Sledding

The Monday after Christmas we met up with a few families from Andrew's preschool class to go sledding. The kids had fun catching up with each other, and the hill was the perfect size for the kids....not to fast, yet big enough for a long run.

Speedy:

Making their way back up the hill:

Buddies:

Classmates:

Warming up with some hot chocolate:

After 2 hours of sledding, it was time to go home (since the adults were starting to get chilly & it was getting to be nap time for the younger ones). Everyone had a lot of fun; it was a great way to spend the morning!

Bongers Family Christmas (2010)

After opening gifts at our house on Christmas morning we went down to Grandma & Grandpa Bongers to celebrate with them.

Opening the gifts that Santa left in their stockings:

Andrew opening his present from Santa (the firetruck Lego set):

Jenna & Grandma checking out her new Zhu Zhu pet hotel:

Jenna helping baby Frank check out his new toy:

Mr. Construction with his new cement mixer:

Jenna wearing both dress up dresses she received, while checking out her new Fairy from Aunt Beth:

The kids enjoyed spending time with their aunts & uncles, and their cousin. Jenna had baby Frank smiling & cooing at her (even tho she didn't realize it). They were pretty tuckered out when we left, which translated into sleeping in until 8 the next day!

Christmas 2010

After sprinkling the reindeer food in the front yard, picking out the perfect cookies, and writing Santa a note, Andrew was ready for bed on Christmas eve. Jenna fell fast asleep on the way home from Grandma & Grandpa Fullerton's house, and there was no waking her up. We made the request that they stay in their rooms until 7, and at 7 on the dot, we had too little blondies in our room asking if they could go downstairs to see if Santa came.

Sprinkling the reindeer food:

Santa came!

Just a little happy about his Leapster:

Jenna with her doll house.

Still playing....had to convince her to open other presents:

Andrew explaining his 'awesome' gift to Dad (they get to make a birdhouse together).

Jenna in her new dress-up outfit & flower hat, testing out her new magna doodle w/ Andrew

How we found Andrew for most of Christmas day (playing his Leapster):

Merry Christmas!

Fullerton Christmas

We spent Christmas eve celebrating at Grandma & Grandpa Fullerton's house. After a delicious meal of BBQ ribs, we opened gifts, then of course spent time playing with everything! The kids were pretty tuckered out when it was time to leave.

Checking out her new shirt:

With his new hunting game that he loves. He barely put the box down once he opened it!

Showing off the adorable baby outfit from Lynn & Tom (there's a fish that wraps around to the back too - super, super cute! Can't wait to put the little guy in it)

Andrew with 2 of the 4 Airport Mouse books (yea new books!). We are all looking forward to learning about the adventures of airport mouse.

Admiring the nursery set for her doll house.

Andrew with his new binoculars (Dad might be 'borrowing' them from time to time - they are really nice!).

The kids in action....yep, this is how a lot of presents were opened :-)

Here's how the boys spent some time after all the presents were open. The video game was big hit with all the boys (young & old).

Christmas Crafts

This year instead of buying something for the kids god parents, we had the kids make something. I hope it meant more to the god parents to know that the kids made it themselves, I know they were both really proud of the ornaments that they made.

Daddy showing them how to add the beads to the ornaments (they were stained glass):

Hard at work:

Santa

The weekend of the big snow storm, we went out to the Hudson Y camp for breakfast with Santa, only to find out they had canceled the event (right before it was slated to start). Since Santa managed to make it out there, anyone that made it there was able to visit with Santa and have breakfast too. We weren't the only ones that made it out there, but I know it definitely wasn't the number of people they typically have. It was nice to not have to wait in line to see Santa, plus the breakfast was really nice too! We plan on heading back out there again next year.

Here are a few pictures from the visit with Santa:

Miss Jenna climbed right up

Andrew telling Santa what he'd like for Christmas (a Leapster).

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree....

After weeks of asking (they started in early November), we put up the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. The kids helped, which although I can't claim made the tree go up faster than usual, they really enjoyed helping with the process.

Sorting out the branches by letter/color (they amazing well with keeping the piles separate):

Putting the branches on:
Here comes the top of the tree:

Adding the angel on top:Decorating proved to be a bit of a challenge with two helpers, but we managed. Here's the finished product after we thinned out the ornaments from the bottom ;-)

Sparkle Berry, our Elf on the Shelf, also came back this year after Thanksgiving, and the kids have been enjoying finding his new spot each morning. The day he took up residence on the light fixture above the table, Jenna ate really, really well....he may be visiting that spot often (hehehe).

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Even with the 1st snow of the season, we braved the roads to help Grandma Barb celebrate her birthday. We ended up with a change of plans since Lynn & Tom were unable to join us, and also decided against driving to the Hubbel House for dinner. Instead we made the short trip to Timberlodge for dinner, and enjoyed the warmth of being inside versus in a car.

Here we are before dinner:

Grandma & the kids:

Opening presents:

Jenna (aka - bag head), what else are you going to do with an empty bag?:

Jenna spent a lot of time requesting that Grandpa spin her in one of their chairs....she loved it. After a while we told her no more spinning so she found dolls & stuffed animals and spun those in the chair instead.

No birthday celebration is complete without cake :-)