Hanukkah at Randy and Kathy's house

We had a wonderful family Hanukkah celebration at Randy and Kathy's house in Bloomington on Monday, December 26th. We made and ate tons of latkes! yummmm!!! Randy also made perogies from scratch using Kathy's grandmother Babcia's recipe ... Delicious! We had a wonderful time in their home, visiting and talking. We all exchanged gifts and in general had a great time! And last but not least, we met our new "niece" Sugar Huberman (adorable little kitten who I'm afraid I didn't get a picture of! Randy... please send me a pic of her!).

Christmas Day 2005

Christmas morning held some fun surprises for the Mitchell kids this year! Andy, Adam and Allie always enjoy digging into the goodies Santa leaves in their stockings, and this year was no exception. The boys had fly wheel toys, DVD's, yo-yo balls, jet airplanes, and chocolates (of course!). Allie had a purse and a Disney Princess night light. Then they each got to open one gift from Santa. Andy and Adam opened a pinball soccer game, and Allie opened a Cowgirl doll and Pony. Later on in the day, at about noon, Jeremy, Jennifer, Austin, Max, Brody, and Zachary arrived to spend the day with us. After Grandpa Terry forgave Jeremy for forgetting the folding chairs and allowed him to stay and eat (*wink wink*), we all sat down to a wonderful meal. Grandma Kim prepared a meal of ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese and a few other goodies, too! After eating, we let all the kids dig into the gifts so they could start playing already!! Some gift highlights were: Andy's magic show kit, Adam's WhackAMole game, and Allie's Elmo doll. The "big kids" all exchanged gifts as well!! The rest of the day was spent visiting and letting the kids play. It's always so nice to all spend time together. The kids all got along so well, and they are a real joy to watch! When it was time for Jeremy, Jennifer, and the kids to leave, we had a sad goodbye. All of the kids exchanged hugs and hoped they'll see each other again soon. Then, we enjoyed a nice visit with Kim's sister, Aunt Kelly and her son, Martin (and his fiancee, Ashley). When bedtime finally rolled around, three sleepy kids were tucked into bed for a good nights' sleep with sweet dreams of a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2005

As we do every year, this Christmas was spent in the Danville, IL area with Toby's parents, Kim and Terry Mitchell. We traveled to Danville on Friday the 23rd, and went directly to Jeremy's (Toby's brother) house so Toby could join in a fun night of poker! Renee and the kids stopped in long in enough to say hello to everyone, and then left with Kim to go home and get the kids in bed. The next morning was Christmas Eve day! After a relaxing morning, we all headed out to the Green Acres Cabin where Terry's extended family holds their annual Christmas Eve celebration. We visited with Grandma Gladys, Uncle Nick and Aunt Barb, Aunt Faye and Uncle Gene, Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Don, and many more cousins!! A visit from Santa was the highlight as usual! A wonderful time was had by all. After the festivities, we headed home to Grandma Kim and Grandpa Terry's to set out some milk and cookies and wait for the morning!

Adam's Teddy Bear PreSchool Holiday Program

Adam attends Teddy Bear PreSchool here in Lake Mills two afternoons a week. He really loves going to school! He enjoys playing with friends, exploring all the toys and activities, and learning new things. Some of his best friends at school are Payton and Gavin. This past week, on Wednesday, 12-21, Teddy Bear had their annual Holiday Program. The children performed songs and finger-plays. It was just adorable! Adam's favorite song was "The Three Christmas Trees." After the performance, everyone was treated to cookies and punch and even a visit from Santa! Adam is much braver these days where Santa is concerned. Santa had gifts for all the children (a book) from their teachers. The Teddy Bear teachers are Mrs. Paulowske (pictured with Adam) and Mrs. Kulow.

Prospect Elementary Holiday Concert

On Monday of this week (12-19) Andy performed in his school's holiday concert. The program was called "Prospect to the Rescue!", and the students all sang and told a silly story of Santa's Reindeer being too ill to fly the sleigh! The children sang songs "brainstorming" how to help Santa out. Andy's favorite song was about a T-Rex pulling Santa's sleigh.... so silly but really fun! At the end of the program, the kindergarten children gave the "reindeer" (teachers in costume!!) magic cookies that made them feel better. Adam LOVED that part and is STILL talking about it! Adam and Allie attended the concert with me, and I'm very pleased to say that the had excellent behavior! It was a really nice program. We are so pleased with the school here in Lake Mills. We feel very fortunate to be where we are. As I've said before, Andy really seems to enjoy performing. He is so animated on stage... a real pleasure to watch!

Andy's Class Play

Andy is in the second grade this year at Prospect Elementary. His teacher is Mrs. Copsey, and Mrs. Miner (in the photos in the white sweater) is the classroom's student teacher. Today, Adam, Allie and I attended his class play - "The Little Pine Tree". Andy loves to perform. He was one of two Narrators. The entire class did a wonderful job. Way to go, Andy!

Maggie's Picture

Things are hectic in our house these days.... Christmas and Hannukah are right around the corner and we are NOT READY! We were expecting a big snow storm yesterday, but it wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. There is still a LOT of snow on the ground here, though. Ah Wisconsin winters!

Don't forget about the boys!!

Got a great pic of the boys and had to put it up. We are getting hammered with snow up here, I am sure everyone is jealous. Especially those of you on the east coast. Keep your laughter to yourselves.