Christmas with the Family

We drove to Illinois after church. We were all excited to see family and celebrate with them. The next morning, we had our Christmas. There were way too many gifts! We had fun spending time together. All of the kids got along super great and enjoyed playing together for those days together.

One of Will's favorite gifts!

Grandma, Grandpa, and Andrew

We went to Lincoln Park Zoo one night to look at lights. We didn't see many animals but enjoyed looking at the lights and drinking hot chocolate.

Andrew and Grandpa

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We hope you and your family had a great Christmas. We had a great one! The boys were very excited this year about Santa coming. We've talked a lot about being very excited about Santa but we know who Christmas is REALLY about! We got up around 6:30 and opened presents. Then, we got ready and headed to church. What a great day to celebrate Jesus' birth!

Will and Andrew colored these pictures for Santa and left some milk and cookies out.

eagerly awaiting the opening of presents!

Will made this magnet for Andrew at school - I loved it!

Their main gift this year was the Wii. It's been lots of fun and they were VERY excited about it!

Family Fun Day

Yesterday, we had a "family fun day". We started the morning with a trip to Denny's for free breakfast (since the Colt's won). We got there and it was packed!! So...we decided a trip to Dunkin Donuts! Then, we went downtown ice skating. It was a blast! We weren't sure about how the boys would do (their 1st time) but they did amazing!! We had so much fun. Will was doing great with just holding one of our hands but Andrew wanted to be held with both hands. I think he was really scared. He enjoyed being pulled around and "family skating" so he was between Josh and I. I was rewarded with a big fall when I was trying to be cool and do a spin...oh well - I probably deserved it! Josh and I both have blisters but it was well worth it.

After skating, we went to Steak and Shake for milkshakes (we had to get re-energized). Then, we went to Blockbuster and got The Flight Before Christmas and watched it as we ate pizza. I love these family days when we are all together doing fun, family activities - even though we probably consumed 4,000 calories - it was worth it!

"family skating"

Happy 5th Birthday!

Wow....Andrew is 5!! He was sooo excited about his day! He loved getting calls on the phone and listening to phone messages. Andrew is such a sweet boy and so full of life. I have never met anyone else so full of energy. He is loving life and enjoying each day.

Andrew loves Cars 2, not Cars, just Cars 2.

Josh and I got him a pillowpet - he was so excited!

He picked to go to Chuck E Cheese. We had so much fun eating and playing games. What a great way to celebrate his birthday!

We had rice krispie treats and ice cream for dessert.

Andrew's 5th Birthday Party

I can't believe my baby turned 5. We had a great time at his birthday party. Grandpa, Grandma, Yeh Yeh, and some great friends came to celebrate with us. He loved all of the attention!

present time!

brotherly love!

Andrew's Christmas Program

Andrew had his Christmas program at school this past week. He did such a good job singing and doing motions.

Great Grandma's Birthday Party

On Friday night, we went out for dinner at the Bell House. Afterwards, we went back to her apartment and had cake and opened presents. The boys picked out some birthday balloons for her and told me that we HAD to have party hats.

I made her a scrapbook filled with pictures from her life. Each person in the family wrote a special note and memory. I hope it made her feel special and loved!

Happy 90th Birthday Great Grandma!

Great Grandma turned 90 over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was so much fun to be there to celebrate her special day!

Andrew was Grandma's buddy over the weekend. He was full of love and loved cuddling her!

We took Grandma out for breakfast Saturday morning and when we were leaving, Andrew didn't want to let her go. It was so sweet! He loves his Great Grandma!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you and your family have a great day!

Thanksgiving Program

Will had a Thanksgiving program at school. All the 1st graders were in it. He had a speaking part. He was very proud and did great! Afterwards, they had a Thanksgiving feast. It was great - turkey, dressing, potatoes, rolls, and pie!

I love the hat!

The Adventures of Will and Ninja

This is a story that Will wrote in school. I love it! Notice the "Ofer" or author is Will.

Halloween 2012

This year, we went with the Cars 2 theme for our pumpkins. Andrew did not want to stick his hand in the pumpkin but Will enjoyed cleaning it out.

Andrew wanted the King

Will picked Mater

Will was a ninja for Halloween. He was so excited that we found the outfit because he really wanted to be one. He had all the ninja moves too!

Andrew is really into Superheros. He wanted to be Superman because he didn't have a mask!

The boys loved trick or treating and got way to much candy!

Fall Leaves

We went to Grandpa and Grandma's house and helped them rake leaves. Grandpa blew the leaves off the roof - the kid loved it raining leaves!! The boys were excited since we don't have many leaves at our house.

The boys liked using the leaf blower.

Will loving the pile of leaves!

Andrew is the pile.

the 4 oldest

Fall Break Fun!

We went up to Aunt Nicole's for Fall Break and had a blast! We played a lot with our cousins. Aunt Christy, Grandpa, and Grandma were also there so it was fun playing with them too!

At the mall, the kids all got into the tornado tube. It was hilarious to watch! Thanks Grandma!

They also rode the carousal.

I had to include this picture - I guess when you are the youngest, you always get the short straw. They tied a rope to Madeline's waist because she had to be the dog. It was so funny to see her walking around with it on!

decorating Halloween cookies!

Aunt Christy and the peanut