Santa on the Firetruck

Today was the township's annual "Santa on the Firetruck" event and the kids were so excited. Santa and his elves were scheduled to be at the intersection near our house at 10:05 am so we all walked over at 10. While we were getting ready, the kids could hear the sirens as they were making their way throughout our development and kept wanting to rush outside so we wouldn't miss it. As we walked down the hill to the intersection, we saw the firetruck with the elves coming down the hill behind us (they get to the stop a little before Santa so the kids know where to go) and the kids were happy to get there first and talk to them for a little bit while they waited for Santa.

A few minutes later, Santa arrived on the back of an EMS vehicle. 

He gave each child a stuffed Dalmatian and a box of Christmas tree shaped chocolate covered pretzels

He asked the kids if they wanted to get their picture taken with him which they did. Pudge loved him and had a lot to say to Santa and the elves. He even told them about the "reindeer food" that he made at school to sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve.

As we walked back up the hill, the kids were so happy to have seen Santa and they all loved and had named their little dogs. I'm so glad that they get to do this every year here. 

Gingerbread Birdhouses

The kids have been hard at work painting Gingerbread Birdhouses to show Papa when he gets home from his trip. (He's been away for about a week and they have missed him dearly. However, they have been able to FaceTime with him occasionally at night and we have been keeping busy with school, playgroup, and holiday fun which helped make the time seem to go by quicker.)

It's fun to watch the kids do crafts that bring out their different personalities. Little Bear was focused on making his birdhouse camouflaged and made many calculated layers of shades of browns, black, and dark green. Pudge wanted to finish his quickly and had a lot of fun mixing the colors together. Pequeño was VERY meticulous and spent a lot of time on each portion. While it took Pudge about 10 or 15 minutes to paint his entire birdhouse, Pequeño spent over 30 minutes on the roof alone. 

Each of them are very proud of their houses and can't wait for them to dry so that they can put the gingerbread peoe and candy stickers on them. 

(Pudge's)

(Pudge's)

(Pequeño also decorated the inside of his  birdhouse)

(Pequeño's)

(Little Bear's)

Hot Cocoa

Tonight we made some homemade hot cocoa using Hershey's Dark Cocoa powder, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and 1/2 of a peppermint stirrer. It turned out delicious and the kids were begging to make it again on a night when Daddy is home. 

While I was at Target today, I found these adorable mugs and got them for the kids. They were so so excited when they got their hot chocolate in them. 

Gingerbread Train

This year we made a gingerbread train instead of a house. The kids had a fun time decorating it but the train fell apart shortly after being decorated. 

We did also buy a gingerbread house to make closer to Christmas so hopefully that one has better luck.

Decorating for Christmas

This year, the kids were in charge of putting all of the ornaments on the tree. They did a great job and had a lot of fun helping each other so the ornaments would stay on. 

(Notice Elf in the background...)

Annual Christmas Tree Hunting 2015

This year's Christmas tree hunting was another fun adventure. The temperature was in the 60's so it didn't feel very much like winter. However, it made things a little easier to not have to worry about the kids  getting too cold. We went to the same place that we have in the previous years (Beck's Christmas Tree Farm).

As soon as we pulled in, the kids started yelling "Santa! Santa!" since they could see one of Santa's helpers outside. 

Pudge told Santa that he wants a robot for Christmas and all three were given candy canes to eat while they looked for a tree. 

(Pequeño hitched a ride up and down the hill but ran around once we got to the trees that we were looking for)

Pudge kept claiming trees that were "perfect" for him. 

Occasionally the boys helped pull the cart.

Found one! The kids all wanted to take their picture with the tree before it got cut down. Then they took turns helping Daddy cut it down.

Then they helped it tip onto the cart.

While Little Bear and Daddy got the tree turned around and tied down on the cart, the little ones said goodbye to the trees that they couldn't take with them. 

Then down the hill we went....

On the way down we encountered some groundhog holes which the kids thought were cool.

The kids all still love watching the tree get shaken and were making the guys who were working laugh because they kept saying "It's shaking out the chipmunks! What if there's a squirrel?!" 

Time to wrap it up

and ready for the back of our van!

On our way out, Santa waved the kids over and gave them each a coloring book so they happily colored on the car ride home. (We have a pack of crayons in the van at all times)

After we drove home and set the tree up in the dining room, we went to Dunderbak's which is the German restaurant that has been part of our tradition. The kids were sad to see that they no longer had the soft pretzel appetizer but happily filled up on perogies, bratwurst, and sausage.

Pequeño decided to try to toss a few peices in the air and attempt to catch them... Spoiler... He missed them all.