Day 359 - Friday, December 25, 2009

Day 359 - Friday, December 25, 2009 – Owen burst into our bedroom Christmas morning (after spying all of the stuffed stockings), and excitedly exclaimed "Mom! No one was on the NAUGHTY list!!!" The boys' big gift was a new DSi for each of them and Jordyn was thrilled with her purple Northface coat. After presents from Santa, a big breakfast, and a quick nap we went to Grand Rapids to celebrate with the Hillary side of the family.

Day 358 - Thursday, December 24, 2009

Day 358 - Thursday, December 24, 2009 – We celebrated Christmas Eve at our house with the Sprys, Gramma & Poppa, and Jeremy & Lillian. Peace on Earth, good will towards men.

Day 357 - Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Day 357 - Wednesday, December 23, 2009 – Tonight we had my parents (and Bailey) over for dinner and to watch one of my Dad's favorite movies, It's a Wonderful Life. It really is.

Day 356 - Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Day 356 - Tuesday, December 22, 2009 – Tonight was my last theater night of the 2008-2009 Fisher Theater season. We saw Jersey Boys (which was FABULOUS) and I captured a shot of this angel towards the ceiling of the Fisher Building.

Day 355 - Monday, December 21, 2009

Day 355 - Monday, December 21, 2009 – Owen sleeps just like his momma, with his mouth wide open and with one of his eyes slightly open. (However, I don't usually wear my pajamas backwards!)

Day 354 - Sunday, December 20, 2009

Day 354 - Sunday, December 20, 2009 – My baby girl turned 14 today. We celebrated with a shopping trip to the Rochester Village Mall and lunch at Bravo Italian Restaurant. Happy Birthday, Jordyn!

Day 353 - Saturday, December 19, 2009

Day 353 - Saturday, December 19, 2009 – Kevin and I popped by the Amy & Joel's family Christmas party on our way to a party at the Parsons'. I'm so glad their family doesn't mind us crashing their Christmas party every year!!

Day 352 - Friday, December 18, 2009

Day 352 - Friday, December 18, 2009 – I picked Jordyn up from school a little early today so that we could go to Liam's holiday sing along. Much to my surprise, this was also the day that the school had Mrs. Robinson's clay mural installed in the office. Jordyn is the student on the far left of the mural. She is now forever immortalized at OMS.

Day 351 - Thursday, December 17, 2009

Day 351 - Thursday, December 17, 2009 – Today was Owen's Gingerbread party at school. He asked me to come, but I didn't think I was going to be able to make it. Then a meeting got cancelled at the last minute and I was able to pop into the school for about an hour, much to his delight...and mine.

Day 350 - Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Day 350 - Wednesday, December 16, 2009 – Tonight I took the kids out to dinner at Sagebrush Cantina in downtown Lake Orion. While we were waiting for our table, we ran over to Little Monsters where I let the kids pick out a pre-Christmas present. Such a fun store!!

Day 349 - Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Day 349 - Tuesday, December 15, 2009 – Kevin was able to attend Liam's practice with the Oxford Youth Wrestling Club for the first time tonight. He signed Liam up for a wrestling tournament and the club let Liam borrow this singlet. Liam shows me the neutral position. Doesn't he look fierce?! :)

Day 348 - Monday, December 14, 2009

Day 348 - Monday, December 14, 2009 – Today was Owen's turn to pick a family fun activity and he chose to make paper snowflakes which we hung on the windows by the front door. Very festive!

Day 347 - Sunday, December 13, 2009

Day 347 - Sunday, December 13, 2009 – Playing Left Right Center with Kev and the kids...genuine family fun, no better birthday present on earth.

Day 346 - Saturday, December 12, 2009 –

Day 346 - Saturday, December 12, 2009 – Look at that belly!!

Day 345 - Friday, December 11, 2009

Day 345 - Friday, December 11, 2009 – Tonight was Jordyn's Christmas concert. The eighth graders are in blue and the seventh graders are in yellow. We went to eat at Casa Real before heading to the high school for the performance. They did a wonderful job! (I wish I could say the same for Owen's behavior!! Good thing we were in the sparsely populated balcony.)

Day 344 - Thursday, December 10, 2009

Day 344 - Thursday, December 10, 2009 – Today's Christmas family fun activity was to drink hot chocolate, which the kids and I enjoyed while Kevin (who had just driven home from Indiana) enjoyed a PBR.

Day 343 - Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Day 343 - Wednesday, December 9, 2009 – Tonight it was Jordyn's pick to do something fun. She wanted to go to Canterbury Village, but with the high winds and the possibility of bad roads, I didn't want to make the trip. So, she chose take-out Chinese dinners to be eaten IN the living room while watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with Jim Carrey).

Day 342 - Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Day 342 - Tuesday, December 8, 2009 – It was Owen's turn to pick a Christmas movie and as coincidence would have it, A Charlie Brown Christmas was on TV tonight! PERFECT! I DVRed it so that we could fast forward through commercials and watch it again & again. Jordyn initially made fun of the "state of the art graphics" (HELLO, they're from 1965!!!...), but then she & the boys laughed out loud at several moments. The sock monkey just smiled the whole time.

