Last Day of 2019

The kids were finally well enough for all of us to venture out on New Years Eve to eat out for dinner and enjoy Baskin Robbins ice cream for dessert.

Peterson Family Christmas

The Peterson cousins all got together last Saturday to exchange gifts at Papa Ken and Bev's house ... minus Tor, who was sick.

Slow Christmas Day

Jillian was feeling worse on Christmas morning with a fever and cough. She managed to join us for stockings at 7 am, but then headed back to bed, while Bridget and Tor went with Mommy to visit Grandma Cindy and company. Jillian laid low during lunch at home with the Peterson side of the family, and then stayed home while Bridget and Tor went with Daddy to Aunt Robin and Uncle Dan's for dinner. Here's some random pics of them opening presents ...

Bridget had fun flying the drones while Tor tried to blast it with his Nerf gun ...

When we returned home, Jillian opened her presents.

Christmas Eve Party

It was a big one this year in Castle Rock, with lots of family filling up the Uhlenkott house. The kids spent nearly the entire time downstairs playing with cousins Ava and Harper, but they did venture upstairs when Santa Claus made an appearance. Jillian, Bridget and Tor barely made a peep when sitting on his lap.

Mommy got what she wanted during the white elephant gift exchange: a towable cooler with drinks inside.

Sibling Gift Time

This is a newer tradition: opening gifts from their siblings placed under their tiny tree, in the time between the Elf movie and the Christmas Eve party (though they've almost always bought or made gifts for each other in years past). All three used their own money to buy gifts this year, and they did a very nice job of picking them.

Elf Movie

Somehow, watching this movie never gets old, and even the younger kids are really getting into it. We ate pizza, bean dip, and the now-traditional s'mores bars.

The Boys are Back

Tor was all smiles when Ty and Brock came down to Grannie and Papa's house. It was hard waiting until they woke up (at noon), and he made many trips to their house to check on them. As soon as they were ready, though, they all went outside to play some football.

Brock's Game

We live streamed Brock's game and cast to the main TV to watch. Tor got right up close to watch and was thrilled when Brock started the game.

 Then when Brock shot and it went in, he erupted in cheers. He did cheer every basket the team made but not so exuberantly.

 As the game wore on or Brock wasn't in, he finally settled down with Sophie and Mocha to watch the end. It was kinda late then and he was pretty tired. He wasn't happy when Brock's team lost in overtime.

Winter Roots

Grannie signed Tor up for some December basketball lessons at ROOTS. Here he is warming up beforehand, wearing his Steph Curry uniform.

Three Reindeer

Jillian had seen the wood reindeer that Papa Bob was making, and asked for one. Papa wisely made two more, as well, for Bridget and Tor, and gave them to them last night. They were all so thrilled!

Nutcracker Ballet

We made our annual trip to see the Nutcracker Ballet at Keller Auditorium last night. Beforehand, we went to the Washington Square Mall to find Christmas dresses and shoes for Jillian & Bridget. They did well finding pretty outfits.

We tried sitting on the far left-hand side of the auditorium, but the view was obstructed, so we'll try something different next year. We checked out the view on the top balcony (see pic), and the kids thought that was cool.

It was warm in the auditorium, so the kids got kind of sleepy during the performance. We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home for a treat, and didn't get home till 11:30 pm.

Bridget's Winter Concert

Bridget performed some songs at her school concert wearing her elf-ears hat.

The Tree Topper

Bridget had the honor of putting the star on top of the tree this year. Daddy can't lift her (or Jillian) anymore, so she used the step stool.

It almost didn't happen, because she got some pitch on her fingers and wanted to be done ... but we convinced her to keep going.

Tree Ornaments

It took awhile before the entire family had a free night together so we could decorate the tree. As the kids get older, they get better at hanging ornaments (nothing broke this year), and they have more stamina ... they almost made it to the end.

Over the 13 years, we've accumulated so many ornaments, there's no room on the tree for all of them. Mommy's thinking about what to do ...

Centerpieces

It's become a Christmas tradition ... the kids make centerpieces at Grannie & Papa's to give as gifts. They use greens cut from around the property, then they use their creativity -- and these are what they came up with:

Christmas Parade

The kids got to participate in the Longview Christmas Parade by riding on Grandma Cindy & Hal's Polar Express float. They dressed in their pajamas and helped hand out hot cocoa packets. Mommy walked alongside.

Lindsey rode her horse right behind as the Thunder Mountain Rodeo Queen.

This Year's Tree

We made the annual trek up to Silver Lake to get our Christmas tree. We were joined this year by Grannie & Papa, cousins Cale & Ericka, and Aunt Julie & Uncle Kevin. It took a while; we were the last to find a tree ... the farm was really thinned out this year. But, we settled on this one:

Bridget wanted to help cut Cale & Ericka's tree.

Winter Orchestra Concert

Jillian performed on the bass at the winter orchestra concert tonight. She played numerous short numbers with the group, a solo ("Can-can if you can-can"), and an ensemble piece. All of her practice and hard work paid off -- she did very well.

In the pic below, Jillian is the one standing up.

Football with Ty and Deb

Jillian, Bridget, and Tor got to come up in time to see Ty and Deb before they left for California. By the time they came it was getting dark but still light enough for Tor to get everybody outside for a game of football. It was cold too. It was girls against guys but I never did hear who won as the Seahawks game came on and Tor was all in on that.

Quick Beach Trip

We weren't at the beach very long this time. Just enough to relax a little. It was really cold, so we were inside most of the time, though we did make one trip out to work off some excess energy.

Thanksgiving Feast

We had quite the meal at our house, enjoying all the usual favorites, including a turkey cooked by Mommy. The kids sat together at the adjoining "kids table".

While the adults relaxed around the fireplace, the kids played football on the tiny front yard. The girls won... the boys were mad ...

Then, Jillian entertained everyone by playing numerous songs on her bass.

Waiting for Turkey

Waiting for Thanksgiving has been tough ... so the girls snuggled up next to the fireplace to read.

The Bass

Not sure if Jillian could have picked a bigger instrument. She finally got to bring it home for practice because of the long Thanksgiving weekend. She's been practicing constantly, doing "name that tune" with us.

Early Start to Christmas

Even though we've been telling the kids to focus on Thanksgiving, we have been doing a few Christmas things ahead of time to get ready, such as making rings ...

A Good Citizen

Bridget was recently recognized at a school assembly with an Honor & Good Citizenship Award.

Neighbor Sleepover

The neighbor girls Hazel and Ila came over Friday night for a sleepover with Jillian and Bridget (Tor hung out with Daddy, playing the Switch). They had pizza for dinner, then did a craft project of making a fall bouquet (with Tor joining them).

Then, they stayed up late watching shows in the family room.