Christmas 2012

Aiden and his Santa hat on "Christmas Day" in Minnesota.  We are waiting for Luke and Liam to wake up.

The aftermath



The night before (pictures are reversed, but anyway you get the idea).  The boys got new sleds for winter and some riding toys (scooter, big wheel razor thing) for spring along with lots of other items.

Making cookies with Caitlin, Ella, and Aunt Ann

Sampling Hershey Kisses with Cousin Ella

Christmas Day in Cincy

I-phone and I-pad for Aiden and Cousin Jacob

Building with Legos in Caitlin's room

All the Cincy cousins getting ready to open gifts from Grandma, Grandpa, and the gift exchange

Liam and ACE

Luke on the ice rink

Liam and Aiden playing hockey on the rink

Liam on the ice

AJ showing me his hockey face

 



We spent this Christmas in Cincinnati, Ohio with John's family.  I have been asked several times how we typically "do Christmas" and if we take all the presents on our trip so I will explain a little.  We have the boys write a letter to our Cowboy Elf telling him about our upcoming trip and asking him if he will bring some presents early in Minnesota and save one or two presents for our Christmas destination (Arkansas or Ohio).  So, we pick a weekend before our trip and we have Christmas Day at the house in Minnesota.  We wake up and open gifts, play with the new toys, and celebrate Christmas together.  We only take around 2-3 gifts for each of the boys to open on Christmas Day because they typically also have gifts from cousins and grandparents so they don't notice one way or the other.  It has worked well for us and saves us from hauling a lot of stuff in the car! 

 

We had a wonderful Christmas in Cincinnati this year and the boys were so sad to leave.  They loved playing with all of their cousins more than anything.  Second to that, was definitely playing with all the animals.  The boys are definitely beginning their negotiations for a puppy, especially Liam.  Aunt Ann and family received a puppy for Christmas this year and Aunt Jennifer already has a puppy (ACE), both dogs the boys adore.  The boys enjoyed playing lots of games, baking cookies, doing crafts, going swimming, watching cousin Jacob play hockey, building with legos, watching movies, etc...They had a blast with their cousins.  I have to give a lot of credit to Caitlin and Ella for a most relaxing holiday complete with several uninterrupted dinners and free time to shower, drink coffee, or do nothing at all.  The girls are wonderful babysitters and entertainers!

 

Lastly, as we were preparing the leave for Christmas, we were also finalizing the ice rink as the temperatures were beginning to drop.  John and our neighbor filled the rink with water and by the time we returned from Christmas break, we had ICE!  SOLID ICE!  The boys are warming up to the idea and have really enjoyed playing on it.  They love playing on the ice with their boots on as much as they do with skates.  The neighborhood kids have also really loved it so it has been a great activity over the last few days as the temperatures have not gotten above 20 degrees!  After watching a few hockey games over the holidays, the boys seem to have a new interest in learning how to skate better so we are optimistic this will continue. 

 

Happy New Year from our family to Yours!