Christmas at Grandpa Shorty's

(Not sure why the pics are yellow? Photographer error!) Here we are on Christmas Eve night at Shorty and Millie's. Lots of good food and family!

Present Time!

We opened presents with the boys on Monday, the 22nd. The kids were so excited to finally rip into the packages. Griffin was classic, screamed with joy after every present, even the small ones. His favorite was his Broncos jersey and helmet which he immediatly put on. Gavin's favorite was the scooter...he can now get to Avery and Taylor's faster!

Christmas Eve Brunch

Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad's-as is tradition we have brunch before we open presents...and it wouldn't be brunch without mimosas!!

Gavin and Hannah's Home Design Center

Gavin and Hannah love to play office and sell and design homes for people. They have been begging for a desk to do their "work" and Papa Van finally came through for them! This is his desk from his room in high school that somehow ended up at the bank in Bazine. He took it back and the kids couldn't have been happier! Now..they need to get their secretary some pants??!! Nice, Griffy!

Cookie Monster

Griffin and Grandma were making andes mint cookies...we aren't sure how many made it on the cookies!? What a good helper!

Too Much Egg Nog?

The ONE day I do not come to work something exciting happens!! A drunk man from the park decided to be a little daring and jump the retaining wall in between our display homes and didn't make it! The tracks looks as if he was close to running into a house (which is sold, yikes!) and then he reversed over a flagpole, and then tried to jump the wall as a shortcut to his home. He left the truck and walked home in the freshly fallen snow. The cops followed his tracks and he got a ride in the police car. We got a tow truck to remove the truck and all is well. I bet he has a Merry Christmas!

Grandma's Beer Wagon

Chris sold this van to my Grandma Vada a couple of years ago and she put some miles on it! It was time to trade it in so she got a new van and my brother-in-law Chandler got hers. I think the new decals give it a new look! At least it is being put to good use Grandma!

What is missing??!!

Uhhh..if you are wondering why I haven't updated my blog...this is why. STILL no presents!!! I do have a couple stashed in the closet but I still have A LOT of work to do!

Gingerbread Creation

Amy, Gavin, Griffin and I got into the holiday spirit tonight and made a gingerbread house. This was our first attempt at one so I would say we did pretty darn good. I bought a "kit" at Target which helped out a little! We need to put the finishing touches on it but the kids had to go to bed and they insisted that Amy and I not touch it after they fell asleep. I think this will be our new Christmas tradition!

Fun at the Great Wolf!

This is our fourth annual KC-Great Wolf Christmas Getaway with our friends the Creamers. I feel somewhat responsible for their son Kaden, whom I babysat everyday from 4 weeks to 5 years old!! He and Gavin were basically raised as brothers, spending the majority of their time together! It was so nice to hang out. I was nervous Griffin wouldn't want to go down some of the slides...but I was proven wrong! He was our little daredevil as usual. We had a blast!

Shopping at the Legends...

We can't pass up the T-Rex Cafe whenever we go to KC and this weekend was no different! At least there was no waiting this time...

Girl's Day Out...SHOP til we drop!!

Do these make my butt look big?

Kelli, Jackie and I took all day Saturday to shop...husband and child free!! We got a lot done and had a lot of fun while we were at it. We also took time for a drink break before braving the mall!

Pumped for the Weekend! *UPDATED!*

We are going to Kansas City tomorrow to do some Christmas shopping and are staying with the Creamer's. As is tradition, we have a game night...girls vs. boys. Kelli just informed me the game of choice for the weekend is "Smart-Ass"...that sounds like something the boys might be able to win at! The last time we played a game, the boys ended up losing...and had to do a shot. There will be NO shot taking this weekend. I have learned my lesson!

***UPDATE*** The girls (who had one extra player than the boys) got their butts beat BAD!! Chris and Brett were amazing which brought up many cheating allegations. In the end, the girls accepted defeat ungraciously!

A Few New Family Pictures...

Here are just a couple of new pictures of the boys. We got a bunch taken last week and we got some good ones, and some not so good! These are of Griffin being,well, Griffin. Enjoy...

What is the difference?

Griffin is scared to death of Victor E. Tiger at the Fort Hays games! We went to the game on Saturday and Marcus convinced him to go give him a five, but he didn't go willingly. This was as close as we got. My question is...what is the difference between Willie and a tiger? Do you think he is picking up on his mother's hostility towards Fort Hays? (My degree says I graduated from FHSU since I took my last class from there, it bothers me.) We will try again tonight, I hope Sara gets some playing time. It was a blast watching her play on Saturday..3 points!! Yahoo!!

Slumber Party

Midnight Snack...

SNOW!!!!

Kaden, Marcus and Hannah spent the night on Thursday. The boys had the giggles late in the evening thanks to Chris. When we got up there was snow on the ground and the kids just couldn't resist a snowball fight.

Turkey Time!

We had Thanksgiving at my Brother-in-law's house on Thursday and Chris volunteered to make the turkey. (I volunteered for safer items like a veggie tray and rolls!) I was REALLY nervous since he has never conquered a turkey before. It turned out awesome and we ate like pigs. After Chan and Jackie's we headed to Ness City to celebrate with the Stoecklein's and Friday we went to Bazine to the Witthuhn side. Needless to say...we ate a lot!!

Happy Thanksgiving?

I finally got the tree up and decorated yesterday! Renae and I went nuts the day after Christmas last year buying everything we could get our hands on. I didn't know how much I bought until I got it all out this weekend...it didn't all fit on one tree! The other trees will go up eventually...the boys get to pick out a theme every year and decorate it how they want it. The last two years Gavin has had a Nascar Jimmie Johnson tree, and Griffin had a Winnie the Pooh tree with A LOT of encouraging from his mother. I doubt I have that much pull this year...we shall see! Chris got our lights up on the roof without a near death experience this year, I think it helped it wasn't snowing, and we had a ladder that actually reached the roof. Lessons Learned.

Back to the Future?

No comment until more info tomorrow...These are pics from 2005...nice hair??!! Was it raining?