Pajama Days

The girls had a few requests for their Christmas Break:

 sleep-in, stay in pjs all day, play games and eat. 

Happy to report we accomplished those objectives nearly every day of vacation. 

Christmas Eve at Great Grandma Jo's the girls opened their Christmas pajamas and a book: A Little House Christmas Treasury. Coryn and I have been reading it together before bed while Matt and Jo continue with the Harry Potter books.

Christmas morning Mallory helped herself to all the chocolate kisses she could get her hands on while the older two girls emptied their stockings and unwrapped all the presents under the tree. That happened before Matt and I were out of bed. The big present was a toy chest Matt painted.

Rather than fight the crowds on Christmas Eve, we attended Christmas morning mass at St. James. We sat in our usual pew right behind Fr. Mike. I forgot to bring bells to ring for the Gloria. Something to remember for next year. After Mallory's nap we went to Franklin for Christmas dinner with Little Gram, Pop Pop TG and Uncle Andrew. 

The Saturday after Christmas we celebrated with what Jo refers to as "Our Chinese Family." Lots of little girl cousins to play with, but Coryn's highlight was playing monster with Aunt Christine. 

On Sunday Jo and I went to see Its A Wonderful Life play with Grandma Jo, Uncle Adam, Brittany, Grammy BB, and Pop Pop TM. Jo was disappointed that Clarence wasn't wearing wings when he returned to the stage with the whole cast at the end of the show. He changed into a white tux with tails. After the play she asked to see the movie. I found it on youtube and we watched it over the next two nights. She said Clarence in the play was a lot funnier than the Clarence in the movie.

For New Years Eve we invited Jo's classmates & families to come sledding. That day the high temperature was 5 degrees. Luckily one of the Dads came dressed in serious winter gear to supervise the kids on the sledding hill in our backyard so the moms could stay inside sipping tea. After the families left Matt made burgers and we had a quiet night at home. As soon as Mallory was in bed we opened a Christmas gift from Uncle Andrew, a new card game called Spot It. Once we got the hang of it, the four of us got into trying all the different games. Matt won. Of course. All of us were asleep by 9:30pm.

New Years Day we went to mass at Queen of Apostles to meet the new pastor Fr. Chuck Hanel. And then over to The Topps for jambalaya, black eyed peas and brisket. We came home with Tessa's First Communion dress and veil for Jo to wear in May.

The very next day the girls were back at school. Arctic temps are here to stay, so school is cancelled for Monday. Looks like it will be a long weekend of lounging in pjs and playing another family tournament of Spot It.