The Vance's

back to routines.

>> January 7, 2018

The last few days of winter break were spent soaking up all the family time we could get. We aren't really into big NYE celebrations. Our kids don't sleep in, regardless of when they go to bed, so the thought of keeping them up late to wake early the next morning and deal with cranky kids all day is never too appealing. Plus, let's be honest, I'm not staying up until midnight either unless I have a few extra cups of coffee! So, we opted for an earlier day party at one of our favorite jump places in town. The kids ran and played and then had a countdown to "midnight" (aka 12pm!) with balloons, noisemakers and glowsticks. Fun!

All the noise from the party scared Simon a bit. Poor guy!

We put the kids to bed at their usual hour and then had a stay in date night watching the ball drop in NYC. I still can't believe we get to go there in only 5 weeks! So excited! I made Matt a simple warm spinach salad with prosciutto and fresh rosemary garlic rolls. I got these recipes at one of my previous cooking classes and he loved it!

The next morning we went to the sports fields for some soccer/baseball/football time. We played kids against parents, let Simon run all over the place and started the new year off with some good exercise.

And then school began the next day! The kids were so happy to see their friends again and I think we were all ready to get back to our usual routines. But, let me tell you...Friday night was rough! After spending 2 weeks relaxing, snacking, playing and reading it was a big change to be at school ALL day. Add in some basketball practices and playdates and these kids were exhausted. Lucy even skipped most of family movie night to get to bed early.

Yesterday was the big kids first basketball games of the season. It was a bit crazy trying to coordinate schedules with 2 games, assistant coaching, team pictures and a partial work day for me but we made it work. And the kids both played well and had fun. Simon is bummed he can't play yet but wore his sportiest outfit to fit in. They both have great teams and lots of friends to see and play with. It should be a fun 8 weeks of games!

christmas part two.

>> December 27, 2017

After playing in the snow for a bit we came inside and opened presents. What a fun Christmas to have presents and snow!

The kids quickly found their Santa presents and opened those first. Carter got the full Harry Potter movie collection! Lucy got her Sleeping Beauty Barbie and Simon's life is now complete with his Russell Wilson helmet.

Lucy's big gift this year was a new bike. We decided not to put it together first because...time/energy/effort/storage and it was fun to have a big box to unwrap. She's been using Carter's hand me down bike for a while and it was just too small. So, a new big bike all for herself!

Simon's gift pile....ALL sports!!!

Between a new hockey stick, football helmet, football, baseball pitching machine, bat/ball and all sports books I think he's set for a while.

After breakfast we said goodbye to my parents and drove down to see Matt's family. Another beautiful tree, more Christmas cookies and lots of gifts to unwrap!

Such generous gift givers this year!

Lucy got a big of a sugar high from so many cookies. Add in new My Little Ponies, Barbies and unicorns and she was one happy girl.

Finally we ate dinner, put the kids to bed early (everyone was ready for bedtime!) and relaxed on the couch. Whew....it was a wonderful day but we were exhausted! One of our favorite Christmas's ever!

christmas part one.

Christmas Eve was packed full of food, family and fun. We started the morning by going to the Christmas Eve service at church. It was sort of nice to have it in the morning this year so we had the rest of the day to be at home with family.

Lucy and I had matching ruffle shirts on so naturally we needed a picture. She loves when we match so I'll take full advantage of it for now. Because it's only a matter of time before she doesn't care!

All 3 kids dressed for church! Simon wore Carter's hand me down sweater and it reminded me SO much of when Carter was little.

We came home and put out a big spread of food for family. Lots of Christmas cookies, meat and cheese platter, homemade chex mix and brie crostini. Yum!

My family came over to watch the Seahawks game and let the kids open some presents. It's nice to have one day with my family and the next with Matt's so we aren't rushing from house to house every year.

The kids were so excited to finally open gifts!

I always love their reactions when they open a present. Big smiles, lots of "whoa!" and "yay!" It's so funny! Lucy's favorite gift of the year was this mermaid tail blanket. She hasn't taken it off in almost 3 days!

After the game my family left and we had the evening to ourselves for a quiet dinner and time to write letters to Santa. I loved having a relaxing night where we could take our time picking out cookies and getting to bed early. The kids need their sleep so this was perfect! Carter wrote a long letter to Santa explaining exactly what he wished for.

We put the kids to bed and looked outside to find....snow!!!! Having a white Christmas made everything so much more magical. It was beautiful and such a special treat to wake up to the next day.

In the morning we woke up to find all the presents under the tree!

Simon was up first and couldn't wait to check them out.

We always do stockings right away, let the kids play a little and then wait until my parents come over for the rest of the gifts. Stockings were a big hit this year. It's amazing how a little candy and some character themed bandaids can make a kid smile. Ha!

I got to open up Carter and Lucy's school gifts early in the morning too. They just couldn't wait any longer. By far, my favorite gifts. They both worked so hard on these and it was so fun to watch them get excited telling me all about it.