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! 

Movin' and Groovin'

When I go and do one of those websites where it reads the info on your blog and says which words you use the most - "busy" comes up as one of the most....  And I suppose it's true.  This fall has been insane, but we are so darned happy in our new house.  The moving is a pain.....

 But it's coming along.  We basically have the basement and the outside stuff to do - as well as taking down window coverings and art on the walls.  Here we have been busy making the house our own.  My favorite part so far was setting up my Christmas Village with Lucas.  I've been collecting for a very very long time and this was the first time he's been able to enjoy it.  It's been in storage for awhile!

 Other than that, the boys are enjoying their newfound space a little too much.   I'd say the running around and jumping off various pieces of furniture is at an all time high...

The boys love it, but they have one major complaint.  We are not eating out hardly at all - as I love coming home to cook in this kitchen!  Ethan got a little (lot) bit grouchy about this last week, but I'm thrilled!  And amazed at how much they eat.  My goodness.  What happened to the idea of leftovers?
Next step?  Finish at the old house and finish the Christmas lights.  I cannot wait to have Christmas in this house - it's going to be fabulous!

Change

I pledged that I was going to get better at posting - but then life got in the way.  We had lots going on - including a cool trip to see the salmon spawning - what an awesome sight!  But most exciting of all - we decided it was time to move.

 This house came on the market (to rent) and it was just perfect for us.  Big and roomy with a big ol' fenced yard.  Gorgeous kitchen, lots of rooms, big party deck - perfect!  And so over the course of about 2 weeks (really, less), we moved.  There's still a lot of junk (and dog hair) at the old place, but we've got a whole month to get it cleaned out and back to the landlord.
Wednesday, Brian and I spent the afternoon moving all our furniture after air mattress and sleeping bag-ging it for a few days.  It was incredibly painful work, but it was so exciting when it was done.  If there's one thing we do well - it's move!  It helped that our new house is literally only a block away....
Wednesday night Brian's sister and boys arrived and our Thanksgiving/Moving in festivities began.  The boys love eating in the kitchen - we added a small table and some stools and it makes a great little nook!

 4 boys in a big house equals a lot of noise.  Especially from this kid -

 I tried to get some good pics of the boys - and they aren't bad, but this is how we started...

Ethan was so not in the mood....

Eventually they came around - when I had them imagine their father doing silly things.....

I love the leaves in our front yard - and the cool tree that drops them all.  I suppose I won't love it when we have to rake them, but for now - so cool!

 I told the boys to have a leaf fight.  They thought I was nuts.

 But pretty soon got the hang of it....  Especially Ethan, who got some good throws in.

 I had to let Lucas take some mercy shots - which he totally enjoyed.

 Thanksgiving was fabulous - my parents' cooking was exactly how I remember it, and the boys were all reasonably good.   Cooper was the cutest turkey!

 Along with turkey, there was a lot of football -and a lot of giggling in general.

 After we ate, and a quick run to get some furniture from the store, we came home to work on the house.  It's still not totally put together - and definitely needs some decluttering (and organizing), but it's really coming together - and I love it.

 This room is so cozy - the dogs have now staked their claim on it....  I love it.

 And in here - I'm totally remembering that I like to cook - I don't even mind dishes when there's enough room for two people to do the job.

So this year, I'm thankful for a new house - one that I love coming home to, and that I can have some of my own space in!  I'm thankful for my family - for my husband who worked tirelessly to get us in here and settled, and for my boys who are just as excited as I am.  I'm happy.

Last Soccer Game!

Last game of the season!  It was cold, but sunny.  Lucas made an awesome spectator - have I mentioned I love his fashion sense?  He's just so danged cute!

 Ethan played hard~ they were playing a team that was heads taller than them, but they fought hard.

 At some point Lucas lost a lens, but that didn't stop his awesomeness.

 I'm going to miss the games - but I'm ready to not be in the cold anymore!  Ethan loved it.  I'm curious to see if he loves basketball as much.

Today's the celebration - pizza and trophies.  After that we have a week or two to rest (well, in between swim lessons) before basketball starts up.  But!  Basketball practices at the 4 schools closest to us - so we are super excited to not be driving across town twice a week!
In other news, we've put in for a new rental house.  A big one.  With a big yard.  All fenced.  And a working kitchen!  But, we're one of four families going for it....  So we'll see....  We're all on pins and needles and I've never heard Lucas pray so much!  I think he'll be the most broken-hearted of all if we don't get it.  Nevertheless, I've vowed that we are moving before Christmas.  It's time! Which means I have a lot to do in the meantime.....  So until next time!  And I'll try not to make it 2 weeks......

The rest of Halloween.....

It's been a long couple of weeks.....  We kept the Halloween celebrations going - had some fun celebrating Uma's  birthday and Halloween at their house......

 Carved an impossible to carve pumpkin.....  Only, all we did was empty it because it was hard to do detail with a hammer and chisel....

 Then we had Lucas' school party - and my camera was dead....  But he had a blast, as did we and re-enacted the whole thing in our house many times over...  The boy does love to play pretend!

Our final celebration was at church - a basement trick-or-treat, and lots of games in the gym.  It was fabulous.

But.  It totally wore me out and getting a sinus infection on top of that led to some rough days for me.  The last couple of weeks have been a blur, but we've gotten through and are on the better side of things now.  Lucas is still dressing up as a fire man pretty much every day though.  I'm not sure that's going to end any time soon.