traditions

I'm at home in Ankeny taking advantage of my week long break. It is much needed! So far we have played lots of cards, hung out, ran errands, ate awesome food, and played Just Dance on the wii...and there is only 2 songs that people can beat me at. I will accept any challenge :)

So with the holidays coming up I thought it would be fitting to talk about traditions...Sean and I believe traditions are very important and I love hearing people say "we have a tradition that..." So here are a few old traditions of ours and some we want to start...

Amanda's Christmas. A Christmas tradition that we always had growing up was when Santa came. We would always be at Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas eve and Christmas day so Santa would come to our house early. A few days before we left town, we would set out some cookies, milk, and reindeer food and then go out for dinner (it was usually Chinese). Suspiciously, every year right as we were leaving my mom would for some reason always "forget" something like to do her hair. In addition, we coincidentally also needed gas. So while my mom "finished" getting ready the rest of us kids would go with dad to get gas. Once we got back from dinner Santa had been to our house! Once Ashley and I finally caught on we would sometimes stay with mom to help set out gifts while the rest of the family ran an errand. I really enjoyed seeing my little brother and sister still see the "magic" when we got home from dinner and get so excited :)

Sean's Christmas. Once the kids got a little bit older and Santa "didn't like them anymore" they started opening gifts Christmas eve. On that day they go to afternoon church then come back and eat homemade chicken noodle soup and chili. After dinner, they open gifts. The next day (Christmas day) they lay around and watch "A Christmas Story" all day.

Our future Christmas. One Christmas tradition that I would like to start when we have kids is "elf on the shelf". I first learned about it on Pinterest. According to amazon.com it is a based on a children's book that explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, the elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When the children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be hiding in a different location. It ends up being a fun hide-and-seek game.

Apple orchard. Like I talked about here, Sean and I have gone to Wilson's Apple Orchard each fall for the past 3 years. We pick lots and lots of apples and then eat half and cut up/freeze the rest so we can make apple crisp all fall/winter long. YUM!

fall 2010

Anniversary scrapbook. My mom was telling me about a daughter of a lady she works with a couple weeks ago. The couple just celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary and they decided that each year on their anniversary they will make a scrapbook page and put it into an album. I love the idea! It will be great to look back after 50 years and see how our relationship and family has grown!