Christmas Day, 2009

Santa came! Santa came! Once again, Aunt J spent the night with us so that she could be here in the morning to watch all of the magic. While I was confident that the boys wouldn't get up any earlier than 7am (they were SO tired), B got up at 3am, then again at 6am, and finally at 7 we let him climb into bed with us and wait for his brother (I had to wake him up). B ripped through his presents in about 5 minutes. At first, E was only interested in playing with a train that he had received the night before. So, it took him a bit longer to get started.

E's big present was a Lionel train. He couldn't wait to get it set up.

Prince Charming got some nice gifts as well - pilsner glasses and a new drill, just to name a few. I got a fancy external flash for my camera. Just as I was about to test it out, I kind of broke my 50mm lens. I was so distraught about it, I put the flash away and saved it for later.

The rest of our day was spent playing with our new toys. B logged about 4 hours on his new Batman Leapster game.

We also went outside so that B could take a spin on his new bike.

Later in the morning Grandpa J and Grandma W stopped by with some fun outside games to play. We were just overwhelmed with where to start. So much fun to be had, where do we begin? Fortunately we had another week of Christmas break to look forward to.

Christmas Eve, 2009

We spent a nice, quiet Christmas Eve at my parent's house with my sister (Aunt J) and my grandmother (GG). Before we arrived, my dad set up my grandfather's Lionel train (usually for display only) for the boys to run around the track. They were so excited about that train being on the ground that they probably could have skipped presents and ran that all night. Well, at least E could have. B was much more into the presents than his younger brother was.

Before dinner was served, we did a gift exchange with GG. She got the boys some remote control cars and they got her some great gift cards.

After all of that excitement, we sat down for a delicious mexican fiesta. I seriously wished that a baby hadn't been squishing my tummy. I wanted to eat that great food all night. After dinner, the boys got a bath and then it was time for our little family gift exchange. It was a bit overwhelming for the boys, but they enjoyed every minute!

I am pretty excited about my gift. Photoshop will be my ongoing project for the year.

We had a lovely Christmas with my parents. Once our night wrapped up, it was time to get home so that Santa could come to our house. I think I am liking that Christmas is becoming a several day affair!

Tis the Season!

I added a little "counter" to my side bar. It will be seasonal, of course. Considering we are only on day 2 of our Christmas vacation and I feel like I have been putting out fires between the boys constantly, I decided that this needs to be documented somehow. If the angels above don't want to see me add a "Mommy Melt Down Tally" then please let the number stay at 3.

My Parent's Christmas Party

The Saturday before Christmas held my parent's Holiday party. I just love this party. It used to be held on Christmas Eve, but in recent years my parents moved it to an earlier date so that more people could attend. There is never a dull moment at this party. Santa comes with gifts for all of the kiddos, my mom makes a delicious lasagna, and there is great company all around. The following picture was our best attempt at a family photo.

Santa brought both of the boys rubber band powered wood airplanes!

The evening wouldn't have been complete without the white elephant gift exchange. I have so many pictures, I couldn't narrow them down. So, just trust me when I say that there were some pretty bad gifts getting tossed around this year.

Lots of laughs, lots of good friends, and lots of good food. The way it should be!

The Polar Express

Last year, a blizzard kept us from riding the Polar Express. This year, the weather was perfect. On a Friday we made the trek up north to the train station where we would hop on board the Polar Express. The boys couldn't contain themselves, they were so excited. We were able to eat a very expensive meal (also very gross and disappointing) at the depot before we hopped on the train.

The anticipation of the train's arrival was so fun. I really enjoyed watching the boys' faces.

Once on board we were served hot chocolate and cookies, listened to The Polar Express story, and sang Christmas carols. The ride to the north pole was a bit longer than I had expected.

Once we were at the North Pole, the windows were a bit foggy but we could still see Santa on his sleigh! He got on board and gave each child their very own sleigh bell.

The night was long, the boys were bushed, but the experience was fantastic!

Oh, Christmas Tree

The middle of December brought with it our traditional trip to find our Christmas tree. We packed up the kiddos and headed up north to my parent's cabin. Along for the ride were, once again, the Kings and the Ballards. Much to our delight/chagrin (yay snow to play in - yuk snow to drive in) a blizzard went through the area earlier in the week. We were greeted with snow up to our knees, or hips in the kid's case. B was just thrilled to play in it. The morning after we arrived, we headed out into the forest to find and collect our tree. It was cloudy, but the snow held off while we were there.

Brody and friend were completely contented to throw snow balls at each other while all the dads went to look for our trees. Being 8 months pregnant, I opted to watch the kids instead of trek through the deep snow.

The smaller of the children were less than thrilled about the amount of snow they had to walk in. E complained and didn't move around much and our little pink Ballard felt the same way!

Here is Mr. Ballard with his gigantic tree.

And Mr. King with theirs.

Prince Charming didn't want to stick around for a picture. He is seen here hauling it back to the car.

Meanwhile, E allowed Auntie King to bury him in the snow.

On our way back to the cabin, the Ballards had a tree incident. Glad I was able to capture that on camera!

Back at the cabin, while the children rested, we were able to rest as well.

The trip wouldn't be complete without a fire to stay warm AND roast marshmallows as well as Mr. Ballard's funny expressions!

I also have to note that all of the kids played really well together. There were a few squabbles over trains and cars, but for the most part everyone was happy to play nice.

The weekend, although short, was fantastic. We love spending our time with these other two families and are thrilled that we have started a great tradition.

Without further ado, our 2009 Ponderosa Pine!