Tis the Season...to be done with Christmas!

I know this post is a little late, but I just haven't had time recently to get on here and do posts as often as I'd like.  We officially ended our Christmas celebrations during the second week of January.  Andy's mother's family always wait until after the new year to celebrate Christmas, which is a nice break from all the hustle and bustle that revolves around the Christmas holiday.

This year, I woke up with a SEVERE cold, so I didn't get to go.  I didn't figure that a house full of kids and two grandparents in their late 80's was the best environment to go spread my germs.  It was probably a good idea, because by the time Andy and Ben got home, I was officially down for the count...could hardly breath, constant cough, bad sore throat, and a slight fever...yuck!!!

Anyway, the guys had a good time at Christmas, and Andy did a great job of taking pictures for me.  He took my new Christmas present (an external flash) with him and had fun trying it out.  Here are a few pics of the day.

 The cousins

 

 Queenie and Popsie :)

Let's Play!

Ben had his good friend, Blake, over earlier this week to play.  As soon as we got home, the boys immediately spotted the Gator and off they went.  I backed all of the vehicles out of the garage so that they would have room to drive around. 

While they were driving around, they spotted the four-wheeler and thought that they needed to go sledding behind it.  So, we hooked up the sled and went round and round the yard.  They had a great time, and really liked it when I took a corner too fast and they fell off :)  We had to take a break to go warm up, but when Andy got home, he took them sledding one more time before dinner. 

They ditched the sled and just decided to ride the four-wheeler...I think the cold weather was finally starting to get to them :) 

Fun in the Snow!

The weatherman was calling for a blizzard yesterday, and while it did snow, it wasn't the 8-10 inches they thought we'd get (thank goodness)!  Fortunately, it snowed enough for Ben to play in it.   

His cousin Max came over today and they went sledding, built a snowman, and made snow angels.

They came in about an hour later soaked to the bone with teeth chattering, but I'd say it was a pretty fun afternoon for them both!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I apologize in advance, this is a very long post.  Three Christmas celebrations and one birthday party make for lots of pictures :)  Enjoy!

We just finished up a wonderful Christmas holiday.  We started at my parent's last Friday and ended with their Christmas on Christmas Eve.  Ben had a great time spending four days with all of his cousins.  We celebrated Tiffany's 4th birthday while we were there, which added even more fun to the weekend!

Here are a few pictures from our visit.

 Tiffany was pretty excited to get her Barbie Mermaid :)

 

 Princess Sophia even made it to the party, thanks to Tiffany's Mom.

 

 All of the grandkids (all of them were even healthy this year...we had one down for the count on the 23rd, but she bounced back)!!!

 

 Grandma and Grandpa with the kiddos :)

 

 The whole family...next year we'll be 18 members strong!

 

Grandpa Jim reading the real Christmas story before dinner and presents.

 

 

We headed home after Midnight Mass (which was absolutely beautiful).  Ben slept through the whole service, but since it was 1:00 in the morning when we got out of Mass, it was probably a good thing that he slept :)  We finally made it to bed at 3:30 and we were back up at 8:00, but it was worth it to see the look on Ben's face when he saw what Santa brought him!

 

 

 Santa brought a Little People garage, a bulldozer, a "digger", and lots of books!

 

 

After opening up gifts at home, we headed out on the long drive to Grannie and Papaw's (that 1/2 mile sure gets long when you've got a little guy that's excited for presents)!  

 

 I know his stone-faced look doesn't do it justice, but he was pretty excited to see a new Gator with his name on it!

 

 Papaw was excited for his present too...a shiny new gun cabinet :)

 

 Max liked his log splitter too.  Ellie must have been dodging the camera, because I don't have any pictures of her :)  She was pretty happy with her gifts too, though!

 

 

 

We headed home for a much needed nap (I don't know who was sleepier...Ben or us).  Three hours later, we were back up and getting ready for our last Christmas party, back at Grannie and Papaw's house.

 









 I'm sure they're probably talking about the weather and the "blizzard" that was heading our way!

 

 Another tractor to add to our collection...nothing makes Ben happier :)

 

 Max got a football and a new hair accessory!

 

There's a picture of Ellie...she couldn't escape the camera this time :)

The Train Museum!

Ben, Andy, and I visited the local train museum this past weekend.  This was our second trip to the museum during the Christmas season.  They do such a nice job of decorating the depot and integrating the trains into a Christmas theme.

Ben, of course, LOVED it!!!  This year, he was able to see several different trains running, AND, he was able to sit at a table and actually run a train himself...he thought this was the coolest part of the visit!

Sorry for the poor quality of pictures...we decided to go to the museum at the last minute, and I didn't have my camera.

 Waiting to watch the train go by!

 

Running the train all by himself :)

Operation Christmas Child

For the past few years, my sister has gotten our family involved in Operation Christmas Child.  We get together for Thanksgiving, and after dinner, the little ones put the boxes together.  Thanksgiving is after the drop-off date, so Stacey stores the boxes for the year and then turns them in the next November.

Each family is assigned certain things to buy: toiletries, toys, school supplies, etc.  The little ones divide them up, decorate the boxes, say a prayer for the children the will receive these packages, and then seal them up :)  I don't know you has more fun...the little kids or the adults. 

It's a great tradition that I'm glad my sister got started for us!

 

Memories

Today, Mom and Dad took all of the grandkids (all seven of them) on The Polar Express.  I'm excited to hear all about it when Ben gets home.  He told me that he "weally, weally, weally wanted to wide a twain!"  He's getting his wish, thanks to my wonderful parents.  He sure is one lucky little guy to have Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Jim.

Here's a preview of their trip (photo courtesy of Mom).