{"id":168,"date":"2008-12-30T17:02:44","date_gmt":"2008-12-30T21:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scheumann.us\/blog\/?p=168"},"modified":"2009-05-31T17:07:01","modified_gmt":"2009-05-31T21:07:01","slug":"and-so-this-is-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/?p=168","title":{"rendered":"And so this is Christmas…"},"content":{"rendered":"

  We enjoyed a short, 2-day work week before beginning our annual end-of-year vacation to enjoy the holidays with the kiddos.  <\/span>Monday night, Abby finally finished her Christmas list and we <\/font>emailed it to Santa<\/font><\/a> that night.  <\/span>On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the kids helped Ann to make some goodies, including chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread men, marshmallow snowmen, Chex mix and ?magical reindeer dust.???  <\/span>Wednesday night was Christmas Eve and as we do every year, we went over to Grandma and Gigi?s house for dinner, church (Matt & I helped Gigi to broadcast the service on WTRE) and of course presents!<\/font><\/p>\n

XmasGoodies1 XmasGoodies2 XmasGoodies3 XmasGoodies4 XmasGoodies5 XmasGoodies6 XmasChurch1 XmasEveChurch2  <\/p>\n

  <\/span>The kids made out like bandits as usual.  <\/span>Matt got a couple Nintendo Wii games, a pair of Wii boxers, and a cool remote control helicopter – among numerous other gifts.  <\/span>Abby received a couple Nintendo DS games, a Hannah Montana doll, a flock of <\/font><\/font>Webkinz<\/font><\/a>, and lots and lots of clothes. Lukey got some clothes and lots and lots of toys, including Legos and Tinker Toys that he had to break out immediately!  <\/span>We obviously missed Keith and Rosie, but had a lot of fun with the smaller crowd of the five of us, Grandma, Gigi and Chad, Deanna & Gracie.<\/font><\/p>\n

XmasEve1 XmasEve2 XmasEve3r XmasEve4 XmasEve5 XmasEve6 XmasEve7 XmasEve8 XmasEve9 XmasEve10 XmasEve11 XmasEve12 XmasEve13 XmasEve13a XmasEve14 XmasEve15 XmasEve16 XmasEve17 XmasEve18  <\/p>\n

  <\/span>We left late (as usual), but the night wasn?t over yet.  <\/span>In a tradition that we started a decade ago, we came home and got the kids dressed in their Christmas jammies.  <\/span>We then sprinkled the magical reindeer dust in our front yard so Santa?s reindeer would be sure to stop at our house.  <\/span>Next, we settled down for a reading of ?Twas <\/span>the Night before Christmas<\/em><\/i> and set out milk and cookies (as well as a ?Santa??? coke and cheese ? something we started doing when Abby recommended it when she was 1).  Abby even drew Santa a sweet picture and left it for him as well.  <\/span>Ann and I were up until about 2:30 preparing for the big guy to come the next morning?<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

XmasEve19 XmasEve20 XmasEve21 XmasEve22 XmasEve23 XmasEve24 XmasEve25 XmasEve26  <\/p>\n

  <\/span>As expected, the kids were up early?too early!  <\/span>After only about 45 minutes of sleep, the kids were up shortly after 3 am.  <\/span>Even though I was ready, Ann made them go back to bed.  <\/span><\/font>J<\/span><\/span>  <\/span>We finally got up around 6:30, when it was decided that we had been asked enough times if it was time to get up yet…  <\/span>The kids got everything they wanted, except for snow to go sledding?  <\/span>Matt got more video games, a new football with a tee and a nice basketball; but said his phone was his favorite gift.  <\/span>Abby got an <\/font><\/font>iDog<\/font><\/a> soft, a couple <\/font>Tamagotchi?s<\/font><\/a>, lots of clothes but her favorite gifts were the <\/font>Polly Pockets<\/font><\/a>.  <\/span>Lukey got lots of new <\/font>Geo Trax<\/font><\/a>, a cool engineer’s hat & scarf w\/ a train whistle (very cute!), big tractors, lots of <\/font>Hot Wheels<\/font><\/a> and tracks, a couple remote control cars (one that even goes on walls and ceiling!), a huge <\/font>Nerf<\/font><\/a> gun and of course his baby shampoo!  LOL!  <\/span>He says his favorite toy this year was his two tubs of <\/font>Legos<\/font><\/a>!  Ann got a couple new snowmen ornaments and several pounds of popcorn.  I got some new clothes and a new camera bag.  Lola got a bed and lots of new toys.<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

XmasDay1 XmasDay2 XmasDay3 XmasDay4 XmasDay5 XmasDay6 XmasDay7 XmasDay8 XmasDay9 XmasDay10 XmasDay11 XmasDay12 XmasDay13 XmasDay14 XmasDay15 XmasDay16 XmasDay17 XmasDay18 XmasDay19 XmasDay20 <\/p>\n

