2017 Wake Forest Belk Bowl

To cap off a good Wake Forest football season, they were invited to the 2017 Belk Bowl in Charlotte at Bank of America stadium.  Our family of four and Grandbob were the only ones able to go but we weren't going to miss it!  The Deacs had played - and won - in the Belk Bowl in 2007, the year the kids were born.  I remember my parents were in town and Dad went with Drew and Bob to the game and mom and I stayed home with the babies.

10 years later, on Friday, December 29, 2017, they went back to the Belk Bowl and won again!  They played Texas A&M on a crazy cold day in Charlotte.  What might not have been so bad if you were in the sun, was a very, very cold day because we were in the shade the entire game!

Wake came out asleep at first and was down 14-0 in the first quarter.  Things turned around and the Deacs were on fire on their next 5 possessions, taking a 31-28 lead into halftime.  In true WF fashion, they gave up the lead in the end of the third quarter.  The Deacs stuck in there and battled to end it with a win and a final score of 55-52.  Whew!  What a game!! 

Will had started in with a cold a day earlier than the game and he ended up not feeling too great during the game.  I also think he was extremely cold.  The boy has not one ounce of fat on his body to keep him warm.  Hand warmers in his shoes and gloves seemed to help and he rallied a bit in the fourth quarter so we could all stay and watch the game.

Lindy spent most of the game reading a book.  I'm not sure if she knew she was at a football game and she never once got cold out there.

We spent the night with Grandbob and it took us all evening to warm up!   GrandBob got Drew a little cake so we could have an early birthday celebration.   It was a fun day!

2017 Crozier Family Christmas

We let the kids play with some of their toys and then packed up and headed to my parents' house for Christmas and a few days with my sister and family.

First up was Christmas with the Croziers and Beavers.  We take our time and let the kids open presents first.  Then we go around and let each adult open a present.   We enjoying seeing what everyone thought to buy each other.

I took the prize for best present this year.  I got my dad a sign for his shed and he loved it so much he shed a tear.  I made my dad cry over a present.  Either he's getting a little sentimental in his old age or I just did a really fantastic job at shopping this year.  I think it was a little bit of both!  It's usually my sister with the good presents so I'm going to be talking about "the Christmas of 2017 where my present was so good I made dad cry" for a long, long time.  he he!

Now that I think about it, I had a couple other really good gifts for others, too.  Hayley almost cried tears of joy from the socks I had made for her.  Socks with her dog, Bella, all over them.  I also practically made my sister cry happy tears when she opened up a Donny Osmond calendar.   Hayley loves Bella like Amy loves Donny.

I think I reached my peak for gifts this year.  Family - it's all downhill from here!  ha!

Southerns before the Christmas present opening commenced

In their usual couch positions, Uncle Drew and Rylee

 Christmas gifts make for funny expressions! 

 Hayley opening her pup socks.  Bella faces all over them!

 THE sign.  He built a garage last year that he calls the Hut and he turns wood in the Hut ALL DAY Long.  The sign says "The Hut.  Eat.  Sleep.  Turn Wood"

 Hard to catch the tear - but it was there.

 Amy loves Donnny!

 Lee was so excited she got a Donny calendar!

Prime rib Christmas dinner on Christmas night

 Who let that Beaver in for dinner?!

We spent the next couple days enjoying time with cousins and sisters.  Since my sister had arrived a few days before Christmas, they left earlier after Xmas.  It felt like a short stay.  The kids always have fun playing together, especially with new toys.  We also went bowling because the year before not everyone got to go because a few people were sick.  This year everyone got to go enjoy the fun.

Christmas Morning at Home

We were woken up to Lindy screaming from the top of her lungs, "It's Christmas!"  Aunt Amy had told her to wake up at 5:30am so we were surprised she slept until 6:30am!  We got everyone up and moving and then we finally let them run to the fireplace to see if Santa had visited.

The kids both asked for robots this year.  Will asked for Cosmo and Lindy asked for Max.  Both are very neat and fun but the main difference is that Cosmo was already together and Max was not.  Max was in a million little pieces.  Santa also brought Will the game Risk and Lindy a dog with some outfits you can change.  Of course they got stockings full of junk too.

The kids plowed through their presents from us.  The wash cloths and clothes weren't too exciting for them.  Parents get to buy presents they need! ha!  But we did get them fun things too.  Will's big present from us was a real cash register.  He doesn't play imaginative play with toys or figurines, but he sets up all kinds of shops in his room.  Restaurants, stores, breweries (?!).  He is forever changing up what he is selling in his room.  I thought he'd love a cash register and I was right!  He does love it.  He mostly loves printing receipts to give to people.  He exhausted the first roll of receipt paper tape quickly and we had to make another order for more.   We had to read the manual to figure the thing out because it is a real working cash register but we got it.  He's learned how to program it and write messages on it.  He's enjoyed it.  We got Lindy a big vet set.  It's technically supposed to be for an American girl doll to play with but Lindy never plays with her doll so she just plays with it herself.

Santa's gifts!

 Patiently waiting.....

 Cosmo!

 Max!