Snow Days!

It would have been fun to have a White Christmas, but I actually think a White Day After Christmas is even better! 

I was totally shocked that we did in fact get snow. I'm so used to the weathermen being so full of it and wrong I was sure we weren't going to see any flurries! 

It was so fun to wake up to a winter wonderland! 

The kids and I went down the road over to a small hill near us. It's really a road and not necessarily a hill, but we use it like a hill and just get out of the way if there's a car. 

Jack made himself of a snow chair! 

Packing herself down with snow! Talk about getting a perfect gift at the perfect time. All the kids gloves they got for Christmas came in so handy! Handy....pun not intended! 

The snow was blowing so much I had to stand facing the other way so I wouldn't get pelted with it! 

I'm so happy we had winter clothes that still fit everyone! 

Happy Zeke Man! 

I'm also so happy that I bought Jack a new sled earlier that month. It was nice having two. Ella thought she would try to snowboard on it! 

Thankfully she didn't wipe out and hurt herself! 

Snow days are also a perfect time to put together the numerous LEGO sets that were received as gifts. 

When it comes to the time between Christmas and New Years I try to not plan anything at all. I love to use these few days to slow down and enjoy and the gifts and give our bodies a rest from all the hustle and bustle of the season. The snow made that even more fun than usual! 

Christmas Day 2021!

After opening Christmas presents at our house, we got ready and then headed down to Ga-Ga & Pa's to celebrate. We were there a bit earlier than everyone else. It was nice to chill and just relax before the chaos commenced. 

All the Kuch kids have taken piano lessons for years so Pa thought it would be nice to have some festive music played. 

At one point they all 3 played together. 

Ready with their music sheets! 

My cousins Bill & Peggy were able to celebrate Christmas with us. My Dad went over to the peninsula on Christmas morning to pick them up. It was so nice!

I decided to wear my new forrest green cardigan that Michael bought me for Christmas. 

Papa also played the guitar a bit and we sang Christmas Carols. It was so fun and something I bet we'll do from now on! 

LEGO's, LEGO's and more LEGO's!!! 

It was definitely the year of the LEGO's and Ella got a LEGO Friends Water Park which I didn't get a picture of! 

Ga-Ga always gets each of the kids a goodie bag with their favorite snacks. Addison got Ding Dongs! I think Anna got Twinkies and Caleb got Ho Ho's or vise versa. Owen got Takies, Jack got Flaming Hot Cheetos Puffs which are evidently not his favorite....that was my bad. I can't remember what Ella got and Zeke got Mega Cheddar Goldfish. 

I got the girls matching heart necklaces...this was even a surprise for Ella! 

The coolest gift of the day was each of the Kuch Kids got their own cabin built by my Dad. It was actually really emotional. I didn't cry when my kids got their years ago, but for some reason I teared up. Probably because Christina was tearing up! I know the hard work my Dad puts into these cabins and they really are so special! 

I'm so bummed I didn't get a picture of Anna with hers. Of course the kids were so thankful! 

Papa & Ruth got these cute little wooden dolls to represent each of the kids. They are adorable. Ruth also took a fun picture of our family and had it made into a puzzle. 

I ended up putting it together the very next day! 

There were so many more presents than this, but instead of taking pictures I was just enjoying the day and I actually really love that! I love that I put my camera down and was just present with the people I love. 

These precious young man and young ladies are such gifts in and of themselves! 

So is this wonderful lady! I love having her in my life and in my family! 

And Pa didn't forget Charlie. He got Charlie some catnip toys and he actually loves to play with them! 

Christmas Morning 2021!

It's Christmas Morning! 

The dreaded "Mom makes us wait on the stairs" picture! :) 

Charlie looking at the kids like they are a bunch of weirdos! 

Finding their "Santa" gifts! 

Jack got his Avenger's LEGO set he'd been wanting and a LEGO base plate. 

Zeke got Avenger's Clue and a LEGO base plate. 

Owen got LOTR Monopoly and a LEGO base plate. 

Ella got a Barbie Clinic Kit and a LEGO base plate. 

Can you tell LEGO base plates cause arguments in our house? 

Charlie still thinking we're a bunch of weirdos! 

Owen brought his gift over to him! 

