Winter Break

Well, we wrapped up 2 weeks of Christmas Break home with the kids, and they had a couple of days of snow days right before the official break, and between those, we did a lot of wintertime festivities. I made a list:

1. Cut out paper snowflakes
2. Went sledding
3. Put up a tree
4. Drank hot cocoa with entirely too many marshmallows

5. Ate popcorn and candy
6. Helped me wrap presents
7. Built and ate gingerbread houses
8. Listened to music (We got a trial of Amazon music, which plays on the TV and has turned everything into karaoke since the lyrics scroll across the screen.) 
9. Went to the library to read books and play on the computer
10. Spent the day with Grandma Mary
11. Spent the day with Nana Jana
12. Had a playdate with Kaitlin
13. Went to the zoo
14. Went to candlelight service at church
15. Saw the magic tree
16. Opened presents with their cousins
17. Played with all their new toys
18. Saw the new Star Wars movie at the theater
19. Read all their new books (and then traded and read all their sibling's new books, too)

20. Had a playdate at church
21. Went to Runge nature area, where Leah made a skunk tail and learned how skunks and deer use their tails to communicate. 




22. Went to Grindstone nature area

23. Went to Rockbridge nature area
24. Probably more stuff that I am forgetting

James brought home his journal yesterday and I went through it. I was fully prepared for him to tell his teacher that all we did over break was watch The Simpsons (he tends to focus on screen time for all of his weekend updates and other writing assignments!), but just look:

"I did tow Crischmisis. One with m grandparints. One with my famaly. One with love." But then the picture he drew on top is a tree with five labeled presents that all say "mine" (complete with arrows).