Pictures With Santa

Santa Claus made a surprise visit to our office xmas party! It was great. All the kids got a picture taken with Santa (and, of course, I had to join in!) Nick was very tentative and only got close to Santa in order to get a candy cane. Alex was all smiles and more than willing to give Santa his list of items he wanted for xmas. Those of you who know Ryan well enough will appreciate that he actually sat on Santa's lap and spoke to him. It was a lot of fun!

A Winter Wonderland.

Our backyard transformed itself into a winterwonderland over the past few days. The boys were all very excited to wake up to snow on Sunday morning. Nick was fascinated and a little nervous at first when we first ventured outside. Ryan & Alex have spent a lot of time outside enjoying the holiday weather. I love the snow. It makes everything seem more christmas-like. I was watching the boys play outside and it totally reminded me of my own childhood as Ryan shoved snow down Alex's neck and Alex then chased Ryan around trying to tackle him to shove his face into the snow. Ahhh! The fun of being a kid!

Our Very Own Cub Scout!

One of the reasons that Ryan was looking forward to turning eight was joining cub scouts. He went to his first meeting two weeks ago and had a pretty good time. They were making Christmas crafts and he made some really cool things (an ornament and a wreath). At first he was a little nervous about making the wreath because you had to use a glue gun - all by yourself - but he did it and his crafts turned out great. The following week was their Christmas party. They had a cookie exchange and a small $1.00 gift exchange. He came home with lots of treats to share with his family.

TV Time

Sometimes, as a mom, you just have to keep your kid entertained while trying to get something else accomplished. This was my plan with Nick a few nights ago. He LOVES the move "Surf's Up" so I brought the little tv downstairs and he stayed glued to the tv (a few inches away from the screen) for about 20 minutes straight!

Ryan Gets Baptized!

On Saturday, Nov 29th, Ryan was able to be baptized by his grandpa in Kimberly. It was a great day. Very exciting. He had some of his very good friends that traveled many hours to be there to support him. We really appreciated that. Also, most of his aunts & uncles & cousins were there. We are very lucky to have such great family and friends. It was a special day for a special kid.