On Display

Oooohhhhh the kids were excited!  We'd made it through the week - successfully delivered presents and made it through the crazy parties.  And then, after some frantic packing and designing our Christmas cards so we could use our "about to expire" coupon, we were off toward Stanwood and the WarmBeach Camp's Lights of Christmas.

We met up for an early dinner with out adventure-mates at Five Guys - Yum!  The kids started off the night by opening a couple of presents - which they no longer need any assistance doing....

Matching jammies make all pictures better, I've decided.  And then they opened a gift I threw together of a collage of all of my favorite pictures of them.  In a year and a half, there have been some really fun ones!

And then we were off - it wasn't as cold or wet as last year, so we actually enjoyed walking around and seeing the lights - so many gorgeous lights!  The whole place is lit up and mesmerizing.  Everyone is friendly and patient with all the crazed children weaving in and out of the crowds.

We tried to get some posed pictures outside, but those really were futile attempts.  When you have a 5,4, and 3 year old, someone is always going to be a punk.

Our first stop was to Santa.  No line and a very friendly, yet somewhat odd, jolly old fella'.  He called all three of them up there at the same time - which was great for Lucas - he didn't even fuss!

They each took a turn - Ethan wants a watch (really?  since when?).

Nadia wants a bike (which I do believe she already has :) ).

And Lucas wants a watch as well (now this one I knew).

They all left feeling satisfied that they had given Santa something to work with and relieved that he didn't mention their several transgressions of the month.  I think Lucas was pretty nervous, but alas his name was on the nice list they had posted on the wall - phew!

Next stop was the toy shoppe where they made wooden spin art toys.  The boys both made trains (with wheels) and Nadia made a couple of ornaments.  I like the old fashioned toys - and the old fashioned prices.

We made it just in time to get a hug from Frosty, though I missed the picture shot...  Lucas even managed a high-five for the giant snowman!  Progress I tell you!

The whole place is filled with various dress up characters and different photo-ops - These two made a good snowman pair!

And Lucas enjoyed waving his snowman arm at the world.

The other big, important thing to our kids was the Polar Express train.  We waited in line for over an hour, patiently at times, not so much at others.  They all started to break down when we were one train away from getting on. But, we made it....

Lucas was the most excited - pure magic for him.  The super excited (but in a very controlled way, as it is Lucas) face was making my heart so full.

It was a five or so minute ride (after an hour in line), but worth it for the kids.

After that, they just wanted to head back to the hotel to watch movies and eat snacks.  They put on their new jammies and I made an attempt to get a good pic of all three of them.....

I tried.....  They snuggled up on the bed and watched all sorts of different Christmas movies while we adults took turns going out to see more of the lights and get yummy treats - gourmet snack waffles (I was the only one digging these, but they were goooood!) and fresh mini-doughnuts (always a hit!)

While we were hangin' out in the room, we opened the curtains so we could see the lights.  Of course, we were staying right in the middle of the camp, and one of the walkways was right in front of our room.  We had a good time laughing at how the people reacted as they passed by.  Most would look, some longer than others, and one man tried to take a picture - until his wife yanked him away.  I guess we did kind of look like an advertised display for their overnight package.  Especially with the matching jammies!

At 9 we could see they were all getting sleepy, so we trekked down to watch the storyteller with her last story of the night.  Nadia and Ethan listened well - Lucas was rolling all over the place, just tired, and ended up running back to the room with Brian.

