December Fun!

December was busy... as it is for any family! We had lots of fun, a few great date nights and really had a great time sharing in the joys of the season... with kids that are at such a fun age for all of the excitement! When I packed up Christmas, the kids were NOT happy to see the tree and lights go away!

The women's national team came to Houston as part of their Gold Medal tour and Jeff and I were able to go. 

The fabulous self-photo. :-)

 

Another attempt

At our old house, lights on the house weren't possible without a firetruck ladder. Being in a one story, much to Jeff's disappointment, I insisted we do lights now. Very thankful to our neighbor who came over to lend a hand and my parents who bought the lights as part of our family's Christmas gift.

Our tree through the front window at night

Jeff's work has a company party for families and their children. It's amazing really- food, dj and kid entertainers, balloon animals, face painting, cupcake decorating and EVEN Santa and Mrs. Claus with a free picture. This is definitely the best Santa picture we've ever gotten. 

My friend Amber came with her family too and the boys had lots of fun dancing and playing.

When the lion couldn't see Ryan, he was dancing behind him Madagascar style- super funny!

Then he noticed him and the dancing stopped!

Claire-bear!

Kisses!

Cupcake decorating is serious business... tongue out required!

Afterwards the kids wanted to go outside "Daddy's building" and see all the bronze deer.

A day at the park... this is a funny story. Ryan sat here for about 5 minutes. I asked if he was ready to get down and he replied,
"No. I just want to sit here and talk to you."

Me: "Oh, what do you have to say?"

Ryan: "These are my black pants. This is my red shirt. These are my black shoes. And, yeah, I have underwear on too."

Thanks for the info kid... :-)

Another funny... same jungle gym,
Logan hanging upside down from legs:

L: "Mom (screaming) come help me!"

M: "You can do it. Just pull up and flip down."
(as I help him get down). 

L: "Aw, man! My knee-pits hurt!"

Knee Pits??? Like, Arm Pits, but behind your knees. Hmmm... always wondered what those were called. Thankful for the mind of a 6yr old to clear that up for me. LOL

My mom bought the boys these silly antlers and asked for pictures in them. I managed to get a few shots before two of the pair were broken- such is life with boys and cheap toys! lol

And if you thought the company's FAMILY party was great, you wouldn't believe the party for employees and their spouses. Amazing! All night party with The Band Perry as the entertainment, including fabulous food, drinks, a casino and wonderful entertainment from an illusionist that was truly phenomenal! I've never cared much for "magic" but the guy was a real entertainer and was both funny and impressive!

We had a great time and I love a good reason to get all dressed up! 

When we returned home the next day, I chose to nap on the couch. Ryan didn't care that I was sleeping, as long as he could be close to mama! 

Christmas break was FULL of fun! Logan wasn't so excited about 2 weeks off from school (weird, I know) so I filled it up with fun. A morning at Pump It Up was on the agenda... and for the first time ever, Joshua actually warmed up to the environment and had some fun. He isn't big on loud, noisy, places so this was a BIG step for us! You wouldn't know by these pictures that he spent the first 30-40 minutes refusing to even walk around the place, but by the end of our visit he didn't even want to leave!

After Pump It Up it was warm enough for a little picnic at the park. Ryan was obviously tired. He stood on this step for a long while in quite a daze while Logan made faces behind him... totally clueless. All that playing wore him out! lol

This year we introduced Logan to a Christmas classic. The movie night with mom, dad and popcorn... and an ornament too!

Another day we invited Levi and Rachel and Mason to join us at the zoo! It was a boy day at the zoo and lots of fun for all! The weather was so much better than our spring and summer visits and it's always nice to spend a day with "baby Mason".

Ryan was ASKING to have his picture taken all day. Very unlike him so I took advantage.

Petting a tiger's foot... pretty neat!

We never feed the giraffes. It's one of those things... we have a zoo membership so we can do a free outing when we go, so I don't usually want to pay for any of the "extras". This time with special guests was a great time to treat everyone to something extra. It was AMAZING! They are my favorite animal so I was really impressed with the set-up and the opportunity for the kids to participate. 

Listening to the rules and instructions. I think our large crew made this lady a bit nervous. 

Joshua had no fear and started before I was completely ready!

Logan

Ryan

Levi

Rachel and Mason

We also did the carousel... it was Mason's first time!

He loved it!

Hi Fives!

These "smiles" made me laugh!

Thank you to Grana and Papa for renewing our zoo membership as another family Christmas present. This will be our third year and the kids still LOVE going! It's been such a joy to get to bring friends when we go (it's included) so if any local friends want to join us for free sometime, let me know and we'll plan a date! 

Christmas will be it's own post, coming up next! :-)