Family Christmas ~ 2023

Pictures taken Dec. 23 ~

We had our Christmas Eve with Grandma a day early!

My sister had a yummy baked potato bar.

Kaitlyn, Elli, and I made cheesecake in mini mason jars, peppermint bark, and homemade almond joys shaped like Christmas trees!

Gift exchange game.

We played a fun game called Herd Mentality!

8th Grade Band Winter Concert (Videos!)

Pictures taken Dec. 19 ~

Elli played cymbals, tambourine, xylophone, glockenspiel, and piano in the 8th Grade Band Winter Concert!

Video ~ "Afterburn: Relaunch"

Elli - cymbals, tambourine (back right)

Videos ~ "Escape Artist" - Percussion feature

Elli - xylophone, cymbal

Video ~ "All is Calm"

Elli - piano

Video ~ "The North Face"

Elli - glockenspiel (back left)

Christmas Piano Recital ~ 2023 (Video!)

Pictures taken Dec. 16 ~

Elli performed "Sleigh Ride" in my Christmas Piano Recital! We are very proud of her!

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Patriot's Pen Essay Contest

Picture taken Dec. 14 ~

Elli was recognized for winning 7th place (out of 120 entries) for the local VFW Patriot's Pen essay contest "How Are You Inspired by America?"

Buffalo Wild Wings and New Coffee Shop (Video)

Pictures taken Dec. 9 ~

Buffalo Wild Wings and haircuts with Brady, then tried a new coffee shop and shopped for our church's adopted Christmas kids!

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Making Chocolate Pecan Granola (Videos)

Pictures taken Dec. 7 ~

Videos ~

Chocolate Pecan Granola 

6 cups rolled oats (I used gluten-free)

3 T. melted butter or avocado oil

2/3 cup honey or pure maple syrup

1 cup chopped pecans/sliced almonds

Mix in mixer to break up a little.

Bake at 300º about 40 min., stirring about halfway through.

Add 1 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips the last few min.

Hanging Outdoor Christmas Lights

Picture taken Dec. 2 ~

Nov. 1 - hernia surgery

Dec. 2 - Spider-Man!

Making Homemade Pumpkin Butter (Video)

Picture taken Nov. 28 ~

For National French Toast Day, I made homemade pumpkin butter!

Here are a couple links for pumpkin butter recipes I have made that are good.

https://loveandmarriageblog.com/crock-pot-pumpkin-butter/

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a55481/slow-cooker-pumpkin-butter-recipe/

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Snowball Fight by the Creek! (Videos!)

Pictures taken Nov. 25-26 ~

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Holiday Lighting Ceremony ~ 2023 (Videos!)

Pictures taken Nov. 22 ~

The theme for the Holiday Lighting Ceremony this year was "A German Christmas"!

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Marshmallow in a Leaf Pile (Video!)

Pictures taken Nov. 18 ~

The cute Jack Be Little pumpkins are from my sister's garden!

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"The Little Mermaid" High School Musical

Picture taken Nov. 11 ~

Elli and I saw the high school musical, "The Little Mermaid"! It was amazing!

Kaitlyn Home for a Week

Picture taken Nov. 3 ~

We loved having Kaitlyn home for a week around Halloween!

She had a jam-packed week– Switchfoot concert in Omaha with Hailey, French presentations at the middle school and high school, taught her French preschool class in person, Halloween, sleepover at Grandma's, and Frappuccino Friday!

Halloween ~ 2023 (Video!)

Pictures taken Oct. 30-31 ~

Kaitlyn made Elli a cute Boo Basket for Halloween!

The Boo Basket had a "Town Scare Haunted Village" cookie house kit, Halloween stickers, candy corn piñata, Hershey bar pencil pouch, and an orange stocking hat!

Elli was Rey from Star Wars and Marshmallow was an Ewok from Star Wars!

Kaitlyn, Elli, and I made the "Town Scare Haunted Village" from Elli's Boo Basket!

Video ~

Halloween treats!

Halloween Party ~ 2023 (Recipe - Blueberry Pretzel Delight)

Pictures taken Oct. 28 ~

We had a Halloween Party with Allison and her parents from church. We had BBQ and played games. Brady came over too!

Elli was Rey from Star Wars, Marshmallow was an Ewok, and Allison was a scarecrow!

We played The Bible is Funny card game - the party game of hilarious pairings for verses out of context.

We also played some Jackbox games.

Blueberry ("BOO-berry") Pretzel Delight.

Here is a link to the recipe. I used 1 1/2 cups crushed gluten-free pretzels and blueberry pie filling.

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/strawberry-pretzel-delight/13985cad-b52c-4913-8771-0feb1b20ebbb

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