Our family tradition for the 24th has been to go out to brunch, but since the day fell on a Monday, many options were closed.
We had persimmon walnut bread for breakfast (I sliced it from the other end and the texture was perfect since it was properly cooled and not still steaming hot!), and instead ended up going out to lunch at Punch Bowl Social, a place we’ve been eyeing for a while.
There are several locations, but the Sac location is relatively new. It’s like a restaurant/bar with all kinds of fun games to play while you dine! Bowling, darts, virtual whatever, and all the classic arcade games (shuffleboard, skee ball, connect four, karaoke, foosball, billiards, etc). Basically, you could spend the day there!
We stuck to bowling and food though. Both were very fun.
Kyle and I got two dishes to “split”, which looked more like an 80/20 kind of deal.
Above is the DELISH Brawny Salad with Roasted Chicken + Butter Lettuce + Avocado + Tomato + Dates + Almonds + Goat Cheese + Corn + Spicy Croutons + Herbed Mustard Dressing. It was way good and that’s coming from someone who judges salads pretty harshly since I make a dang good salad myself.
Below is the Chicken Fried Chicken with Hormone/Antibiotic-Free Chicken Breast + Crispy Potatoes + White Mushroom Gravy. It was also to die for tasty. The crunchy fried outside of the chicken was soooo good.
And even though I packed almond butter and jelly sandos for the kids (which they polished off while Kyle and I bowled), they were still hungry, so we ordered the hummus off the kids’ menu.
And then I sampled some of their house made chips. Yummy!
It started raining when we got back home and we had already blown through Valley’s nap, so I decided to make a gingerbread house with the kids.
It was SO FUN. Sometimes I think these activities will be more stressful due to the mess, but I’m getting better at just rolling with it and letting them do whatever. The reward is that they are getting more self sufficient and I’m impressed and more inclined to continue to let them be. It’s the good kind of cyclical behavior. 🙂
And it’s sweet when they work together.
I found extra Halloween candy for them to decorate with so it ended up prolonging the activity for a good 20 minutes.
Then we got fancy for church.
Kyle snapped this photo of us strutting in. Matchy matchy with my girl. <3
We had an easy dinner after of Caesar salad with nooch. Kyle and I wanted to keep things light in anticipation of eating what the kids put out for Santa.
As a special treat I made them hot cocoa for the first time. I used cow milk so it was his dairy dose all in one and he was delighted to say the least. At first it was too hot for them, but once it cooled they were all in. The mini marshmallows were icing on the cake. Is that metaphor ridiculous to use for something as similar as marshmallows on hot chocolate? it’s basically the exact same thing.
Oh hi early morning eye bags. Except they really have nothing to do with it being early. :-/
We heard P from his room whisper “it’s Christmas” and then progressively get louder and louder “it’s Christmas?! it’s Christmas!!” as he ran to our room.
We opened stockings before breakfast (more persimmon bread) and then did the kids’ presents after (we only got them two things so it was quick). Then Kyle and I worked out while they played with their new stuff.
He was just as obsessed with his drawing book as I knew he would be!
And she was so glad to have gotten both things on her “list” (a Bible and an umbrella – HA!). For now, they make it pretty easy on us.
After that we loaded into the car to head to my parents’ house for the rest of the day.
It was pretty low key with just immediate family…my sisters and their dudes.
And the kiddos finally got to meet baby Brooke!
I went to visit my sister and bring them food and whatnot the week before, but the kids were of questionable health so they stayed behind with Kyle.
First time meeting their little cousin!! SO MUCH LOVE.
They played nicely all day and V even napped! Sometimes the excitement of the day and all the family attention makes them crazy, but since we didn’t even get around to opening presents until late afternoon I kinda think they forgot it was a holiday! They are fortunate enough to hang out with their aunts and uncles and grandparents all together so frequently it’s barely an abnormal gathering.
More drawing…this time using photos of animals from our phones as models. He’s obsessed with animals and recites facts around the clock, which seem to mostly be accurate!
Cheers!
Group photo! Not sure why V looks scared of the phone…
Dinner time 🙂
I basically ate my weight in Brussels sprouts. They were SO GOOD.
This year my dad did a roast (in addition to the usual turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc that my mom did).
I took the edge pieces which were heavenly, not to mention the incredible pan juices that we reduced to make an insanely umami packed gravy.
These guys were pretty happy about the spread too.
And then there was pie!
Merry Christmas!
V’s Christmas list is killing me. I love it! What a cutie. Didn’t she ask for a pillow last year? Crazy cute.
Yep! Haha.
K, I’m not kidding here- where did V’a red and white dress with bunnies (?!??!) come from??? There’s a little girl in my life who NEEDS that!!
I rarely order salads for the same reason- gotta say i make a killer salad myself ;)) what a fun night to go bowling together! I’m horrible yet twice a year or so go with friends.
Congratulations to your sister and the new addition to the family :))
I love that you guys didn’t go crazy with gifts and the kids have such easy requests. Hot chocolate is critical to childhood IMO, and yes to marshmallows- i like to use chopped dark chocolate and whisk into oat milk for dessert myself And what a great xmas feast dinner! That pie is such a money shot…..
Btw, the NOMA fermentation book is pretty awesome, however full disclosure you can find similar potentially easier recipes online too. I made a few different fermented veggies so far- added my own spices, really easy. Radishes with dill, black peppercorn and garlic carrots, and fennel seed green beans. Maple kombucha is next on my to do list, and then probably the pear vinegar but using a different dry yeast that’s easier to find
MAPLE KOMBUCHA!?!!? OMG. Thanks for the review. I’d been eyeing it on amazon ever since you mentioned it (and comparing it to the ATK foolproof preserving book). I’ll look at the tag from V’s dress and get back to you. Like everything else in her life, it’s a hand me down so I have no clue where the first person bought it. 😛
Augh, k, odds of me finding that dress are zilch if it’s a hand me down…. so adorable!!
And yeah, maple booch is total head exploding emoji! LOL. I’m traveling a lot (working during week and stay in philly) and gotta restart my booch, it died of cold and neglect at some point. I’m thinking maple and lemon booch would be a Game Changer
And, ummm-
Buy BOTH books! Call it your xmas present to yourself.