White Christmas

I think that we were all surprised and overjoyed at the sight when we awoke on Christmas morning. Our first White Christmas!!!!!

The boys were very excited to see that Santa had indeed visited our Christmas tree eventhough throughout the year there had been some

question about which list they would find themselves.

We started out with stockings and then progressed to the bigger gifts. As the adults sipped coffee, the kids were ecstatic to see which of the requests had been granted.

I must admit that even I was totally shocked (as you can see by the very unfaltering picture)by what was under the Christmas tree; Joe gave me a new laptop for Christmas.

We took a break from presents and went out to enjoy the snow. Charlie and I worked on building a Diva snowman while Joe worked on his own creation. Although my creation had style, it fell over within an hour, Joe's is still going strong.

We then proceeded to a snowball fight which as you can see from the pictures I claim VICTORY!!

Jackson was very proud of his own snowman, which he said was named Jackson. Charlie wasn't quite as productive; he was more into tasting the snow!

After we got our fill of the snow we came in to hot chocolate and to finish the Santa gifts. Charlie was very excited that Santa was able to find the Dance Star Mickey and he even joined in and busted a move with Mickey. Jackson was soooo excited that he got the Boba Fett mask that he had requested. He looked at Joe and I and said, "I was worried that Santa had to give it to somebody else."

We had a fantastic Christmas, great family time, food, and SNOW!!!!!!

Twas the Day Before Christmas

We started our Christmas Eve with one of our favorite things: food. The boys were excited to help me make gorilla bread and of course they used this as a opportunity to show off their aprons that Grandma had given them while in Missouri.

My dad and I went into town to brave the

crowds for some last minute gifts and the boys and Gran enjoyed relaxing and watching Despicable Me that Gran had given them.

After our shopping adventure, we made the Christmas feast, which included prime rib (this was a first for me so I delegated to Joe).

After eating we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service. I always enjoy this time of celebration and to have an opportunity to slow down and remember the reason for the season.

After church the boys were able to open a couple of their presents from Gran, Baba, Joe and I. Jackson was super excited about the Cowboys helmet and jersey that my parents

had given him and Charlie started playing with Handy Manny immediately. I had gotten the boys Star Wars cookie cutters to help us with making Santa's cookies.

The boys were a huge help with the cookies at first, but then they wanted to play with their new prizes so the adults got a little into the cookie cutting and baking. We had a great time and I

had the opportunity to use my new rolling pin; I think Joe better behave because I think that it could be a pretty good weapon.

We ended our day in front of the Christmas tree reading The Grinch, Twas the Night Before Christmas, and story of the birth of Jesus.

We went to bed happy and excited for the prospect of a visit from Santa and the possibility of a White Christmas.

Bubble Wrap

I must admit that even as an adult I am still a sucker for bubble wrap. So when we received a package that was extensively wrapped in larger bubble wrap, I saw it as an opportunity to show the boys one of my favorite things. At first the boys were complacent to stomp and/or run over the wrap and were excited over the outcome.

After a couple of minutes, Jackson decided to get a little creative with the bubble wrap popapalooza. After hearing bubble wrap popped at the rate of gun fire I ran into the den only to see Jackson running over the bubble wrap with his bike. I know that most people reading this would wonder what his bike was doing in the house to begin with, but that is a story for another time.

I was pretty surprised at Jackson's ingenuity and it worked great until Charlie decided to hitch a ride by being dragged by a piece of bubble wrap that had attached itself to Jackson's bike. Maybe we should stick to the bubble wrap app on my phone.

Priceless

After getting Jackson to bed at night, he will usually call you to come back in a fetch an item for him. Whether it be Tigger, a glass of water, or simply I forgot to give him a vitamin at dinner, all are methods he uses for procrastination of the inevitable bedtime. So tonight when he called me back in at bedtime, I went feeling a slight eye roll in my future; however, Jackson surprised me. He looked up at me and asked, "Mom, do you want something that does not come from a store or cost anything?" Of course, my answer was yes. He reached out his arms and said, "A kiss and a hug?" I must say I had a awwww moment, whether it was used as procrastination or not!

Christmas in Missouri

It has become a family tradition to celebrate Christmas a little early with the Morton side of the family, so we packed our bags, presents and lots of DVDs and headed out to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Missouri.

Jackson and Charlie are always excited to visit the farm and have the opportunity to feed cows, chickens, ducks, goats, and occasionally a peacock. They also get a kick out of seeing the Amish carriages and sometimes we even get a Amish visitor (one of which Jackson deemed a "Cowboy").

Joe's mom was kind to offer to keep Jackson and Charlie on Friday so that Joe and I could go visit Debbie (Joe's sister) in Kansas City. She took us on a great tour which also included a stop at Mike's high tech golf shop. Joe and I had a very relaxing kid free time; however I think that Joe's mom had her hands full. When we called to check in and to see if the boys were behaving, Judy said that she had tried to get Charlie to nap several times but when she would ask if he

was ready for his nap he would reply, " No Thanks." She said at least he was polite about it. Jackson had a fantastic time with his Grandma and was very excited to try on one of Joe's old costumes which he modeled when we arrived home.

Friday night, Barbara and her girls came over and we enjoyed some family time visiting and singing carols. Barbara is a phenomenal pianist and Jackson always enjoys sitting with her as she plays.

Saturday morning we opened gifts. We had a great time with Barbara and her girls, Debbie and Mike and of course Grandma and Grandpa.

Jackson and Charlie were excited to get several Star Wars characters and puzzles from Barbara, cooking supplies, books, and sleeping bags from Grandma and Grandpa, and hand-sewn super hero capes from Debbie. They were super excited to try out the new capes and Jackson also had to add the outfit from the previous day to make his super hero status official.

Saturday afternoon, Joe, Debbie, Mike and I headed to Springfield to watch Imani and Olivia play volleyball. I do not have much experience with competitive volleyball; however, it did not take long for me to be completely into the game. I was extremely impressed with the girls athletic ability. Imani, number 15, and Olivia, number 20, were outstanding!

Sunday we headed home. Our load was a little heavier with all the gifts we received and we were very grateful to have the time to spend with our family.

Since returning home the boys have had a great time with their new toys. Jackson was super excited when he discovered that the Darth Vader character Aunt Barbara gave him had

a mask that came off. So according to Jackson, "He is a good guy." Of course the capes have come in handy, Jackson has added a mask to his attire and Charlie has added a Cowboy hat to his which makes him look like a cross between Superman and Zorro.