This weekend was lots of fun. Friday was the last day of school for the kids and the last day of work for Arnold, until after the new year! The kids had a half day and had lots of Christmas parties and fun at school. They came home and dumped everything out on the floor to look through and ate way too much candy! That afternoon we went to the movies as a family to see Night at the Museum 3! Arnold had gotten some giftcards from work for winning some contests, so we decided to use them to have a night at the movies, since we don't do that often! We filled up our popcorn bucket and got some drinks and went in to find a seat. The kids all did pretty well and we all loved the movie! It was bittersweet seeing Robin Williams on screen after what happened to his this year. He was an amazing actor! I am sad that this was the last of the movies, but I guess three of them is enough anyway.
Saturday we went into town and braved the crazy crowds to do some shopping! The kids were wanting to see Santa, but everytime we have gone to the mall lately the line has been crazy long, so we skipped it again. We went to Children's Place to get Caleb and Brooke some new jeans, because both of them have grown out of their pants and moved to the next size! The other day Brooke showed us that when she buttons her pants they POP back open.. it's hilarious ;) And while we were there Rachel somehow convinced me to buy her a Frozen shirt...??? :) Then we went to Crazy 8 because I had a coupon and I got the girls some cute matching outfits! I will match them until they don't let me anymore! ;) We also went into Bath and Body Works but their lines were INSANE so we didn't get anything there. Lastly we went to Jc Penney's and got my Mother in law a few more things for Christmas. After we left the mall we went to Mighty Dollar to buy some Christmas gift bags, and their entire wall was cleaned out! They had sold out of everything! I guess I should have started way sooner?! Before we went home we went to Mc Donald's and got some dipped cones. One of my favorite treats ever! ;) We were out for a total of 4 hrs or so, and I guess considering how long we were out, the kids did pretty well!
Saturday evening we got everyone ready and went to Arnold's cousin's Beth's house for a family Christmas party! She hosts it every year and it's lots of fun! Everyone brought some appetizers and desserts and we had a finger food dinner. We had gone to the grocery store and gotten a big pack of cupcakes and cookies.. because you KNOW Abby doesn't like to cook! ;) There was some yummy food though... I loved Beth's sausage pinwheels and kept sneaking some! ;) The kids loved getting to play with their cousins and went crazy running around the house. They had made a special area for them to play out in the garage.. but half the time they still ran around inside! The adults sat inside and ate and talked, so it was a lot of fun. Before we left, the kids all opened presents. Everyone was really sweet to them. The girls got some new oufits, Caleb got a new lego set (that he would NOT put down the rest of the evening!), some giftcards to Target and Mcdonalds, and some cash! They are always so excited to have their "own money" :) We didn't get home until after 9pm and the kids went straight to sleep!
Sunday morning we went to church early, at 9am. Arnold helped me out in the first service because we didn't have any volunteers for that one. We had six kids and they were all really well behaved! We sat at the table and colored Christmas pictures, and this little boy named Colby helped me color my picture and told me what colors to color everything. I really love those kiddos, they are the best! 2nd service I had lots of help and that was good because we were slammed with little babies! All the babies in the 2nd service seemed to be in a bad mood, and I had to spend the hour walking the halls and rocking the baby I was holding... but it was worth it to get in some baby snuggles! :) Arnold worked in his classroom 2nd service and he had taken the kids a little treat for Christmas. Full size Hershey bars with little Christmas bows on them. The kids all loved it.. I thought it was sweet.. and he thought of it all by himself! Maybe I am rubbing off on him after all! ;)
After church we took the kids to McDonald's to use their giftcards and get happy meals. For the record, their toys right now are Flutterbye Fairies for girls and Spy Gear for boys! The kids loved them. Then we went over to Target to let the kids use their giftcards to there. The kids' money was burning a hole in their pockets! That is the same thing my mom used to tell me when I was little! We walked around the toy aisles as they took forever to pick out what they wanted. I also stopped by the Christmas section to buy a few more stocking stuffers.. I am surprised I got out of there without the kids noticing! While we were on the way out of the store I noticed a nightgown in the women's section, and it had DACHSHUNDS on it!!!! I wanted to get it but I didn't want to spend the money, but Arnold told me "GET IT!" So I did.. and I was happy :) So I guess I got an early Christmas present from Arnold! ;) The checkout lines weren't too bad... I was surprised!
Last night we went out... a Christmas tradition we have had for about 5 years now! Driving down to Morganton and seeing the Christmas lights, while wearing our Christmas PJs, and eating Papa John's pizza!!! Papa John's is my favorite, but we don't have one near us, so I always make sure we eat it when down there ;) They have a big thing set up at one of the local colleges, and it is free... a friend told us about it and we have been going ever since! This year they had a Frozen display and so Rachel was very happy! ;) When we got home we still had about an hour until the kids' bedtime, so we let the kids play for awhile and I read some more of the book I am currently reading "Blue Christmas" by Mary Kay Andrews. Then I went to bed EARLY!!!!!
The kids all dressed up on Saturday night, ready for the Family Christmas party!!
Me, Arnold's cousin Beth, and my sister-in-law Jennifer.
I'm not sure what we are doing here???? LOL.
Several of the kids playing outside and eating some snacks!
Caleb was so happy with his new Lego set he got!
The blonde-hair cuties in the family! :)
We wanted to get a family picture while the kids were looking nice ;)
Brooke in her Christmas dress. It was way over-priced and it wasn't even my first pick of dresses for her, but she begged me for it one night we were at Kohl's, so I decided to let her get it.
The girls loved their new Justice outfits and wanted to wear them the next day to church!
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