IKEA and Dave and Buster's-A Great Start to a Winter Get Away

John and I left Watertown yesterday for a little get away.

While I wish we could have afforded a beach trip to ward off the winter blues, we had to settle for a short road trip in our area.

Our first stop was IKEA in Shaumburg, Illinois where we easily spent four hours just looking and commenting on all the great things they sell there.

We did manage to walk out of the store with a cartful of items, most unnecessary, but so much fun to buy.

John was clearly tired after being dragged through the store.

I do want to document one thing that happened on our way to IKEA.  We had taken a very scenic route, just like I had requested.

It was snowing lightly and there were many beautiful snow covered pine trees along our route.

We needed to get gas just a few miles from our final destination.  We were a bit discombobulated on this route and a bit stressed about exactly where we were going, so in his haste to get back into the car and study the map, John forgot to put the gas cap back on, he left it on top of the Buick and took off.

We discovered the mistake when we pulled in to eat at Culver's.

We decided to retrace our drive and see if we could see it since we weren't sure how necessary a gas cap actually is or how easy it would be to replace it.

It seemed at first like looking for a needle in a haystack since every black chunk of snow on the four lane highway looked somewhat like our gas cap.

We got back to the gas station and sure enough, there it was laying on the ground by the pump.

We felt like our trip was off to a great start after actually locating the lost gas cap.

 

Now back to the actual trip.

We left IKEA about six and checked into our motel, The Hilton Garden Inn in Addison.

We chose this motel because it is just up the street from Dave and Buster's.

We headed over to D and B's shortly thereafter.

We enjoyed a D and B's TNTea in a souvenir glass followed by a delicious dinner and two solid hours of gaming.

We hit it big at the Wheel of Fortune game.  The tickets just kept spitting out of the machine.

We were actually able to purchase a hooded sweatshirt for me as well as a beach ball and a thermal cup.  We never have been able to purchase anything but junk with our tickets so we felt pretty lucky.

Gas cap found and now great winnings at D and B's.  Could it get any better?

Here are a few photos of our fun night.

 Our special drinks and our game cards.

Let the fun begin.

 I love my skeeball, cannot get enough of it.

 John and I lost the big case of money by not taking the deal!

Oh well, we lived to play it again and again.

 Big winnings at the Wheel of Fortune.

My score is that one at the top, I was the big winner that night.

My one moment of fame came at D and B's.

Finally, back and relaxing in our room.

Today we leave for the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Stay tuned for the next update in Winter trip 2013.



And just like that, it is over for another year!

Today at 1:00 I said "Good-bye" to Courtney, Paul, Soliana, Tizita, Alissa, and Nathan.

My house is empty and quiet.

The first hour or so was sad and I felt myself on the verge of tears.

I missed them.

I missed all the magic and joy of Christmas.

It seems like we have fun things to look forward to since November.

We had fun weekends with the girls, we had Thanksgiving with everyone here this year, we had Tiz's Christmas service and shopping for her birthday, we had the light viewing at Country Springs, we had Mal's birthday, we had Santa fill our stockings, and then we had four days of pure joy for Christmas.

And just that quickly, it is all over.

I am better now.

I cleaned the house and found all the things that they left behind.

I loaded pictures and relived every precious moment.

Tomorrow John and I are leaving on a little vacation taking us to Chicago for a night, then to the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Van Auken B and B for one night, then four nights in a condo in Door County.

I planned this little trip because John had vacation time to use up before the end of the year and I knew it would be easier to say good bye to everyone if I had something fun to look forward to.

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas Eve.

Such a blessing to have us all together again right on Christmas Eve.

You never know what lies ahead for any of us in the New Year, so I am just grateful for another wonderful family Christmas.

Peace before the Storm

Today is Christmas Eve.

I have waited and planned for this day for a long time.

I have carefully picked out gifts for Soliana and Tizita, wrapped them with care, and last night, John and I placed them under the tree.

I have so many happy memories of Christmas morning (yes, I realize this is a day early, but circumstances change with growing families) both when I was growing up and when the girls were younger.

It was always such a magical day as my brother and I would catch that first glance of the gifts under our tree.

My dad would take the mandatory photo in the archway, which we still do in the very same house in which I grew up.

One of my fondest memories of my dad is how he treasured those Christmas mornings with just the four of us.

