Hot Chocolate & Board Games!!

After my awesome husband let me sleep waaaaay too long yesterday, I got up and our fun evening activities began!

(And yes, EVERYONE stayed in their pajamas ALL DAY LONG!)

My children are now addicted to candy canes in their hot chocolate. It's unheard of to drink it any other way. And you HAVE to have whipped cream AND "smarshmallows" in it too of course, and a spoon to eat it all with, and then there's the straw. It is one BUSY cup of cocoa! But I have to say I like the candy cane too, since my new favorite creamer is peppermint mocha. YUM!

I have the BEST memories of playing board games as a kid with my grandpa on my dad's side. This man was a whiz at every game you can think of and loved to entertain and teach us new stuff. Usually it was checkers or Rummy or Uno - another one of my kids's favorites! So I thought Sorry! would be a great one to try for the kids, and after dinner we set it up! After a very loooooong game, I learned three things: 1. Ya'shar is a ruthless little board game player. 2. Rea should become a lawyer because she can talk anybody out of or INTO anything. 3. I really love hanging out with those guys!

My new seafood gratin recipe that I "guinea pigged" on my family turned out great! Cooking and baking and trying new recipes has really become a fun and relaxing thing to do to unwind and also involve the girls, who are such a huge help. Today we're making Chex Snack Mix in the oven! I thought this would be a fun snack to have while we drive down to San Jose today! I love the smell of it baking.... Aaaahhh! Makes me miss my Grandma though!!! :)

Been up since 4:30 this morning, so it promises to be a long day! (Night shift syndrome strikes again!) Hope to make the most of it and pack a lot of great memories in!