Happy December!
Our trees are up and twinkling and I couldn’t be more excited to kick off the Christmas season! It’s time to grab your peppermint mocha and settle in to Merry Monday.
We had a relaxing Thanksgiving break, not much on the docket for the week, which is such a nice transition from our crazy soccer-filled fall season.
Josiah was the first to begin his break, his last online class being on Thursday. He closed the laptop, donned his festive tee, and went straight into practicing his lastest trick. As always, I’m the designated timer for his basketball pursuit.
That evening, we were off to Josiah’s basketball practice. It’s only an hour, so I sit and watch him do his thing. His team plays knockout every practice and Josiah consistently either wins or comes in second. Small wins!
I spent the better half of Friday reading my sweet friend’s newest labor of love, her Doc Eats cookbook! My fave is to read a cookbook that has been written as a book. This is so good and over the break, I often found my boys reading through it.
I was connected to “Doc” in 2020, after I had thrown out my back for the first time. I probably have learned the most about my body, longevity, health and wellness, from Doc. Since then, I have established a routine of going to her for PT monthly, because I discovered I am prone to having my pelvis get out of alignment (I usually feel the result of this by pain in my knee). Maintenance with her has allowed me to be injury-free while I train regularly. I have also brought my older three to her, as they deal with injuries and wear and tear from sports. My girls will often ask for me to schedule an appointment for them before and after each high school sport season.
Nothing speaks more love to my kids than a homemade dish of my Buffalo Chicken Dip! Noah had a half day to kickstart his break and brought a friend home with us, so this was Friday’s lunch!
Friday evening we were off to celebrate my sweet neice’s 11th birthday!
It’s college application season around here! This past month, it’s been so exciting to hear back from colleges. We’ll see where Alexia lands!
We were up bright and early on Saturday for Josiah’s soccer tournament. Breakfast on-the-go!
After a long, cold, windy day of soccer, we snuggled into bed fairly early. It’s pretty much tradition at this point for kids to sleep in my bed when Ryan is away. The boys and I cozied up together and were asleep by 8:45, gearing up for another day of soccer.
Early Sunday morning, Lex flew out by herself to meet Ryan (who was already in Florida for his own trip) and they both went on a college tour together.
My sweet father-in-law offered to take her to the airport at 5am, while I began to get ready for Josiah’s second day of our soccer tournament.
Breakfast on-the-go! This would be our official last soccer game of the season. Such a great run!
My neice, Madi, plays on Josiah’s team (she’s the only girl and is a BEAST), so we carpooled together and celebrated afterward with brunch on the way home. The kids requested to go to First Watch.
We continued the party with a cousin sleepover!
Monday morning started off with Noah cooking breakast for us all!
While we were in puffy coats and beanies, Lex and Ryan were enjoying warm, sunny Florida!
The only child in school on Monday was Naiya. However, she was excited to find that her high school finally switched out the Track and Field record board!
Over Thanksgiving break, there was a lot of baking…
…indoor golf…
…cozy fires…
…playing piano…
…and of course our extended Grossman family dinner…
Ty and Jenna hosted this year’s Thanksgiving in their new house!
Per our tradition, the Sunday following Thanksgiving, we went out to get our Christmas tree. A couple years ago we decided to keep it simple and buy from our local nursery down the road (Greenwood Creek Nursey).
My family trying to get it together for our annual tree photo.
The boys are on duty for carrying our tree to the car.
Later that evening, the kids invited a few friends over and we had our annual cookie decorating contest. Each person decorates and we take a picture of each and send to our extended family group text for them to vote.
Naiya was once again the clear winner.
Trees and decorations were officially up, making our spirits bright!
Even Hazel enjoyed the festive touches.
We have yet to watch a single Christmas movie. The kids are in full swing with winter sports and the girls are keeping so busy, we hardly see them during the week! The weather is wintery much earlier, getting our first snow of the season already. You can be sure we’re keeping cozy and enjoying all of the twinkling lights right now!
Hope your season is merry and bright as well!
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