Non Traditional Christmas

Since the boys are older and don't believe in Santa Claus anymore, we decided to take a nontraditional approach to gift giving this year. Instead of opening presents from "Santa" Christmas morning under the tree, we decided to have them find their presents by following clues that led them from place to place within the house. Since they are out of school and received electronics, we did this a few days early so they would get in more play time before going back to school in January.

Todd and I sat down one afternoon and came up with all the clues for the game. We decided to make the first clue in code, so that they would have to put a little bit of brain power into it. It was really just the clue written backwards, so they both got it pretty quickly.

A couple of weeks ago I had them fill out Elf applications that I found on the internet. They asked me now and again since then what those applications were for. I just told them they had to wait and see, so that added a little to the fun. Their applications ended up being "Approved" and that qualified them to receive their first clue. Evan was a little more happy to go along with the story, but we all had fun doing it in the end.

The first video is of them figuring out the first clue and Chad finding his presents. The second video is of Evan following his clues. He didn't want to be taped through the house, so Todd agreed to only tape him actually finding the clues and opening his presents. Thus, it is a bit choppy.

Merry Christmas!

Basketball update

Evan's team has been practicing a lot. Their team has come together and they have won a couple of games. They have played some really experienced teams, though, and had their share of losses. Nevertheless, I still think Evan is the cutest basketball player on the court!




For family members and those really into youth basketball, you can check out a couple of video clips of his last game on my YouTube Channel.

Evan's Basketball Season Start

Evan is playing basketball on a parish team again this year. He is on the Celtics and they have been practicing for the past few weeks. They won their first game, but then lost two in a row, so the team is stepping up their drills and practicing almost every night. I got one photo and a short video of him shooting a free throw during the last game. Sorry for the quality, but the lighting was horrible.

I have learned to not sit to close to Todd during the games for fear of having my eardrum burst. He loves to coach from the bleachers and I'm sure he's thinking that all of his yelling is helping his boy and the team. I say that if it helps, keep it up! Go Celtics!

Giving me a smile during warmups.