Saturday, December 24, 2011

Santa!! HO HO HO!

We made our annual trek to North Pole this week to see Santa and Max was so excited.  He kept saying, "me see Santa" over and over and over.  He was all about sitting on Santa's lap and loved it. 



 It was only 4 days until Christmas but I'm pretty sure with detailed picture lists like Bo took, Santa's got him covered.


Sam on the other hand wanted nothing to do with Santa's lap but finally warmed up enough to give him knucks.
The rest of us were there too

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Merry Sugar-mas To All And To All A Good Night!

It's that time of year again when everything with sugar in it some how becomes "ok" because it's Christmas.   No wonder America is obese.  Oh, it's December?  Sure.   I'll have that sample of peppermint mocha with whip cream and cute chocolate drizzle on top.  And hey, because dropping of this package at the post office was so tough, I'll most definitely take a piece of holiday chocolate.  Oh wait, it's taking too long, I better take 2.  And thanks Wells Fargo for the cute bag of red and green m&m's you sent to me in the drive through tube.  I'll be sure to add it to the other three trillion calories sitting on my hips right now. 

Seriously?  Who thinks like that?!  

Not me. Thank God.  I just say no thank you and walk away but when it comes to my kids, I'm much more fun and much more Decembery.  

So in the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of sugar, I once again tackled graham cracker houses with the boys this year.   I really have absolutely no idea why gingerbread houses are even considered Christmasy (I probably should google that) but they are fun, always make a mess and taste yummy yummy. 

Although, I don't remember them being nearly as difficult last year.  I don't know if it was the icing I bought or my lack of construction skills, but mine kept caving in.  My plan was to built ones for Sam and Max and then let them decorate them but because I took way too long to build anything that stood up, Sam's attention span was long gone as were fist fulls of jelly beans and about 1/4 of his icing jar.  I'm still surprised he didn't puke. 

But Bo stuck with it and really worked hard.  He got frustrated a few times but did a great job and did it ALL by himself.  He kept asking me if he could lick his fingers or did he have to use a napkin (so cute).  He also chose to put candy he got from school on his even though he knew it meant not eating them. 

He calls his a Lean-To with Chimneys and a Fence

When Wes got home Bo was all excited to show him what he built and Wes said, "Oh no, it fell over".  (Oops.  Way to go Dad.) 

And here is Sam's.  Yes, I know its lame but it's all I could get to stand up.  And for what he had to work with, I think he did a fantastic job. 
 This is the one I constructed for Max that became the community project.  Everyone did a little. 

It was fun, we made a mess like usual and now we have 3 tacky sugar houses sitting on the counter taking up room that I don't have either the heart to throw away or the stomach to eat.  Man I love December! 

Friday, December 16, 2011

Hawaii Part 4 - Sea Life Center & Black Rock

We took a break from the beach one morning to check out Maui's Sea Life Center and the boys LOVED it.  The underwater tunnel was by far their favorite.  The sharks and stingrays were amazing.  I just hope the fish can't hear through the glass because the boys could not stop screaming with excitement.
 


With a few days left, we found an amazing beach and snorkeling spot at Black Rock.   It was awesome.  We bought a ginormous inflatable turtle for them and Bo literally rode on it for hours at a time.  Hours.  The waves were perfect.  They would take him out and push him back in, take him out, push him back in.  All day long.  Out and in.  Out and in. 

The snorkeling was just as awesome.
Scuba Steve (Wes & Ethan)

And then there was this . . .



It took me awhile to figure out what they were doing and why on Earth they were all covered in sand but then I saw this . . . 

Duh . . . "HEAD MARKS"!!

And here are just a few more pics from our last day at Black Rock
Wes playing football with the boys
Where did everybody go?

It truly was a great trip.  We can't wait to go back. 

Hawaii Part 3 - Beach Time


Max finally started working his way closer and closer to the water. 



Locals playing on the beach next to us.  The music was fantastic. 

Hawaii Part 2 - The Wedding

It was a long time coming but Randi and Ethan finally got married on December 11.  We couldn't be happier for them and were excited to share in their special day. 
 
The beautiful bride and her dad
Groomsmen: Lee, Mike, Ethan (Groom), Brian, Corey (ring bearer), Chris, & Wes
Best attempt at a family photo