the week of Christmas

Last week is already a blur to me, but here are a few highlights...

Uncle Mark, Madisyn, and McKenzee came on Monday evening and stayed through Friday morning. Mark worked on one of the bathrooms at the Martha Street house; the plumbing slowed them down a bit, but he was able to get some of the tiling done before they left. It's going to look great when it's all done!! I'm so thankful for his willingness to help us out!

Meanwhile, Madisyn and McKenzee were a HUGE help with the boys!! My boys had so much fun with their older cousins. One morning McKenzee helped me run errands and lunch at Burger King with the boys. And the other days they just enjoyed the backyard playing football with their cousins and watching movies, working puzzles, and playing ping pong upstairs when it got too cold.

how many cousins can you fit around a little dvd player??

quite a few if ELF is being watched...

Wednesday we made some Christmas treats (that don't require an oven). That morning Henry and I made some puppy chow, and then later that night after the boys went down, Madisyn and McKenzee helped me make some mint thins (thanks to Trisha's delicious recipe) and a bunch of white chocolate dipped pretzels, ritz and peanut butter crackers, and oreo-like cookies. So much fun and so sugary sweet!!

Thursday evening when my parents got in town, we took everyone ice skating, since McKenzee had been dying to go since he got here. So Brian and Mark stayed back working on the house, and the rest of us braved the large crowds at the mall. McKenzee, Hudson, Henry, and I skated while Madisyn, Grandma, Grandpa, Nate, and Jake watched and walked around. The boys had a great time, and Henry was just getting the hang of it again about the time they closed for the night. We saw Santa one last time and looked around a sports store and then the video arcade on our way out. They sadly left the next morning on Christmas Eve.

We had so much with them, and Madisyn and McKenzee are already making plans to come back for a visit this summer! We can't wait, but hopefully we'll see them again before then. We are way over due for a trip to Lakeland and plan on going soon!