Ho, Ho, Ho... Its a Christmas Party!

 Not on our radar, the kids asked when we were having a Christmas party.  After a few days of hearing them ask about having a party, I checked in with Santa to see if he was free.  Fortunately he was!  Unfortunately, the only day he had free was the last day I was on service.  We were exceptionally lucky that Oma & Opa were visiting us to help out.  John developed the menu with suggestions from Oma (olive feta bite, fruit tarts and chicken salad tea sandwiches).  With me being "out of service", Oma and Opa were a huge help with the preparations.

 

 

 Micah invited his friend Mark.  At his most recent parent-teacher conference, I was informed that Mark and Micah as best buddies in the classroom.  That was sweet music to my ears as a best friend has not existed for Micah since starting school.

 He's here!

 Santa answered many questions posed by the kids and gave his rendition of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas before each child was given time to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

 

 John and Santa had a fairly lengthy conversation about his occupation.  I wonder what Santa told him.

 

 Even adults can enjoy Santa!

 There is always a point in the night when things get a bit crazy.  It always seems to occur in the girls room.

 

A new game to try was the Saran Wrap ball game.  Prizes are wrapped up into a ball.  While one player unwraps this a quickly as they can, another play is trying to roll doubles.  Once doubles are rolled, the ball moves to that player and the dice to the next player.  This continues around the table until the ball is completely unwrapped.  This was so much fun we are debating on when we can do it again.

Journey to the North Pole

To kick off the Christmas holiday season, we headed up to North Conway for a surprise adventure.

 We stayed at Red Jacket Resort as they had a package for our visit.  The first surprise was a loft where two of the kids slept.  They could close the curtains for privacy and had their own TV and sink up there.  It gave John and I a bit of "alone" time past their bedtime rather than sitting in the dark in a regular hotel room.

 The second surprise was taking a Journey to the North Pole complete with our own golden tickets.  This trip we acquired Jerry, Victoria's new favorite lovely.  He has been with her every day since.  We were gifted 3 stuffed monkeys when we checked into the resort.  Her blankie now has competition!

 My most favorite part of the journey was riding in 1950s passenger train cars.  We learned the oldest car of theirs that still functions was from the late 1800s.  After boarding the back seats were flipped in a manner to accommodate the party size.  It was amazing to see the crew flip those backs as fast as they could to board everyone quickly and smoothly.

En route, we were served hot chocolate and given letters to complete for Santa.  It is always a trip to read what each child wrote.  Their letters certainly fit each of their personalities.  We'll see if Santa delivers was they requested!

We arrived at the North Pole!

 On our walk to Santa's workshop, a post office popped up.  The kids stamped their letters and dropped them in the mailbox.

We were treated to meeting the elfs, hearing a rendition of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and speaking with Santa while he made rounds throughout the crowd.

After returning from the North Pole, we joined Nancy for pottery panting.  The resort had all sorts of activities to partake in during out stay.

Our third surprise was Kahuna Laguna - an indoor water park nestled inside Red Jacket Resort.  While there was snow outside, we enjoyed a nice 84 degree tropical oasis.

 Micah and Victoria were tall enough to ride the larger slide in a double inner tube with John or I.  But they had to wear life vests which they didn't mind at all. 

 The wave pool was everyone's favorite spot to hang out.

A kiss goodbye.....

Fencing Tournament

 Today was Izzy's first fencing tournament experience.  There were definitely some nerves present for everyone as this is foreign territory for all of us.  Izzy's foil coach, JD, was there and such a support for her.  She won one of her five rounds and scored in three of the others (0-5, 1-5, 1-5, 3-5 and 5-3).  The second half was the elimination round.  Though she scored, she did not win and thus was eliminated in the first round.  I was so proud of her as this was challenging on several levels including speed of the game, different techniques used at other fencing clubs and improving her mental game.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

 Once Halloween rolls around, its a non-stop roller coaster of family gatherings, good food and memory making.  Next up... Thanksgiving.  We were fortunate to have Oma & Opa visit us over this holiday.  Thanksgiving was held a John's brother's house making for a lively extended family gathering.  Jackie's yummy witty turkey's put smiles on everyone's faces.

 Turkey toe place cards.

As the meal was at the Hartman home, we were dismissed from laboring in the kitchen for hours... darn!  Our contributions were in the form of deserts with Oma's pumpkin pie and Izzy's apple pie made with a cookie crust.  She so fun to have in the kitchen with her unique flare of tastes.

 The quintessential family photo before the meal.

 After meal was filled with games and play.  One is never too old for Matchbox cars.

 A lively game of 7s.

 Micah took on Daniel in a heated game of air hockey.  Victoria took her typical spot of being the cheerleader.

 This may have convinced Opa to move the Ping-Pong table into the basement of the house.  Who knew Oma had a hidden Ping-Pong talent!

 Opa learned a new pool game... 9 ball.  I liked how it kept the game equal even when pool skills were vastly different.

Scrabble is a favorite game at the Hartman house.

A tradition in the Bures home is putting up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving.  Everything went up so quickly given the extra hands available.

 The following day we took in a play... Potted Potter.  All seven books played in 70 minutes by 2 actors.  It was reminiscent of The Complete Works of Shakespeare.  Knowing the story line of the books may have helped but fun nonetheless.

 One final gathering after church to a local Hibachi restaurant.  The men were great sports in catching flying zucchini.

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