The week in between...

The week in between Christmas and New Years is always a blur. We forget what day it is. We sleep in. We don't eat the best...and we still have fun! The day after Christmas (Thursday, December 26th), the Tanner kids came to spend the night. It was 24+ hours of epic Nerf battles, fort building, game playing, etc. I offered to take the kids to a movie or bowling or something, but they opted to simply stay home and explore all the Christmas treasures. On Friday (December 27th), I took Addie out to Target to pick out a toy for her birthday. We then got a cookie and soda treat from Soda Retreat; and yes, we bought enough to share with the boys. 

Saturday (December 28th) I decided I should at least clean the house and once I decided that, I also decided to take down all the Christmas stuff. It's always a little sad to take down the lights and decorations, but this year was a little more poignant. I guess it's because I feel like it marks a transition in our family's traditions and the way we've been celebrating Christmas. I think the silent Christmas we just experienced is going to be in more abundance as we move on in years. I'm super grateful for all the fun, crazy Christmases we've had! I love that those Christmases lasted until Jonas clued in on Santa's secret and is now a little older to at least understand why he doesn't get to spend every Christmas with his siblings (even if he...and honestly I...wish we could). So yes...taking down the Christmas tree was a little sad today, but it's also a little exciting to perhaps discover new ways to enjoy Christmas without all the chaos. Saturday evening, Jeff and I took Jonas to his first Utah Jazz game. This was one of his Christmas presents. He was beyond excited! The Jazz honestly haven't been doing really well, but he still knew some of their stats and most of the players. They played the 76ers. It was a really good game. Both teams were equally matched. The Jazz did really well the first half but started to wane the second half. Ultimately, they lost their lead and were unable to get it back. They lost 111-114. It was so close down to the last seconds of the game. I'm not sure if I enjoyed watching the game more or watching Jonas! He was on the edge of his seat the entire second half, and he had so many facial expressions throughout. Even though the Jazz lost, we really had a great time.

The next day (Sunday, December 29th), we honored Hanukkah. I can't really say we celebrated it because we just honored it for one night, and I'm certain we didn't hit all the traditions associated with this holiday. However, we did discuss the history of the holiday and its significance in Jewish (and Christian) history. We then had latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly filled donuts) for dinner. Finally, we spun the dreidel as the kids hoped for a gimmel to get the pot of candy.

Monday (December 30th) was another chill day. I had plenty of little odds & ends things to tie up while Jonas vacillated between watching TV and playing with his Christmas gifts. However, that evening, we all went to see the new Disney live action movie, Mufasa. Jonas and I enjoyed it, but Jeff couldn't get past the lions singing. Oh well...it was still a nice relaxing way to end the week in between.