Day 341 - Monday, December 7, 2009

Day 341 - Monday, December 7, 2009 – This is the mini tree upon which we hang our daily Advent calendar mini Nativity Story book ornaments.

Day 340 - Sunday, December 6, 2009

Day 340 - Sunday, December 6, 2009 – Today's special Christmas event was an ornament exchange at our house with some of Jordyn's friends and their moms (who are also MY friends). It was a delightful evening. I LOVE Christmas ornaments and I love it that these girls love Christmas ornaments, too!

back r0w (l to r) - Alicia, Jordyn, Bailey; middle row (l to r) - Chelsea, Shelby, Kayla; front row (l to r) Kristi, Mary

Day 339 - Saturday, December 5, 2009

Day 339 - Saturday, December 5, 2009 – Today was the fifth day of our countdown to Christmas calendar events. Today's event was to go to the Santa Breakfast at DA, something we have done for nine years, now. Owen told Santa that he wanted trains and Liam told Santa that he wanted a Fathead. Jordyn didn't sit on Santa's lap this year because she was busy helping the little kids in the Santa Shop.

Day 338 - Friday, December 4, 2009

Day 338 - Friday, December 4, 2009 – Today was the fourth day of our countdown to Christmas calendar events. Today's event was Liam's Pick. He really wants a dog for Christmas, so he chose for us to visit the K-9 Rescue League....just to LOOK.

Day 337 - Thursday, December 3, 2009

Day 337 - Thursday, December 3, 2009 – Today was the third day of our countdown to Christmas calendar events. Today's event was to listen to Christmas Carols, which we, of course had to do whilst eating sugar cookies and drinking milk. We also opened Christmas cards and read the daily advent ornament book about the Nativity story.

Day 336 - Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Day 336 - Wednesday, December 2, 2009 – Today was the second day of our countdown to Christmas calendar events. Today's event was for Jordyn to select a Christmas movie to watch. She chose The Nativity Story. Such a fabulous movie about the true meaning of Christmas.

Day 335 - Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Day 335 - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 – Today was the first day of our countdown to Christmas calendar events. Today's event was for Owen to select a Christmas book to read. He chose Beauty and the Beast Christmas and he also chose Elmo Saves Christmas (yes, I let him pick two books...he's the baby, what can I say?)

Day 334 - Monday, November 30, 2009

Day 334 - Monday, November 30, 2009 – I was a natural blond when I was a tot, but now I'm a blond a la Di (see her reflection in the mirror??) I know, I'm so glamorous I can hardly stand it.

Day 333 - Sunday, November 29, 2009

Day 333 - Sunday, November 29, 2009 – Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family at the Spry's house. Shawn and I are definitely carnivores as we each dig into a drumstick! (not really, but it made for a fun photo op!) We missed my parents, though, as they were down at their home in Florida.

Day 332 - Saturday, November 28, 2009

Day 332 - Saturday, November 28, 2009 – Third generation of Hillary's in the US (including family members 451-Jordyn, 452-Liam, and 453-Owen) at a family reunion at Diamond Hall in Grand Rapids. This isn't even a fraction of the extended Hillary family cousins.

Day 331 - Friday, November 27, 2009

Day 331 - Friday, November 27, 2009 – One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is going shopping with Jordyn on black Friday. This year, we got up at 2:45 am and we were back home by 7:30 am. We got 80% of the Christmas shopping done in a few hours with huge discounts. Gotta love that!

Day 330 - Thursday, November 26, 2009

Day 330 - Thursday, November 26, 2009 – Thanksgiving at Carol & Don's in Grand Rapids. It's always fun to hang out on the west side with the Hillary family, especially on Thanksgiving when the house is full of family, food, football, and black Friday sale ads.

Day 329 - Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Day 329 - Wednesday, November 25, 2009 – Thanksgiving Eve, a.k.a. the biggest bar night of the year. Kev with his buddies from high school, Joe & Jason. Now that we're older, it's turned into more of a dinner night of the year than a bar night of the year. We went to Olives in East Grand Rapids (hence the Olive artwork on the wall behind the fellas). Kevin is really digging having me as a designated driver.

Day 328 - Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Day 328 - Tuesday, November 24, 2009 – Jordyn after the 7th & 8th grade dance at the Middle School. Also, a rare photo of Jordyn in a skirt (outfit that she purchased specifically for this occasion).

Day 327 - Monday, November 23, 2009

Day 327 - Monday, November 23, 2009 – One of the reasons for getting the house decorated early in the season is so I can get the family Christmas photo taken in time to get the Christmas cards in the mail on the day after Thanksgiving. The funny thing about this photo shoot was the "discussion" about who would get to hold the baby in next year's Christmas photo. Owen had the argument that he, having always been the baby of the family, has never had the chance to hold the baby and therefore next year should be his turn. Good point.

