Christmas came and went so fast this year... it was a whirlwind. We started with our annual Stone Mountain Village trip to kick off the local festivities, then made the trip to Eau Claire for Christmas. The Trip there and back went smoothly, as only one kid barfed on the plane. Above, Catie loved her awesome Rudolph face painting. 
If you ever want a guarantee for a white Christmas, Eau Claire is your destination of choice. It is always so snowy that we have the kids convinced that Santa lives only a short drive north of Grandma and Grandpa Moe.
Abby found the snow to be quite interesting and seemed to enjoy playing outside.
This picture of Catie was extremely difficult to capture because she only went outside for about 2o seconds the entire trip! She is not a fan of the cold and snow, nor jackets, hats, gloves, or boots!
Jackson actually loved playing in the snow and helping Grandpa shovel the driveway. Here Abster got into the act and was a natural.
Of course the trip would not be complete without sledding down Uncle John's big hill. Unfortunately, Jackson had a big wipe-out, complete with a giant face wash and that was the end of sledding for the day.
As usual, Christmas morning was an exciting time with the spirited Schwartz kids and all the presents taking over the room. Grandma and Grandpa always surpass expectations and make Christmas a special time for the kids...us too! Between Santa, 3 sets of grandparents, Uncle John and Aunt Ann, these kids have no idea how good they've got it.
The Pillow Pets were a big hit with all the kids... Abby demonstrating how comfy they are to sleep on...
The Chaos Water Park was one of the few places open on Christmas Day. The place was awesome, with 3 giant waterslides, an obstacle course, and a lazy river. The kids (and adults) had a blast! Only in Wisconsin would a water park serve beer. "Hey out of shape fat guy... have a dozen brews and while you're at it, go for a swim..."
Abby had her adenoid surgery a couple weeks ago, and it went off without a hitch. Above is a picture of her just after the procedure, still asleep from anesthesia. She slept on and off for about two hours, and as you can see from the pictures below, by the time we left the hospital she was back to her old fun self!
Stiv was "stuck" in this position for 90 minutes holding the sleeping Abster.
This is one utterly cool makeshift balloon!!! Medical school really came in handy here.
Who is ready to leave the hospital?
We began Thanksgiving Day with the Atlanta Half Marathon. Later in the day, the Shores had us over for Thanksgiving dinner where we made up for all the calories burned in the run earlier. The kids had a blast running around and making a mess of the place. Abby and Ariel had fun taking a tub together at the end of the night.
Jackson and Dad spent the Sunday after Thanksgiving setting up our Christmas tree. Jackson was a big help this year, but enjoyed climbing the ladder the most. The directions claim that the process should only take 15 mins... we are not sure why Stiv and Jackson were at it for 1.5 hrs.
The kids enjoyed the Christmas Festival in downtown Tucker... Highlights were roasting (and eating) marshmallows and getting their picture taken with Santa.
Jax and Catie with a present...
Oak Grove CDC hosted a "Night in Bethlehem." There were several "village shops" open for business as well as craftsmen and food merchants. There were even tax collectors strolling through the nativity scene asking for taxes or tokens. Joseph and Mary cared for baby Jesus in a stable, surrounded by shepherds, angels and live animals. The live animals were a big hit with all.
"The Bag Lady"... another one of Catie's great outfits that she selected all on her own.
Jackson and "The Gobbler"... check out the video below.
"I should have been Jewish!" Jackson enjoyed playing the dreidel game and cleaned house!
Catie is taking her spice making very seriously...
The girls love their new shark swim caps. They wore them around the house pretending to be sharks, only they were both roaring like lions????
Abby and Catie had their Christmas Program at Oak Grove. Abby and her class "sang" Ring Those Bells. Abby seemed a bit confused, but did figure out how to shake the bells by the end of the song.
Jackson was in the middle of a big game of skeet ball. If there is another way to loose money faster, we would like to know what it is... Gotta love Chuck E. Cheese!
The kids spent most of the weekend misbehaving and doing a poor job of listening, so we sent them to bed early with no "midnight" snack. They obviously were sending us a message that they did not like the turn of events because the next morning we found a "dead" horse in our bed!
The kids all participated in the ING fun run on the Saturday before the half marathon and marathon. Jackson and Catie were very excited about the race and practiced the night before by running sprints thru the house. Jax and Catie were enamored with a chinchilla prior to their big races.
Catie is currently BIG time into lions and wanted to keep the lion balloon as a decoration. Just in case you are wondering, the fun run took place next to the zoo... hence the animal theme.
Abby warming up before her big 0.1 mile sprint.
Abster was very proud of the medal that she won (for having Ann carry her the 0.1 mile!)
Catie was all decked out in her lion outfit ready to take on the stacked field of 5 & 6 year old runners. Catie is kind of heavy-footed, so we did not know how she would take to the 0.25 mile run. It turns out she is quite the competitor and finished near the front with most of the 6 year olds.
Jax was excited for his 1/2 mile run with the 8 & 9 year olds. He started at the front and planned to go out fast and hold the lead....
He's looking strong with a couple hundred yards to go....
Ooops we spoke too soon! The wheels came off with about 75 yards to go and Jax had to dig down deep to hold on! He remarked after the finish, "My heart was about to explode!"
Everyone was proud of the effort they put into their race and loved showing off their medals.
Last week, we celebrated Stiv's birthday with a delicious ice cream cake that he tried to hoard from the rest of the family by handing out tiny pieces to everyone else! 
It was a big weekend as Jackson was tested in Taekwondo by Master Taylor for his green belt. He had to demonstrate his forms, kicks and punches, and sparring. He also had to break a wood board (see below). He passed with flying colors....
