Winter Days

It's been a cold January overall, so we've been spending lots of time inside staying cozy.  The boys and I went to Matt Ross to swim toward the beginning of the month so Daddy could get some painting done.

 Darth Vader (Maxy) spent his own money to buy this costume and made the light saber with Daddy.

 Playdate with Grayson, they had so much fun with the remote control cars.

 The boys and I went to Topeka to spend the weekend with GG and Poppy while Daddy stayed home to paint some more.  He worked so hard and now the entire downstairs is done as far as paint!!  We had fun at the Discovery Museum in Topeka and also went to see Rapunzel at the Children's Theater.

 Making birthday cupcakes for Poppy

 Cole was Star of the Week at school :)

 Cole bought this Darth Maul costume with his money.  Pretty scary, huh?

 Noah came over for a playdate with Max and they looked so cute as Luke and Darth Vader :)

 Cole got the stomach bug and stayed home from school for a day.  It was a Friday and Monday was MLK Day so he had an extra long weekend.

 Cousin club and first movie nest at the new house!

 Then I got the tummy bug, then sweet little Maxy got it and he also had impetigo.  He had to stay home from school 2 days last week.

 Trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue

 Cute little Murph likes to cuddle up and lay in a little ball on the pillows on our couches.

 Coley found this big kid desk at IKEA that he really liked and wanted me to take his picture.  Might be a good bday present idea to remember!

Fresh haircuts!  This is the dog statue outside of Trader Joe's that Maxy always likes to see.

New Year's Day

We had an uneventful relaxing New Year's Day.  The boys went to Home Depot to get supplies to make light sabers and Daddy helped them make some.  I'll have to get some pictures of those!  Anyway, we did that and a family walk and played a couple board games tonight.  It was a nice day.  The boys were doing cheers below with Roy Rogers and Shirley Temples Daddy made for them as a special treat.  Maxy has his stormtrooper mask on backwards.

Week after Christmas

Tomas and the kids got stranded in Kansas City because of snow, so we got to have dinner with them one last time which was fun!

 The boys were so thrilled to wake up to snow Monday morning and it snowed quite a bit during the day... they have been waiting for this!  They were out first thing in the morning 3 days in a row to play in the snow!  I made them wait til 8am to go out so they wouldn't wake the neighbors... ;)

 Making snow puppies...

 In for a hot chocolate break with red cheeks!

 Coles' new school friend, Luke, came over Monday afternoon to play in the snow

 Pretty out back with the snow...

 Sledding behind the library, we went twice and the boys had a blast!!

 On New Year's Eve, we went to see the new Star Wars movie.  Cole got really scared early in the movie and he and I actually had to leave. :(  I felt bad for him because he really wanted to see the movie, but he said it was just too scary.  Maxy and Daddy liked it, but Daddy did say it was a pretty intense movie.  Maybe we will try renting it when it comes out on DVD.

New Year's Eve sweet brothers.... they love to sleep in our bed and we let them fall asleep in our bed on holidays and then move them when we go to bed.  Happy 2016!

Christmas Eve and Day

It was an extra special Christmas this year because Tomas and two of his children came to visit all the way from Cyprus.  Tomas was my mom's exchange student in Ellinwood in high school 1969.  Stella is 16 and Nicholas is 14.  Their other son, Chris, is 18 and is currently in the army so he wasn't able to make it or Tomas' wife, Maria.  We had such a fun time with them and they were just so sweet!  Everyone came to our new house on Christmas Eve, which was so fun!  We loved having everyone!!

 The boys always have so much fun together and just get along so well, it is really neat to see them all together and watch how they interact.  Such a special bond we are so grateful for!

 Stella and Mom

 Jess and Chris

 Craig making funny faces with Connor ;)

 GG and Poppy got a telescope for the boys so we took it out on Christmas Eve to see if we could see Santa crossing the moon with his sleigh and reindeers ;)

 Chrismas morning!!  We told the boys they could open stockings at 6:30 and then wake us to open presents at 7am.  They did a good job following the rules! :)  They were sooo excited to get a Wii and Minecraft for the Wii.  Such a magical time...

 Puppy slippers from GG and Poppy

 Minecraft legos

 These pics are a little out of order... this was from our walk Christmas Eve morning... we walked along the cart path since the golf course was closed :)

 Wreath GG made for me, love it for our "coastal cottage"!

Chinese checkers on the game set that GG and Poppy gave Cole