Day 326 - Sunday, November 22, 2009

Day 326 - Sunday, November 22, 2009 – It took a solid 12 hours, but I was able to get the house, including the tree, decorated for the holidays...with a little bit of "help" from Kev and the kids.

Day 325 - Saturday, November 21, 2009

Day 325 - Saturday, November 21, 2009 – Owen enthralled by Heidi's slot machine. He and Andrea's son Andrew were occupied for hours. Owen kept opening it and examining the mechanics of the machine. High Roller.

Day 324 - Friday, November 20, 2009

Day 324 - Friday, November 20, 2009 – Jordyn with her birthday cupcake filled cupcake stand. Eighteen cupcakes, fourteen candles. Fourteen. We celebrated her birthday one month early to avoid the holiday conflict/rush. Twelve girls spent the night at our house for her party and it was a lot less crazy than you might expect.

Day 323 - Thursday, November 19, 2009

Day 323 - Thursday, November 19, 2009 – Jordyn with her pre-purchased New Moon ticket to the midnight premier showing at the Oxford 7. She's ready to go, complete with her Jacob Black, New Moon dog tags. The theater was packed with adoring fans, just like last year's midnight premier of Twilight.

Day 322 - Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Day 322 - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 – After sending out what seemed like a million emails to friends to see if anyone had a cupcake tree stand that I could borrow for Jordyn's birthday party, I was beyond excited when Mindy said she had one that I could use. Amazing how thrilled this little object can make a person!

Day 321 - Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Day 321 - Tuesday, November 17, 2009 – Liam's first night of Wrestling Club. He loved it, and I have a feeling this is going to be something that he'll be really good at. I wouldn't know for sure, though, because A. I know nothing about wrestling and B. I can't stand the smell of that room to stay inside long enough to watch.

Day 320 - Monday, November 16, 2009

Day 320 - Monday, November 16, 2009 – Ultrasound Day! I took Jordyn out of school today to attend my ultrasound, since Kevin had to go out of town on business and had to miss it. When the boys got home from school we gave them these blue suckers as our way of telling them what we were having. It took them a minute to get that it meant we were having a boy. Another boy.

Day 319 - Sunday, November 15, 2009

Day 319 - Sunday, November 15, 2009 – Shopping. Not my favorite thing to do. Did I love it when I was Jordyn's age? She and Molly love it. Too bad I'm not an experienced enough shopper to know that the mall closes at 6:00 on Sundays and the girls only got about 45 minutes of shopping in. Really, I didn't know!

Day 318 - Saturday, November 14, 2009

Day 318 - Saturday, November 14, 2009 – Today I was up before anyone else in the house (a rare occurrence) to exercise before kicking off the full day's events that we had planned. The house was so peaceful and the sunrise was just gorgeous. A wonderful way to spend a morning.

Day 317 - Friday, November 13, 2009

Day 317 - Friday, November 13, 2009 – Liam asked Kevin if it was OK if he tried to win the ball from the claw machine at BW3's even though it was a Lions' ball. Kevin said "Sure, go ahead." And Liam proceeded to win the ball on his first try.

Day 316 - Thursday, November 12, 2009

Day 316 - Thursday, November 12, 2009 – One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is decorating the door to the deck in the kitchen with the kids' past and present Thanksgiving projects.

Day 315 - Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Day 315 - Wednesday, November 11, 2009 – Owen and the arts & crafts cabinet in the kitchen. He's my crafty kid, that's for sure. Always coloring, cutting, drawing, and creating.

Day 314 - Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Day 314 - Tuesday, November 10, 2009 – Tonight was Jordyn's middle school choir's concert in honor of Veteran's day. It was a privilege to witness all the vets saluting the flag, some with hands shaking from old age or crippled from arthritis, but all with honor.

Day 313 - Monday, November 9, 2009

Day 313 - Monday, November 9, 2009 – Owen and Liam spent the evening sharing a rocking chair and an optical illusions book. Who knew they could sit that close for that long with out punching/elbowing/bugging each other? Maybe it was just an illusion.

Day 312 - Sunday, November 8, 2009

Day 312 - Sunday, November 8, 2009 – Liam's fall soccer team's end of season party at Coach Derek's house. Liam scored at least once (usually more than once) during every single game this season and his team was undefeated!!

Day 311 - Saturday, November 7, 2009

Day 311 - Saturday, November 7, 2009 – What a gorgeous day for some college football! Kevin and I took the kids to the MSU vs. WMU football game in East Lansing. We tailgated beforehand with Brian & Chase, Scott & Nancy Hillary and their boys Mark & Jack, and Kev’s friend, Joe. We all had a spectacular time. (Yes, boys, it's sunny outside. Imagine that!)

Day 310 - Friday, November 6, 2009

Day 310 - Friday, November 6, 2009 – Kevin and Liam celebrate the phone call telling Kevin that he has a contract…yes, a J-O-B, starting 11/16 (pending paperwork and drug test, of course). Very welcome news after being unemployed since January 15th, that’s for sure. We went to Kruse & Muer for dinner to celebrate. MMMmmm.