Christmas Morning

We all got up early on Christmas morning to see what Santa delivered. Nate and Sean were supposed to stay upstairs until 8:00 and they almost made it. When they couldn't stand it any longer, mom let them run down into the playroom where Santa had left his gifts.


Nate says he knows Santa is real because the cookies and eggnog set out the night before were all gone the next morning. Plus, how else would Santa know exactly what Nate wanted?


Sean needed mom's help with the first present but he quickly caught on. He was ripping open packages in no time!


Sean's big fixation this year is airplanes. Luckily he got the Plan City airport complete with turboprop and a little guy to fly it. Sean flew him all around the house that morning.


In the afternoon we went out to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Pat. They had the usual Christmas Tree that reached nearly all the way up to the 2-story ceiling. Everyone had a great time.

Christmas is for... Dinosaurs?

We had to get out of the house for awhile after so much "togetherness" during the holidays. What could possibly be better than a trip to the local dinosaur park? It's a good thing these creatures aren't around today or the whole family could have been swallowed up in one gulp.


OK, so it's not entirely the land of dinosaurs. They also had an ice-age mammoth, and more inexplicably, a giant octopus and a King Kong. The kids didn't seem to care so much about the historical accuracy, though.



Nate particularly enjoyed this epic battle between a menacing meat-eater and a sauropod frozen in time. At first he was a little nervous about entering the park but soon warmed up as he learned that nothing was going to jump out at him.




This seaborne creature looked a lot like what the Loch Ness monster should look like, assuming it had washed ashore to an inland field in the middle of winter.

Getting Ready for Christmas

We went to the children's annual Christmas breakfast over at our church on Saturday. These are a few of the video highlights.

We waited patiently to see Santa, and before long we found ourselves at the front of the line. Nate was excited but Sean got a little nervous. He seemed to calm down when we told him Santa would give him a candy cane.

Nate hopped right on Santa's lap. He knows it's not the real Santa, though. He said this was just one of Santa's helpers wearing a fake beard because Santa is too busy to be everywhere.

Candy Cane or not, Sean wanted nothing to do with it but can you blame him? For the second year in a row we didn't get a good Santa photo but I bet he'll be ready next time!

On Sunday Nate was in the Christmas pageant. Here he is in his angel outfit, backstage before the big event.

Let it Snow!

We got s little snow a few days ago. Nate's an old pro, but this is the first year that Sean was really big enough to enjoy it. They both loved being pulled around the yard in a sled. There wasn't a whole lot of snow on the ground the first day but more fell overnight.


Sean decided that he would try his hand at making a snowball. There wasn't enough to make Frosty but there was certainly enough to throw at his brother!

Grab Bag

The two photos have absolutely no relation to each other, but that's what we have this week so we thought we'd share them anyway.

A couple of years ago, Nate absolutely had to have a light-up reindeer that moved its head back and forth. The whole neighborhood knows our house now: "Oh, you live in the house with the reindeer in the porch." This is the view that greets cars and pedestrians that pass by during the holiday season.

Nate agrees that Sean does a great imitation of Michael Jackson. He doesn't know who Michael Jackson is, but Sean still looks like him.

Turkey Trot

Mom decided to run a 5K race on Thanksgiving Morning. You couldn't beat the location -- the local streets of our little neighborhood. Dad, Nate and Sean got outside early to watch Mom run by. We took this photograph of Mom from our front yard because the race went right by our house! Nate and Sean cheered Mom along.

Dad took the kids down to the park to find Mom. Somehow they walked down there just as Mom was crossing the finish line. Here is Mom on her final sprint at the end.

Nate and Sean were glad to congratulate Mom on her fantastic finish. She didn't look tired at all.

Mom waited to see if she might have finished in the top-3 for her age category. We think she came close but the race was so small that they didn't record people's times. So we'll never know exactly how well she did, but we thought she was a winner anyway.

Sean didn't really know what was going on but he was happy enough to spend the morning playing on the ladders and slides.

Reunion Weekend

Mom and Dad went back to their old school for a reunion. They took Nate and Sean along and showed them all the sights. This was the grand setting for a long walk around the University on a crisp Fall day.

Mom and Dad took them to see the house where the reunion was being held, a special place where Mom and Dad had spent so many wonderful times. Dad even lived here during his final year at college!

Nate sure enjoyed touring through the house and made Dad take him up to his old room about a dozen different times. Here is Nate on Dad's old balcony high above the street below. He wondered why the roof was so close to the balcony but decided it probably wasn't a good idea to climb out there.

Sean partied like a frat boy. No, really he just took a nap. But you never know what might happen to you when you fall asleep at a fraternity house!

Down on the Farm, Part I

While we were visiting our friends in out in the country, Nate and Sean got to spend some time outside with the farm animals. Apparently Sean had a near miss encounter with a huge cow patty, but no one got a picture of the event.

Here they are chasing chickens. Sean is yelling "no, sorry". Not sure why the no part, but his new "thing" is to do something he shouldn't while saying sorry at the same time.

