A Merry Christmas!

So much fun was had at Grandma and Grandpa's house this Christmas. We started off with our second annual Christmas Eve Day cookie decorating.  I (Evan) made sure there was LOTS of frosting and decorations on Santa's gingerbread man.

Nathan promptly ate his first cookie prior to decorating it.  Then he decorated several cookies.  Then he tasted the frosting.  Yum!  It was all over after that!

Christmas Eve pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa and a new book from Mom and Dad.  I didn't like the book.  In it (The Polar Express), the little boy gets on the train without his mommy.  I wasn't interested in reading it after that.  In fact, before bed, I told Mom that she could keep the book for the rest of her life.

Christmas morning!  What's in here?

Construction equipment!

Trying out Elsa's new skateboard.

Having a quiet moment with Grandpa.

Reading my new book with Dad.

Figuring out the slinky with Uncle Joe and Elsa.  These were great!  Mom probably should have gotten a couple more for back-ups.

It was nice to have Great Grandma R. with us.  Perhaps we will dedicate a future blog post to the making of this picture.  It required two cameras and many, many attempts!

(The following picture was taken on the 26th.  We do not wear jeans on Christmas.) 
The most special gifts are gifts of love.  Grandma and Grandpa worked on these gifts for Mom and Aunt Katy this fall.  Using his woodworking skills, Grandpa made cutting boards, trivets, and coasters.  Grandma made aprons and pot holders, and she learned how to knit so she could make dish cloths.  Furthermore, Mom's apron was started by Great Grandma W. several years ago before she passed away.  Grandma finished it and used the pattern for Aunt Katy's.  Everything was beautiful and very special, indeed.

We even relaxed with pre-breakfast hot tubbing on the 26th.  We were all in the hot tub before 8:00 AM!

We hope that you and your families enjoyed the holiday as much as we did!  Have a happy New Year!

We had so much fun visiting with friends tonight. Abby and Kate selflessly shared all of their toys while our moms caught up. We missed Owen, Henry, and Charlie (and our moms really missed Dani) and we hope Henry is feeling better for our next playdate.

We got to sit by ourselves for dinner.

Abby and Kate have really fun dress-up clothes.

Our patriotic butterfly.

We had a pajama party after dinner.  Abby "read" a story to us.  What a nice hostess!

Mom says we are going to do this more often because it refreshes her soul.  Personally, I'm not sure how the chaos of five kids running around (eight next time) is refreshing, but she's convinced that it's all a matter of the company you're in.  It also makes us eager for another MTB!  So we're looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

Ho! Ho! Ho!  Santa rode through our neighborhood on a firetruck tonight! As you can see, Nathan and I were more interested in looking at the ladder truck than looking at the camera.

Oh Christmas Tree!

We picked out our Christmas tree today. Picking out a tree seemed to be a low priority for us. There were stumps to play on, mud to find, goats to pet...

... and dirt to play in.  (At this point, Mom and Dad gave up and left us here--in sight of course--while they searched for our tree.)

Here is our decorated tree, perfect for a nice picture.  But oh, the silliness!  We had lots of fun running around the living room then stopping quickly to do something silly for a picture for Mom--over and over again.

I'm laughing so hard I can't stop!

This is as good as it gets.  But didn't Daddy say, "This is life in our house" earlier this month?!

Animal Encounters

We went to the zoo with Owen, Henry, and Charlie today. It was cold, but we've found that winter days bring the best animal encounters.

We were even approached by this peacock in the parking lot before we went home!  He got within about two inches of Nathan's cheese. 

Not bad for a picture by our amateur photographer, Evan.

Family Picture

Wouldn't this be a great Christmas picture?  Everyone is looking at the camera; everyone is smiling; everyone looks genuinely happy to be together.  If only it looked like it were taken at the beginning of December (it was) rather than on October 31!  But, as Daddy says, "This is life in our house."  So don't be surprised if you open up our Christmas card and out pops our costume-Christmas family picture! 

Fun Day at the Fort and Lighthouse

We explored every inch of the fort, including the canons.

And we found some neat trees to climb.

We went up in the lighthouse...twice!

We watched a couple float planes fly by.

The next two are for Grandma!

So Thankful

We have a lot to be thankful for!  These three munchkins are at the top of the list!  We had a nice weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's with Elsa, Aunt Katy, and Uncle Joe.  The only thing missing was Grandma and Grandpa!

It was a bit stormy, but that didn't slow us down.  Just makes the waves more fun to watch.

Mmmmm!  S'mores!

Sometimes it seems like we're on a boat around here.

To Mom's Chagrin...

(Reported by Nathan.)  Remember the days when Mom used to be so proud (a little self-righteous even) when she'd take Evan to the playground and while all the other kids were pretending to make cupcakes and cookies, Evan was making salad and salmon?  It appears those days are over.  Last night, Evan came up to Mom and said, "Let's play 'restaurant'.  I'll be the man.  Can I see your beer list?"  After examining the menu, he ordered.  "I'll have a hamburger, french fries, chicken, beer, and wine."  While Mom does admit to using french fries as a bribe to eat nicely at a restaurant--but VERY infrequently!--she swears she's never taken us to a fast food establishment other than Quiznos or Subway, and she's never ordered any drink other than water when we are with her due to the high likelihood that an expensive glass of wine is going to get knocked over and spilled.  At least now that she's aware that we've turned a culinary corner, she won't be blind-sided the next time Evan pipes up, "Yum! I love donuts!" during the social time after church even though she's pretty sure he's never had one.

Victoria for Veteran's Day

We took a much-needed vacation up North this weekend.  We're not sure how patriotic it was to celebrate Veteran's Day in another country, but since it was Rememberance Day in Canada, we think it was okay.

This makes a good hiding spot.  Good thing Aunt Katy, Evan, and Elsa taught me  how to say 'hide' several weeks ago so I could ask to get inside!

 We highly recommend the Bug Zoo to anyone visiting the city.  This was a really fun place that had big bugs from all over the world.  The best part was getting to hold most of them!

 Even Nathan got into the action!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today our joint force family is remembering and honoring all veterans, past and present, who work so hard and sacrifice so much to keep our nation secure.  We especially want to thank our friends who are serving overseas today: SFC Joe Ball, CPT Mandy Wolfe, CPT Jared Williamson, SGT Brian Caskins, CPT John Santa Ana, and CPT Kirk McBride. We also give a HUGE thanks to our friends and family members (Liz, Aunt Katy and Uncle Joe, Grandma and Grandpa, Oma, Aunt Cindy, Sanna, and Sarah) who have so selflessly helped us with childcare this year when we were both working weekends or both of us were out of town serving our country.  You make a lot of sacrifices, too, and it is appreciated.

Uncle Keith will be so proud!

Evan's Latest

Situation: Evan and Mom are reading a book that asks what we would bring to a picnic.
Mom: What would you bring to a picnic?
Evan: I don't know.  What would you bring?
Mom: I think I would bring chicken salad.  Your dad likes my curried chicken salad.
Evan, with slight disdain: If you bring chicken salad, I'm going home to get steak.

Happy Halloween!

Lots of pictures tonight, but that's because Mom and Dad think we were the cutest trick-or-treaters in town!

Is it time to go yet?

No theme, but we're festive!

The fire department came out to hand out candy in our neighborhood.  Nathan was a crowd-pleaser, getting so excited (like we've-never-seen-him-that-excited-about-anything excited) that the firemen felt like celebrities.

There have been taller giraffes, but none cuter!

Meeting up with bumblebee C.J.

Passing out candy (and eating the teddy grahams).