The Last of the Christmas Posts (until next year)...

Every year on Christmas Eve we have a somewhat silly reenactment of the Nativity Story. This year Cole "graduated" up to being a shepherd. He was so happy about this since the last few Christmases he has been the star.

Our two little guys bring so much excitement to Christmas morning. It is so fun to celebrate with them and see the magic of Santa thru' their eyes. This year it was a very Lego Christmas. Both boys got tons of Legos, a basketball hoop and new bikes.

After a busy and exciting day Carson passed out cold on the barstool while eating dinner.

Christmas Eve Jammies

The traditional Christmas Eve jammies photo in front of the tree.

This year I found cute "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" jammies while we were in Salt Lake for Thanksgiving.

Advent{ure} Calendar

Hand's down, one of Cole's favorite things this Christmas Season was his Lego Advent Calendar which he called his adventure calendar. On school nights, after homework was done he got to open a new door and find a Lego surprise inside, (I never saw a kid more excited to do homework, I might have to get these to use as bribes throughout the school year). He of course loved weekends when there was no homework to be done and he could tear into the calendar, no strings attached.

I love how he called it his adventure calendar. We thought it was so cute we never corrected him!

'Twas The Day{s} BEFORE Christmas...

As if the holiday season isn't busy enough, I tried to cram in lots of fun activities to keep the boys busy and entertained and hopefully create a few fond memories along the way.

In the past one of our traditions is to make a gingerbread house together as a family. This year Daddy had a fun idea; instead of a house we made a Christmas Train! Of course this was a hit with the boys since they are both huge train fans. It turned out pretty cute but didn't last too long.




The week before Christmas Cole was home from school. One of the days I took the two little guys down to the Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef Exhibit. They were doing free photos with Santa Claus and Santa Jaws the day we were there. The boys loved it!




Also that week I talked my sister into going down to the Bellagio to see the Christmas decorations. One solo trip to the strip was enough for this Mama, I need reinforcements. There was a train display in the conservatory and we couldn't get Carson away from it. After checking out the decorations we decided to ride the tram over to check out the new City Center. Carson loved the tram (train) ride. It was the highlight of his day. There wasn't much to see at City Center but it was still a fun adventure.

Yankee Doodle's Dandy Christmas

Starring Cole as George Washington!

This week the Kindergartners and First Graders at Merryhill put on a production of "Yankee Doodle's Dandy Christmas". Cole had one of the star roles playing the Father of our Country, George Washington. He was super excited and worked really hard to learn his lines and even convinced me to order him a new costume for his debut (ok, it really didn't take much to convince me). The night of the show he told us he was a little nervous but you could never tell. He walked right up to the mic and delivered all of his lines loud and clear, with expression and poise. He used what he called his "acting voice", which you just have to hear to understand. He's a character!

After the show we went to McDonald's with Grandma, Aunt GG and the cousins to celebrate. He told us he felt proud of himself for doing it even though he was nervous. We were so proud of him too. What a fun night!

Waiting in the hall before showtime:

Onstage:

At McD's:

Ashley, Morgan, Cole and Brett:

Big Boy Bed

Carson has graduated from his crib...

To a big boy bed...

He is so excited! Every time he goes in his room he just giggles and runs around in circles saying, "my bed, my bed, my bed..."! Our baby is growing up!

Runaway Train

Methinks the train around the Christmas tree is not such a good idea, would you agree?

This sneaky little thief was caught red handed stealing the entire train...

The Christmas Season Is Here

...are you ready?
I'm not! Yikes!

"Happy December 1st". We dusted off our holiday countdown house, opened door number 1 and hung the little ornament on the little tree.

The countdown begins...

Thanksgiving Weekend

As per tradition we travelled to Salt Lake to spend Thanksgiving with the Freer side of the family.

Our trip included dental check-ups with Grandpa:

A little construction work:

Some blacksmithing:

A ride in a rescue helicopter:

A trip to the moon:

And to Mars:

And of course lots of time spent with family, enjoying good food and family time:

We hope you all had a great Holiday too!

Veteran's Day 2009

My favorite Vet and his "Best Girl".

Thank you Grandpa and everyone else who have fought so valiantly to protect the freedom of this great nation!