Christmas Morning and Beyond

Looks like the jingle bell trick worked... Santa found us!

Stocking joy... flying the little owl finger puppets they found stashed inside... later they pigged out on the Swedish Fish they found in the toe.... one of Grandpa K's favorites they have inherited. 

In spite of the serious expression, Eli was excited about his baseball glove.  We have all been practicing a little catch in the house.  Baseball gloves take some getting used to!

Perfecting the paper tearing skills....

And finally, the BIG old box from SANTA!  Could it be?  Did he honor the desperate wish of two little boys?

YESSSSS!  Like magic I tell ya!

Thankfully Daddy is good at setting up tracks and installing batteries....

And this is what they did for the next six hours.  The C batteries were completely dead by the end of the day... the boys were sad that all the stores were "closed" because it was Christmas, and they had to wait until the next day for us to go get more. 

Owen's favorite part was running the controller.  He got it figured out really fast and could make the train go forward, back, come to a stop, blow it's whistle, and shout "All about the Polar Express!"

Eli's favorite part was watching the train chug on the tracks, really up close!

Owen took a train break to play "washing dishes" with his new dish set that he got.  What fun that's been!  Both boys have had a good time playing with them in the sink... they like washing them more than playing food with them.

Eli finally got a turn with the controller....

Brad had to work again Christmas night... so while we was gone we snuggled up in Christmas PJ's, had some snacks, and finished the night watching the Grinch. 

The day after Christmas we took a family trip to Target and the Mall (one in the same out here) - and yes, Daddy was home with us!  There is a carousel in the food court - a nice reward for boys who try hard to be good in Target. 

Back home, Daddy got the trampoline assembled.  This ended up being a joint gift from the grandparents on both sides... and oh the jumping joy we've had on it! 

We also busted out the "Cat in the Hat, I can Do That!" game that Eli got for Christmas.  It has all kinds of funny tricks in it that you have to do... it was especially funny to laugh at Daddy crab walking with items from the game on his head!

Overall, a super fun holiday.  In spite of Brad working some overtime shifts, it was nice and relaxed.  As much as we miss our families at the holidays, it was really wonderful this year to be able just to enjoy each other and our home, with no crazy packing/cross country driving/dealing with kids on vacation etc.  The gifts were well chosen, but fewer in number this year which was also nice... trying to keep the house from being over run when we have to pack and move in the spring.  And it reminds us to keep focused on the most important part of Christmas holiday - enjoying each other and making lasting memories!  I think 3 and 5 year olds at Christmas are the BEST!  They really made the magic for Brad and I this year!

Christmas Festivities

We had a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas this year.   We used our Family Home Evening Nights to talk about the real reason for Christmas.  One night we set up our little Nativity under the tree, and the boys had fun "playing away in a manger" as they called it.  The little figures were rearranged on a daily basis.  We also set up a "treasure box" under the tree and each  night (when we remembered) we would talk about kind things they had done for others that day, which is like giving a gift to Jesus.  They would then get coins to represent their good deeds and put them in the box. 

 
 

We also re-enacted the Nativity; a tradition from my childhood that I love carrying out with my kids!  They voted for me to be Mary, Eli was Joseph, Owen the Shepherd, and Brad got to be the donkey AND the angel.  Lucky guy!  The boys took their roles seriously and called me Mary for the rest of the night!  They took great care in watching over baby Jesus, making sure he was swaddled, and bringing him to me if they felt he was hungry or needed a snuggle. 

And of course we love to play along with the Santa Myth too.  He's definitely not the focus of our Christmas traditions, but we don't see any harm in pretending.  We tell the boys that the reason Santa does "good deeds" of bringing gifts to children is to remind us all of the most special gift of Christmas.  They seem to understand the concept just fine.  We had a fun time at Bass Pro shops visiting Santa this year.  Eli and Owen were both so brave and walked right on up to sit with him and request "A Polar Express that moves by itself!"  Santa was a little thrown since he'd already prepared their gifts for Christmas, so there were some last minute returns and quick Amazon orders to get it right, haha. 

A favorite at Bass Pro is watching the Christmas train they have set up every year.

Earlier in the month of December, just days before Eli's birthday, we ended up with a Winter Wonderland for a few days!  I was glad I actually bought snow gear this year, because the boys were finally able to get out and experience the magic of winter.  In fact, they like playing outside in the snow more than in nice weather I think!  The snow has since melted and we've had a lot of warmer sunny days, and it's like pulling teeth to get them outside!  Here they are catching snowflakes with their tongues.