The night went well, though Lucas and Ethan were both reluctant to go to sleep.  Every time I looked over Lucas was staring straight at me..  The next morning was the big camp breakfast in the mess hall.  Yum and yum.  Ethan got himself a giant bowl of Raisin Bran....  I don't think he ate more than two spoonfuls though....
The kids put together their wooden puzzles they got in the breakfast line and played on their "talkie walkies"  that we had brought.  Nadia and Lucas spent the whole evening before shouting to each other on them.  I'm not sure they ever actually talked across the walkie-talkies, but they could hear each other, so they thought they did.
And then it was back for packing up and heading out....  We were all ready to go and Lucas needed one more trip to the bathroom - so Ethan and Nadia went outside with Craig to wait for the golf cart that would take us to our cars...  We came out and realized Ethan had driven off in the golf cart with some other family. Craig's comment:  "He'll bring him back."  Yep, give the guy 20 minutes and he'll definitely bring him back!  And he did and Ethan could not have been more excited about his new job as a chauffeur.
We said our goodbyes to our friends in the parking lot and headed out.  We stopped at the mall in Northgate for some running around and shopping.  But by the time lunchtime came around we were all exhausted and grumpy and knew it was time to head home for naps.  And Lucas did nap - about 3 and a half hours.  We finally woke him up around 5 and he still had no problem going to be around 7.  That's my boy!
What a fun weekend.  A fun Christmas tradition and memory for us.  Can't wait till next year!
And now it is the first official day of Christmas Break and my children are already driving me a bit nuts.  Time for a project - or maybe two!  And throw in an adventure or two and we'll be set.  'Cause that's how we roll......

'You Better Watch Out"

So Lucas got busted at school today - twice.  Two notes home in one day!  There were two instances where he refused to participate and instead pulled out all the toys in the room and piled them on the tables where other kids were working.  This never happens - he is perfect at school.  In fact, his teacher's comment was "Did hell freeze over by any chance today?"
We have had several discussions about this tonight, including the realization that he just might be on Santa's Naughty List.....  To which the boys both break out in "You better watch out! You better not cry"  Over and over.....
And then Ethan says this:  "Last year I think I was on the naughty list.  I might still be there.  Not sure if Santa erased it or not."
And then when Lucas was running around and refusing to get the PJs on....  "Well, I'm glad he's not my child.  I think you need some new children.  But you'll always be in my heart mom.  I love you."
Will we make it to Christmas?  I'm not sure.....

Holly Holidays!

I think we're all healthy - hallelujah!  And just in time for all sorts of holiday fun this weekend!
It started with Friday night's Girls Night Out in Seattle with a few buds of mine - including this one....

She flew in all the way from Idaho to spend the weekend with us and we had a fabulous night out.  Swanky hotel, too-cool restaurant, lots of laughs!  It was great to spend some time with friends feeling very non-mom like.
Meanwhile the boys were with Brian at a Christmas party at church - having a blast!  Brian took the day off to volunteer at school - the Watch DAWG program - and had a great time popping in and out of classes and helping out wherever he could.  No one let him hide behind the computers like he wanted, but he did a great job and the kids all loved him.  He also did a great job getting the boys (and all my last minute props) to the church for the party.  I wish he would have gotten some pictures, but I do know there was lots of sugar involved and a lot of laughing.
Saturday I ferried back over and we took over my parents' house for a Christmas party.  We invited some of the boys' closest friends (10 kiddos in all) and their families and had a whole bunch of fun!  The big event was the book exchange - think white elephant exchange without the opportunity to "steal".  The kids loved getting to go up and choose and all ended up with a book they were excited about.

 We did a bunch of crafts....  some of which ended up nice and some that were just a glittery, gluey mess....

 All the kids were great and played for a long time together downstairs.  There were lots of funny personalities and I loved getting to see all our friends interacting.  Only one really bad injury - Lucas' gave another boy a bloody nose...  He ran and hid under the bed covers after he did - feeling guilty!  And rightfully so!  Ethan had a bit of trouble sharing all his friends and his stuff - Dawn caught him making up rules to Clue that only benefited himself....  It was funny-  clever - but naughty!
We adults also had fun - ate way too much - and swapped parenting stories about our nutty kids.  We loved having it at our parents' house, but the problem was cleanup.  We couldn't just leave it for the next morning - blech!  It was exhausting!  But we managed and then we were off - as we had a busy day the next morning.
It was finally time for our church program!  We got there and costumed up.  We definitely had cute magi!

 We ran through rehearsal once  - which was very encouraging!  The kids were just awesome!

Ethan and his fellow magi practiced giving the gifts - which they took very very seriously.