  At noon, we went back to MaryAnn & Sandy’s house for a big lunch.  We had turkey, mashed potatoes, noodles, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, shrimp, pumkin pie and sugar-free pecan pie.  Afterwards, Gigi held another round of holiday bingo.  This time, Ann was the big winner of the day.  <\/span>On Friday we braved Wal-Mart to let the kids spend some of their money (like they needed more stuff!).  <\/span>Among several items, they all decided to get more Nerf darts and guns!  <\/span>It?s a constant war, but their favorite target appears to be Ann!  <\/span><\/font>J<\/span><\/span>  <\/span>It was rainy and cold all day?so we played inside with all the new toys.  <\/span>Lola loves to chase the remote control vehicles.  <\/span>Luke got a neat Jeff Gordon car and Matt has his previously mentioned whirlybird that both make Lola go nuts!  <\/span>She also likes to play football.  <\/span>On Saturday, strong winds blew in 65? weather, which allowed us to finally get outside.  <\/span>We decided to get the outside decorations down and although it was tough, Matt and I were able to test out his new football tee; despite a steady 25 mph wind with gusts up to 50 mph.  <\/span>Lola didn?t cooperate either, as she kept trying to take the ball before Matt could kick it.  <\/span>As we played outside, we began getting water off of the pool cover again, pumping steadily for about 9 hours straight and still didn?t get it all off?<\/font><\/font>  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

XmasDay21 XmasDay22 XmasDay23 XmasDay24 XmasDay25 XmasDay26 XmasDay27 XmasDay28 XmasDay29 XmasDay30 XmasFootball <\/p>\n

  On Sunday, we finally cleaned up the house, put away our new Christmas loot and settled in to a long day of football.  <\/span>Chad and Gracie invited Abby over to Columbus to go ice skating<\/font><\/a>.  <\/span>It was Abby?s first time and she had a blast?and is ready to go back!<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

IceSkating1 IceSkating2 IceSkating3 IceSkating4 IceSkating5 IceSkating7 <\/p>\n

  Aunt Sharon shared a bunch of pictures with us that I will post here soon.  But I had to put up this one this week.  This is a great picture of all the Smith grandchildren from this year.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

SmithGrandkidsXmas08 <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n

  <\/span>Chad also brought over a DVD of about a thousand pictures he collected through the years, creating a new stash of pictures for the Waybac feature.  <\/span>So let?s get to it:<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

First up we have a picture of the two ice princesses in our kitchen on Christmas Day, 2003.<\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachine261 <\/p>\n

Next up is another picture of the dynamic duo with Grandmother in her dining room in 2002.<\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachine262 <\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

Here is Grace with Gigi in her old convertible in April of 2001.<\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachine263 <\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

Here?s Bu at her 2nd<\/sup> birthday party in our kitchen, also in 2001.<\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachine264 <\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

Here is a funny Thanxmas picture of the Owens grandkids in our living room in November of 2003.  <\/span>Notice Megan throwing her temper tantrum!  <\/span><\/font>J<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachine265 <\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

Here are a couple pictures of our stray kitty Slushy in 2002; first with Matt and Gracie and the other with Bu – both at Grandma?s house (who was kind enough to take her in and take care of her).<\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachien266 WayBackMachine267 <\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

Next up is another Christmas picture; this time from 2000.  <\/span>Man I had a lot of hair?and no grays!!<\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachine268 <\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

We end this entry with a couple pictures from when Gracie was born.  <\/span>The first was taken in Chad & Deanna?s first home, in their living room – out in the Decatur county boondocks.  <\/span>The other is next door at David & Donna?s home.  <\/span>Both were taken in July of 2000.<\/font><\/p>\n

WayBackMachine269 WayBackMachine270 <\/p>\n

<\/font> <\/p>\n

Well, thanks as always for keeping up with us this year.  <\/span>We are enjoying our vacation and hope you all have a happy and safe new year?s holiday.  Special thanks to Chad and Sharon for all the pictures.  See ya next year…<\/span><\/font>  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  We enjoyed a short, 2-day work week before beginning our annual end-of-year vacation to enjoy the holidays with the kiddos.  Monday night, Abby finally finished her Christmas list and we emailed it to Santa that night.  On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the kids helped Ann to make some goodies, including chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread men, marshmallow snowmen, Chex mix and ?magical reindeer dust.???  Wednesday night was Christmas Eve and as we do every year, we went over to Grandma and Gigi?s house for dinner, church (Matt & I helped Gigi to broadcast the service on WTRE) and of course presents!<\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n