It was a special time.

We did the same with our girls as they grew up.

Christmas morning was always just for our family, the four of us and it was magical.

Today, I am hoping to recreate those special mornings for Soli and Tizita and give them some memories to cherish in years to come.

Because they live farther away we have to make some compromises in the plan, but the feelings will still be the same.

Last night after driving through Candy Cane Lane and seeing all the beautiful Christmas lights, we came home with the girls and I put them to bed while John brought up all the presents and put them under our tree.

While Santa has never been the center of our Christmas, he did bring these gifts this year and he left some messages for Soli and Tizita.  It is all part of the magic.

Santa never played a big part in any of the past Christmases either, but he is still there in the background.

We saw him walking the street in Candy Cane Lane last night and we called out to him, he waved to us, that was magical for the little girls.

So, I hear some little footsteps approaching, time to go.

Merry Christmas everyone and take time to enjoy the magic of the season.

And Christmas 2013 is up and running

Due to a forecast of over 9 inches of snow predicted for Saturday, Dec. 21 into Sunday, December 22, the girls and families arrived late afternoon on Saturday instead of Sunday, so our festivities started early.

The snow came and it has left us with a beautiful blanket of white just in time for Christmas.

I was worried that the storm might keep my Preschoolers away from our Sunday service, but I was pleased with the turnout.

I was only missing a handful of my 34 students.

Soliana even got to be a part of the program since she arrived earlier than expected.

The service was wonderful, the kids did a great job, and they told the story well.

After the church service we had a birthday lunch for Tizita.

She loved everything which included a foot spa, a sewing machine, and her much anticipated shaving kit.

The remainder of the day was spent giving shaves and foot massages.

 

We also did some dress up and played a new game called Fibbers.

That night we had our gift exchange Christmas.

It just keeps getting better each year.

This year we had to bring an adult beverage for our "person", too and that added some great fun to the night.

Here are the drinks specially chosen for each person.

 I made Courtney a Mounds Martini, it was wonderful.

 John gave Nathan some Hunter Whiskey,

 Paul gave Alissa some wine coolers and not because she likes them.

Long story to that choice.

 Courtney gave me a mudslide which I thoroughly enjoyed,

 Lissa gave Paul some coffe stout, fair trade to boot,

 and Nathan gave John, some Big John beers.

All the drinks were well thought out and matched well to the person who received them.

Now on to the actual gifts:

 Courtney gave me a handmade scarf and boot cuffs plus a gift card to my beauty salon.

The scarf has a button on it that belonged to my Aunt Pearl, so that makes it very special.

I gave Courtney a skirt that she loved.

 Paul gave Alissa a CD and an aluminum bracelet,

Alissa gave Paul a CD, a Frisbee, and some soap.

Nathan gave John a Jimmy Buffet CD and a Landshark beer glass while Nathan gave John a subscription to Atomic Ranch magazine, a Frank Sinatra record bowl, and a book about poop.

It was a wonderful gift and drink exchange all around.

 

Tonight Santa will visit our house, so stay tuned for that update.

Merry Christmas to all.



Christmas Lights and Mal turns 21

We are just coming off of another wonderful weekend.

Courtney, Paul, Lis, and Nathan took Mal out for her 21st birthday.

They went to Milwaukee and took her to some of their favorite places.

By all accounts they had a wonderful time.

While they were doing that, John and I took Soli and Tizita to Marty's for pizza and then to see the Christmas lights at Country Springs.

It was magical as it always is.

Of course, the best part for the girls is that they can get out of their car seats and sit on our laps.  This year, Tiz got to steer the car.

On Saturday we headed over to Kev and Vikki's to celebrate Mallory's birthday with her.

I made her cake, well, actually Walmart made the cake, I just added the drunken Barbie.

Santa also came and filled stockings that morning and we decorated cookies.

It was all fun.

Today John and I went up to Oshkosh to see Tizita perform in her Christmas service.  After that we went to Red Robin for a birthday lunch with her and then took her to Toys R Us where she picked out a telescope, microscope and solar system model.

It was another fun day.

This week will be very stressful for me and my kids as we practice for our Christmas service.  I am praying for a speedy week and lots of patience.

In one week, my family will all be here again and we will celebrate Christmas together.

Lots of excitement ahead.