Down on the Farm, Part II

Nate's a bit of a city kid so he loves it when we have a chance to visit a farm. For him, chicken means something breaded in the form of a nugget, not something with two legs that pecks around a field. Our friends who live in this beautiful rural setting had invited us down for the day. They'd won a musical performance in a charity silent auction, so they used that as an opportunity to have everyone come on over and spend an idyllic afternoon out in the country.

The band used an African tribal drum as their rhythm section rather than a standard drum kit, maybe because the space was small or maybe because that was their thing. Either way the kids sure enjoyed showing off their musical "talents." Well, at least they were enthusiastic. Now don't anyone go quitting your day jobs!

Uh oh... looks like one of the gang got moved a little too much by the dancing spirit. Her mom was on the scene quickly and everything was fine. Sean seemed to take notice but the other two were oblivious, not wanting to lose that beat.

They played so well that the band invited them back on stage for an encore. Nate played a rousing tambourine solo with his little friend. The folks in the band were really good sports and actually seemed to enjoy having kids run around and across the stage during most of their performance. Nate said his favorite part of the day was "playing in the band" so maybe music lessons are in his future.

There's a Party in my Tummy

Nate and Sean love to dance to Yo Gabba Gabba's "Party in my Tummy." We set up the jump-o-line in the basement so they could get some wiggles out while the weather was cold and wet outside and the music did the rest. We're still not sure what Nate was trying to do with the support post but it appeared to be an integral part of his elaborately choreographed breakdance routine. Sean seemed perfectly content with the pogo.

Their enthusiasm was matched only by their lack of rhythm!

Halloween 2007

This year, Nate was really interested in decorating for Halloween. We had a ton of pumpkins and he was quite excited about his spider. Sean was much more excited about the chocolate, as you can probably tell from his mouth.

This year was Sean's turn to be the dalmation. Or the "woof, woof puppy" as he calls dogs.

Nate chose to be a Power Ranger, even though he's never actually seen a Power Ranger.

It's not often Dad gets in the picture.

Sean really figured out trick or treating this year. He'd say "appy alloween" all the way up the walk and then refuse to say anything to the person handing out the candy. We ended the night at the annual neighborhood bonfire.

Due to the recent drought, this year the "bonfire" was two fire pits, but it was still a nice way to end the evening.

Halloween

Nate really got into the Halloween spirit with his pet spider, "creepy-crawly." Sean wasn't quite sure what to make of everything but he got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Halloween Archive

With Halloween just a few days away, it might be nice to take a moment to remember some of the memorable costume choices from the past.


Nate made his first public Halloween appearance in 2002, soon after he turned one year old. He toured the neighborhood as a somewhat pouty Clifford the Big Red Dog, a little overwhelmed by the whole event.

By 2003 he started to get in the swing of things, and realized he could get lots of free treats just by knocking on a few nearby doors. He traded in Clifford for one of the 101 Dalmatians and carried his plastic pumpkin pail with pride from street to street.

2004 brought ever-increasing enthusiasm but he continued to stick to his dog theme. This time he sported brown fur as he ambled along neighborhood avenues through the crinkling autumn leaves.

Finally some originality began to appear in 2005 when Nate switch themes to... a cat. He carried a flashlight by his side that meowed whenever he turned it on.

Sean joined the crew for the 2006 Halloween festivities. Nate became a construction guy after spotting a road crew repairing a nearby street -- NOT Bob the Builder! Mom searched all over the Internet to find him the smallest genuine protective vest available. Sean strolled the streets as the most adorable Jurassic dinosaur imaginable.

Riding the Scooter

Sean got a scooter for an early birthday present. In just a few short days he's already gotten the hang of it. He can ride all over the neighborhood now. Look out world!

Birthday Video

The kids sure enjoyed their joint birthday party with a "Cars" (movie) theme. The moonbounce was a great idea for getting all the kicks-and-wiggles out.

Nate and Sean's Birthday Party

Since I didn't think running 10 miles was enough work for one day, we decided to have Nate and Sean's party on Sunday afternoon. Since we had 25 (ack!) kids coming, we figured we give them something fun to do.

Nate trying to figure out how his "surprise" goes from flat to fun.

TA-DA! A four in one bounce house: bouncer, ladder, slide and basketball hoop. Sean can't wait to try it out! (Note the Disney Cars theme!)

We got a small one for the smaller kids and the two things darned near took up the whole yard.

Continuing the car theme...

The boys prepare to blow out their candles...

as the pile of kids waits impatiently.

One very bright mommy suggested we make them eat outside. My carpets thank her!

And what's a birthday party without a crazy neighbor getting in on the fun?

Capital City Oktoberfest

Saturday we went to the annual microbrew beer festival that we like to attend. We staked out a corner and enjoyed the yummy beers for a while. I didn't get to drink much as the Army 10 Miler was the next morning, but what I did have was yummy!

Mom and I had some German sausages for lunch while Sean took a nap in my Hotsling

Nate had a good time this year, despite the crowds.Sean apparently wanted a bus for lunch...