On the day after Christmas we went to Oak Creek, WI to celebrate with my family. Jessica got a Wii Active Life: Extreme Challenge game for a Christmas gift and we all had a fun time playing it. The game comes with a mat, kind of like Dance Dance Revolution, and you have to jump and run on it to make your on-screen character do things.

Dallas & Steph

Mom & Jess

For the rock climbing game you have to use your hands.

Dallas & Rachelle

Mom & Dad

Amanda showed me Jessica’s wishlist for santa. It was more like a wishbook – multiple pages stapled together and inserted into an envelope.

Jessica’s Wishlist

I can’t remember what “schering” was supposed to be, but Jess really wanted Laffy Taffy. The end – “batadohede” – is potato head. This list kind of reminded me of Stephanie’s wishlist from a few years ago. Except Jessica is younger. As you can see, she is just learning to write on her own. But she is having fun doing it. She even made all of our place cards for the dinner table.

Stephanie & Dallas’s place cards

Grandpa & Richard’s place cards

Not sure why Jessica chose to call my mom and dad “grandpa” and “grandma” but wrote her own parent’s names out. She also got to choose where everyone sat. Jess put me on one side of her and my mom on the other.. and of course Dallas was as far away as she could get him. Ha. She also looked online with my mom to see the proper places for all the silverware and side plates and glasses and things.

After dinner we opened the gifts that Dallas and I got for Steph and Jess.

Steph opening a gift

Steph trying on her new belt

Jess opening a gift

Steph’s favorite gift from us: Purple Converse

We got each of the girls a Nintendo DS Lite game. Jess’s was some pet game and Steph’s was a style-related game. Most of Steph’s gifts were also style-related: a belt, earrings, fingerless gloves, a shirt, shoes. Seems appropriate for a 13-year-old. Jess’s gifts were more drawing/art-related: a stamp pad, book on how to make fingerprint drawings, stamps, markers, coloring book. And this also seems appropriate for a first grader. They seemed to both like their gifts, so that’s good. My mom and dad surprised us with a few gifts, even though we agreed not to exchange. And my brother gave me some fresh, squeaky cheese curds.

Great day with the family, eating, playing and exchanging gifts!