Nathan's birtday celebration at the MOA...

My sweet baby is 5!!!!  Nate requested that we go to the MOA for his birthday this year.  We had swimming lessons until noon, so when we got to the mall we stopped first at the food court to get some lunch.  Nate's pizza was bigger than him!  Here he is being his regular goofy self...

Emmett wanted chicken and rice...

I made Nate go on the Log Chute and one other larger ride, but he really didn't like them too much.  The log chute photo was quite funny.  It pictured Emmett smiling from ear to ear, and Nate was crying as we went down the big hill at the end.  The photo totally captured the boys personalities!  Paul took Emmett on the big kid rides, and I took Nate on the smaller rides.  It was a bummer that we were split up for the day, but the boys had a blast!

For dinner Nate requested we eat at the Rainforest Cafe.  Luckily we got in!  This was the day before they would be closing down for 8 months.  The restaurant will be moving up to the fourth floor.

I forgot to get a photo, but we told Nate he could pick one gift out.  He was so excited he could pick out a snake just like Emmett has.  He was so certain about his decision. 

Yes, we bought these ridiculously large frog cups!  It was his birthday! :)

VOLCANO!  We bought the volcano cake for us all to share!

I could stare at that smile all day!  I love this sweetheart!!!!

Swimming Lessons!

We signed the boys up for winter swimming lessons!  Their lessons are on Saturdays, and thankfully they both got the same time slot.  They were both a little slow to warm up, but they LOVE it now.  

The instructors thought Emmett could handle a lot, so on the first day they had him doggie paddling from one side of the pool to the other in 5 feet deep water.  He was discouraged at first, because he said it was hard.  Paul and I were thankful he was being challenged.  Now he is a month into it, and he is progressing A LOT!  He can swim half across the pool (the width way) before taking a breath, and his form is improving as well.

Nate cried a bit and was fearful on the first day, but has since warmed up to his instructor and now loves it!  He dips his face in the water and jumps to her without holing on to her hand.  These are the two things he is most proud of.  We are very fortunate that he is only in a class of two, and the other girl has been absent the last two sessions.  So that means he has had a lot of one on one time.  

Kinetic Sand!

Kinetic sand has been all the rage this year!  I was lucky to find it 50% off at one of the after Christmas sales.  The kids love this stuff...

December 26th and December 27th...

On December 26th we had NO SNOW.  You can even see Emmett riding his skateboard in the cul-de-sac...

Here is what it looked like on December 27th...

The boys were so happy to get outside and play!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...

These are pictures of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together.  

The magic of Santa is still very much alive in our home!  

The kids wanted to set out cookies and egg nog...

Emmett got just what he asked for.  A Nerf bow and arrow set.

Nate got two Paw Patrol vehicles!

The kids also got a BYO snowman set for outside.  

We didn't have any snow, so Nate dressed up in his Olaf costume.

For our Christmas morning brunch we had homemade cinnamon roll cake, sausage links, and scrambled eggs.  Yummy!  Before our prayer, Emmett read a bit of the Christmas story from the book of Luke in the Bible.

Here is what the boys received from us...

Christmas at Scott and Tammy's...

We went to Scott and Tammy's again on Christmas Eve this year!  The food and company was perfect!  I love having these traditions to look forward to every year!

Best photo to date of Bob carving the turkey!  I love this!

Emmett and Uncle Dick singing "Rudolph."

I love Emmett's reaction to Bob's gag gift...an onion!

Paul's parents gave very memorable gifts to him and his siblings this year.  Many many wonderful photos from years past!  Darlyn actually made a scrapbook and wrote bits of information next to each of the photos!  I cannot tell you how much I enjoy looking at this scrapbook, and how much our family will cherish this for year to come!!!!! We are so thankful!!!!!

We ended the night playing LRC again! 

What a great photo!