  The kids made out like bandits as usual.  Matt got a couple Nintendo Wii games, a pair of Wii boxers, and a cool remote control helicopter – among numerous other gifts.  Abby received a couple Nintendo DS games, a Hannah Montana doll, a flock of Webkinz, and lots and lots of clothes. Lukey got some clothes and lots and lots of toys, including Legos and Tinker Toys that he had to break out immediately!  We obviously missed Keith and Rosie, but had a lot of fun with the smaller crowd of the five of us, Grandma, Gigi and Chad, Deanna & Gracie.<\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n

  We left late (as usual), but the night wasn?t over yet.  In a tradition that we started a decade ago, we came home and got the kids dressed in their Christmas jammies.  We then sprinkled the magical reindeer dust in our front yard so Santa?s reindeer would be sure to stop at our house.  Next, we settled down for a reading of ?Twas the Night before Christmas and set out milk and cookies (as well as a ?Santa??? coke and cheese ? something we started doing when Abby recommended it when she was 1).  Abby even drew Santa a sweet picture and left it for him as well.  Ann and I were up until about 2:30 preparing for the big guy to come the next morning?<\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n

  As expected, the kids were up early?too early!  After only about 45 minutes of sleep, the kids were up shortly after 3 am.  Even though I was ready, Ann made them go back to bed.  J  We finally got up around 6:30, when it was decided that we had been asked enough times if it was time to get up yet…  The kids got everything they wanted, except for snow to go sledding?  Matt got more video games, a new football with a tee and a nice basketball; but said his phone was his favorite gift.  Abby got an iDog soft, a couple Tamagotchi?s, lots of clothes but her favorite gifts were the Polly Pockets.  Lukey got lots of new Geo Trax, a cool engineer’s hat & scarf w\/ a train whistle (very cute!), big tractors, lots of Hot Wheels and tracks, a couple remote control cars (one that even goes on walls and ceiling!), a huge Nerf gun and of course his baby shampoo!  LOL!  He says his favorite toy this year was his two tubs of Legos!  Ann got a couple new snowmen ornaments and several pounds of popcorn.  I got some new clothes and a new camera bag.  Lola got a bed and lots of new toys.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

  At noon, we went back to MaryAnn & Sandy’s house for a big lunch.  We had turkey, mashed potatoes, noodles, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, shrimp, pumkin pie and sugar-free pecan pie.  Afterwards, Gigi held another round of holiday bingo.  This time, Ann was the big winner of the day.  On Friday we braved Wal-Mart to let the kids spend some of their money (like they needed more stuff!).  Among several items, they all decided to get more Nerf darts and guns!  It?s a constant war, but their favorite target appears to be Ann!  J  It was rainy and cold all day?so we played inside with all the new toys.  Lola loves to chase the remote control vehicles.  Luke got a neat Jeff Gordon car and Matt has his previously mentioned whirlybird that both make Lola go nuts!  She also likes to play football.  On Saturday, strong winds blew in 65? weather, which allowed us to finally get outside.  We decided to get the outside decorations down and although it was tough, Matt and I were able to test out his new football tee; despite a steady 25 mph wind with gusts up to 50 mph.  Lola didn?t cooperate either, as she kept trying to take the ball before Matt could kick it.  As we played outside, we began getting water off of the pool cover again, pumping steadily for about 9 hours straight and still didn?t get it all off?  <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

  On Sunday, we finally cleaned up the house, put away our new Christmas loot and settled in to a long day of football.  Chad and Gracie invited Abby over to Columbus to go ice skating.  It was Abby?s first time and she had a blast?and is ready to go back!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

  Aunt Sharon shared a bunch of pictures with us that I will post here soon.  But I had to put up this one this week.  This is a great picture of all the Smith grandchildren from this year.  <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

  Chad also brought over a DVD of about a thousand pictures he collected through the years, creating a new stash of pictures for the Waybac feature.  So let?s get to it:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First up we have a picture of the two ice princesses in our kitchen on Christmas Day, 2003.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Next up is another picture of the dynamic duo with Grandmother in her dining room in 2002.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is Grace with Gigi in her old convertible in April of 2001.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here?s Bu at her 2nd birthday party in our kitchen, also in 2001.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is a funny Thanxmas picture of the Owens grandkids in our living room in November of 2003.  Notice Megan throwing her temper tantrum!  J<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here are a couple pictures of our stray kitty Slushy in 2002; first with Matt and Gracie and the other with Bu – both at Grandma?s house (who was kind enough to take her in and take care of her).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next up is another Christmas picture; this time from 2000.  Man I had a lot of hair?and no grays!!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We end this entry with a couple pictures from when Gracie was born.  The first was taken in Chad & Deanna?s first home, in their living room – out in the Decatur county boondocks.  The other is next door at David & Donna?s home.  Both were taken in July of 2000.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, thanks as always for keeping up with us this year.  We are enjoying our vacation and hope you all have a happy and safe new year?s holiday.  Special thanks to Chad and Sharon for all the pictures.  See ya next year…  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9vDKm-2I","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scheumann.us\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}