Christmas 2014

We got to enjoy several Christmases this year and spread out the joy over several days.  Grammy and Grumpy came to spend the night and the kids got to open a few presents early.  Later, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Kirkham's where the kids found big surprises!

 

They had both outgrown their current bikes and were super excited to find bigger new ones!

After some test rides, they couldn't wait to have a look at the rest of the gifts.

We played games, rode bikes, played more, rode more, and then headed out to the Christmas eve service at church.  This is my favorite service of the year because we all go together and it's so quiet and reverent.

I love our church!  I was so glad to start our Christmas eve worshiping and celebrating Jesus.

Back at home, Alex realized he never sent a letter to Santa, so he gave a quick note to Bart to pass off to the big guy.  Translation: star burst, old maid, marble race 2nd, snap circuits (not the junior), more stuff for bugs no horizontal but vertical and more from you.  From Alex, to bart then Santa

The kids left out plenty of goodies for Santa and the reindeer.

Then they were all dressed and ready for bed!

We had to continue the picture session with the parakeets as well.

Yoshi, Alex, Blue and Ben.  Alex said he was too excited to sleep and asked for dramamine!  I was happy to help and hoped it meant we'd sleep past 5am :)

Bright and early Christmas day (we made it past 6am!), the kids were thrilled to see their new toys. Alex got the snap circuits he requested and Ben found a new mini ipad.  At first, Alex just stood in total shock that Ben got an ipad but finally looked around and realized he got one as well.

As soon as Dad asked to play on Alex's new ipad, Alex suggested that Dad open his own gift.  Turns out Santa found an awesome deal on apple products this year!

Naturally, this is how Alex wanted to spend the rest of his day....

...but we had lots of company to enjoy!  It was wonderful having everyone over for a big Christmas lunch.

Later, the kids played with some of their new toys outside.  The kids all loved testing out the mentos rocket with a bottle of diet coke.

I know it's Boxing Day in many parts of the world, but I've really come to love December 26th, known as Pajama Day at our house.  The men leave to hunt and the kids and I stay in our pajamas all day playing with new toys and watching movies.  Bonus: they don't even have to shower because they're already in pajamas at bedtime!

We played lots of games, snuggled on the couch in front of the fire, and generally rested after so much fun.  What a great Christmas.

Family Christmas Day

We had what turned out to be one of my favorite family days ever - our first good ole Kirkham family Christmas day!  We started the day off at church with lots of great Christmas music.

 

Next stop was lunch at the downtown Aquarium and the kids' first meal in front of the massive tank.  They also got little stuffed dolphins in the lobby so they stayed entertained for the whole afternoon with their new friends.

Then we went across the street to the Wortham center.  By this time, the kids were getting into the whole picture thing and started asking to have their pictures taken.  That's a rare event so I obliged.

Mr. GQ here was striking all kinds of poses!

Then it was time to see the Nutcracker!  I couldn't wait!  The boys were pretty excited, too, but Alex gets nervous about heights and he was not happy to see that we were on the first balcony.  Once the music and dancing started, he forgot all about it and got totally into the ballet.  We had just read the book at home so the boys were able to follow the story and really soak up the experience.

Afterward, we were the first ones to say hello the the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

We also met a few of the soldiers in the lobby.

Alex didn't drop his autographed program, but he definitely crashed on the way home.  All the excitement wore this little guy out!  It was such a wonderful day to do some new things together and get into the spirit of the season.

December Happenings

We kicked off December with the school's first ever musical production.  Ben had been singing rock and roll songs for months and was so excited to perform for everyone.  Sweet boy was even a little nervous!

The kids all did great and the show was entertaining.  I wanted to remember this picture because it's hard to see any student production these days without looking through a sea of electronic devices.

Ben is right in the middle of this crowd during a serious moment.  He did great and we took him out for ice cream afterward to celebrate.

 

Bart returned in December and had to up his antics a little this year after I learned that kids talk about their elf's adventures at school.  Can't have the slacker elf!  (but only if his ideas take five minutes or less)

 

Casey was pretty excited to meet Bart.  Bart learned never to sit on the floor again.

Matt and I got to get dressed up for a formal Christmas ball, which we ended up loving.  It was held where all my high school proms used to be so it was fun to go back as an adult.  Much more enjoyable with my handsome husband than a high school date :)

Santa and Mrs. Claus were there as well!  Either I've gotten taller or he's gotten shorter...

 

The kids and I took advantage of some beautiful weather and rode our bikes to the gas station for some treats.  Alex dropped all six of his chocolate donuts before the first bite.  While I was digging around for another dollar, I had to get a picture of his heartbreak.  Whatever this boy feels, he feels 150%.  But don't worry, he went back for a replacement.

The closer we got to Christmas, the more excited these kids got!  Especially on Polar Express day at school when they could wear their pajamas.  Next was FREEDOM!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in 2014 and much to be grateful for over the year.  We spent most of the week in Alabama with the Kirkhams enjoying some wide open spaces.  The kids and Casey begged to take long walks every day and I was happy to oblige when the weather permitted.  It's interesting to note that the trees in this picture were planted in 2001 during my first Christmas there and now I can't remember what it looked like before them.

 

 Casey was hesitant to leave the cover of the pines and go out into the pasture after she heard a hawk there.  I guess she knows she's small enough to be a meal to other animals!

We climbed all over, under, and through everything we could find and our four-legged friend was right there with us.

Someone had some serious hat hair!

We took the kids to the deer stand for the first time to watch the deer in the oat fields.  They loved it!   Especially since we took Hershey's kisses.

 

We always take some four wheeler rides to check on land and look at the timber and we got one particularly beautiful afternoon in the fall leaves.

 

We drove back home on Thanksgiving day and finally stopped at the Tiger station in Baton Rouge.  Turned out to be a great time because the tiger Tony who lives there was getting his Thanksgiving turkey and we got to hear him bite right through the bones.

Next, we headed to Grammy and Grumpy's house to spend time with Aunt Stacey and Uncle Jason and their kids as well.  We got the first picture of the whole gang together at the neighborhood park.

Grumpy and all of his grandsons!

Our little family of four (plus one)

The French family, who definitely dressed for the occasion.  We didn't get the memo in time.  I love Carter's smile in this one!

 It was fun watching all four boys enjoy the playground.  Casey got to have some fun there as well.

 One sweet picture from the ride home :)  This boy loves his dog.