New Year's Eve

We went to ImaginEve this year on New Year's Eve.  The kids had a lot of fun!  Once they got past the fact that Spiderman wasn't going to get them that is. 

 

 Showing off their dance moves!

Mara got to meet the tooth fairy! 

Fun in the Snow

Our first snowman of the season!

Birthday Skating

We celebrated cousin G's 2nd birthday and cousin L's 4th birthday at my hometown skating rink.  Memories!  I used to hang out there quite a bit on the weekends in middle school.  I was a bit sad they've updated the music.  I was looking forward to a little Bryan Adams and Tiffany! 

 After tightening up our kids' wheels, they both got the hang of it. 

 Can you believe they couldn't even talk their Daddy into putting on skates?  We'll get him next time. 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Eve day celebrating Jesus' birthday.

 

 We opened a few presents.  Mara got Micah his most wanted gift.

 

We went to our church's candlelight service and had fondue when we got home.  Before we went to bed, Mara set out some cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.  She woke up at 11:30 and 2:30 and checked on them.  At 2:30, she comes into our room and says, "The cookies are STILL gone!"  Not sure what she thought was going to happen after Santa ate them!  At 6:00, she comes in talking again about how Santa had eaten her cookies.  Not once did she mention the presents in the living room.  Too funny.

Micah was really pumped to see that Santa had brought him a train table!

As a matter of fact, he refused to open any other presents.  You can see him in the background still playing trains.

We headed to my grandparents for lunch.

And BINGO!

 

When I was little, we used to line up all our Christmas presents, and our Grandpa and Grandma would come over to see everything we got.  Guess who called this year and wanted to come see the kids' presents the day after Christmas?  Grandma J and Grandpa A.  So we lined everything up and enjoyed a couple hours playing with them.  What a great Christmas season it was!  We are so so blessed beyond measure. 

 

 

Christmas #2

Our next Christmas was with my family.  Our kids wanted to play with each gift they opened, so their cousins had to wait patiently for them to finally finish.  Micah got tired of opening gifts pretty quickly.  When we'd asked him if he wanted to open another present, he'd yell, "NO!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cousin G is obsessed with soft blankets.  So guess what his favorite gift was?

 

When the kids took naps (minus the oldest), we got out Guitar Hero.  It's been a few years since we've played, but it brings back many great memories!

Uncle J was a bit surprised his girlfriend was quite the gamer!

Later that night we headed to my aunt and uncle's house for my cousin's birthday and the annual grab bag exchange.  We haven't done this in a few years, so it was nice to be able to go.  I think we could win the Guinness Book of World Records title for the largest grab bag group! 

 

She just loves her baby cousin K.  He doesn't lack any love when she's around. 

I love to see our kids spend time with their second and third cousins.  That's rare for some families. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas #1

I'm a bit behind on blogging!  It's been busy around here.  Our first Christmas celebration was with Lance's family.  We celebrated at his brother's house, so we didn't have far to go.

 

 

Brunch, stockings, presents and white elephant exchange.  It was a great day with family!