What fun!

Christmas is such a fun time! Especially when you have two little ones to enjoy the holidays with.  They were so excited!  I believe my last post was Christmas Eve.  

Christmas Day started like this.... I woke up at 6am to the pitter patter of little feet heading down the stairs.  Then I heard the same little feet jumping for joy and then race back upstairs to his sister's room.  "HE CAME! HE CAME!!"  I heard Evan yell and then more pitter patter of feet downstairs.  "HE CAME!  HE ATE OUR COOKIES!!" and then racing upstairs and storming into our room to wake us up.  More jumping for joy in our room and excited voices saying "Santa was here! There are tons of presents!  He ate our cookies!  Santa came!"  A whole chorus of little excited voices. Then the  "MOM!  Get out of bed! We have to go open presents!"  "Come on! Come on!"

So - at about 6:05 we were downstairs.  Tim got up about 5 minutes after and by that time, the kids has already sorted through the presents and had sorted them and had piles for each person.  Yes, excited was an understatement.

I didn't get a lot of pictures on my phone of that morning, but here are the kids before the sorting had started.

Both kids love everything they received.  Emma got a BB Gun and a Barbie and walking horse from Santa.  From us, she received a Justice gift card, some books, a doll.  Evan got a LeapPad and a BB gun from Santa.  Then from us, he got some Rokenbok toys, and some Disney Planes toys.

I think the presents were all unwrapped by 7am for sure. Then, it was Cinnamon rolls, playing with toys, and watching Christmas movies.  Eric, Jordan, Gaebriel, and Seth arrived around 10:30 and we exchanged presents with them, had breakfast, and relaxed.

Later that afternoon, we drove down to my parents house where they were hosting my Dad's family for Christmas.  So I got to see a lot of extended family which was great and had supper.  We played games and enjoyed the fun ruckus when we all get together!  We left the kids there as both Tim and I had to work on Dec. 26 and Dec 27.

For me - I was very, very happy to open up a pair of cowboy boots for Christmas from Tim!  They are so awesome!

(not the best picture - but you get the idea)

Emma picked out some pretty yellow jewelry for me and per Tim, Evan was certain that I needed a big diamond ring for Christmas.  So, Tim picked out a lovely one at Kohls for me.

We had two other Christmas celebrations this past Saturday at my parent's house and today at Tim's sisters house.   We had a sledding party at my parent's house yesterday and I think that was one of the highlights of the vacation for the kids.  It was warm outside, which was good for the kids, but made sledding down the hill a bit sticky. 

It has been a whirlwind week of rich food, presents, family, not-so-healthy- tummies, and many wonderful memories.  The kids this year were more excited for the holidays than I have seen them yet and it was so fun!  They were literally bouncing up and down when they saw that Santa had came and that energy and excitement is infectious.  They both had a pile of presents in front of them and were tearing into the paper and were opening up boxes and laughing and having a great old time.  It definitely makes the shopping, busy stores, and long nights of wrapping worth it!

The Magic is in the Air

AHH!  I Love Christmas Eve.  But, not as much as my kiddos. Evan got out the cookies and the milk around 6pm - so we wouldn't forget.  And then after supper he wanted to go to bed right away because he know that Santa came when he slept.  Emma was playing it a bit more cool, but was just as excited and giddy when she laid down.

We had a great Christmas Eve.  We had the kids Christmas party today, which the kids always look forward to.  Evan woke up this morning wondering where Santa was (he didn't quite get the Eve thing to today) and Emma was happy that I let her wear her jammies for awhile.  We watched Christmas movies until about 9:30 this morning and then did a quick clean of the house and awaited the Kelloggs and Nana and Papa's arrival.

First on the docket?  Running around and acting excited.  Second?  Making a gingerbread village!!

The sign Emma put on our front door to greet the Kelloggs

The crew

Emma's gingerbread house

Happy Helper Evan

Kate had a great time decorating

Kristen got into it too

And - this is how it turned out!  Our Christmas Village!

Evan insisted on eating his.  He took off every piece of candy on the roof.

After the gingerbread houses,it was our lunch. An appetizer lunch that consisted of chicken wings, artichoke dip, mini hotdogs, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, texas cavier, mini tacos, cheese & summer sausage.  Needless to say if someone left the table hungry, they weren't trying hard enough.

