The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Let the FUN begin!

We kicked off our Christmas celebrations on December 12 at our friends, the Whitworths, house. Each year we get together with them, as well as the Dursts, to have dinner, let the kids open presents, and just hang out for the evening. I love this tradition with dear friends!

Ashley had an apron and a (ready to be decorated) gingerbread house for each kids. Caleb loved decorating his.

Caleb and Hayden

Madalyn, Hayden, Caleb, Luke, Jackson, Harper, & Kathryn

 Caleb and Jackson were so cute!

Oh, the excitement of Legos!

Creed was just as excited about Luke's SWAT gear!

Caleb got right to work building his Lego sets.

This is the third year that we have had Madalyn's name and the third year that we have filled something with craft supplies. She was thrilled and so thankful!

And, how could I resist this...after Kathryn had finished playing with her doll in her new salon chair, Hayden and Luke found their way over to it and began work. Haha!

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On December 15th, we had dinner and celebrated at Grandma Kathy's house! 

Sweet cousins

All Ava wanted this year was an Easy Bake Oven, and we were happy to make that dream come true! Loved seeing her excitement. :) 

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On December 21st, we celebrated at Grandmom and Grandpa's house. The kids were over- the-moon excited with their gifts, and we all enjoyed a serious Nerf gun war. The 8+ age on the box was well deserved. :)

The MEGA Nerf blaster that isn't really for kids. ;) 

Caleb said thank you over and over for his new MP3 player. He loves his music!

Crazy!

Visiting Santa

Caleb's wish: a Nintendo Wii.

Luke's wish: a trampoline.

When Santa asked if they had been good this year, Caleb replied, "Well, we have since our elf Betty showed up!"  I've got to give him credit...he's always honest!

Luke's Best Spaceship

A few weeks ago after watching Lilo and Stitch, Luke decided that we needed to make a spaceship for him to fly. With the help of an Amazon box (love, love online shopping!), we made him just what he was hoping for! He filled it with his "friends" (stuffed animals), his big blankie, a computer (made from Legos), and other random toys and was off. That day he ate lunch in his ship, and even talked Grandma into taking a ride with him! Love his imagination!

The name he came up with...

Luke's Best Spaceship

Last Swimming Lessons

Last week marked the end of fall/winter swim lessons for the boys. 

Caleb finished strong, even winning "Swimmer of The Day" for his last lesson. I am so proud of how hard he swam- he has some serious endurance now and a mean backstroke. 

Luke finished his lessons happy- a giant smile on his face is all that I can ask for. He loved his teacher and always did his best in the pool.

Big brother ready for his last lesson 

Done!

Walking away from his "Swimmer of the Day" win!

I actually made a point to take my big camera to the last lesson so I could get a good video. Frustratingly enough, every time I tried to take a video it would record from 2-5 seconds before stopping and giving me an error message. So, here are a few (less than 5 seconds) videos of Caleb swimming. :)

Little brother in the pool

Now we are just counting down the days until Memorial Day weekend so the pool will be open! ;)

Recently...

Luke is just at the very best age! He is so fun, imaginative, loving, creative, cuddly, wild, and sweet. And, it really is a blessing to get to spend time one on one with him. He loves toys...he just loves to sit down and play with his toys, and the scenarios that he creatives with his imagination are priceless.  Dragons, hot lava ("laba"), princesses, and guns that shoot balls of fire. The funniest part of his play time- he won't let me clean anything up because he is so proud and wants Caleb to see it. :)

Our elf, Betty, is back! The boys actually sat on Santa's lap this week and when he asked if they had been good this year, Caleb responded, "We have been good since our elf came." Ha! 

I promised the boys Chickfila milkshakes, but when the drive-thru wrapped around the building, we had to pass. I told them we could make homemade ones...cookie dough ice cream, milk, Oreos, and a chocolate cookie in the blender did the trick. :)

Prior to this past week, it had been months since we had been to the mall...I can't even remember the last time the boys were there. I assumed that since it is December, the mall would be open earlier, but apparently was mistaken. Getting to the mall almost a half hour before it opens does guarantee that you can be the one to "use your magic" and "open" the Disney Store. 

Luke decided that day to wear his Buzz wings, so he looked extra cute with the Mickey hat. :)

Steak 'N Shake

These two couldn't have been any happier with our lunch choice one Saturday afternoon! Chicken fingers, fries, and milkshakes- yum!

Our Happy Thanksgiving

We made a quick (less than 24 hours!) trip to Charleston, WV to spend time with Creed's family for Thanksgiving. The boys had a blast running around with cousins and Caleb was super excited to get to play Aunt Terry's piano. There was lots of good food, and it's always nice to see extended family that we only see once a year.

The Kid Table

Caleb & Ava

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When Luke brought home his hand print turkey from school, I remembered that Caleb had made the same one as a three year old. I will forever treasure these little turkeys!

Recently...

The boys' school pictures came back. We love them!

Earlier this month we celebrated our sweet friend Hayden's birthday at Kingpin Bowling. The boys loved bowling, but their favorite part of the party was definitely the arcade!

For our 9th wedding anniversary, Creed and I got away to the Smokey Mountains for three nights. It was the perfect long weekend, and also happened to fall on my birthday. 

The deck on our cabin was simply the best place for a morning cup of coffee!

The view while riding the Aerial Tram down the mountain. 

Each year we go up to Ober Gatlinburg to race the Alpine Sleds. It's was a blast, even though Creed won...on my birthday. ;)

That's Gatlinburg in the distance.

While we were gone...my aunt and uncle came to town and brought a birthday cake for me and Grandma, not realizing that I was gone.  Thankfully they saved me a piece!

One afternoon we took a quick drive through the mountains and stopped to walk across this bridge. It is so, so gorgeous there! This was the extent of our hiking. :)

Marshma and Papa got Caleb a new Lego set, and after we got home from our trip, Creed and Caleb spent an hour or two building.

The finished product- the ice cream truck from the Lego Movie.

Last Friday night Creed and I got to get away again! We spent the evening in a suite at Churchill Downs for the nights races for his work. It was freezing...so we were super thankful to be inside!

After the races we stayed at the Galt House, which was already decorated for Christmas. It was beautiful!

Yesterday we went to court...

However,  it was for a wonderful occasion- Ed officially adopted sweet Ava! So, so happy for them!