Three Kids and a Dog: In Holiday Break News...

We made the most of the holiday break season, heading to Michigan for a few days where we saw the lights at the Meijer Gardens and their light show (which wasn't very Christmasy). They did have some really cool Christmas trees adorned with each country's holiday traditions so those were fun to learn about.

Ski Season!

We also spent the day at Bittersweet Ski Resort which is about 30 minutes from our house in Michigan and the perfect resort for the kids to get comfortable with skiing especially before our trip to Big Sky. Everyone was excited to ski (except for Hailey). She likes the idea of skiing and the going on an airplane and staying at a cool place but the actual work of skiing she does not. I think she's still terrified of the chairlifts after she forgot to get off that one year when we were in Breckenridge. Anyway, we had a decent time that day. The weather wasn't too cold and there was little wind but the lines were sooo long because it was such a perfect day. We still got in more than a few runs though - enough to get a little practice in before Montana.

This break, we also took the kids to see the Chicago Bulls game. Peyton had been asking for awhile so given that the Bulls tickets aren't cheap these days (and they aren't even that good), we purchased some tickets for after Xmas so we could see the Bulls play the Utah Jazz. The first half was exciting but then the Bulls got beat bad. Still it was a fun experience for Peyton and Hailey who had never been to a Bulls game before.

Soon it was time for Austen to head back to school - Jan. 2 due to school construction which had them beginning the school year late. So it was just the girls and me for a few days before they started again on Thursday. We managed to hit one of Peyton's favorite donut shops in Western Springs - BBs. Went to the orthodontist (Peyton) to see if she's any closer to getting braces (they think summer as she still has 3 more teeth to lose). Exchanged some Christmas gifts and enjoyed a quiet few days inside due to some torrential rain.

This year, everyone asked me where we were headed after Xmas. We don't normally go somewhere after Xmas. I mean we have a few times but next year, if the kids collectively have a longer break, we need to head somewhere warm! Fingers crossed when those calendars come out in February!