The Avonlea Way: November 10, 2023- January 7, 2024

When I don't post for 2 months and it's the busiest two months of the year, there are double the pictures, double the fun. :-) 140ish pictures, whew!!!

Jusitn, Logan and Liam (and Liam's dad, Matt), went to the boys' first NFL game: The Browns v The Bears. It was a nailbiter of a game, but the Browns won in the last minute of the game!

Mimi and Bobby took the kids to decorate Gingerbread Houses at Wedgewood. They had a blast!

Justin's bowling league on Wednesday nights. Josh, Brian, Justin, Tommie and Dan.

Girls' Trip to Florida in mid-November! Jamie, Katie, Molly, Barrett, Lauren, Emily and Michelle (Katie King met us there)

Hot Tub at Aunt Molly's! Maggie and Jacob

Mimi and Bobby's tradition is for the youngest grandchild to read the Christmas story out of the kids' Bible. This was Maggie's first year to read it! She did great!!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party to kick off Christmas Season at the Gallagher's: Justin, Matt, Chance, Jim, Brian and Nick

Gallagher's Christmas Party

Loooots of icing to decorate the Gingerbread House!

Gingerbread House Decorating!

Thanksgiving at the Plessinger's House (the Sunday after)

Arica was the announcer at the Women's Buckeye Basketball Game! So cool!

OSU Women's Bball

Maggie did a 6 week volleyball clinic- she really enjoyed it!

Early on in the Christmas season

Braces change (he gets them off on January 11)

Penny!

Bobby's Birthday dinner at Senor Antonio's

Maggie is ready for Cheerleading

Selfie!

Jacob's selfie

Me and Michelle in Florida

Not quiiiiiite warm enough for swimsuits, but we laid out anyway!

Florida airport

Santa Jacob at school

Mags at school

Kids hang up almost all of the ornaments

Decorating for Christmas.... with Penny!

Maggie wanted bangs soooo badly. I told her she needed to think about it for at least two weeks. She continued to beg me for them, so here she is! We went to my trusted friend, Ashley, to cut her bangs!

Ashley and Aunt Molly there for Maggie's big bang haircut!

We ran the Ohio Script for the Michigan/OSU game. (If you look at a map, it spells Ohio)

Still logging miles

Enjoying those new bangs!

Jacob more-or-less adopted this bell pepper as a stuffy for a few days, lol.

Penny waiting for her food to come out

Maggie can play the first part of Jingle Bells

Cutie!

Gie!

Cheerleading!

Logan's bball team. (yet to win a game... great group of boys)

Thanksgiving (and Christmas card pic)- Maggie, Madeline, Marney

Will always be my favorite ornaments.

Santa at the Bristol

Gie!

Thanksgiving

Christmas card pic attempt

We went with this one for the Christmas card... could see everyone better. (Maggie wanted the previous pic bc she was holding Penny in that one. hehe)

Logan at school. He loves his new jersey that Grammy got him for his bday (CJ Stroud). He wanted to wear it on Monday and Wednesday of the same week.... I wouldn't let him and it's the most upset I've seen him in a long time.)

Jacob and his buddy, Luke.

Thanksgiving crew at Janey and Duane's!

Duane, Frank, Mike, David, Jesse, Justin,

Janey, Diane, Denis, Mel, Emily

Julie, Ellie, Jacob, Logan, Ellie and Colton

(Lanna was in Nepal on a 3-month mission trip)

Logan's 10th birthday! Card from Aunt Daney and Uncle Jim

First year to have a Rudolph Minivan and I was feelin the vibe!! I loved it so much!! My only regret was that I didn't do this 5 years ago!

Spaghetti dinner in matching jammies

Logan's bday!

Maggie took this early in the morning and I loved how real life it was, so here you go! :)

New Christmas dress

Molly and I showing Gie the Rudolph van. She got a kick out of it.

A fun fellowship night with our lifegroup- we played Pie in the face game!

Maggie's best friend, Cassidy, from her class. She moved to Ghana. We were so so sad to see her move. There is a chance that they'll be back in 5 years or so. Her dad stayed and chatted for 20 minutes while the girls played. He was so sweet.

Lifegroup fellowship night! This group is small, but soooo sweet. Grateful for God bringing these people in our lives!

Maggie and Cassidy with their BFF necklaces.

Doing cartwheels

Logan's 10th birthday party skating. Our kids had never been to a roller-skating rink, but they skate inside of our house a lot, so they were such little pros out there!

I skated. I definitely felt older though, because I was afraid to fall, haha!

Gallaghers Christmas Party

Ashley, Molly, Emily, Michelle, Barrett, Jamie

The boys did Laser Tag in between the skating for Logan's party (One of Logan's friends tripped and broke/chipped his two front teeth.... it was super bad.... he went to an emergency dentist right away, but wow..... I just felt awful about the whole situation. I was so grateful that Justin was there.... we had considered him staying home with Jacob and Maggie.)

