Christmas Prep

I'm going to just give you short updates - lots to do around here :)

We had a snow day!  And the boys loved playing in the snow -but it was gross and wet, so they didn't last long...

 Hot cocoa and gingerbread houses made it better......

 We found the advent calendar my grandpa made - Lucas was obsessed - checking it every few minutes to see if it changed....

 Lucas is so into traditions - and loved decorating the tree...

 He was very proud of his work - and it looks fabulous!

 Grammy, Grandpa, Angie, Cole, and Cooper arrived and the fun began!  Gingerbread houses are a big tradition around here!

 I shared with Lucas - which means I took over....

 Ethan made his into a hobbit house - and put ear muffs onto Gandalf because it's cold there...  

 All three were cute - and make a cute little village.

 Another Sunday, another Christmas program....  Joseph and the Shepherd were adorable.

 It was adorable - My favorite part was when Lucas kept poking Baby Jesus- which was a pillow.  He even picked it up at one point....

 We had a nice happy hour back at the house - lots of love and laughs!

 Today was cookie baking day after a whole lot of shopping!

 Complete with Ninjabread cookies!

 Christmas lights, church, and then time for Christmas jammies!

We tried for pictures, but that was difficult...

 Lucas got to open up his gift from his brother - an angry birds trash can!! And he loved it!

 Ethan opened up the Wimpy Kid book series - which apparently was all he wanted, so we're good!

 We ended the night by building a reindeer landing strip on the back porch - and sprinkling reindeer food all over the porch (hope it blows away before the oatmeal soaks up any rain!)

 Cookies for Santa, and we're all set to go!  

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Christmassy Christmasness

The last couple of weeks have been full of preparations for Christmas and celebrations!  First off, my students got to make the business they studied out of a graham cracker house - which we had to try out at home first.  The boys love to try things out :)

We decided we better just get some lights up on the house - well, on the tree anyway.  Lucas loves being outside for any reason, so he was thrilled.

Our light display leaves much to be desired...  it is not impressive at all...  So that's why I just went out and bought a bunch more :).  Only, it's been raining ever since....

 We got to go to a fun play last weekend with our friends - A Snow White Christmas.  I knew a bunch of the kids in it and Ethan got a bit jealous.  Guess he'll be auditioning next year....

 This weekend we had a million and one chores to do in between the two main events....  Saturday was Christmas with my parents and Nana - so fun!  The boys LOVED stuffing stockings and getting to play Santa.  I love that they have inherited our love for giving.  They get just as excited to give gifts as get them.  And if it's clothes?  They much prefer giving to getting....

 It was great to have some time with Nana.  We love her so!  And she knew just what the boys would swoon over - gift cards to Toys R Us.  That is a big hit!

 The favorite gift we made was a set of Happy Hour glasses for my parents.  We took the directions off another project on Pinterest and made it our own!  The boys made all the dots using acrylic paint and qtips and then I stenciled on the HH.  Bake for a half hour in the oven and it's sealed!  They came out really cute!

I loved watching the boys try to figure out the binoculars.  It took them awhile to figure out to look at things far away - not each other's noses....

 Ethan's best gift was wrapping up his report card to show Uma and Upa.  I stole it back of course, but just to see how proud he was of the comments made me one happy mama.

 And then today....  Today was the BIG day!  We had our church Christmas Musical.  I directed, Brian helped with sound, and Ethan and Lucas were absolutely delightful!!!  Ethan started the morning confident.....

 But pretty soon I could tell he was pretty freaked out - as he should have been...  A whole lot of lines and 2 big solos....  (Which he did awesome at!)

 I was mostly nervous about Lucas - my super shy and anxious kid.  He's always wanted to be in plays since Aladdin this summer (Ethan's summer camp play), but I never imagined he'd actually do it.

I was totally wrong.  He was hilarious.  I could hear him belting out the songs and his motions were priceless.  I had to keep from watching him or I'd get confused....It was a very proud moment for me.  One, it was all about the true meaning of Christmas - and I could tell that he truly felt what he was saying.  Two - he did an amazing job playing the sad, slightly pathetic little boy that can't get a part in the play.  He had them crying, laughing, and cheering with him by the end.  Pretty much I just cried.  So proud.
And it was great for me too.  I love those kids (not just mine - all of them) and I loved getting to work with them.
This is our last week of school, and our last week until Brian's whole family shows up for the holiday.  Which means it is a lot of cleaning, prepping, gifting, and excitement!
Have I mentioned I love Christmas?

Lights of Christmas - Pure Joy!

This has become one of my absolute favorite Christmas traditions!  This was the third year we met up with our buds, the Barrys, and headed out to Warm Beach Camp for the Lights of Christmas.  It is so amazingly cool there- beautiful lights, yummy food, and just great cheer....

 Lucas was a hoot this year - enjoying each and every thing and taking it all so very seriously.

 I love the ornaments the boys made - great keepsakes!

 This year it wasn't too horribly cold or rainy, so we really got to enjoy the lights.  We could look up without getting soaked~!  And it was early enough in the season that there weren't big lines or crowds - perfect!

 And being our third time, we knew to dress warmly - even if we did look a little silly....

 Lucas, Ethan, and Nadia informed Santa of their Christmas wishes - a real computer, a DS, and an American Girl Horse.  And we parents laughed at how spendy our kids were.....

 This was the first time we made it to Bruce the Spruce - and he was a pretty funny talking tree.  Nadia and Ethan totally dug him - Lucas was not real sure...

 Back in our rooms, it was time for Movies and kettle corn for the kids and cider and conversation (and kettle corn) for the adults.  I cannot believe how old they seem!

 When the kids were finally driving us a bit batty, we looked at the clock and realized we'd made it past 9:30 - some kind of record!

 Lucas would not go to sleep for a long time and drove us all nuts, but he did sleep in a bit and we almost had to rush to be at breakfast when it opened (what a change from sitting around waiting 2 hours last year!). Don't let the umbrellas fool you - it wasn't really raining - just sprinkling - but they really wanted their umbrellas.

 We ate an enormous breakfast and then went and hung out in the "lobby" of our place.  Nadia and Ethan were intense on their game...

 Until drama won out and Nadia told stories while Lucas interpreted them with dance....

 And then it was time for Santa Lucas.  He had everyone sit on his lap and give their wish list.

 Such an awesome weekend!  Such awesome friends!