More Christmas Fun!

In the last post I mentioned that the weather better cooperate so we could make it down to La Crosse to see the light display.  Well, the weather definitely did not cooperate but we went anyway!  It was probably one of the worst driving days of the year so far.  We left a little earlier than planned, drove much slower than normal and ended up having a sleep over.  Once we made it, the snow was beautiful and the lights were even better from the freshly fallen snow!  What a great way to start off the Christmas break!!

I couldn't pick a favorite of all the kiddos, so I just posted both :-)

Thank goodness Baby Jack was ok with sharing his sled. 

Mason had the easy life for most of the light tour!

Trust me, the kids were no angels on this little excursion.  I even had to pull out the ear twist on Kade and at one point was holding him by his hood to keep him in line!  However, looking back at the pictures, all I remember is how darn cute the 6 of them were all bundled up and getting into the holiday spirit together.  Thank goodness for selective memories!!  

Must Be Santa...

We've been busy getting into the Christmas spirit around here!  

The boys have been wearing Santa hats and jingle bells nearly every day since we decorated after Thanksgiving.  

We've celebrated Christmas with Kade's birth family.  

We've made the obligatory trip to visit Santa.  

We've done lots of shopping...oh wait.  Correction.  I'VE done lots of shopping.  I need give Mason some credit too because he's been with me on a number of trips.  Erik and Kade on the other hand...well, let's just say if Santa knew the amount of effort they've put into buying presents--they'd be on the naughty list.  Just kidding, Erik!  I've been giving him a hard time and making him feel guilty because I've started buying and wrapping my own presents (Thanks for the idea, Melody!).

We've made Christmas cookies.  

We've been singing Christmas songs every night for bedtime.  

We've been reading and teaching them about the real reason we celebrate Christmas.  Jesus' birth.  "Away In a Manger" is one of their favorite songs and Mason loves babies so they love hearing the story!

And tonight, weather permitting, we'll be heading down to La Crosse to see the lights!  Weather better permit because we missed it last year due to Lice Armageddon 2015.

My cute little elves.

Kade and his friend Charlie dressed as Santa and The Elf on the Shelf.

Seriously.  Best Elf on the Shelf impersonation I've ever seen!

The following pictures are from Breakfast With Santa.  

You'll notice one key player is missing from every picture.  

Waiting in line, with friends, until their turn to talk to the Big Guy comes up.

And, this is the picture from their turn.  

They are on the opposite side of the room from Santa and Kade is in the process of running to hide behind Erik.  

Erik said that later Mason did end up telling Santa he wanted a tractor but he would still go nowhere near him.  

Love my brave boys :-)

Luckily, an actual conversation with Santa is not required in order to reap the rewards of donut holes and chocolate milk!

We didn't do such a great job getting pictures of cookie decorating.  

This is all we got of the frosting lickers....I mean, cookie decorators.

Isaac and Mason were too busy eating their toes to be bothered with decorating cookies.  

Thank goodness for that because I'm not sure I'd want to eat one of their cookies after seeing these pictures!

My friend, Melissa, is an excellent photographer.  "Excellent" probably doesn't do justice when describing her talent.  So, when my brother's family was here for Thanksgiving we had Melissa take pictures.  This is the first time my family has ever had "real" pictures taken!  She was nice enough to take them on Thanksgiving morning since that was the only time it worked for all of us.

I didn't think there would be any good ones.  None of the kids were cooperating, it was cold and the Southern Belles were not enjoying the MN weather.  However, Melissa managed to get about 140 good shots!!  It's impossible to choose favorites but here's a few contenders:

My brother and his family came up for the week over Thanksgiving.  The boys got a whole week to play with their Atlanta cousins and those little ladies kept them on their toes!  Of course I managed to take exactly 2 pictures.  Trust me, we tried our hardest to get more but the 4 of them were NOT having it.  Not once over the course of 7 days did we get a picture of just the 4 of them, and we even had "professional" family pictures taken!!  

 Grandma with the Littles:  

Noella (almost 2) and Mason (almost 3)

Although, I'm not really sure we can consider Mason a "little" because he weighs more than Vivienne!!

Grandpa with the Bigs:  

Vivienne (4) and Kade (6)

Jeremy and Vivi helped with Kade's Thanksgiving party at the school.  

Jeremy sent me these gems while I was at work.

Vivi doesn't seem too torn up that she didn't get to wear a giant hat like Kade's!

After playing every day for a week straight, the kids were exhausted.  But I think they were both a little disappointed when they woke up on Sunday morning and realized their cousins weren't here to play with anymore.  Can't wait until the next time we get to see them, perhaps in Atlanta this time!

We've been having some issues getting Erik's pictures added to the photo stream.  Once in awhile a few random ones will cross over.  I just discovered these 2 from August and I just had to put them on the blog.  Look at how handsome this little man is!  

I've done a lot of posts over the last 6 years.  At least one a week.  And besides the posts I did announcing the arrivals and adoption days of Kade and Mason, this one ranks up there as one of my favorites.  I'm not sure why, it's nothing special really, but I LOVE the sequence of these pictures.  They make my heart smile.

The previous owners of our house planted pine trees along the border of 3 sides of the property.  Now that the trees are bigger, it's becoming obvious they are too close together.  Unfortunately we have to take out every other tree.  Therefore, the search for the perfect Christmas tree this year was in our own backyard!  Best.Christmas.Tree.Search.Ever.

The hunt is on.  They've zeroed in on the tree on the right.  

After checking and rechecking to make sure the tree met the criteria of the "every other tree gone" rule, the boys assessed the tree felling situation.

Because I wanted proof that I was there too, I insisted on a picture with the boys.

Mason is going through a "Daddy Only" phase.  He was NOT happy that I'm holding him.  I laugh every time I look at these pictures.  Yes, he appears to be close to my size.  Yes, he is only 2.  

I marvel all the time that God brought us 2 giant boys.  

Heart smiling.

Hauling the tree back to the homestead.

At some point I must've said, "Good teamwork, guys!"  I know it was me that said that, and not Erik, because I'm usually good for at least one nerdy positive affirmation like that.  Well, Mason picked it up and then repeated it about 50 times.  I'm pretty sure he's saying it in this picture.

Erik's little helper.

Seriously…that smile.

She's starting to look like a Christmas tree, boys!

Erik's other little helper, insisting he needs no help carrying the tree stand.

"My got it!!  My big boy!!"

Good teamwork, guys!

Hands down, best Christmas tree we've ever had!