Fun BEFORE Christmas!

December was a fun and crazy month for us! There were many parties to attend, crafts to complete, and people to see... and every second of the chaos was AWESOME! Here is a little of what we did before Christmas arrived:

Kevin started off the month by biking 30 miles to my sister's house! He arrived just as my brother-in-law Taber finished his long run and, lo and behold, they were wearing matching shirts! How random! After tossing the kids around a bit and eating a wonderful breakfast, Kevin turned around and biked 30 miles back home to play with his own kids and eat 2nd breakfast!

A few days later, my sister Becca called us and asked if she could "borrow" Brooklyn over night! We thought she seemed pretty trustworthy so we agreed to the arrangement and sent Brooklyn off with pj's in hand. According to Becca, Brooklyn and her cousins played relentlessly for 2 days, only stopping to sleep and eat!

My friend Jacquie Korella threw a "My favorite things" party at her house on December 7th. Every one brought a gift that represented one of their favorite things and then we exchanged them white elephant style (after stuffing our faces will all our favorite foods!) It was a blast catching up with everyone and getting to know them a little better and Jacquie did an amazing job hosting us!

The next morning we found out that our friend Annalisa, who moved to Kalamazoo last year, had come for a surprise visit... and since her birthday was coming up, we took her out to breakfast at The Bongo Room! The food and company was FANTASTIC and we had a lot of good laughs (and cupcakes) before heading back home and saying goodbye to Annalisa!

Some time during all the partying, Kevin decided to be SUPER responsible and make 72 hour kits for our family. He made a pack for himself, and one for me, and then an extra one to go in the car! I'm so lucky to have such a smart and well prepared husband! :)

On December 23rd, we were lucky enough to have a pre-Christmas eve dinner with our good friends, the Cotton's. Unfortunately, we were so excited to see them that we forgot to bring a camera. We snapped this picture of Brooklyn earlier that day, so it will have to do :) Anyway, we enjoyed an incredible dinner with them, some great conversations, and a fun little gift exchange! When the night was over, we left feeling so lucky to know the Cotton's, as well as all the other wonderful people in Chicago that we are blessed to call friends!