Christmas!!

Santa was good to my boys once again :)

Notice the ornaments...

The trucks were put together by Sean and Graham on Christmas Eve!

Sean enjoys them as much as his brothers do :)

Always the big brother helper! New hats with cute pajamas!

Who is that Super Hero in my parents' living room?!
Boys like to dress up, too!

My mom got all the little boys these hats with matching mittens!

They are even cuter in person! Look at that smile!

Santa came to my parents' house again this year and the boys loved him!

So thankful to get a good picture of them with Santa, too!

We had a great Christmas this year! We started out on Friday night with an Ugly Sweater party with the Hoffmans! I couldn't imagine a better group to do this with! The time with them flew by, I didn't even get to talk with all of them, and I can't wait to see them again!

On Saturday, we went to Jason and Crystal's new house in Mapleton. They have done a beautiful job making it their home! Great company, great food, a great time had by all!

We celebrated Christmas morning at our house unwrapping presents and playing with new toys, oh what fun!

Then we packed up and headed south to my parents' to celebrate! A great time was had by all, we got spoiled by Nana and Papa, aunts and uncles...and Santa, of course!

We finished up the holiday with the stomach flu hitting us one by one. Not fun at all, and I wished it was just me the entire time. My boys are tough and very brave, and I am so thankful they are feeling better once again!

Now, bring on the New Year!!

And, just a side note to say I am sorry for not sending out cards this year...time got the best of me and I will put it on my "to do" list earlier next year! Hugs and love to you all!

Castle vs. House...

Sean was helping Graham in the garage with insulating the garage door.

Graham cut up the scraps for Sean to play with, and he starting building right away!

"Mom, check out this huge castle I built!"

"See, this is Nana and Papa's house,
and they can drive down the road all the way to Shakopee and come to our house!"
I'll give you one guess as to which house is which!
Oh what fun it is to play :)

Boys Like to Play Dress Up, Too...

Only their kind of dress up includes;

Andrew as Scooby Doo,

and Isaac as a doctor.
...

And Isaac as Scooby Doo,

and Andrew as a doctor.
(His leg really isn't "missing," it is just hidden under that long pant leg ;)

Oh what fun we have!

On a side note; my house does get pretty "tore up" when they dump all the toys out.

It only looks nice when the babes are sleeping and all the toys are put away in the right place!

Some fun this weekend :)

Sean loved unwrapping and "moshing" the candies into the cookies :)

It was fun using the cookie cutters to cut out some cookies...

Then we got to decorate them :)

Isaac knows how to relax...

Andrew loves the chair, too :)

We had a great time this weekend! Ginger came on Thursday night for dinner, and we were highly entertained by Graham...we could just say he is a little stressed out at the moment!

Then, Amy and Emma came up on Saturday to bake. Graham was on call and at the hospital all day, so it was very nice to have some company and adult conversation :) Great time!

We spent a lazy Sunday at home and enjoyed making a messy in nearly every single room of the house! Ah, to be that free spirited...picking up is the pits ;)

We hope you have a great Monday! We plan too :)

Freddy the Elf...

Freddy showed up on the Friday after Thanksgiving!

The boys woke up to find these new pajamas from Freddy the Elf...

(named last year after Freddy from Scooby Doo)

They absolutely LOVE them!
Sean gets up so early as he can't wait to figure out where Freddy moved to overnight!

He got spooked out last year when he thought Freddy could go in his room at night,

but we reassured him that Freddy has to "see" the Christmas Tree

in order to get his magical power. Same holds true this year, too :)

Freddy made breakfast and brought some new plates and new cups this past Sunday!

The note was written especially for our boys and gave them encouragement to behave...

Will it work? Only time will tell...
But the boys LOVE their new plates and cups :)

And the Elf Food..aka donuts :)

Hmmm...

Is this the face of an innocent child?

Hmmm...I don't think so...

Yep...look at his missing bangs...good thing I know a great stylist!

My friend, Julie, was able to fix it up pretty nice the next day :)

He tries to be sneaky, but doesn't finish "hiding" his criminal activity.

Such as, I found the scissors and hair on top of the toothpaste before I went to bed ;)

I think he comes by this naturally, as I remember leaving "stuff" on the step in the garage and the trunk of my car growing up...I was always busted, too!

Lots to be thankful for...

As I look back over this past year, all I can say is that we have a lot to be thankful for!

10. Selling our house in Duluth.
9. Finding, buying, and moving to a new place in Shakopee quickly.
8. Having a pool in our neighborhood :)
7. Friends moving into our town!
6. Being closer to family and old friends, making visits more frequent.
5. Super Target.
4. Vehicles that can be fixed by my hubby!
3. ebay sales ;)
2. My awesome, lovable, super smart hubby! We are so proud of you!
1. All three of my amazing little men; Sean, Isaac, and Andrew. I love you more than words.

We had a great Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. The Sunday before, we hosted Graham's side at our house. It was a great visit with lots of food! Thanks for coming up here, it meant a lot to us. Graham had to miss his first of many (unfortunately) holidays, but he was there in spirit. We went to my parents' on Thursday, and had a great time there, too! Great weather made it possible to spend lots of time outside, lots of great food to eat, and good company. We missed Alli, and we can't wait to see her at Christmas! Family gatherings are never the same when someone is missing...

I went Black Friday shopping at midnight with my good friend, Julie! We waited out the frenzy at Champs with a beer, then got rock star parking, and never had to wait in a line...awesome!! Can't wait until next year! We were home by 3:30am, and I was up by 7:00am with super excited little boys ready to put up the tree! Yipee!! It was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, the boys and I drove up to Cambridge to visit my old friend Sarah and her family. It was so great to see them and meet their newest addition, Betsy! She is beautiful, and I enjoyed being able to snuggle her! Sean loves playing with Annika and Sofie, and he always comments how beautiful they are when we get back in the car. I agree, her girls are beautiful inside and out, just like their mommy :) We are lucky to have them in our lives.

We ended the weekend with colds, laundry, and laziness...just what the doctor ordered :)