Christmas

The kids woke up at 7am, ready to see what surprises Santa brought them.

Santa really liked the seaweed and Coke.

Lego Jurassic World game.

Minnie Mouse hat from Japan.

Santa really IS awesome!

Dallas Cowboys Mohawk hat.

Nerf gun from Aunt Decker!

I think his face says it all!!

I love the excitement on their faces!

Hunting for more presents under the tree.

We got an even nicer surprise when we got to Skype with Dan for a few minutes.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Christmas Eve

We made cookies today for Santa, but they turned out to be a disaster!! We couldn't leave them for Santa, so Sydney suggested we leave him some Roasted Seaweed and a Coke. I loved her idea!

Since living in Japan, we have come to love having Japanese food for Christmas dinner. So today we went out to a local place we love and had our Traditional Christmas dinner of: Yakisoba and Sushi!

It was REALLY yummy!!

The kids got to open one gift before bed. It's always new pajamas! They still love it.

Danny enjoyed staying up with me till Sydney was fast asleep and then helped me bring out the "Santa" gifts. He really had fun with it. I'm glad he was able to see that the fun didn't end with him now knowing that Mom & Dad are really Santa.

Trip to Syracuse

The kids and I took a trip down to Syracuse, NY. It's the closest city and has LOTS to do. Our day was filled with our favorite activities. We went to the Destiny USA Mall (it's 5 stories tall!) and went to Billy Bees. It's a giant indoor playground. They kids love coming here and spending hours crawling through the tunnels and going down the slides.

Next, we went to the the indoor Go Karts. This is Danny's favorite place. Since schools were still in session, we had the whole track to ourselves. Danny had SO much fun being the only one on the track. And since he was the only one there, they let him go for twice as long as a normal race.

After all the fun at the Mall went headed over to the Costco shopping Center. We first grabbed some lunch at Red Robin. YUMMMMMMM!!

Danny was so excited to try the "Tower of Dough." A stack of donuts with dipping sauce.

After lunch we headed over to Costco for some shopping. Before we left, we filled up with the cheapest gas prices I've seen in New York. YAY for cheap gas!!

We had a LOT of fun today!!

Gingerbread Houses

Danny's teacher Mrs. Morgan asked if I could come help the class make Gingerbread Houses. I was excited to be able to go help in Danny's class. It was a fun/sugar filled day!!

Fun with the Elf's

Danny has been having fun hiding the Elf's each night.

He loves coming up with new, fun things for them to do.

I'm really glad he's having fun helping me this year.

The Magic is Gone...for Danny

Danny started questioning Santa and the whole "magic" behind Christmas. So my sister Leann sent me an example letter she gave to her son when he began to question Santa too.

So, I wrote this heartfelt letter to Danny explaining the truth about Santa and that the true meaning is not Santa, but Christ.

After school today, he came home to read his letter. He wasn't happy to find out Santa and the Elf's aren't real. He tore up my letter and refused to talk to me. I called Dan and he was able to talk to Danny. He still wasn't happy with me. But after a few hours, he came around and asked me a few questions. Danny has even agreed to help me with Christmas this year.

The Elf's Arrive

Our Christmas Elf's arrived today. They are brother and sister, and usually trade off years in which they come. But this morning we woke up to find both Christopher and Christina along with 2 reindeer. They brought a gift to the kids. Glisten for Sydney and Comet for Danny.

The kids love it when the Elf's arrive,