A Sisco Family Day of Play

The week after Christmas lance and i were pounding out projects!  we got the garage cleaned out, put up some shelves (below), and swapped two of the kids rooms.  

Sounds pretty productive, right?  it was.  however, we found ourselves telling our kids that we couldn't play with them... "not right now" and "maybe later?" were common phrases and we didn't like it.  So we decided to have the first annual Sisco Family Day of Play!

Here is how it worked- We put everyone's name in a bowl.  When your name was drawn, you got to decided what all six of us would do for the next 20 minutes.  We had a blast!!

Caleb chose flag football

allie helped everyone make rainbow loom bracelets

griffin wanted to play trouble

and riley decided we should have a nerf war... which, i must add, is the most laughing i've had in a long time.  imagine me curled up in a ball on the floor trying to reload my tiny three-shot gun while lance unloaded that beast of a gun on me!  The whole time i'm shouting, "cover me griff!!"  HA!! fat chance!!

my choice was to test out our new fondue pot.  we had an extra special surprise when we had family coming through town that day... they got to join in on the fun!

and we ended our day of play with lance pick... a bike ride!

so, it wasn't perfect... there were tears, there was complaining, there were alot of conversations about how we all had to participate and no, you can't quit... but, truly, GOOD fun!  we will be doing this again.  maybe once in the summer and again at christmas break!  

Things HAVE to get done.  laundry must be washed, dishes can't stay in the sink forever, the floor needs to be swept.  i get that.  but if you go several days putting off the playing, then i encourage you to have a day of play!  you won't regret it!

Christmas Eve, etc

Lance has the privileged of working Christmas Eve services at church.  It really is exciting to see so many people coming to church on that day and he is happy to be one of the hundreds of staff that welcome them.

Lance's mom joined us again this year (which we absolutely LOVE, but miss his dad coming too) and she came in time for the service.  It's a candle light service with fabulous music and a great message.  I really enjoy being there and the kids do too!  

The next morning was typical for our family.  three wrapped gifts under the tree per kiddo, but one for each kid that is unwrapped and ready to play with.

allie got all new clothes and accessories for her dolls

caleb got a THREE loop race track... that THREE was really important!

Riley got a marble run that could have gone for any of our kids... it was a family favorite!!

Griff got a car mat to drive all his cars on

While they played with their new toys, i got busy making our cinnamon rolls

time to dig in!

 stockings were opened after breakfast

and i must remember that this was the year of the legos!!  hours and hours of building legos!

that evening we all loaded up in the van (in our pjs), grabbed hot chocolate, and enjoyed the christmas lights! 

We usually find pintrest's newest Christmas light scavenger hunt printable to give us plenty of fun on our drive.

i have to admit.... i enjoy this tradition most because they usually fall asleep in the car on the way home.  we simply scoop them up and lay them in their beds.  EASY bedtime.  AND, i can usually squeeze in one more Christmas hallmark show.  i know, so cheesy!

this was a random moment of Christmas, but a picture that can not be excluded.  this kid is pretty funny and keep us laughing all the time!

grammie got to stay for several days and even let us go on a date night!  we enjoyed having her here and didn't want to say good bye!!  love you gram!!  thanks for making Christmas special!!

christmas party RE-CAP

we attended many christmas parites this month so rather than make a post for every party... i'll consolidate!  

our community group gathered as families to celebrate.

we had a photo both where we took some really cute pics!!

here's all the ladies

and the siscos

our foundation group threw a tacky christmas sweater party.  of course, lance can NOT just wear a tacky sweater.  he has to go full body cousin eddy costume on the party.  it was pretty fun... i admit!  i married a goof ball and i love it!

the nest leadership team celebrated at one of the mentor mom's homes.  such a fun night with girls that i love and respect greatly!

watermark threw a HUGE family party that was complete with food, bounce houses, and a dance party!

they also, very generously gave the kids electric scooters!  they were shocked!!

lance's marriage team also had a christmas party and we got to enjoy amazing company and great food!

Quick Trip South

we would not normally make two trips to Simonton so close together, but this christmas our ENTIRE family would be together.  it was worth the early morning, it was worth the 5 hour drive, Even though we had to turn around the next day and drive home...it was worth it!

check out this enormous family.  my mom's mom is our last living grandparent and she is stunning - really!!  my mom and dad had three kids and each of their kids have 4 kids... you do that math... that is A LOT of grandchildren!

my brother's family

my sister's family

forced smile pic... we really just want to open presents and stop taking pictures.  we didn't get a family picture because at one point all three boys were crying - there comes a point when a mom says enough is enough! 

i also got a WAY TO SHORT visit with these ladies!  B and I have been friends since we were in little swimmers splashing around at the valley lodge club in the yellow-tinted baby pool!

love this girl!  and her momma!!

the boys were boys again!  i hope this pic doesn't make grammie faint!  ;)

and there she is... merlene!  good health, sharp mind, and beautiful smile!  no one would even guess her age!

we got to see david and stephanie and their momma (pictured above).  these are my cousins... i enjoy seeing them and this year i had that privilege twice!!

gran wanted a pic with all her grandchildren... we haven't had this crew together in years!  

since my sister added two strapping boys to her family this year, which means....


lance got to start a game of flag football in the front yard - he's missed that in years past... glad to have you two guys!!

and what smith christmas happens without my aunt robin getting out silly string to make my dad furious.  ha!  that stuff really is a mess!

me and my guy!  i sure do love the holidays... he gets large chunks of time to chill... doesn't he look completely unstressed in this pic!  yay!

it's not christmas if...

we don't make a total mess decorating cookies!!

my sweet kiddos were super patient while i made, decorated and sold over 20 dozen cookies this month

and finally- it was their turn!!!

they did a fantastic job... maybe one day... i'll be able to hire them to help run my business!!

school christmas parties

lance and i both got to go to the kids christmas parties at school.  it was comical how different they were.

caleb's class was seated and doing christmas activities quietly... very low key

allie's class was in a dog pile when we walked in!

 lots of sugar... thanks room moms!  ;)

 and lots of smiles!!

these are the cute gifts that we gave to all the female teachers (the men got cookies).  These wreaths were really fun to make and super inexpensive.  i bought 1/4 a yard of seven christmas fabrics (at 70% off... yay, for last minute!) and some skinny pipe insulation.  I ripped the fabric into strips and used hot glue to secure.  i ended up making 13 wreaths and it cost me $12 total!  you can't beat that!!