Cooking Class

One of Vance's Christmas gifts was a cooking class at Sur La Table.  It was a two-day workshop and he really enjoyed it.  He was the only boy in the class but I told him not to worry about.  Later in life all the ladies appreciate a man who knows his way around the kitchen ;)

The first day was a baking day.  They made three different types of cupcakes and frosting as well as a handheld apple pie.  My favorite was the peanut butter frosting and the apple pie was SO delicious.  I can't wait for him to try making them at home.

The second day was cooking an actual meal.  They made breaded chicken with macaroni and cheese and homemade BBQ sauce.  Vance thought making the BBQ sauce was the best part.  

Chad surprised me with a gift card to Sur La Table.  After agonizing over which class to take I finally decided to go to Italian Steakhouse.  The menu was incredible: grilled steaks with marsala and shallot pan sauce, gnocchi with brown butter sage and butternut squash, sautéed spinach with lemon/garlic/pine nuts, and vanilla-mascarpone panna cotta.  Seriously delish!!!!

 We definitely learned some new cooking techniques as well as corrected our cutting skills.  It was such a fun date night! 

I already signed myself up for the pasta class next month and Vance is checking out their summer camps.  We are going to be eating some good food at the Waldron house!

Traditions

During the holiday season I think a lot about traditions.  Not just Christmas traditions but also the birthday and other holiday traditions that happen throughout the year.  I reflect on the traditions of my family as well as the traditions Chad had with his family.  Then I contemplate what I want our family traditions to be.  Well after 13 years of marriage and nearly 11 years of being a parent, I have finally decided.

Our tradition is to have fun.

It sounds so simple right? That's exactly what I love about it.  I have let go of the pressure to repeat something every single year.  I know whatever we decide to do (or not to do) will be fun! If we continue to focus on being in the moment and enjoying each other's company the holiday agenda really doesn't matter.

Certain years I have more in my tank and am excited to knock out all of the traditions from our childhood and then some.  Other years I highlight a few and let the other ones go.  Some years finances allow for more and others the budget is a little tighter and requires celebrating with simple pleasures.  Other years we abandon all of our traditions and do something new.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm finally embracing the way we have been celebrating all of these years and realizing I don't have to worry about the traditions.

If someone asks my kids about their family traditions, I'm perfectly fine if they respond, "We don't really have anything we do every year," as long as their hearts and minds are flooding with fun family memories.

Maybe my kids will wish they had memories of doing something the exact same way each year and establish lots of traditions in their own future families.  Or maybe they'll be like Mom and Dad and wing it.

Either way I wanted to write down my thoughts on traditions so they know it's perfectly fine for them to celebrate however they want...as long as I'm invited once in awhile ;)

Gift Giving

Every year we try to have the kids focus on giving.  Of course they are more concerned with receiving but hey at least we try!  This year they did great.  

They have been saving up their commission (allowance) to buy their brother's gifts.  We took everyone to the store so they could pick out what they wanted to buy their brothers and see how much money they needed.  It took them a few weeks of chores but they all saved up enough money to buy their Christmas gifts.  They proudly took their hard earned money to the store and purchased their gifts and then came home and got a wrapping lesson. 

 They were so excited Christmas morning whenever someone opened up their gifts.  It was so sweet!

 Chad and I told the boys we didn't want them to spend very much money on our gifts.  We told them what we really wanted were thoughtful gifts that they really took time on: a craft, a letter, a picture, etc.  Keller and Vance really listened and did great.  

Sutton wasn't really catching the vision so we sent him with some of his commission money to the Christmas shop at school and he bought a gift for me and Chad.  I got a necklace and Chad got a beanie.

Keller made Chad a picture frame that said "Archery rocks."  Then he drew him like five pictures of archery-related things so he can change the picture out every once in awhile.

Vance had saved some shotgun shells from our Thanksgiving camping trip to use on a craft for Chad. He hopped on Pinterest and came up with the idea of a business card holder.  He got a little assistance from me but I think he did great.  It really looks awesome and Chad is excited to put it on his desk. On the bottom he wrote "Thanks for working hard!:

I absolutely loved my gifts.  Chad and the boys worked hard to make this cute little wood box that says "Mom."  Inside they all left me a really nice note with a promise to randomly leave me notes and pictures in the box throughout the year.  It's a gift that keeps on giving and I love, love, LOVE it!

I love that Vance drew me in a bikini playing volleyball. Haha!

 Way to go boys! You were great gift-givers this year!

Christmas in Broken Bow

This year the Ogdens, my parents, and us rented a cabin in Broken Bow, OK over Christmas.  We have never been out of town for Christmas and I wasn't sure if we would like it or not.  We LOVED it and such a great trip we are already coming up with ideas for next year.