They all looked so awesome in their costumes - but then were getting wound up as we got closer to showtime.  You could literally feel the excitement in the air.

Ethan saw the crowds and freaked out.  He had total fear in his eyes and told me, "I don't think I can do this."  I reassured him that he'd be great and it would be fun.  He took a deep deep breath and then put on his big smile.  I figured he probably wasn't the only one in the crowd panicking and so went and high-fived all the other kids.
And then we were off - and boy were they cute!  The nursery kids came in and did one song.  For which Lucas stood there absolutely frozen.  He did sing, but did not one of the movements.  Nor did he smile.  But he did it - he went up in front of all those people and sang!

 Ethan was not afraid of singing, or of the hand movements.  That boy sings just like his mama - lots of projection, not a lot of tune....  He was awesome - you could hear him from the back of the room!  The best part was that since he didn't know the verses too well, he just would sing the ends of all the lines.  I loved it. One proud mama.

 But the proudest moment was afterward when he told me how much fun it was and he can't wait to get on stage again.  That's my boy!

I also loved getting to work with a bunch of the kids at church.  I really didn't know a lot of them before and enjoyed working with them - there are some pretty darn cool kids there!
And then it was home to finish my report cards.  Brian took the boys to Happy Feet 2 - which according to Lucas was too scary.  Hmmm...  Dancing penguins are scary?  But I think I'm finally about done and ready to get ready for the actual week.  I'm exhausted - what a crazy weekend, but it's all worth it when I know the boys have had all sorts of memories burned into their brains.  And that, I think I have accomplished.

By the way - Ethan has learned to dribble the basketball!  We had all sorts of people work with him and it's there!  It actually comes back up to him - though control may still be a bit of an issue.....

'Tis the Season

 This time of year we are just super busy...  Add to that a stomach bug and a head cold/fluish thingamajig and my blogging has been sorely neglected.  So here's the last week and a half in a quick post of pics....
We ended our Thanksgiving weekend by watching our friend Nadia be the cutest baby mouse ever in the Nutcracker.  We went to the store to pick out flowers before and these are the ones he picked.  My heart swoons.  He sure looks good with 'em!

He really enjoyed the story of the ballet and said his favorite part was the "baby mouses".  He adores his buddy!

The next week the fevers hit....  First Ethan and then Lucas.  After Brian taking a day off to watch them and then Uma, they seemed much better.  I was a mess, but couldn't take a day off since my students were presenting and getting ready to perform at Barnes and Noble for the bookfair.  That is the hardest thing about being a teacher - there are times when you just feel awful, but it is just too hard to be gone.  Sometimes I dream of a job where you just call in sick and that's that....
We finally got our tree up and the boys had fun decorating it.  Lucas was the director and Ethan just had fun going through and trying to read the ornaments.

 Saturday we geared up to go and cut down a tree with Uma and Upa.  Since forever and ever we've gone to the same tree farm every year.  I love that my boys get to be part of that tradition too.  And now they are apparently old enough to carry the saw... Eek!  We do remember that this is the boy that has gotten hurt numerous times......

 Lucas makes a really good overseer - though he didn't want to actually touch the tree...  Ethan held on to a branch and told everyone "Don't worry.  I'll hold it up."

 The big guys took turns sawing... but ran into a bit of trouble since Brian's left handed....  Or as my father refers to it, "cursed".

The tree finally went down!

 And Uma found a nice branch to serve as a tree - Lucas wasn't buying it....

 We took the obligatory cider shot, though the boys refused to actually drink the cider.  Some things just don't change......

 And then it was back to Uma and Upa's to decorate.  We also made some cookie dough for a party next weekend.  Lucas actually managed to stir without dumping out the flour.  Ethan not so much.  But I'm sure they'll still be delicious.

Sunday we went to another showing of the Nutcracker, this time to see his friend Thomas (his teacher's son) play Fritz.  In the ballet, Fritz is naughty.  When he threw the stuffed mouse at the tree Ethan yelled, "Thom-AS!"  The people in front of us were friends of Thomas as well, so we all got a good laugh out of it.
That's where we are....  Back to the real world as I try to finish the family newsletter, enter grades in the gradebook, and get Ethan ready for basketball to start tomorrow.  We are sooooooo looking forward to Christmas break!

