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.