Getting Excited

We had lots to do to get ready for Christmas this year and the boys loved every minute.  We baked and decorated cookies one afternoon and ate them all, so we got to make a second batch closer to Christmas.  That's called good planning.

 

I let the kids watch Christmas Vacation with me (although we fast forwarded a few parts..."Can't see the line, can you Russ?"...we'll wait a few more years on those scenes).  Ben thought the scene with Cousin Eddie dumping his sewage down the storm drain was so funny that he drew a picture of it later that night.  It says "sewer is full".

Bart the elf made daily appearances and kept a close eye on the boys.  Alex left a blankie out for him one night in case he got cold so of course Bart had to sleep there.

I loved this sweet gift Alex brought home from school!  It was a craft the class had made but the bag was the best part.

On the last day before winter break, the kids got to wear their pajamas.  Both guys were sporting my handiwork again in fabric they had chosen.

After school, we headed to Grammy and Grumpy's house for Christmas #1 and some good ole fashioned Christmas fun.

The kids didn't mind opening a few presents early!

Ben and Grumpy dove right into the snap circuits board, which was a really cool way to learn about electricity.

We all spent some time at the park enjoying some mild winter weather with the ducks.

The kids had fun in the trees and the grown ups had fun playing games after they'd gone to bed.  We had a great celebration, then said goodbye and headed home while they headed north to spend Christmas with Aunt Stacey and her family.  They are blessed with a baby-to-be but four hours in the car to come here was not appealing in the third trimester.

At home, the kids left out their cookies and milk.

These two crazy boys somehow went to sleep and dreamed of the excitement to come...

Thankful

Before Thanksgiving break, I got to join each of the kids for their Thankful parties at school.  I loved seeing how much this boy has grown this year!  The second graders were like little adults, so polite and well-behaved.

It was lots of fun watching Alex in his kindergarten class...it felt like a zoo after an hour in second grade.  In this picture, Alex is turned around pulling his shirt over the back of the chair while other kids were playing pin the tail on the turkey.  Makes a mom proud, I tell ya.

When it came down to an edible craft, thought, this boy was all over it.  Made his turkey then devoured it!  The second he was done, we ran out the door into the waiting car and started our long drive to Alabama.

As usual, we had to do some 4-wheeler treks through the woods to check on all the trees.

The kids love riding along and looking at everything...and asking a million questions about the 4-wheelers.

We got very close to snow the first night (and maybe got some after everyone was asleep) but once the skies cleared, all we got was very cold weather and a few heavy frosts.

The kids were really hoping for snow, but we still played in the winter wonderland of frozen grass and found plenty to do.

The rain made for some wonderful frozen puddles and the kids found every way possible to break, crush, and destroy all the ice.  They were in heaven!

We found lots of big, thick sheets and loved how it sounded like breaking glass when it crashed.  We don't find much of this in Houston.

It wasn't snow, but some of the frost was still really beautiful.

The kids found plenty to do in the warmth of the house, too.  They spent many hours creating a city with roads and stores of every kind.

Ben even got to shoot the shotgun he inherited from Mr. Scott and he did a great job.

We had a great visit and enjoyed family time and some relaxation, but as always, we still had to make the long trip back.  We were so fortunate not to run into much traffic at all going or coming, but the long drive still took someone out just an hour from home.  Or maybe he was just meditating on something important.

Back home, the kids were excited to find that their elf Bart had reappeared.

We were blessed with a brilliant sunset to wrap up our Thanksgiving weekend.  It's such a joy to pause and give thanks to God for all the blessings He has given us.  Now we can look forward to the joy of Christmas!

Getting in the Spirit

I was talked into getting the Christmas tree out yesterday because Ben wanted to investigate the faulty lights.  We never did figure out the problem, but we solved it by throwing an extra string of lights over the broken string.  Naturally, the next request was to decorate the tree, so that's how the boys and I spent a fun afternoon.

Ben carefully added all of his ornaments to the front of the tree.

Alex chose to put all of his on the same poor branch, which now hangs to the floor.

Sweet boys enjoying the lights and talking about how much they love the Christmas tree.  Turns out I'm pretty happy they talked me into it, even though I won't bring out everything else until after Thanksgiving.  Might as well enjoy this for an extra week, right?

Naturally, someone else got to enjoy the tree, too!  Blue actually seemed to enjoy the lights.  Or maybe he was terrified.  Either way, it made for a cute picture and lots of giggles.

The boys also asked to paint more ornaments and I'm always up for any craft they request.  They each got two frosted glass balls to decorate.

Ben did a great snowman and a "tree".  Alex picked a "tree" and a "snowflake".  So out of the bunch, we have some very colorful treasures to add to the tree and I imagine we'll have some laughs when we pull them out years down the road.  Luckily, they labeled them so well we'll remember they were done at 5:30 on November 20th, 2013 when Ben was 7.  Making memories here...

Trick or Treat!

I'm a little behind on the pictures, but I don't want to forget what a fun halloween we had this year.  Ben was super excited to wear a t-shirt of his costume to school, since they don't allow the kids to wear costumes.

 

 And just a few short hours later, we had our own Darth Vader in search of treats!

 

We also had an adorable Mario, who suffered through the mustache for about 30 seconds to humor me.

The boys never asked to carve pumpkins this year, so I thought we were home free.  Then about 5pm on Halloween, they decided they were ready.  Uh, no.  Instead, I gave them paint markers to decorate them and we got some very cute zombies and ghosts.  I wish I'd gotten a close-up of those.

 We left a big bucket of candy by the door and started meeting up with the other kids on the street to start the trick or treating madness.

This picture says it all - Alex is blurry because he was running so fast.  That kid never slowed down the entire evening!

I love, love our street and the circle outside our culdesac.  It seems like everyone was outside enjoying the beautiful night and watching the kids have a blast.

Towards the end of the night, Alex was laden with loot.

When we got home, he wasn't ready for the fun to end, so he pulled out his chair and handed out the rest of the candy.

I have found this unbelievable for the past two years - as soon as the kids get home, they eat a couple pieces of candy, then they're done with it!  They absolutely love trick or treating but they quickly forget all about the treats.  That just leaves more for me!

Goodbye, Training Wheels

We've known for quite some time that Alex was capable of riding on two wheels, but he was scared of falling and Matt and I didn't want to sweat out in the heat making him learn.  Now that fall has come to Houston (so the afternoon highs are pleasant 80's), Matt decided it was high time to get the little guy riding his bike.

It took lots of talking and a few pushes, and then Alex was off.  He was hesitant at first but quickly gained speed and started attempting tricks.  No waiting around for this guy. 

 

We were so proud of him!  And I prayed that he wouldn't fall on the first day or we'd never get him back on his bike.  Luckily, he didn't fall until the second day when he was racing the 7 and 8-year olds down the street (and winning) when he skinned a knee.  By then, he'd had a taste of speed and we could talk him back onto his bike...but maybe just a bit slower this time.  I love this guy's passion and determination

Check out my handsome boys on "Dress for Success" day.  Outfit input not accepted from Mom.  (Yes, those are Ben's corduroy pants tucked into cowboy boots)  It was also class picture day so it should make for some pretty awesome pictures.

After Ranger Science (a hands-on experience with parent volunteers), I got a picture of Ben's class and teacher before they had to leave.  It's a great group of kids and a wonderful teacher this year.

We were so fortunate to have our beloved Dulaneys come visit over the weekend.  I bet Mr. Scott had no idea we were going to put him to work!

Crazy picture!

And sweet smiles.  We love Miss Lou Anne and Mr. Scott!!  It was a quick visit but so wonderful to catch up with them.

The spy game has been very popular around here lately.  Just don't tell the boys that their spy glasses are supposed to help them see what's going on behind them, not in front.  They love to sneak around the house and count how many times they see me without getting caught.  Let's just say that number would be very small if I wasn't playing along!

You ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?