved watching the ball drop.  

First family pic of 2015!  We did put Hudson to bed.  He went down as soon as we got there and slept the whole time.  

Crazy, excited kids!

2015 cookie cake, this is becoming our go-to treat.  I think my kids like it better than regular cake and it's less messy.  

This is a funny picture of Jaxon that has nothing to do with anything except that's a 1/2 pound reese's pb cup that we found on clearance at Kroger.  We didn't let him eat the whole thing.  We all took a bite and shared it over a couple of days.  But they kids were fascinated by that huge thing!

The kids' big family gift was a trip to great wolf lodge.  We considered Disney, but then we got cheap and settled for Great Wolf Lodge 45 min away.  The kids still loved it though!

Hudson was especially hilarious in the water.  He is definitely another Wise water baby.  

Colton loved the slides for his size.  The big kids could both go on the huge slides, which was fun for them!

We did craft time and let the kids make magnets.  

Uncle Steve came the first day because he was free.  Then we ate bbq in our room. 

Family photo opp.  Nothing like swimming in January when you're pasty white. 

These kids never get sick of the water!

I can say with confidence that we wore the kids out.  They were all ready to leave by 2 p.m. the next day, even though we could have stayed until 9.