Winter Family Time

Tonight, we had the most amazing time together as a family. Unfortunately, our camera ran out of battery just as we got to the most fun part of our night! After church, we went caroling with some church family and the children truly enjoyed passing out Christian literature (especially Kind Heart who is our natural evangelist!). Afterwards, we drove home and changed, and decided to surprise the kids with a night out of pizza and ice skating. :) The pizza place we went to was called Red Brick Oven Pizza. They are a unique place; Straight Arrow is gluten-free and we are all vegan, so how do we eat pizza? At a place that offers gluten-free pizza crusts and vegan cheese! This place has fantastic pizza and offers a cheese substitute called Daiya "cheese", so we were able to order pizza like "normal" people and really enjoyed ourselves. We had some time to pass, so we ventured out to a neighborhood about 10 miles away that is known in our part of the city for its amazing light shows - they even have their own facebook page, as it is so popular! That was really nice and way too big for us too stay long. We were creeping along in the streets. We would have walked but were short on time to get to the ice skating "chalet". It was really cute to see people with lit-up palm trees and flamingos pulling a sleigh instead of reindeer! There were many unique displays and some traditional, but all very beautiful. Every tree in every yard was decorated and lit-up! Lots of people had outdoor fire-bowls and it smelled so nice. It was odd to see so many folks in shorts and short-sleeves and equally odd to see them mingle with people decked-out in winter gear, boots, hats, gloves, and all. (On a side-note, earlier in the week as we were out and about, I glanced over while stopped at a light and saw a man with beautiful Christmas decorations on his front lawn, mowing the yard. I think that was the first time I have seen someone mowing their yard at Christmas!) So, we made our way out of the light labrynth and back to the chalet. The fun we had is almost indescribable! Each of the children have such personalities and they all came out tonight. Straight Arrow was very hesitant at first, but with a little coaxing and help, he came out of his shell and was skating on his own in no time. Kind Hart was a go-getter, rigid and strong. He was determined to go fast and be like the faster teens around us. And by the night's end, he was zooming around, getting confused, and often skating against the flow with no fear! Lil' Farmer was like a cowboy on ice skates - the two just don't go together! It was hilarious, although he didn't think so. I think he would have been more comfortable out on a horseback ride! He just couldn't stand up if his life depended on it. And he wasn't too inclined to try it again. We were able to rent this cute little skate chair in the shape of a seal. The small children could sit down on it and be pushed. Or it can be used by a younger skater to push on while they learn to get their feet underneath themselves. Lil' Farmer was happy on or behind the seal. Then there is Sweet Sis. She was, well, sweet! She was very content doing anything we asked her to do. Whether it was being pushed by her various brothers, holding on to help push Liam, standing on the wall and saying Hi to little friends, or holding our hands, she had no complaints! The Professor and I had a blast as we remembered why we had children and why we had four! We even got some smooching in and a few laps holding hands! ;) The children loved to see us skating out on our own and were so happy. We felt like we were back in college! Oh no, am I at risk of sounding like a parent? Yikes!