Christmas 2013

We've had a wonderful Christmas.  We enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning as a family of four, and then the boys received a special surprise when Grandpa Bill & Grandma Pam showed up at our door that afternoon.

 

 The very first gifts they wanted to open were the ones from each other.

 

 Legos were a huge hit this year

 Jacoby received a big Lord of the Rings Lego set and a Chima set from Morgan (which is hands down his favorite)

 The boys got me this lovely wind chime for our garden

 After presents were opened, they were busy most of the day putting Legos together and playing with their new treasures

 Jacoby got Morgan Connect4, which has been a fun addition to our game collection

Daddy and Jacoby started in on the LOTR set...Jacoby just finished building it today (pics will be coming)

 Morgan and Mommy put this droid tank together

 Light sabers from Aunt Megan and Uncle Mark were a big hit

 All my silly boys...

We're so grateful to have celebrated Christmas with these two

 And here we are...another year blessed.

 We've been enjoying relaxing days with Grandma and Grandpa

 Our weather has been amazingly beautiful

Justin and Grandpa Bill enjoyed a day on the slopes up at Winter Park.  I enjoyed a trip to IKEA with my parents.  It's been a great holiday--good food, lots of conversation, puzzles, Legos, movies.  Life doesn't get much better!

The Rest of December...

 December has flown by.  It has been a month filled with activities and special events.

We volunteered for the first time as a family.  It was fun, challenging, and time well-spent.

 The boys went shopping for each other.  They do a really good job picking out gifts for each other.

 The first graders hosted a party for their families.  A good time was had by all.

 The boys started sleeping with each other.  They really enjoyed it for a few nights but they're back in their own beds now.  I think two boys in a twin bed gets mighty cozy.  

 We had our friends over for Christmas Eve to decorate cookies and have a scavenger hunt.

 They're all Lego fans, so they spent some time catching up on the latest Lego news.

 We all went to church together

 The boys got to open one present on Christmas Eve...

 New pjs and a new game for the Wii

 Elf work commenced...

while the children were nestled, all snug in their bed(s).

December News

Come 5 pm this Friday afternoon, we will all be on Christmas break for two weeks!  I'm so excited!  We've had a very busy couple of weeks, so some down time will be much-appreciated.  Justin hopes to get some intensive dissertation writing in while I'm home with the boys.

Here are some highlights from the past week or so:

We made these lovely paint swirl ornaments -- they were very easy and turned out nice

The two first grade classes took a field trip to the Arvada Center to see a play and have an art lesson.  These were my three buddies.  We had a great time...even had a couple of intense thumb wars in between activities.  (:  I do love hanging out with these kids, but man, I am worn out after field trips!

 

 This is what a spontaneous, first grade, conga line looks like...

 We rode in a school bus to and from...50 first graders are l.o.u.d.

 We painted yard sticks and transformed them...

Into this giant lighted star, which we love and just need to find the perfect place to hang

 Jacoby received a t-shirt for making it to the 25-mile mark as part of the 100 Mile Club at school.  He's well on his way to 50 miles now.

 

 We built these cute engines at Lowes

 The Parade of Lights was lovely

 Jacoby was special person of the week this week.  Besides printing out the pics and letters, he pretty much did the poster all by himself.

The first graders performed their Christmas songs during Arts Night--always a treat to see them on-stage.

The boys had their sixth-month appointment with our team down at Children's Hospital today.  The verdict is that they're both doing well, Jacoby especially, and we still have some work to do getting Morgan back to feeling and eating well.  Overall, they're very pleased with how the boys are doing.

Tomorrow afternoon we're doing our first volunteer project as a family.  Boulder Share-A-Toy takes in donated toys for low income families to "shop" from this weekend.  We signed up to help organize and set up the toy shopping area.  We'll see how it goes.  It's part of our advent for this year.  We've also donated our own toys, gone on a winter walk, taken a drive to look at lights, among a few others for advent.

Thursday is Jacoby's holiday party and the last major to-do on our list.  I won't tell you how many 2-liter bottles of soda are sitting in my laundry room, since I unknowingly signed up to provide punch for 50 first graders and their families.  Sheesh--but tis the season to be jolly so no complaining!  But next year I will be signing up for napkins!

And on to December...

I can't believe it's December and we're full-on into the holiday season!  We spent the weekend putting up Christmas around the house and are enjoying activities from our advent calendar.

 

Day one of Advent was setting up the Christmas tree

 The boys really enjoy this and can reach farther and farther up the tree each year!

This boy was in charge of putting the star on top of the tree this year.

 Gotta love the return of the Santa hats!

 Pretty tree

Day two of Advent was reading Christmas books by the fire.

Day three of Advent was participating in Giving Tuesday, so Morgan donated money from his giving jar to the Red Cross for flood relief and Jacoby donated money from his jar to the Emergency Family Assistance program for families who don't have enough food to eat.  And on day five, the boys got a surprise (Charlie Brown nativity set).

We are hunkered down after a storm brought plenty of snow and bitterly cold temperatures.  It's safe to say that I'm over winter.  Yes, I know, it hasn't even officially begun, but I'm still over it.  For those of you who may not know, the boys and I were in a bit of a wreck with the Subaru a few weeks ago.  It involved very slippery roads, a round-about, and a curb.  Needless to say, the curb won and the Subaru is still in being repaired for quite a lot of damage done to the passenger side wheel-tire-system-thingy.  We're thankful that no one was hurt and for our car insurance.  But, definitely over winter as a result.

In other news, Jacoby has made it to the 25-mile mark in the 100-mile club!  We're so proud of him!  And as of tomorrow, Morgan Ethan will officially be registered for Kindergarten.  Sniff.

Hope you all are staying warm and cozy!

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Grandmanette, Grandpa Michael, and Uncle Jared.

We had tons of fun bowling at the University of Colorado.  They had a great set up for kids, so everyone enjoyed playing.

 Check out Uncle Jared's form!  Obviously, some of us were more skilled than others.

 We read a lot of books

 Enjoyed time outside in the beautiful weather

 Jacoby and Grandmanette made placemats for the table

 And we enjoyed a huge feast...delicious!

 iPad time is always a favorite for these two

 We had to warm up with hot chocolate by the fire after a very chilly morning at the park

And we played lots of Wii

It was a great holiday and we were very blessed to be able to spend it with loved ones.