Christmas Review

So here we are in February, trying to post about Christmas.  I've decided to just include a ton of pictures of some of the fun we had over the Christmas season.

The boys enjoyed trimming our little Christmas tree.  I enjoyed seeing how many ornaments they were going to fit on one branch.  I guess you have to put the ornaments where you can reach them :)

Luke was able to watch from the swing.

After decorating the tree, Grant was still in a creative mood so he made a bed/couch out of the box of Christmas supplies, a blanket, and a couch cushion.

Of course, in our family you know there was way too much baking going on :)

I tried an easier version of gingerbread houses and the boys decorated Christmas trees (made from an upside down ice cream cone).

This little guy was just happy to be around.

The weather was incredible in VA.  On one nice day we headed out to Northwest River Park and played and hiked and ran around.

On a more obscure trail at the park, you can come across an old, falling apart ropes course that is fun to play on.  I first found it with my cross country team in high school and it looked old and falling apart then, so I'm not sure why or how it's still standing.

The boys were supposed to be entertaining us on the pavilion while I fed Luke.  Grant was a shark and Tate was a fish.  I believe it ended like many of their games do: Tate running away screaming and Grant crying on the ground.

One of our traditions on Christmas Eve night is to go on a "star walk" to find the new star like the wise men did.  Luke was not very excited about all the preparatory bundling that occurred, but I believe he was thankful once we were outside.

Uncle Ryan manned the stroller during the walk.

The boys marked our way with two bags of "reindeer food" they received from friends.  I'm sure the squirrels loved all that sparkly oatmeal in the morning!

The boys opened one present on Christmas Eve, Christmas PJ's!  I think this is one tradition that most people share in common.

After the star walk, we came inside and warmed up with hot chocolate and donuts.  This was definitely the boys' favorite tradition of the night.

Here are Luke's aforementioned Christmas PJ's.  Look, there's a reindeer on his bottom!  Adorable!

Like I mentioned in a previous post, we had church on Christmas morning so we were all dressed up to open one present each before church.

Luke's present was about the same size as he was.

And then after church we got in comfy clothes again and enjoyed the rest of our presents and family time.

Uncles David and Ryan got in on the present action.

Ryan was very excited that the boys each got their first set of six-shooters!  The "do not point your guns at people" rule was quickly forgotten as everyone in sight was showered with a hail of imaginary bullets.  It'll definitely be a while before they're allowed to touch a real gun but these will get them through just fine until then.

More presents!

Luke's favorite present!

Ryan's favorite present.  Can't beat a Cold Steel pocket knife.

More wonderful weather helped us enjoy our presents in the great outdoors.  Here, Grant has formed a posse and is going after the bad guys.

My dad put this swing set up in the early '90s, and despite some broken boards/rods, it's still going strong.

In an earlier post, I mentioned how Tate slept in my parent's closet.  We found another perfect bedroom for a young lad, the laundry room.  It was the perfect size for a futon and Grant claimed it as his bed for most of the nights we were there.  One day, Grant took a rare nap and Luke and Tate went to greet him when he woke up.  Picture time!