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Overlooking the Waterpark!

We started Christmas off with a bang. Heading up to the Great Escape Lodge with my wife’s family. Six adults, four children, and a baby in one room.

Evi Loved Santa!

The kids loved it because they got to have dance parties with Santa, make some crafts, and of course, hit the indoor waterpark. The Adults loved it because of the unlimited coffee and not having to wear anything other than sweatpants or a bathing suit for a few days.

I know following up a paragraph stating we went on vacation with, “We don’t have money” sound foolish, but here it goes. Upon getting home, we really had to buckle down and finish shopping. The problem? We’re pretty broke. You see, my wife and I decided long ago that even when times are tough, we’ll find ways to make memories and do things with our children. To us, it’s just worth it.

To fund gifts for everyone, and some house projects (Tara and I don’t have a bedroom at the moment, but we’ll get on about that another time), we decided to sell one of our two vehicles. Tara doesn’t have her license, and we live next door her parents, so a second car, while convenient, isn’t necessary. What this also means is that we had to wait for the sale to start shopping, which wasn’t until a few weeks into December. It was a mad dash, my amazon cart caught fire, and I’m pretty sure I could hear the UPS person cursing our family.

Christmas morning was a joy! It was Everli’s first, and she had a ball. Avari enjoyed helping her little sister open presents almost as much as opening hers.

Obviously gifts for a baby aren’t too exciting, so I’ll gloss past that. It’s what Avari wanted that I found interesting. For a seven year old, she didn’t want a lot of toys. In fact, she specifically asked for no toys. Instead she wanted art supplies and make-up. I’m pretty sure she’s a teenager stuck in a little body.

Her morning was filled with multiple easels big and small, a few canvases, pencils, paints, paper, and bags to travel with it all. Her stocking was stuffed with make-ups, the real kind. She explicitly didn’t want the kind made for children. As of now, the rules are, you can do your make-up when we’re going to be home or going to her grandparents’.

Avari’s First Attempt at Painting

Avari has spent most of the time since practicing her drawing (she’s starting to develop her own style) and creating different looks for herself at her vanity. Recently, she’s asked if she can draw and paint pictures and try to sell them for charity. It’s really a noble thought, and I don’t see why not.

Of course, we also got her a couple of videogames, but those are as much of mine as they are hers (don’t tell my wife that).

As if the holidays aren’t busy enough, January 4th is Evi’s first birthday! We had immediate family over for a little cake and coffee, but opted to wait until the end of the month for an actual party. It’s just too much to pile everything into a few weeks, and the hold off will be more fair to Everli as she gets older and wants to feel special each year.

I had a topic I wanted to go into. However, I think this has already gone on long enough. Hopefully, I’ll get it written up this week. As for now, I have a baby that really needs to get cranky ass down for a nap.

What are your thoughts? Do you find yourself struggling through the holidays and how do you survive every year? Anyone have ideas for Avari’s charity? I really want to push this idea.