Making room for the new
Though there is something wonderful about doing the same things every year-kids and grow ups alike (at least me) enjoy some amount of predictability. But there is also (we’re learning) something to be said for be flexible and open to forging new paths when needed. For ten years we’ve headed downtown into the city to see lights, look at window displays, ride the holiday carousel, etc. One year we even took a ride on a horse and carriage. Though it is still lovely, some things have changed. Namely, the amount of children we bring with us! Even with strollers, front packs, snacks and a good plan…it did not turn out to be the dreamy time it used to be.
We left this year thinking it might be time for a new tradition, who knows what, but the text my sister sent me on her drive home was “Remind of this day when I say I want to go next year!” as her kids screamed most of the way home. Two of ours did too. Times change and tradition sometimes need to evolve into something that will be fun for all. We joked that we go to all this trouble, try hard to take fun pictures and enjoy it vicariously through the photos later because in the moment it is mayhem!
Here are a few highlights…
The cousins holding hands
Audrey thinking about enjoying her horse (Isaac looked about as thrilled in his pic!)
Between Caleb ‘injuring’ his knee every ten minutes and Kyler crying, we tried to snap a photo
Pretty sure Auntie Stephie enjoyed this year more than anyone else ~wink~
One tradition that deserves keeping is certainly Nana and the Nutcracker for the girls (Audrey stood in the driveway and cried for 10 minutes when they left, she is all set to go next year!) Rylee was totally enraptured with the whole thing, even asked to sign up for ballet after she got home!
Another keeper so far, is the gingerbread making night. Though it’s tough not to eat the candy, this year we learned if we bought gross candy, everyone would be less interested in eating it. Having observed several big sugar highs and lows in our kids already this season, we were anxious to avoid another! Black licorice, spicy gum drops, cinnamon drops and the like all made great decor and didn’t taste very good.
This house was almost as sweet as this little girl…almost
No candy for this cutie till next year!
Comments
Yes, that was an interesting evening. Glad we can still find a way to have fun even in the craziness! LOVE that our kids get to build memories together. Will miss being with you all on Christmas. Look forward to celebrating next week. xoxo
Look at all the beautiful pictures!!! What fun! I have often noticed that we look like a holiday outing was much more fun in the photos than it was for me at the time, and I always rejoice in that fact! (Although I have wondered if living in the photo age might perhaps be doing me a disservice at times!) I especially love the photo of Rylee and your Mom – it is gorgeous. What a special tradition. Oh, and Stephanie’s smile is priceless. 🙂 And Audrey in that dress is sweet…Elise still has the bigger size and wears it all the time.
Elise just begged me to look at some photos, so we looked at these. THREE times, wanting to know everyone’s names. When asked what her favorite is, she said, all of them!!