Thankful for Thanksmas

Time flies, eh?  Sheesh!  What a fun weekend - fun but exhausting!  Wednesday morning, the turkey fun all started with a little contest between my friend at work and myself over our boys' lunches.  They both ended up fabulously awesome.

She won, with the amazing fruit by the foot corn cob.  That thing was impressive.

Ethan and I were pretty proud of our Pilgrim and Native American donut holes.  They were pretty cute.  The pilgrim donuts were dipped in chocolate for the hair, and then fruit by the foot made their hat-thingys.  The Native Americans had cut up fruit rollup headresses.  Too cool.  I enjoyed the cheese leaves too!

We left as soon as possible after school to head to Cole's house.  It was supposed to take us 3 hours, but traffic was horrendous and it took us 4 and a half.  By the time we got there, the boys were ready for some cousin fun.

And Cole was excited to see them too!

They played for a while and off to bed we all went.  The next morning we had some cute pancakes for breakfast.....

And since the eyes were chocolate chips, the boys kept asking for more eyeballs please!

There was quite the wiled rumpuss up in our room, on the big foam mattress.

Add in a light saber, and you've got a party!

The boys also enjoyed playing with every single one of Cole's toys.  This drum was particularly obnoxious, but since we bought it for him, I guess I can't complain....

There was lots of snuggling and watching movies together...

And it wouldn't be a holiday without some cute art project....

Naps were important and much needed - though Ethan spent the time with me learning how to make PowerPoint presentations.

My favorite thing was when Cole squirmed around until he had a hold of his bellybutton-  it's his best friend.,

Ethan thoroughly enjoyed playing on the computer and made an awesome star wars book, complete with this cool author's photo....

We had a delicious feast and then it was time to bring in a little Thanksmas.....  The tree was up and the boys loved decorating - though everything was about 3 feet tall...

Angie even let the new baby put up an ornament with her (in utero).

I could not believe how focused Lucas was.  He took his job very seriously....  And really enjoyed it.

The boys were all smiles - and are now much easier to bribe for pictures with sweets!  Way easier!

We watched this movie a few times....  Knew it was pushing it when Lucas was able to tell us when we needed to start singing along to help Santa get his sled up!

The next morning it was time for Thanksmas itself!

We like getting to play Santa and filling each other's stockings!

The boys were super excited to see their transformers!  Poor Grandpa was sick though, and had to just participate by listening from upstairs.  Poor guy.

I think it's awesome how excited the boys get over their ornaments from Grammy.  I think now that they've seen all of Brian's and Angie's from over the years, they see how special a homemade yearly ornament is.  Lucas ran right over to put it on the tree.

Cole took out one book and then refused to do anything else but read it.  Too cute.

After a fun, but exhausting morning, the boys all gathered to play a game Brian got - Heroica.  Think Legos meets Dungeons and Dragons.  They had a blast.

Lucas snuck away to go play in the covered porch area.  He had a blast out there by himself.

The boys looked great in their new sweaters from Grammy, so we gathered them for some shots with their cousin.... 3 boys never seem to all be looking at the camera and smiling... but if you somehow combine the shots....

We managed to get one of the 4 of us as well....

Finally Grandpa was feeling a little better and managed to come downstairs to open his gifts - including a very cool platter we made with all the boys' hands.

I found mini nerf-like guns to go in all the adult guys' stockings and they were a lot of fun.  At first it was just target practice.

Cole had a lot to say about that, and Lucas was not too thrilled...

Then it turned into all-out war.  I could not believe that Brian used Ethan as a human shield!  That is low!

We had a blast and, as always, it ended too soon!  Grammy, Grandpa, and Brian left early the next morning, and the boys and I went home after baths and lunch. We were all tired and worn down, but were thankful for one more full day to recuperate!  And now I cannot believe how close we are to Christmas!  The next few weeks are going to go way too quickly!