We are going to chocolate pretzels?

Maybe we were dealing with too little sleep or maybe we need more practice on the riddle/clue thing...
Christmas morning we told the kids we couldn't go downstairs until 8AM. We made coffee and we were about to let the kids start opening but the video camera was left on and had no battery charge. We told the kids to patiently watch Frosty the Snowman while the battery charged. I think the kids pretty much got all the higher up wish list items.
We waited for Mom and Dad and Dean to come over before we found the hidden clue box. Ellie said it looked like Kitty had gotten into it - I guess I need to be more Martha Stewart next time with my wrapping. They got most of the clues but when they went to read them back and pull the pretzels they just kept saying, In 6 days we are going to chocolate pretzels? Ok, who is on the bag of pretzels, where are they from? Screaming commenced.
We had a nice breakfast together and then dad helped Nick set up his new Polar Express train set and Dean played some new games with Ellie. We started a fire and it was just a laid back kind of day. We lounged about and charged up presents that needed to be charged to be able to be played with or used.
I got the best gift ever - gift card to the car wash. Mom, Dad and Dean left and we continued of laziness. Ellie and I tried out some new wii games. Ellie really likes the Disney All Star game. Our neighbors brought over homemade egg rolls just as our stomachs were starting to talk to us. We pulled out the sofa bed and all cuddled together to watch Polar Express.
This morning was another lounge about. We eventually got dressed and I talked with Rob about the cabinet I wanted him to build at the top of the stairs. I took the kids to the library to pick up Disney books and Ellie got a couple to read over break. We stopped in at Salvation to see if we could find any cheap Disney shirts for the trip. Amazingly, the cabinet was built by the time we got home. Needs to be leveled out (our floor is unlevel at the top of the stairs) and trim work done - I need to decide what color to paint it.
Ellie and I did some Just Dance while Nick and Rob cleaned out the garage. We went to pick Tony up for a sleepover. Dad was nice enough to try to find the suitcase I wanted to borrow for our trip. We picked T up and were on our way. We went up to Vernon Hills to the Cuneo Museum to drive through the Winter Wonderland. It is about an hour drive through Christmas lights - very entertaining for the kids because they have just about all the Disney and cartoon characters. We had a quick dinner and gelato at Marianos and then drove through. The kids asked if we could do it again when we finished.
On the way home we stopped at Goodwill. My proudest moment of the year...Ellie had Tony in a cart and I had Nick. We were both looking through racks. I come over to where she is and she pulls out of her cart a North Face fleece and says - it is only $6 that will be great to flip! I don't think I have stopped smiling since. She also had Hanna pulled - I love that girl. It was a great stop. I picked up Mini Boden shirts for Ellie to wear and then we will flip, the North Face jacket, a Disney t-shirt and sweatshirt for her and a few t-shirts for Nick.
We stopped in at Dominick's to see if anyone wanted anything special for breakfast tomorrow. Instead of food shopping we clearance shopped. The boys each got a car and Ellie got a craft kit. I picked up a couple pairs of holiday replacement socks and coffee creamer. We came home and got PJs on and pulled the sofa bed out. The kids played for a bit before we got ready for bed. Polar Express was on again so we watched the first 20 minutes of that to settle down and then off to sleepy land.
I cannot believe we pulled the Disney secret off, thanks to all of you for not telling. Ellie is still amazed that we knew this long and didn't tell. Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree