Happy New Year 12.31.11

Logan with his party hat on!

Craig playing the cup stacking game...the boys really got into it.

Logan's turn!

Happy New Year!!!

Well, it seems Brett and I are very excited about 2012! :o)

For this new year, Karen invited Logan and I over to celebrate.  She had it all set up...games, party decorations, food...the perfect makings for a night of fun!  The only thing was that I wanted Logan to experience the ball dropping extravaganza without staying up until the wee hours of the morning.  As luck would have it, we were able to celebrate with New York and watch the big event at 9:00pm.  It was perfect!  Here's to looking back on a great 2011 and looking forward to a fantastic 2012!  Happy New Year everyone! May 2012 be your best year yet!!!

Christmas Morning 12.26.11

Logan must have been very nice this year...Santa brought him a Wii!

And Norman found this candy cane bone in his stocking!

Operation Mater!

Christmas at our house would not be complete without a dinosaur of some kind.

Logan's getting so good at taking pictures.  

Logan "helped" Norman open up his present!  I think Norman was very excited!

Logan spent Christmas morning with Mike this year, so Santa came to our house that night and we woke up to some lovely surprises on the morning of the 26th.  I don't think it will ever get old...the excitement on Logan's face when he rushes into my room to tell me that Santa has been here!  And Norman definitely knew something was up!  We had such a great morning...taking our time, relishing in being together and the joy this morning brings.  Some people say that Christmas is for kids.  I say Christmas is for anyone who still believes.  

Christmas 12.25.11

Logan with some awesome new Hot Wheels...oh, and an Angry Bird thrown in for good measure.

Mom's new hat...hopefully that will help keep her warm on her walks.

Dad and his new golfing pullover that Logan and I got him.  It was a perfect fit!

Kim had pointed this new purse out weeks and weeks ago when we were shopping together.  I snuck back and got it the next day.  Hee, hee!

Now if only I could convince Mike to use this to clean my car as well as his own! ;o)

Shane with his new Skylander guy...apparently they are way cool!

I think Logan was excited about his new dinosaur! ;o)

You may not know it, but that's Logan hiding behind that BumbleBee mask! 

Christmas day at Mom and Dad's house!  So.  Much.  Fun.  I don't know who gets more excited...Logan and Shane, or all us grown-ups?!?  Of course we take too many pictures.  Of course we buy each other too many gifts.  Of course we eat too much food.  Of course stay too late.  And of course, if I'm blessed enough to do it for the next 50 years, I'll do it again and again and again.  Christmas is the time of too much.  Give me too much love.  Give me too much giving.  Give me too much laughing.  Give me too much family.  Give me too much spirit.  Give me too much belief.  I'll take it!  Thanks to my amazing family for giving Logan and I too, too much!  Merry Christmas everyone.  May your holidays be filled with too much!

Christmas Eve 12.24.11

Chris, Christopher, Jen, Shellie, Matt, and Mike getting ready to watch the kids open their gifts.

Shaun, Emily, Brandi, Aubrey, and Grandma

Aunt Cheryl opening the sign we got for her for up at the cabin.

Cheryl (with Emily's help of course) got all the kids Husky wear.  They looked adorable...Logan got his the next day...maybe I'll have to superimpose him into the picture...yeah, as if I could do that. ;o)

Grandma with her calendar that I made for her that chronicles her life.  It was such a joy for me to put together.  I hope she gets just as much joy out of it all year long.

Christmas Eve at Mick and Cheryl's.  This has been a tradition for as long as I can remember.  It is one of the best parts of Christmas.  The older we get, the busier we all get.  Christmas Eve is the only time I get to see some of my family and I cherish every moment of it.  I am reminded how lucky I am and how valuable family is.  And once again, it was a simply lovely Christmas Eve.

Lights of Christmas 12.21.11

And here we go......

Logan and I in front of the mountain of lights...one of the first sights you see as you walk into the camp.

One of the few pictures I was able to take before my batteries died.  Grrrrr.

Shane and Logan with Frosty!

Logan talking to Bruce the Spruce...a couple years ago he was too scared to talk to him...such a big boy now!

Another year.  Another great time at The Lights of Christmas.  No rain.  Very cold.  Camera batteries died a couple minutes into our time there.  Fresh, warm cider donuts with a cold glass of milk.  More beautiful lights than I know what to do with.  And the feeling of Christmas and peace and joy that I wish I could bottle and last all year long.

Baking 12.21.11

We started with sugar cookies.

Apparently my son goes a bit crazy making cookies...could it possibly be the sugar???

While we worked on the sugar cookies, Mom worked on the no bake cookies.

Kim worked on decorating.

Just a sampling of what we were able to accomplish today!

This year Mom decided to have us all over to bake Christmas cookies!  Logan and I couldn't get on board fast enough.  What fun we had!  The boys did so great...I thought they'd be into for just a few minutes and then want to go play, but they really wanted to participate!  Mom had aprons for them and they took their job of rolling dough, and cutting out shapes, and decorating, very seriously!  And then, of course, there was the sampling that needed to get done.  :o)  We made dozens and dozens of cookies today.  I only hope that it is the beginning of another wonderful family tradition!  

Craig's 6th Birthday 12.21.11

Craig's birthday this year was Wild Kratts!  To begin the party, Karen told all the kids that they would be earning creature power badges today.  All animals were Arctic themed...perfect for a December birthday.

For lunch, Karen had them make their own polar bear pizzas...not surprisingly, my boy had fun making it, then had no interest in actually eating it!  Oh Logan.

Another activity had them making moose out of Legos...the kids did fantastic!

Next up was penguin snow globes!  So many fun activities!

Then it was time for presents and cake and ice cream.   

As usual, Karen knocked herself out!  The party was a huge success.  The kids did great.  Craig had a blast.       And everyone earned their Honorary Wild Kratt certificates!  Thanks for letting us be a part of celebrating Craig's 6th birthday Karen!  Happy Birthday Craig.  We love you.

Extravaganza 12.19.11

Brett, Logan, and Craig...note to self...always do pictures before presents!  ;o)

Brett opening one of his Cars cars from us...our theme this year was "real."  For Brett, we wished him a "Real Fast" holiday.

For Craig, we wished him a "Real Tough" (Lego Hero Factory) holiday.

Logan with his new Rock'em Sock'em Robots!  Loved this!

And for Karen, it was "Real Simple"!

I was blessed with a plethora of kitchen goodies...salad dressing container, ceramic bowls, homemade vanilla and dip!

Logan enjoying a delicious smoothie!

Santa waffles!

After pictures, presents, and brunch, you'll never believe what happened.  We got a call from SANTA!!!!  I'm so bummed this picture turned out blurry, but you can still see the look of amazement on Logan's face!  It was awesome!

It turned out that Santa was calling to say that he was flying over head and had something to drop off for us. So, the boys ran outside to look and sure enough, there was a cold package in the driveway.  Tucked away inside were two keys.  These weren't just any keys, either.  They were magic keys that Santa needed to get into our chimney free house.  The look on Craig and Logan's face was priceless.

It was Karen's turn to host our annual Christmas extravaganza, and host it she did!  We decided to do a morning extravaganza this year and it worked out wonderfully.  First on the agenda was to try and get three squirrelly boys to sit still in front of the Christmas tree.  Ah, bribe them with present opening if they're good!  Check.  Next, was said present opening.  Karen and I always "try" to do some sort of a theme with our gifts.  Some years it works out, others it just doesn't quite come together.  This was a not quite together year, but that didn't slow us down!  We still exchanged gifts and everyone was very blessed.  Next up, brunch.  Complete with strawberry smoothies and Santa themed waffles and bacon!  Delicious!!!  Then was gave the boys a chance to play...unbeknownst to us, that Santa had a surprise of his own.  Just as the boys were playing in the living room, Karen's phone rang and it was none other than Santa!  What a special surprise that was!  It was the perfect way to kick off our Christmas vacation!  Thanks Karen! 

Antlers 12.14.11

To celebrate A's December birthday, her mom made all these antlers for the Kindergarten class!  It was awesome!  Logan has such a great group of kids in his Kindergarten class.  As you can see, they have quite the time together!  Thanks Laurie, for making your daughter's birthday a celebration for all the kids!