Preschool Christmas Programs

This week the boys had their Christmas Programs at school. They were adorable...as usual! Drew's group (older 4's and 5's) did really well and sang all their songs with energy and precision. Allen's group (younger 3's) was so small and tiny but they did a pretty good job too! The teachers said they didn't make a sound during rehearsal on Tuesday so they were sure Thursday was going to be a silent moment in the sanctuary. But they sang! It was exactly what you think of when you imagine a preschool Christmas program!


Drew's group on Wednesday


Allen's class on Thursday

I'll try to get video uploaded as well!

The Polar Express

Well, it didn't snow this year and they knew what was going on so it wasn't quite as magical. Then there was the fact we almost didn't get there thanks to two little boys deciding they would rather stay in the hotel than go ride a train. It could have ruined the night, but it ended up being another great ride on the Polar Express. Allen was much more into it this year - chanting for Santa, grinning from ear to ear when he entered our coach, and being completely enamored by the experience. Drew was a little more low-key this year but still seemed to enjoy it. Overall we are glad we went again since it was probably our last chance!


Waiting to visit with Santa


Cookies!!!





A sad attempt at a family photo...if you crop out our children it's not so bad! :)


I only wish you could hear all he was saying at this point...his stories are priceless! I need to stick a recorder on him at all times!


Are we at the North Pole yet?! Can you see him?!


Waiting anxiously for the man in the red suit...


It's Santa!


Can you hear the bells??!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Decorating our Christmas tree...





(Allen put all his ornaments on the same branches...at one point there were 8 ornaments on these 2 branches alone! I left them there because I thought it was cute. The next day they were all spread out...Drew apparently didn't like the condensed version of decorating that Allen had used!)




Their tree with Christmas Thomas...this little tree holds all the thumbprint ornaments from the Fantasy of Trees every year as well as the ornaments they have made at school over the years. And it's the perfect size for Christmas Thomas to travel around (an added bonus is that mommy doesn't have to stress about them crawling under her big tree to play with him!)

This year the two trees, our stockings and a couple of other random decorations are all that made it out. Oh - and of course the inflatable Mickey driving a Christmas train in the front yard! The prospect of decorating the entire house was just too much with the stress of finding a new home in Kansas, starting to clean out this house in preparation to pack, and holiday travels. But it's enough and the boys love what we do have out. I figure next year I will go all out with the decorating!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We were excited to have Grandma and Grandpa in town for Thanksgiving this year. The boys got to take them on one last hike in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.




I cooked the entire Thanksgiving meal myself - something I have never done before! It was a success and I'm glad to know that I can do it and that it's not a horrible task. Yet somehow there are NO photos of my cooking...I'm a little distressed to not have any proof of my hard work!

But here are my boys on Thanksgiving...




The day after Thanksgiving, Patrick and Dave hiked to the top of McDowell Mountain. This was something Patrick had really wanted to do before we moved and I was thankful he didn't have to do it alone (and that I didn't have to go too!!).

Happy Birthday Daddy!

In a very selfless move, Patrick decided the best weekend to do our California trip was his birthday weekend...even if it did mean driving home on his birthday day! Not knowing what time we would get back, we did cards and presents on Saturday night in the hotel. It probably was a mean move since I got him Kinect for his xBox and he couldn't play it there! We did have a "cookie cake" (and I use that term VERY loosely) after we got home on his actual birthday. The boys thought it was all big fun and loved celebrating with him regardless of location or date!







Happy 35th Birthday! We love you!!

Legoland 2010

On Friday, November 12, we made our first visit to Legoland. The boys were so excited - they didn't know it existed until the day before and were so happy to be going there! We had planned the trip to take advantage of their school being out for Veteran's Day (on the 11th) so we could travel on Thursday and go to the park on Friday. The weekdays are usually very low attendance, especially during the school year. We have friends who have visited and never stood in a single line. Well, luck was not with us on this trip! I didn't think to check on the local schools' calendars and they apparently got both Thursday AND Friday off from school! To add insult to injury, Legoland had given out free day coupons to local schools for various things. Needless to say, the place was PACKED! We were still able to ride most everything they wanted but we spent so much time standing in lines that we missed out on a lot of the walking around and enjoying the atmosphere and details of the park. It put a sour taste in our mouths as well so we decided not to visit again the next day as was our previous plan. It worked out fine and I'm sure we will go back again some day...if we are ever back in San Diego!


Our first ride - Allen was so excited!


Daddy was such a good sport and rode a lot of the "little" rides - even this one that bounced up and down a lot!


I tried to figure out how to take this lock-up home with us...


They had these great areas in the middle of the longer queues where kids could stay in a gated off area and play with Legos while a parent waited in line. It kept them happy and occupied which was great!


Our only family photo from the day! I took it myself so the framing and quality leaves something to be desired but I did my best!


Oh dear...oh dear...


Drew loved this dinosaur!


Drew was beyond thrilled to find this Lego Indiana Jones figure. It's his favorite xBox game to play with Daddy!


This was such a cool, interactive family ride. We won our battle! The boys laughed so much as we were pumping water to put out the "fire" in the house. A really neat experience!


A glimpse into the future...the Volvo Driving School! These cars were not on a track and were completely controlled by the kids. Drew was very careful and drove very safely...


...Allen hit a lot of walls, spent most of his time looking at everyone else driving, and would just randomly stop in the middle of the track...oh dear...


And, of course, we found a train to ride!

A day at the beach...

{I'm going to attempt to catch up on some of my blogging...}

In November, we went to Carlsbad, California for a long weekend. We visited Legoland and had planned to spend two days at the park. We ended up only wanting to go for one day which opened up a full day to enjoy the beach! We found a Toys R Us that still had beach toys, bought some cheap sets for the boys, and headed to find a nice place to enjoy the Pacific Ocean. The boys had a great time digging in the sand, splashing at the edge of the (very cold) ocean, and just enjoying some time at the beach. We stayed much longer than I had anticipated and would have spent the entire day there but Allen managed to get stung by a bee...I don't know how it always happens to him, but he just attracts random occurrences like that!

Friends...

While I have much to blog about to keep up with our recent adventures, these photos mean a lot to me right now and I wanted to share them. These are friends of the boys from school that they said good-bye to yesterday and today. They will not be going back to school after Christmas as we will be moving to the Kansas City area in late January! So I was glad to capture some of their best friends in pictures!


Allen, Drew, Kenley & Nate - our dear friends who we spend tons of time with...we will miss them so much!


Anna & Allen - the sweetest, most fun little girl and Allen's very best friend!


Brayden, Dylan, Allen & Drew - these brothers are the exact ages of our boys and have been friends since we moved here. Drew & Dylan have been in class together from day one and Allen & Brayden started class together this year after waiting patiently for their turn to come. They are so cute together and love to run and play in the courtyard after school every day!

Happy Birthday Drew!

On Saturday, November 6, we had Drew's 5th Birthday celebration at the Train Park. It was the same party Allen had last month with games, cake and ice cream in the party car, and rides on the train and carousel. It seemed to be a success!



Patrick made the cake - this time it was a dinosaur train theme. Each kid got a dinosaur as their piece of cake and they thought it was so awesome! (We had more but we had forgotten to put the all important Happy Birthday Drew on it so we had to improvise...they were just as easy to serve from the box!) I got to help this time - I decorated the train cars and came up with the sand and water ideas. It felt good to contribute!





Drew was so proud when his friends sang Happy Birthday to him!



And then his little brother promptly blew out his candle!!



All the kiddos...



This time it was a steam engine - perfect for Drew!







Such a stinkin' mess!



The obligatory family photo...this one was most difficult for some reason...