Logan's birthday party!! Most friends that we've had at one party!

I got first place out of all of the women for the 2000 meter row. (a lot of people choose not to go to Orange Theory on this day, so probably not against a lot of people :) ) But I was pumped! I had never been on a leader board for any rowing benchmark before.

I got this cute cat coffee cup from my Secret Santa at school!

Logan's Christmas class party!

Jacob's Christmas class party!

Jacob's class

Maggie's Christmas class party

Logan's robotics competition! They did so so great!! There were 17 teams of varying ages 4th-8th grade. Logan was on an all-4th grade team. 8 teams moved on to the next round, and his team did not. But his team got 2nd place out of the 17 for the Robot Game section, which was so so impressive! There was another innovation component that we think the older grades did better in, which is why the older teams moved on to the next round.

First NFL game in his rain suit. They were prepped for a lot of cold rain, and then it only sprinkled for the first quarter. They were thrilled!

Meeting their 2nd cousins. Aunt Diane, Grammy with 4 year old Matilda and her twin baby sisters Beatrice and Amelia

Hot Chocolate

It was such a great game. I had fun watching at home knowing they were there.

Roosters!

Matt and Logan! (Matt and Liam are Bears fans)

Santa Brutus!! OSU Men's Basketball game this time!

Logan's Robotics Team

The kids have been playing a lot of school in Maggie's room

Christmas at Mimi and Bobby's

Christmas at Grammy and Pop Pop's

Christmas Even Lantern Walk- it was so much fun and we even saw Santa and his reindeer in the sky (apparently it was Starlink, whatever that is, but it really looked like it could be reindeer!). Last year, the weather was too snowy and cold that we didn't do a lantern walk. This year we went to the little neighborhood across the street and they had the entire loop with those milk jug luminaries.... it made me so joyful! We saw some of the neighbors out there and asked about it, and we asked them who did the luminaries, and it was those two gentlemen we were talking too. It looked beautiful!!

Justin and I have been doing Chinese food on Christmas Eve for over 5 years now, and every year I am disappointed in my food. This year, we decided to do Thai food instead, and Justin randomly found Joys Village Thai food and we looooved it. All 5 of us. We loved the Teriyaki Chicken Noodles and the Chicken Fried Rice. It was a big hit! We'll be doing that again next year!

Christmas Day movie for the first time since I was a kid! I enjoyed this movie. Justin and Vince took little naps during the movie.

Logan's new Christmas game, Suspend. A jenga-like vibe, but with metal rods. It's super fun!!

Logan and Maggie cuddling!

Me and kids devouring a cookie and ice cream dessert at Local roots.

Jacob left Santa a note, and Santa left a drawing and initials back!

Zoo Lights on December 26th!

Zoo Lights! Big Foot came with us! (Christmas present)

Airport.... Porg on Board on Jacob's shoulder

We gave the kids a trip to Disney and Universal for Christmas! This was our super great hotel room.... 2 queen beds, bunk beds and a pullout couch!

Mags and I at Disney!!

Thunder Canyon Mountain... one of our favorite rides!!

Space Mountain with Jacob!

Magic Kingdom for Day 1! Full, fun day! (December 29)

Zoo Lights on December 26

Justin put this turkey in the air fryer and it was delicious!!

On the Liberty Paddle Boat at Magic Kingdom. The Haunted Mansion in the background.

This was at Universal Studios (Day 2, December 30th) at the Minion Cafe. A unicorn cupcake and a minion swiss role.

Tron at Magic Kingdom! It is a very thrilling ride!! For several of us, it was our favorite ride, and for others, the second favorite ride of the trip. So. much. fun.

Hotel room and lollipops.

Me and Mags

Hogwarts Castle at Universal on Justin's birthday! It was soooo cool.

For our Disney trip we ate at Fridays two nights in a row bc it was the only walkable restaurant from our hotel. It was very yummy both nights.

Universal was Day 2 (Dec 30!)

Mags and I on Tron! It was 0 to 60 mph super quick!

Logan and Justin! (Jacob rode in between us, so it didn't automatically load his pic since it's tied to my and Justin's magicbands)

Space Mountain

Space Mountain another time

At Universal we did Aerosmith's Rockin Rollercoaster... it goes upside down three times. We were shocked that all 3 kids were game for it. I wish we had Maggie and Jusitn's pic.... Maggie is smiling so big and looks so joyful!

Blue Slushie Break!

Hollywood Studios was our third and final day on December 31. This was in Toy Story Land.

Toy Story Mania

January 5... Maggie's 7th birthday!!!

Maggie got the cat's cradle string for her birthday, and she loves it!

Birthday lunch! Cookies and cream milkshake and her Witch's Broom string trick.

Penny hanging out on Maggie's bed for hours one afternoon.

Last night.... a super fun game night for Katie Kerscher's birthday! This is like Plinko.... mine went in the middle trap door for zero points. Boooo.