“The party’s over.”

That’s the expression that Sid’s dad would always use when the Mathis girls returned to school after summer break. I hope he doesn’t mind me using it in a slightly different—but still very similar—context.

Today Sloan and Beau returned to St. Mary after 16 days out of school. They adjusted decently but probably not as seamlessly as me. I will write more about my transition tomorrow but tonight’s post is to reflect on another awesome Christmas break.

We packed in a TON from the moment the kids were released from school until the eve of their return. Seriously. The Friday evening of their release we went on a Christmas light tour and just last night we were at a birthday party. And in between all of that we kept busy—perhaps too busy. As per usual, I wanted to share 10 highlights from our time celebrating the holidays.

Reason For The Season – It is only appropriate to begin with the most important way we spent time over the past couple weeks. From Christmas Eve Mass to the Feast of the Holy Family to the Solemnity of Mary (Mother of God) to the Epiphany, we had plenty of opportunities to give thanks to God for the Incarnation.

During the break, we had multiple opportunities to worship at the holy mass. This photo is from Christmas Eve mass at St. Mary (Spokane Valley).

Sleepover! – If you ask Sloan and Beau the highlight of their break, they wouldn’t hesitate to tell you it was the sleepover we hosted for their cousins, Mik and John. Those four have a special relationship and to be honest, Sid and I had a lot of fun having them over as well. They played with Christmas gifts, ate pizza, watched movies, and splurged on an ice cream sundae bar.

Sloan, Beau, John, and Mik enjoy a sundae bar during their sleepover at our house.

Dave & Buster’s – At the beginning of break, I took the kids to Spokane’s brand new Dave & Buster’s. I purchased a play card that gave them unlimited credits for 90 minutes. Sloan and Beau actually got along well as they switched the card back and forth as they played all the games they desired. I was even able to sneak the card from the kids a couple times to play some of the classics while I sipped on $5 beers.

Playing at Dave & Buster’s was actually a lot more fun than what I remembered.

Bowling – When I asked Sloan and Beau at the beginning of break what they wanted to do most, they replied with bowling. Okay, easy enough. On Christmas Eve Eve we went to Players & Spectators for a quick game. Although we did use bumpers, Beau showed progress from last time as he could roll the ball down the lane himself without a ball ramp.

I could have used a photo of Beau throwing the ball down the lane but how could I pass on Sloan’s latest 6-7 reference? The kids had fun bowling at Players & Spectators in the Spokane Valley.

Building With Legos – The item at the top of the 2025 Christmas lists of both Sloan and Beau was Lego sets. They each received a couple and put them together over break. I enjoyed helping Beau build a space shuttle while Sloan needed no help whatsoever putting together complex designs. These build sessions produced some much-needed peaceful chunks of time around our house.

Sloan and Beau both worked a lot with Legos over break as they each received multiple sets for Christmas. This is Sloan during the beginning stages of one of her creations.

Dinner Out – We were fortunate enough to eat dinner at a couple restaurants over break because who doesn’t love eating out, right? The most memorable meal was eating at Outback, my wife’s favorite restaurant, the Saturday after Christmas. We also ate hamburgers at Red Robin with my parents and my sister’s family. For whatever reason, eating at a casual dining chain just seems more special when the restaurants are festively decorated and a limited edition holiday menu is offered.

During the holiday season we splurged by going out more than what we usually do. This is Sloan and Beau at Outback.

State’s Largest Gingerbread House – The Centennial Hotel in downtown Spokane was home to the largest gingerbread house in the state of Washington this past month. I took the kids to catch a glimpse of the structure built from 4,000 pounds of gingerbread and 1,000 pounds of flour.

We visited the state’s largest gingerbread house at the Centennial Hotel in downtown Spokane.

Going For A Ride – I made good on a promise to Beau to let him ride the animal go-carts at the Spokane Valley Mall. The adventure even interested his sister who decided to join us even though she could have stayed home. Both kids had a blast cruising on their carts as mall patrons gave glances of delight mixed with annoyance.

The kids had a lot of fun (and drew a lot of attention to themselves) riding these animal go-carts around the Spokane Valley Mall.

The Library – The best things in life are free. We made a couple trips to the Spokane Public Central Library so the kids could climb on the play structures, mess around on the computers, admire the views of the Spokane Falls, and…read.

Beau and Sloan play on the computers at the Spokane Public Central Library.

The “L” Stores – The library wasn’t the only place we visited over break that started with “L.” At Sloan’s urging, we checked out Lush, a handmade cosmetics store and then balanced it out with a visit to the Lego Store. This combination proved so satisfying that we repeated it a couple days later when we visited both places with Mik and John.

Sloan, Beau, and their cousins were given a special demonstration at Lush in downtown Spokane.

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It was another memorable break, indeed. I missed my kids at work today but was satisfied with the time we spent together. I also counted my lucky stars that I have a job that allows me to take time off during the holidays to be with my family. Already looking forward to next year! Don’t Blink.