Christmas with Family

We went to Oklahoma to celebrate with my family. This involves multiple locations and many different groups of people. We went to my mom's church for their cantata, out to eat, visiting homes, and nursing homes.

Papa T and Oma got new bikes and the kids approve.

Part of the family out to lunch after church

It was seriously cold. Not that cold, but it made for some good jokes about things freezing over...

(click on the photo to see it larger)

Family Photos

Once a year we have professional photos taken. Here are the pictures of the 4 of us.

Ok, she said the kids should climb in the tree, but I'm pretty sure I was included...

In a creek bed

Awww!

Moore Escape Rooms

We love escape rooms. When we were given the opportunity to try out a new room to blog about, I was thrilled! We visited Moore Escape Rooms in Moore, Oklahoma.

They are tucked into the corner of a strip mall. The corner includes 4 businesses with a lobby in the middle. Parking was easy and Google maps led us there with no problems.

From the lobby area looking into Moore Escape Rooms

Of course they don't allow any photography in the room itself because that would ruin the fun for others. They have four different rooms, including one room for only two people that would be perfect for a date. We did The Art of the Heist room which just opened and allows for a maximum of six players. 

"PRICELESS ARTIFACTS, DOOMED TO BE LOST FOREVER TO THE HISTORY BOOKS

They've done it again.  The Marionette Brothers have struck their 4th art exhibit in as many months.  However, this time their heist didn't end so well! The brothers are in custody and won't be harassing anyone again; there's just one problem...
The artifacts are missing.
Without the artifacts there is no evidence for the trial, and of course, no exhibit.  It's believed the Marionette Brothers hid the artifacts somewhere in the museum, presumably for easy retrieval.  Follow the befuddling path of the crooks to locate all the missing items.  Discretion is paramount, and as such you will only have an hour to discover their whereabouts.
Can you recover the artifacts in time to save them and the museum?  Or have the brothers been pulling the strings all along?"

The room is wheelchair accessible and our kids didn't have any issues locating the clues. This room was more difficult than the last escape room we did at another company. The other one was designed for kids and it left us wanting more. This room was challenging and really had us worried we weren't going to make it. When we got stuck we could press the button and they would put a hint up on the screen that displayed the remaining time. We used all of the hints. There was nothing inappropriate for children, but most young kids would find it frustrating. I would recommend this particular room for ages 10 and up due to the difficulty of the puzzles. They had a couple of clues we never used so I'm not sure if we did it wrong or if those were just to throw us off track. So how did we do?

With just over 1 minute remaining we escaped! We loved the variety of puzzles and that we did it as a family. It is a cooperative activity, but it feels competitive as you are racing around which means we all enjoyed it.

 At $25 per person or $150 to book a private room this is a great way to spend an hour. I highly suggest following them on social media and checking their web page for when they have sales also. The only reservation system is easy and the woman working there was nice. They had a problem with the air conditioning in the building before we arrived and contacted us through email to let us know. We didn't change our plans and they had it fixed and the building cooled before we arrived.

Have you been to an escape room? What did you think?

*We were given free tickets to the escape room in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Family around the Ship

Here are some of our family photos from around the ship. We enjoyed every minute of family time.

Dinner always ends with dessert! 

Grand Promenade as we leave Texas 

Grand Promenade another day 

Family rock climbing 

Ice Skating on board

Paddy Dash (part 2)

This is a continuation of yesterday's post about the Paddy Dash race.

Grandma came to cheer

Family photo!

Chocolate milk from the Nestle Bunny

Then they jumped for almost an hour. 

After finishing the 5k. 

The 5k he was too tired to run...

Paddy Dash (part 1)

Someone agrees to sign up for a race, but then doesn't want to actually go...

The 4 of us running together

He was done running fairly early on

She made a friend and they kept racing, then walking together and talking, then racing, etc.

A strong finish!

(There is no photo of Sweet Son's finish as he was hiding behind Daddy. Daddy's photo isn't the best so I'm being kind and not publishing it.)

Come back tomorrow to see what they did after the race.

Wordless Wednesday

Friends, Family, and Polish Food!

Family Vacation Photos

7 members of our family went on a vacation to the Dominican Republic, I've written so many posts about the wonderful trip. Here are the best photos of everyone who went.

At the resort

Too sunny, but a great view of the pool

Smiling from morning till night

Wordless Wednesday

Top Golf

Teleferico Puerto Plata Cable Car

This looks like a fun adventure! The family went to explore the cable car and get an amazing view.

On a platform

Riding up

At the top

Iconic background

My boys with a beautiful background

Ready to ride down

Family photo!

(I couldn't take off work for this vacation, so I'm missing all of the fun.)

Puerto Plata

The vacation wasn't just at the resort. They also explored the local city of Puerto Plata.

Sweet Daughter, Uncle A, Aunt J, and Sweet Son on a bus

Neat buildings and blue skies

Group selfie!

(I'm back in the United States working so I'm not in any of the photos.)

Playing in the Water

This is another post about the wonderful family vacation, without me, in the Dominican Republic.

Sweet Daughter with her Aunt and Uncle

The kids in shallow water

The kids with Uncle A

Our family believes in sunscreen, can you tell?

Gorgeous pool

Christmas Card Photo

Like many families, every year we do a Christmas card photo.

Official photo for the 2015 Christmas Card

*Remember the blog is a year behind

Happy Holidays everyone!

We didn't pick this one, but it was tempting...

Christmas with Family

We tried getting photos of everyone together and failed repeatedly. We will keep trying!

 Pictured: Me, Sweet Son, Sweet Daughter, Uncle B., Uncle B's friend, Dancing Great Grandma, Oma, and Papa T. 

Missing: Wonderful Husband, Oma's kids and their spouses

Pictured:Grandma, Sweet Daughter, Gentle Great Grandma, Sweet Son, Great Uncle R, Great Aunt K, Me

Missing: Wonderful Husband, Uncle B

Christmas with Grandma

Another day, another Christmas celebration!

Opening presents at Grandma's house

Visiting Great Grandma

All 3 (great-grandma and great-grand kids) were given the same stuffed bear, haha!