Holiday Break

Soon after O's birthday, school takes a two-week winter break. With the ongoing pandemic, we opted for just a stay-cation this year. It was nice and relaxed, but we did enjoy planning out some potential future excursions (I'm looking at you, Midwest states) to fill out the rest of this map (an awesome Christmas gift for me!):

My alumni group had a fundraiser with Rudolph's Light Show, so we made the drive and enjoyed the show! It was hard to get good pictures in the dark, through the car windows, but I still tried. I think the videos show it best. Even Hadley liked it.

We also drove through some other neighborhoods for lights on the way home, just to really douse those desires to see light displays. It seemed like a lot of people went all out on holiday lights this year!

The other classic holiday tradition is the baking and eating of sweets, so we obliged there as well, with gingerbread houses, chocolate dipped pretzels, Saltine toffees, and sugar cookies. 

And despite our house being full of sweets, we treated ourselves to some Over the Top ice cream and waffle concoctions one day. Interesting idea (deluxe ice cream, decorated with cookies and candies, and served in warm, soft Belgian waffle cones), but we probably won't go back unless they put a location closer to home.

We also got in a trip to the ranch. Because there were guns around (see below), I asked the kids to stay close to the house while I was busy inside. They ended up digging a pretty deep hole (literally!) to entertain themselves. I guess when in Rome...

I gambled with my life by letting the kids drive the Mule around the pasture. Just kidding! They were both pretty good drivers; we just had to watch out for gopher holes and cow patties. Hadley does need some practice for smooth pedal work, and Owen looked a little too comfortable behind the wheel already!

While there, the kids got to "re-meet" their cousin, Kyle (in the middle), who was there sighting rifles with Uncle Michael. The last time we'd seen him was at the 50th anniversary party almost 6 years ago, so it was understandable that the kids did not recall meeting him the first time.

Finally, it was Christmas!! Our "miracle" tree started to crumble as we put it together this year, and more and more lights went dark, so it made its last year memorable by trying to make striped dark/light trees a trend. It didn't work. But I'm happy to report that Santa found us anyway! It was kind of a low-key Christmas to go with the rest of the year, but there were still a few surprises under the tree.

Despite the furballs, hisses, and messes, even the cat got a gift under the tree. This is no ordinary cat bed - it has an astronaut blanket layer that is supposed to reflect the cat's heat back to them, like a warm lap. Tibbs is ridiculously obsessed with warm laps during quarantine, plus she has rejected quite a few other cat beds, so we were pleasantly surprised when she took to this bed fairly readily and slept in it for hours on Christmas Day.

Then there was a sunny Boxing Day with the cousins, who broke out their summer bouncy slide, sans water. Many laps were made on the slide circuit by kids of all sizes. It was a beautiful afternoon for swinging in the hammock, playing in the park, and chilling in the yard. Aunt Jenn's holiday biscotti collection even went well with some local craft brews.

Once Christmas passed, we had a glorious week left. This is how much of the time was spent:

But occasionally, we step outside the mold and try to have an adventure. Owen asked about ice skating, which we hadn't done since leaving Idaho. I told them that in Houston, you get to skate at the mall! Ha! I was wondering about the crowds, but it wasn't too bad post-Christmas, so we had ourselves a skate day at Memorial City Mall, kind of like old times.

After a few cautious laps, it was like riding a bike for Owen. 

I asked Hadley if she remembered anything from her lessons, and she told me she never had skating lessons! I swear she did, but I went back through the blog and couldn't find any evidence, except of Owen's lessons. Yikes! Maybe it didn't happen. Anyway, she braved the rink without a guide this time, despite looking like she was walking on a field of banana peels! She clung close the side, but in true Hadley fashion, she did not want any tips on how to skate from me. A couple hours later, she was doing much better, and we kept going even after Owen was done.

After we returned our skates, we strolled around the mall. The kids haven't really been to a big city mall yet, and certainly hadn't been anywhere like it during quarantine, so it was fun to take a spin and see what life was like "before." It wasn't too crowded, but it was certainly the most people we had seen in one place in quite a while! Hadley's one request was to go to the skybridge, so here we are!

One of our other favorite holiday traditions is collecting and displaying the Christmas cards we receive from friends and family. It was especially nice to see familiar faces this holiday season. We miss you all!