New Years Eve

Bryce and Caleb went to Bree's house, Abby went to Kaylee's house and Emmy had Kenzly over to celebrate the New Year. We had a pretty low key night with a few snacks, games and a movie. We did all manage to stay up until midnight to ring in 2024.

 

Puzzle Time

When the weather gets cold and there’s not much to do indoors, I like to get a puzzle out. It’s funny, though—if you ask Robb or the kids if they want to do a puzzle, they’ll all say no. But if you just set it out in the living room, suddenly everyone starts working on it! I’m not a huge puzzle person, but I enjoy spending a little time on it when it’s right there in the living room. This year, I even got a puzzle board to make it easier to move around. We managed to finish three puzzles before everyone burned out, but it was a fun way to pass the time together!

 

Christmas Break Shenanigans

I tried to be the "fun mom" over Christmas break, and I think I succeeded in my own way! Emmy took three of her friends, and we all headed out to see the Wonka movie. Honestly, the movie wasn’t great, but at least it got us out of the house and doing something together. Afterward, we grabbed some food at Chick-fil-A and wandered around the mall, which was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

One thing that always surprises me is how much social media influences what these girls think they need. When I was their age, we thought we were the coolest if we had a Caboodle, but now they’re all about shopping at Sephora and Ulta for high-end skincare products. It’s wild to see how much things have changed, and how much influence brands have on what they think is a must-have.

Robb always teases Emmy about buying anti-aging creams, jokingly asking her how young she wants to look. It's a fun way of teasing each other. 

 

When your Dad is just a Little Cooler than the Rest

Show Day. We didn't get a lot of snow but it was enough to get out the ramp! Emmy and Robb spent the day moving enough snow to the area of the ramp so that they could go down it and make it to the middle of the yard. Emmy had a blast! 

 

Santa Came

Merry Christmas Day! 

The Nice list qualifications must be pretty low because we all made the nice list again this year. 

Emmy got a Dribble Up Basketball and one of her favorite things was this pop it game she got in her stocking. 

Abby got her Panda Dunk Shoes she has been wanting.

Bryce got a golf bag.

Caleb got a Chiefs Jersey.

Merry Christmas morning. Bryce was still sick, Abby was mildly sick, Robb and I felt horrible and Caleb (who never gets sick) had a fever and spent the day laying in his bed thinking he was probably dying. I guess the real gift we got for Christmas this year was Influenza A.

Santa didn't forget Nibbles. He got a tiny Christmas tree that you put treats in.

Scout and Lucy also got plenty of new toys and treats.

 

Merry Christmas Sickies

We left Norfolk mid-morning to come back home. By this point Bryce still felt crummy, I had a sore throat and was exhausted, and Robb was tired and had a cough. We decided to try to keep the rest of our germs to ourselves. We were really hoping that we didn't get anyone sick! When we got home, we unloaded the car and tried to pick up the disastrous house a little before we opened gifts at our house. This year with doing Grandparent Christmas first and ours second, everything felt a little weird. 

Emmy gets her unwrapping skills from her dad. She got Avatar Legos, Moana Legos, watercolor paints and a book and lots of other fun things.

Abby was tough to buy for this year. She really didn't have very many ideas of what she wanted. She got some cute clothes. 

Caleb had asked for a Garmin golf watch. He was really excited about it.

Emmy got me a bracelet with a bead that you can look into and see a picture that she had chosen. She put a picture of Dad and I on my wedding day. It was such a sweet gift. Abby also got me a cute cup and hand soap.

Bryce got a Husker basketball jacket and hoodies.

Scout and Lucy had fun opening their gifts too. Robb always gives me a hard time about getting the dogs gifts but it is fun to see them excited about opening gifts. 

When the kids were little, we used to just have different wrapping paper for each child. As they have gotten older that has gotten too easy and obvious and we need more mystery in who's gift was who's. Robb came up with a code that had to do with how many letters were in their first and middle name and then created Christmas phrases that I wrote on the tag. There was one pretty big flaw though. Robb had trusted Chat GPT to come up with auto generated phrases and most of them didn't have the correct number of letters. At one point it got pretty confusing who's gift belonged to who. Guessing had kept Bryce and Abby guessing all week. Bree had the correct idea the first night but none of them listened to her. 

I got the biggest gift of all this year. Robb had been working on a project in the attic for a month now. I had a good idea that it had something to do with my current plant obsession, but I didn't know what it looked like. Robb couldn't wait and he let me see it before we went to Norfolk before Christmas. He did an incredible job. I love it so much. I will be able to fit so many plants on it!

As Christmas Eve progressed, we started dropping like flies. We went to 5:00 church and came home to eat. We had fajitas, rice and possibly the biggest bowl of guacamole that we have ever made. Caleb decided that since it was Christmas, we shouldn't have any guac shortage. I made homemade cinnamon rolls for the next day and then we laid on the couch. Robb was ready to go to bed at 8pm. I had to remind him that our night was far from over. 

 

Lutz Family Pictures

We took family pictures when we went back to Norfolk for Christmas. Susie likes having updated pictures since the kids change so much from year to year. Bryce was kind of sick but he was a trooper. Robb and I are about the least photogenic 2 of the group so this is always a challenge for us to not look like goofs in the pictures.

 

Christmas with the Lutz's

We went up to Norfolk on Friday the 21st. We hadn't gotten the chance to get family pictures yet, so we took pictures Friday night and had Christmas on Saturday. Bryce didn't feel very well when he woke up on Friday, but he pushed through, and we all made it through family photos. Saturday morning, he was feeling terrible, so I took him in to Urgent Care and he was diagnosed with Influenza A. Poor kid. They gave him an anti-viral and antibiotic. He was pretty low key all day, but he was still able to open gifts with us. 

Bob and Susie love Christmas. I think Bob should probably dress up in an Elf costume to hand out gifts. He writes riddles and overall loves the holiday season. This year they had an enormous tree and had to put it in the other corner to gain a couple extra feet of height. 

Santa came to Grandma and Grandpa's house too and left stocking gifts. The boys got these replica sports rings, and they got a kick out of their bling. 

Emmy got new cowboy boots and a riding outfit for when she can restart her horse lessons. She also got a video blogging camera, Barnes and Noble gift card, Nike bag and flower Legos.

Caleb got a pair of skis and ski boots. I think he is going to figure out that having his own ski boots is a game changer when it comes to comfort. He also got some Travis Matthews polos and golf shirts. 

Abby was super excited to get an iPad. She also got an I Pencil which allows you to draw on the iPad like you would draw on paper. It is pretty fun! She is super creative and has started making some fun stickers with her designs. She got a pair of Ugg boots that are adorable as well.

Bryce got his gift that he has gotten for the last couple years. He got tickets to the Big Ten Tournament. This year it is in Minneapolis. He looks forward to this all year. He loves going to all the games and staying with his grandparents for the week and eating lots of good food. He also got some Husker gear to wear to the games.

Brook looking adorable in her cowboy hat. 

We got AJ a mini fridge and Aaron wasn't thrilled with it. He was worried what AJ and his tortoise are going to keep in the fridge in his room.

It is always a fun chaos when it comes to gifts. This time of year, is about so much more than just gifts but keeping that in mind it is really fun to get and give gifts. We are lucky to have a wonderful family to spend the holidays with.

We had called Karen to let her know that Bryce did have influenza A and it was decided that he would just stay far far away from her. She has been at the nursing home after hip surgery and has been looking forward to being back at the Meadows so that she is able to come to Christmas. It was fun to see her and celebrate with her too. We finished the night off with scallops and steak and all the delicious food!