We also got a basic sled this year - we have the perfect little bunny hill in our backyard for sledding.  I told the boys I wasn't going to be hauling it up and down the hill for them, so they could play with it however they choose.... well I was surprised and proud when they figured out how to hold it for each other and take turns pushing each other down the hill!  It was so fun!

Another of our FHE nights is a Columbia, MO tradition - a visit to the Magic Tree.  One man has taken it on himself to spread Christmas cheer by decorating this tree top to bottom every year... actually it used to be a tree at his home, but traffic got so heavy over the years that it is now a tree in a shopping area that he uses... the lights slowly morph and change color as you watch.  The kids LOVE running around under it and trying to touch the lights.

 Brad had to work all day Christmas Eve (even though it was Saturday), so the boys and I made sure to fill the day with fun.  The boys donned their hats and took their jingle bells outside... I told them they had to run around and ring the bells and sing as loud as they could so Santa would know how to find our house... they took this job very seriously!

Then we did some Yoga ABC's (really so fun - check it out from your library!) to re focus. 

Our house on Christmas Eve.... I made the stockings last year - they are burlap and muslin with distressed black wood letters for our initials... the tree is wrapped in burlap at the bottom with a burlap "garland" tucked in. 

Cookie making actually took place the day before Christmas Eve.  This is the first time I've really had the boys get down and dirty with cookies, and it was so much fun!  We made a modified ginger bread cookie recipe, and they got to help mix, and then roll it out and cut the shapes!  They really did a great job! It reminds me of so many fun Christmases from my childhood, making cookies with my mom and sister.  I think we usually got just as messy! 

A little dry-erase snowman art while the cookies were baking (these have been so fun - just print various mazes/drawing/writing activities from online and laminate them - dry erase is super fun with kids, especially perfectionistic ones who don't like to mess up!)

Finally, icing the cookies!  By far the boys' favorite part!  I got colored icing in little squeeze tubes which worked out perfectly for their little hands to be able to control and draw designs with. 

Santa was so lucky to get a plate of designer cookies this year!

When Brad got home Christmas Eve, we made sure to put out a plate of cookies for Santa (of course after the boys and Daddy had some too - poor Mommy is on a restricted gestational diabetes diet so NO COOKIES) and the boys insisted we put carrots out on the lawn for the reindeer.  We read some Christmas stories and put them to bed ... but funny enough they both had trouble falling asleep they were listening so hard for the reindeer to land on our roof.  Poor Santa had to pull a really late night to surprise these guys! 

Spring Frost

Just before Easter we had a lovely little Spring frost. Of course I'm always bummed when yet ANOTHER cold front blows in, but this one actually brought a little beauty with it. I was driving the boys to story time at the library in the next town over, and wound up taking a detour through a nature preserve to get some shots. All the trees looked as if they had been dipped in glitter frosting, and it was melted by the time we finished at the library. It's always amazing to me how striking the beauty of nature can be, and yet so fleeting. So sit back in your nice warm house and enjoy!

Maple Sugaring

Yesterday we went to Ioka Valley Farm in Hancock, MA to see how REAL maple syrup is made. We got to learn about and taste the different "grades" of syrup (light to dark amber) as well as some other things made with maple syrup. We saw the "sugar house" where the sap is boiled into syrup - that's really all it is when you buy REAL syrup. Check out the ingredients in YOUR maple syrup, lol. The good stuff just says "maple syrup."


We also got to check out the maple trees, and the 30 miles of tubing they use to get the sap from the trees down to the farm - no more individual hanging buckets! It is pretty amazing all the work that goes into it year round, when the window for getting the sap is a very small one from the end of Feb to early April, depending on the weather.


Eli loved playing with the little toy tractors they had set up in little "sandbox"full of rice. It was hard to tear him away for the tour. After our little tour, we ate at the "Calf-A" and had pancakes, cinnamon french toast, and of course, SYRUP! It was so yummy, that Eli ate an entire adult sized order of french toast AND fed it TO HIMSELF! He even DIPPED his toast in the DRIPPY syrup - AMAZING. We hope we can go back just for some more food.

Owen was dreaming about tasting some!

We brought THIS home with us!

We stopped in the barn to say hello to the "seep" (sheep), goat, and "yamas" (llamas).