Christmas

I warn you now....lots of pictures, but I have a hard enough time narrowing it down to these.  I think I did fairly well considering we did so much in December.  Enjoy:)

 We had our first snow, it was only an inch, but it was exciting....we've had nothing since...bummer because I can't wait to sled down this hill with Dane and Drake again.

Our Christmas family picture, with all 6 six of us.

 We rode through Tilles Park to look at the Magical Kingdom in a carriage pulled by "Hercules".  We packed a thermos of hot chocolate and 4 to-go cups with marshmellows.  So then when we poured the hot chocolate out it would perfect.  Actually it was cool enough to drink at the end of the ride...next year I'll have that little detail perfected:)

 This is the first time I decorated the formal dining room.  Blue lights and blue bulbs that I let Drake put on while Andy and Dane were deer hunting.  I don't know how I found the time this December with the MBA coming to an end....did I mention?....it's FINISHED!

Christmas Eve was a beautiful day.  We had a bonfire, roasted hot-dogs and saddled up BullsEye for a ride. 

Here's the boys (and pups) in the trailer, we're heading to our neighbors to get the hay we ordered for the horses.   I hadn't thought ahead that all 4 of them would need to fit in the vehicle for the ride home.  Yes, the muddy, wet dogs had to ride in my Durango for the ride home....it was wonderful...blah.

This Christmas break we hosted lots of play dates (almost every day) and two sleep-overs.  Here's Dane and Drake with their friends when we got the horses out.

 Dane leading Tommy around on BullsEye...

 Drake leading Reece around on BullsEye....

 All 4 of them on the trampoline....

 Trevor and Tommy visiting Dane and Drake.....

 Taylor and Trevor having movie night with Dane and Drake....

 Joseph over for a sleep-over and them finding our Elf on the Shelf in the morning....

When I work-out I almost always have a work-out partner.  This day was no different.  Here's Drake doing pull-downs...

 And Drake on the treadmill.  He was going at quite a fast pace.

 Dane on the treadmill.  His goal was to run/jog a mile...goal met! 

 Drake didn't feel well after church and he wanted to rest, but he wouldn't without Chloe.  They both slept there for almost 3 hours. 

 Of course T-Bone will not be on the floor if Chloe is enjoying the good life...

 Movie and pajama day, even for me:)

 I just thought this was a funny way for a dog to sit, though Andy said he's seen her do it several times.

 Dane lost another tooth.  And he has 3 more loose ones in his mouth.  I hope he doesn't lose them all at once or we'll have to use a food processor in order for him to eat.

 Drake and I building a train track while Andy and Dane hunted....

Our train shaped cake for baby Jesus. We made it before church so afterwards we could have our birthday party and cut a piece out for Santa. We also made a dish for the reindeer (oats, carrots and celery).

 It was late when we finally set everything out before retiring....check out Drake's excitement; he's a zomby.

We also did our annual trip to the zoo to see the Zoo Lights and eat dinner with Santa.

Me with Dane... 

Me with Drake......

 Another Santa picture.....

And now with Frosty....

 Instead of just making 1 ginger bread house I figured we'd make the whole town...silly me.  It was a pain, but none-the-less, here's the very fragile finished product....

And what the heck, why stop with a town, lets make a train to drive through it too...I'm blaming my lack of fore-thought on sleep deprivation.....again here's the final product.  This one leaning on toothpicks and glued with Gorilla Glue.

  And all together now.....

We had a lot of fun with Harley (our Elf on the Shelf) this year.  He was very creative.  He kept getting into our pantry and creating fun for himself while we all slept.  This particular night he made himself a slide out of a paper towel roll, toothpicks and a paper plate for the ladder and a mac n cheese box.  Oh, and did I mention, he doesn't clean up after himself?  The boys always laugh when I made a big deal about the mess he leaves :)

 Another Santa, Drake doesn't miss a chance to sit and remind him of the gift he wants.  He's always quick to pose with him and get the candy cane.

 Here's the actual photo we bought and framed from the mall....it's a picture of the picture since I didn't pay the extra $20 to get it on disk.....and yes Drake dressed in his hat and boots for the picture. :)

 And here's a shot of Harley hanging out on our lamp by the tree....

Here he's catching a ride on one of the boy's trains....

Zip-lining....I'm sure he had fun doing this, though the yarn and scissors were left out....I told the boys to ask him to be more polite and put the craft things away when he's done...it's so cute to hear them talk to Harley.

Here's Harley hiding in our Snow People....it took them a while to find him on this morning....

 Swinging from our formal dining room chandelier...he cleaned up the yarn this time, but not the cardboard pieces....so I only "complained" a little....

 Photo-bombing...how dare Harley get in our picture...that was actually an accident, but the boys love it.

  That covers us for now.  I should be more on top of things now that I'm covering the office every Monday before I go to eat lunch with the 1st graders and help Dane's teacher for an hour.

What's on our plates for 2012 you ask?:

Andy is doing a 1/2 tri-athalon in June to help him prepare for his full  IronMan in September.

I'm going to sleep, since the MBA is done and put some of that knowledge to work!
I'm considering doing a 1/2 marathon in April or October (or both).  Andy says I could do it now, but frankly, I feel like not planningl anything for this year.

Dane will finish 1st grade and take riding lessons from someone other than me to ride BullsEye by himself.

Drake will begin kindergarten and we're also looking at a pony for him.  I think we found one, we just need to close the deal.  He's already named this pony Buzz (sticking with the Toy Story theme) and Dane rode it while we were looking at him.

Here's to a great new year!  Hugs from all of us-Andy, Renee, Dane, Drake, T-Bone & Chloe :)