We tried to make the cabin feel ready for the holidays.

 Our first night we sorted through a bunch of old pictures my dad had.  It was so fun to see so many pictures I had never seen before.  We had lots of laughs over the old photos.

Rob had to help Jennie with her hair extensions.  He is a keeper!

 We had some tired boys that first night!  They were dropping like flies but catching up on sleep is what a cabin trip is all about right?!

 We did lots of Legos and played lots of games this trip.

 Everyone brought money to play left, center, right.  I was proud of the boys for not being sad they didn't win any money.  This is such a simple, fun game.  Mason was the big winner for the first round. 

 We also played Catch Phrase.  Even Keller and Sutton LOVED it.  They had someone help give them clues and took turns pressing the buzzer.  Family game time is my absolute favorite!

 Jennie made her family blankets.  One of her hidden talents is sewing...she has serious skills!

 We had fun messing with Grandpa the many times he nodded off.

 Grandma played round after round of Snowman/Santa tic tac toe.

 The cabin had a bumper pool table and darts so we played with those too!

The best part of each morning was hands down Zachary's amazing bedhead.  

My mom is amazing and brought everything for all of us to make gingerbread houses.  Since we didn't have anywhere to go it was fun to really take our time with our houses.  It kept us entertained all morning.  

 

 This is my finished product.  I kept everything white with just a little bit of holly and berries.

Rob want for the abstract approach and made a Whoville house.  The construction was pretty awesome..what do you expect from a general contractor though right?

 Grandma had an M&M roof and a paver walkway (left) and Jennie let the little boys help her (right). 

 Chad and Vance made a replica of our cabin.  They even included the green front door.

 I've never seen my dad work on a gingerbread house for so long.  His looked great!

 This was our only group picture of the entire trip! 

 Grandpa and Grandma handed out gift cards throughout our trip.  Everyone was stoked and we can't wait to use them.

 One night we "relaxed" in the hot tub.  Three kids in what they think is a small swimming pool actually isn't so relaxing...

 The guys and I played poker one night while Jennie and my mom finished up Jennie's quilts.  

 Vance was the winner! Instead of smiling for his winning picture he showed off his amazing poker face.  It is so fun to watch him mature and hang out with the adults.

 Of course no trip to a cabin is complete without a few fishing trips for my boys.  They went out three times.  No luck the first time but they got lots the second and third trips.  I love how much they love fishing.  Plus I think Chad is amazing for taking them because it really means he doesn't get to fish much himself.

 Christmas Eve everyone helped out in the kitchen.  We had a delicious steak dinner and ate it all too fast to take a picture.

We snapped a few family pictures in front of the fireplace.

 

  Keller and Sutton were so excited to be able to hug and kiss Dasher the elf on his last night with us. See you next Thanksgiving Dasher!  (On a side note - the night before we left for the cabin, Keller prayed Dasher would be able to find us in Broken Bow and that he could also tell Santa.  He was really worried they wouldn't find us!).

 Everyone opened up coordinating pajamas (my fave!) and then we sang a few Christmas songs.

We played another found of left, center, right and Vance was the big winner.  He couldn't have been more excited!

 Then we took a few pajama-Christmas Eve pictures and tucked the boys in for bed.

 

 Keller's prayers were answered and Santa found us in Broken Bow.  He was surprised with a Razor electric motorcycle and Sutton got a battery-powered four wheeler.  They were both HUGE hits!

 Vance is getting older so his presents get smaller and more expensive.  He was surprised with Beats wireless headphones and some clothes.

 They woke up around 6:30 and could hardly wait long enough to line up and take a quick picture.

 It was a magical Christmas morning.  All of us got beyond spoiled!

 It took us a few hours but we finally finished and had a mountain of wrapping paper to prove it! 

 Sutton's first request was to take his new magnetic fishing toy into the hot tub.  Wouldn't you know it that was his least expensive gift? Haha!

 We also got to take to Kelsie.  She is serving her mission and only gets to video chat two times a year so this is a pretty big deal.  It was so fun to chat with her for a minute and can't wait for her to come home next month.

 My Aunt Laurie and Laurie always send money.  This year they attached it to beanies.  The boys put their beanies on and took a picture to send her as a thank you.

 Later in the afternoon we took the boys to a big parking lot so they could really drive their new toys around.  They loved it and rode until the batteries needed charging.

We spent the rest of Christmas day playing with our new gifts, relaxing, eating, and playing games.  I put away my camera and just soaked up the moment so unfortunately no pictures but lots of great memories. 

Hope you made lots of wonderful Christmas memories too!