After lunch the Kelloggs headed home for quite time for the twins.  The Heuer Household went to church to try and remind the kids what the actual season is about!

We got back by 3:30 and after that it was a sledding party!  A brief sledding party, but fun nonetheless.  It was a lot colder outside than we anticipated, so we sledded for about 30 minutes at the most and then headed inside for hot chocolate!

Then - presents!!  Evan was excited to get some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stuff -

Emma was delighted with a craft kit that had 3 pairs of socks and markers to decorate them!

After more running around, the Kelloggs headed home.  Nana and Papa headed home and the four of us sat down to watch some Christmas shows.

We feasted on clam chowder and crab legs, watched more Christmas shows, and wrestled the little kids up the stairs to get ready for bed.

Tomorrow is a big, big day!

A busy weekend

Last weekend was a great, holiday filled, hustle bustle of a weekend.

We made Christmas treats - peanut blossoms, cut-outs, banana bread, the Pioneer Woman Sweet rolls, and chocolate chip cookies.

In the middle of that, Emma had a playdate and Kristen and I did a baby-sitter swap so her and Craig went out on a date Friday night and Tim and I did the same on Saturday night.

There was an event in Lake Elmo last Saturday night "Light up Lake Elmo" that we went to as well.  Many well decorated trees were there, along with treats for the kids, and Santa!  Emma was excited to see Santa. Evan, not so much.  He cowered behind my legs.

 Sunday was more baking and Evan's Sunday School concert!  While he did NOT want to go, he did okay.  He somewhat did the hand motions and sang to "Away in a Manger" but seemed to get into it more for the next two songs.

And that was pretty much our past weekend in a nutshell. Evan has been fighting a stomach virus or something that has him pretty tired and complaining of a tummy ache and headaches. Thankfully so far, no other symptoms have come up, but he has been afflicted with this for the past two weeks or so. We called a nurse, who didn't provide much more info other than let him rest, give him liquids and if it gets worse with a fever, bring him in.  Hopefully he will be completely healed by Christmas.

Emma's new do

With  a new year almost upon us, Emma decided a change was needed - so, we got her a haircut.

She went with the "Kit"cut again and loves it!  She got it cut tonight and throughout the night I would see her tossing her hair and running her fingers through it.

Pretty cute!

What happens when Evan steals my camera --

There are two different sequences here -- One in the living room (before the first time I told him to not grab my camera)

trying to figure it out 

getting a quick smile in there

One more

not sure what this one is.

And then I grab my camera away and tell him not to play with it.  So - what does he do?  Less than a half an hour after I told him, he is doing this sequence on the steps.

Let's see... how did I do this the first time?

Hmmm..

I maybe don't have this 

Nope, Totally Nailed it!

(And -- my favorite pic!  Blurry, yes, but so cute!)

Who needs a bed??

The kids lately have been making forts.  Normally, they make them around the couches using blankets and cushions.  Lately, they are getting a bit more inventive...

Evan's bedroom

Emma's bedroom

Emma made one first and slept in it both Sunday and Monday nights. So, of course, Evan had to make one too.  They both slept really well in there actually!

The Monster Truck Rally

Yesterday we went to the Metrodome for the final Monster Truck Rally there. The whole family went this time, versus just Evan and Tim last year.  I gave Emma the choice of doing a Christmas play and lunch with me or the Monster Truck Rally and she choose the rally.... (I am not sure she would again) But she did have a good time!

It was really loud (we all hard ear protection), somewhat smelly, and great for people watching!  We had the usual snacks - popcorn, pretzels, cotton candy, and had a pretty good time.  We took the light rail into the city which the kids always love and while we had a bit of a wait getting out of the Metrodome, overall the whole trip went really well.  We didn't get home until about 11:30, which we paid for a bit by the kids attitudes, but they had fun.

Evan was so animated and excited throughout the whole thing, it was pretty fun to watch.  The Freestyle Event was the best where the trucks are jumping over dirt piles and other cars, doing flips, and spinning around.  

It was a fun time.  Evan picked out a 2013 Monster Jam FreeStyle Video as a souvenir to bring home (which surprised me over a toy) and we already watched it today.  The event won't be back to the Cities until 2016 or so until we get a new stadium built so I am sure Evan will be making another trip then.

