So long 2017!

It felt a little empty and sad ringing in the new year away from the kiddos, but Jim Gaffigan happened to book Tampa on New Year's Eve, and Michael and I were in desperate need of a date!  Mimi & Grandpa were gracious enough not only to watch the kids for us, but to throw a true party, letting them ring in 2018 with much pomp.  Michael and I killed the time between the show (which was great - I'm usually not much for comedians, but Gaffigan is hilarious) and fireworks by eating a late dinner at The Columbia in Ybor City.  Anna Kate kept texting me these pics from her iPod the whole time.  I was really missing the kids and in retrospect, I wish we had braved the traffic and rushed home to be with them.  But we need to learn to spend time just the two of us, because one day all four of them will abandon us.  We left the restaurant just before midnight and got to see fireworks over downtown Tampa.  Meanwhile, 3 of the 4 kids made it to midnight over at Mimi's.  Thankful it was a fun night for all!  Happy New Year!

Christmas Staycation

Loving this perfect non-sweltering weather!  I took the little ones to the Duplo Barn while Michael waited in line for the scary ride with the big kids.

I love roller coasters, but this ride totally freaks me out!  I can't seem to convince my brain that the giant disc I'm riding on isn't going to go flying off the end of the ramp!  My kids better appreciate that I love them, because I only rode so that they could ride a second time without having to wait in line again (thanks to rider-swap). 

We spent a lot of time playing with the Legos (now you can build airplanes on a flying base and send your creations down this zipline... building and racing Lego cars is so 2015) because we were killing time waiting for the fireworks.  I was feeling guilty about leaving the kids behind for New Year's, so I wanted us to enjoy Legoland's New Year's fireworks show together as a family.

This kid went from being terrified of the Beetle Bounce to being a Beetle Bounce adrenaline junkie!  He cracks me up!

We had time for one more ride before it was time to head over to the lake to watch fireworks.  Michael took Tate and Carigan to ride Merlin's Challenge, and I took Wes and AK on The Dragon.  But when we got off, I realized two things - one, the lines went from super long to nonexistent as everyone dashed off to see fireworks, and two, Tate was actually tall enough to ride The Dragon!  I always just assumed he was too small, but I saw a small guy get on and brought Tate up to measure him, and he was tall enough!  I figured there was no way I could get him on, but he was willing. 

Tate rode with me the first time (in the very front car!), and was a little scared going through the preview area before the roller coaster part.  I held him super tight going down that first big drop and never let go.  I wasn't sure if he was going to be crying or laughing at the end, but at the last turn the big flash of the camera went off and I made a silly face and Tate started laughing.  I couldn't believe he was willing to go again!  We knew it meant missing fireworks, but after initially standing in line for over half an hour for our first go-round, we could now just walk right on.  So we kept riding.  Daddy got to ride with Tate next, and then even Bubby got a turn to ride with him.

I was riding with Anna Kate when the fireworks started exploding in the sky.  So we missed them on the lake, but we got to see them while riding our first true roller coaster as a whole family!  Pretty cool memory.  We rode The Dragon until despite everyone onboard's chants of "One More Time!", they closed the ride at the end of the day.  We pretty much had the place to ourselves as we walked toward the park exit.  Even got to hop on Santa's sleigh for a quick picture by a passing employee:

Such a fun memory!  I cannot tell you how proud Tate is that he is now a bonafide roller coaster rider, and he's already asking when he can go back to Legoland to ride The Dragon!  We headed straight to McDonald's for late night Happy Meals and ice-cream.  Because we're on vacation. 

Elf on the Shelf 2017

The Elves are under new management this year (I knew that having four kids would pay off someday)!

Day 1: Escaping from the attic.
Day 2: Toasting their buns in the kitchen.
Day 3: I think they might be dabbing. 
Day 4: Thanks for the disclaimer, Frosty.
Day 5: Frosty seems to have had a bit more company last night than Snowflake.
Day 6: Toddler Hide 'n Seek (If I can't see you, you can't see me).
Day 7: Fidgety Elves.
Day 8: Parade Day!
Day 9: Started out with marshmallows but they got wet and sticky and had to be thrown out.
Day 10: Nothing like a little personal warning (Just a reminder the elves are under new management, in case you couldn't tell).
Day 11: Snuggling in for a sick day with Carigan.
Day 12: Sweet new treats.
Day 13: Morning farewell committee.
Day 14: Anna Kate kept giggling that Frosty got it a bit wrong when Snowflake suggested making snow angels.
Day 15: Slipper Race.
Day 16: Remember what Christmas is all about (Tate put the smile on Baby Jesus).
Day 17: Puppet show with new finger puppets.
Day 18: One of Carigan's famous quotes. A third child, she once told a friend looking at pictures of Wesley and Anna Kate on the wall, "I'm not hanging 'round here much."
Day 19: Elf Kisses (6 more days 'til Christmas!)
Day 20: Anna Kate wrote a Christmas book last night (after reading the one I wrote in 2nd grade), and the elves were busy reading them this morning.

Day 21: True meaning of Christmas.
Day 22: Tate begged Daddy to put together his Lookout Tower before bed, but it was too late. Anna Kate was camped outside Tate's room at 6:00 a.m. to make sure she wouldn't miss his reaction to seeing that the elves assembled it for him in the middle of the night.
Day 23: Two more days!
Day 24: 1 day before Christmas!!!
Day 25: Santa had elves on patrol.