We got him a remote control mouse and a mouse laser pointer. One of the funniest things was when we said it was a mouse laser pointer Zeke was like really? He was staring down at the floor to see the laser in the shape of a mouse! It's actually the pointer that's in the shape of a mouse. The laser is just a dot! LOL!!!! 

We always go around and pass out all the presents first! 

When the gifts are under the tree I don't let the kids move them around. 

I always wrap their gifts in the paper they pick out so they can see their gifts without touching them. 

Michael and I got spoiled this year! 

So excited about her Santa gift she wanted it to be in this picture too! 

Holy Cow that's a lot of gifts! 

Michael opened his gifts from the kids first. They got him a joystick to use with a certain game on his computer. They also got him the DVD Rampage, orange golf balls and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! 

Owen's sibling gift from Zeke was these awesome dart guns! 

Owen got Jack 2 Harry Potter LEGO sets...one Jack knew he wanted and then a surprise set that is one of the classrooms at Hogwarts and the whole set folds into a big book. It's really cool! 

Ella has the best reactions to gifts....EVER!!! Jack got her this lipstick she'd been wanting for so long! 

He also got her this tie dye Barbie clothes kit that she saw in one of the Fred Meyer Ads. To say she was thrilled was an understatement.

Ella got Zeke a wolf stuffed animals and a dinosaur dart gun! 

I love seeing the kids open their gifts from each other. I think they are their favorite ones since they always open those first!

For Zeke's Want gift he got LEGO's....lots of LEGO's! 

For Ella's Wear gift she got new headphones since her's broke. Which she later told me I could take them back since she had gotten used to using the earbuds we had. She also got new socks and underwear. Of course I didn't pay attention to the size of underwear and I washed them so Caitlynn got new underwear and then I had to buy Ella the correct size. Sheesh! 

For Jack's Want gift he got a Star Wars Ship. LEGO's was definitely a theme for this Christmas! SO many LEGO's! 

For Owen's Want gift he got the Creator Pirate Ship! 

For Michael I got him a bunch of useful stuff for the garage and all the work he's always doing. Extension LED light, 3 way splitter and impact resistant gloves!

For Owen's Read gift he got the Artemis Fowl series.

I got Jack a book series call The Unwanted. We have the first book and I thought he liked them, but apparently they were Unwanted! :) No big deal....I returned them and got him all the books in the Warrior series he actually wanted. 

For Ella's Want gift she got the LEGO Friends Mall! 

For Ella's Read gift she got all the books in the Nancy Clancy series! 

For Owen's wear he got a few new shirts, but this one was my favorite. Owen loves music and Star Wars. I knew I had to get him this shirt when I saw that the backgrounds says....Duh Da Duh Da Da Da!!! 

For the rest of their gifts....they all got new gloves for their Need gift and they were all so happy with them. I was sure it was going to be a big bust, but they really needed them and they were so appreciative to have them. Jackson got a new pair of jeans and new socks and maybe underwear for this Wear gift, Zeke's Read gift was a bunch of random silly books that he loved and his Wear gift was a pair of camo pants and I think new underwear. 

I'm so bad about having Michael take my picture....I got a new Ice Cream machine and Michael also got me a new recipe book to go with the Ice Cream machine. Of course I was supposed to open them in a certain order, but opened them in the wrong order so I got the recipe book first and knew what the next gift was. It was hilarious! I also got a book about day hikes in Washington state, a pamper kit that had lavender lotion, bath salts and one of the heat up wraps you can put in the microwave and my favorite gift from Michael was new forrest green cardigan sweater. I love it! The kids got me a new Calphelon pan to cook my eggs in, a cookie sheet, a pancake flipper and tongs! I needed all of those so that was great! 

Michael also got a BlackStone Grill, with a cover and all the accessories! I tried to get a picture of him seeing it....I had just covered it in a blanket since it was way to big to wrap, but the kids were in the way in the picture. Oh well! 

Charlie checking out the mayhem! 

There is his remote control mouse. Which of course he could care less about! 

He does have fun chasing about the laser dot! 

Of course after the craziness comes the mass opening of all the presents to play with....

or put together! 

Michael's joystick worked great and the kids were so proud of themselves...especially since Daddy can be really hard to shop for. 

And of course I didn't get any pictures of them opening up their stockings which were full of what else but new DVD's to add to our collection for the kids and for Michael and I we got each other snacks! 

Next up...Christmas at Ga-Ga & Pa's!