A few weeks have passed...

Deer hunting...
Thanksgiving...
December 1....
Monster Truck Rally...
Christmas Tree Decorating...
First time this year sledding....

I cannot keep up.  Give me one more day and it should hopefully get better.  My fall class, which I hated, Managerial Economics and Organizational Architecture is done tomorrow.  Yea!  One more hard, impossible to predict exam and I am done with school for almost 2 months.  While I tried to get into a J-term class, the one I wanted was booked and that is okay with me.  I have until the beginning of February to try and accomplish things on my "once I am done with school" list.

And now - to try and catch up.

We went deer hunting at my parents, which I already blogged about, and had a successful opening weekend in deer hunting.  After that came..

Thanksgiving!  One of my favorite holidays! The kids decorated with many homemade turkeys,

Emma's Turkey Dude

Evan's turkey dude. Evan decorated each feather with things he is thankful for.

Tim and I cooked a fabulous meal and we celebrated with Eric, Jordan, Gaebriel, Seth, and the four of us. It was a nice low-key holiday.  Gaeb and Seth came with their new little puppy Tucker, which kept the kids occupied (and who am I kidding, he kept me preoccupied as well - he was so cute!)  and we stuffed ourselves on turkey, ham, potatoes, homemade rolls, wild rice dressing, crockpot stuffing, baked spaghetti squash, bread pudding, and pecan pie.

My Martha Stewart Turkey which turned out awesome!

Because we did it last year, the kids (Emma and Evan) had to go outside and play football.  They obviously didn't remember that last year it was so warm for Thanksgiving and this year it was around single digits.  That didn't stop them, but it did stop some of the older ones!


 (here are two pics from breakfast.  While I normally make cinnamon rolls or monkey bread, the kids don't eat them that well. This year I made breakfast puffs ala the Pioneer Woman and the kids loved them!  They helped dip each puff into the melted butter and cinnamon sugar as well.)

Evan trying to act "cool" for the camera

As the afternoon wore on, the older 2 kids and their others went to the others family to celebrate and we headed over to Kristen's to celebrate the holiday with dessert and hot chocolate.  YUM!

Then, at the urging of Kristen, we headed out shopping.  So, off to Walmart at around 6pm on Thanksgiving night. Target, Michael's, and JC Penney followed afterwards.  We got some good things and didn't hit too many horrible crowds. The nice thing was that I was back home around 10pm so I could do some online shopping.  I am actually almost 3/4 of the way done shopping!

Then - back to the farm to do more deer hunting on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We didn't make out nearly as well this time.  Emma sat out with Tim and I on Friday night and walked along in the woods with us on Saturday.  She thought it was pretty cool to be carrying the BB gun and even got to shoot it.  One of the guys that works on the farm with Dad set up a pop can so she could shoot at that.  She had a good time!

(And --side note from opening weekend in deer hunting. Evan was talking to Theresa (daycare provider) about how he went deer hunting and even got to carry a BB gun!  He was acting all proud and was puffing out his chest a little bit.  "Yup - I went deer hunting with Mama and Daddy and carried my BB Gun.  I didn't see anything and... sigh.. didn't get a shot off."  I thought that was hilarious! Spoken like a true hunter.)

Here are the kids in the bedroom at Nana and Papa's.  The "new" farm as Evan still calls their new house for almost a year.  The sleeping arrangements were hard for them.  Tim and I took one of the double beds, yet Emma REFUSED to sleep with Evan in the other one. So, we made her a floor bed and talked and ooohed and aaahed about her floor bed to make her excited about it. She was, so it worked.  It came back to haunt us though as then Evan wanted a floor bed. So - for one of the nights, the other double bed was unoccupied and we had two floor sleepers.

Then - come back to the beginning of December which means... The Advent Calendar!  And - if you look closely, you will see our Elf on the Shelf Michaela!  The kids love having her there and finding her in the morning.  We have had a bit of a struggle with the "no touching the elf rule" but overall, they do okay.  Until we found the elf laying on the kitchen floor with the "I didn't do it!"  look.

That's about it for now!  We got our Christmas tree over the weekend and decorated the house.  The kids have been outside playing in the snow when it isn't subzero and are eagerly awaiting the holiday!  Me too :-)