Polar Express 2008

This was our 2nd year on "The Polar Express" and we had sooooo much fun - even if Daddy didn't wear his jammies this year. It was fun to watch the magic in the boys' eyes.

Whew! We made it to the train with about 2 minutes to spare.

Daddy and his boys
Can you tell we're excited to see Santa?

Santa gave Brett a bell because he believes

Mommy looks more excited than Brett in this pic. In Brett's defense, I think we caught Brett "mid-blink."

Eric admiring Santa

It's hard to get 4 people all smiling and not blinking at the same time - especially when Santa is in a hurry.

Hi Santa! Brett's first glimpse of Santa

The conductor punching "Believe" in the boys' tickets (he actually only punched the "B", however that in itself was very impressive)

The man from the top of the train. Thanks to the children, he finallys believes.

The BEST teachers ever!!!!

This past Thursday marked the beginning of our good-byes. I was beginning to cry before I even entered the door of "Joy of Children Preschool." Greg and I said that four months at "JOC" definitely falls in the "priceless" category! Miss Elaine and Miss Alecia will be missed SOOOO much by all of us. These ladies have THE BIGGEST HEARTS I have ever seen and we are soooo blessed to have our paths cross with theirs.

Miss Alecia, Eric and Miss Elaine - yes, they ARE identical! :)

Eric's Christmas Program and Joy of Children School

Eric whispering his wish list in Santa's ear.

Eric performing one of his songs

Brotherly love (I think Eric is secretly trying to sneak a bite of his brother's doughnut)

Surprise! Here I am! (reminds me of a scene from Hee Haw - did I just date myself?)

This year's additions to my Christmas decorations

Much to Greg's dismay, I usually add one (or a couple) of items to my Christmas decorations.

This is called "The real meaning of Christmas." I absolutely LOVE this!
I got this for Eric and Brett...maybe a little bit for me too. :)

Our First Thanksgiving at Our House!

Every year for the last 8 years we have traveled for Thanksgiving so it was fun to host at our house this year! My parents surprised us by driving up from Arizona (just a short 13 hour jaunt up the road - ugh!) and Greg's family joined us as well.

Papa Arnold, Eric and Brett jam to "The Eagles" DVD - trying to work off a little turkey and pumpkin pie.
Papa Arnold and his grandsons demonstrating their winking ability.
Daddy savoring a little cuddle time with Eric while they watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Oh, the things Daddy will put up with watching just for some cuddles. :)
Eric and Brett showing off their turkey place settings.
Certainly no implication that THEY are turkeys. :) Yea!!! Thanksgiving at our home! We have soooo much to be grateful for!

Mimi and her grandsons

The boys love to read so the best way to guarantee some quiet time and them sitting still is to grab a stack of books.

They also love to make silly faces when having their pics taken. :)

Finger Painting with Papa Arnold

Papa Arnold working with the boys and finger painting techniques. Our very own artist in residence - at least for a few days!

The boys were actually QUIET and not fighting for well over an hour. Why didn't I think of this sooner? Finger painting is my new best friend. :)

Greg's birthday celebration

My gift to Greg next year is to shower, dry my hair and put on make up. Oh how the days of celebrating b'days prior to kiddos has changed....Greg and his proud mommy

Happy Birthday Honey/Daddy!

This is Brett after being caught with his finger in Daddy's cake

Oh Brett! Really, you couldn't just wait for Daddy to see his cake before you dragged your finger through it? Ughhhhhh!

I Got to Have My Cake and Eat it Too!

This weekend brought my last birthday in the 30's. It was the perfect mix of yummy breakfast with the family, pampering (mani and pedi w/ girlfriend, Tricia), journaling of the year past and looking forward to the future topped off with yummy Chicago Fire Pizza with the Smelser Family and my personalized birthday cake created by Tricia herself! She knows me soooo well that she even brought me extra icing because she knows that's what I REALLY love!!! :)

Birthday girl and her favorite boys!
Favorite neighbors and great friends - the Smelser Family
(Brad, Jack, Aidan and Tricia) Me and my "salt n pepper" boys

"Wow Mommy! That's a lot of smoke! You must have lots of candles!"

Okay - so this picture was supposed to come BEFORE the smokey pic above. I'm still trying to figure out this whole blog thing.

Happy Girl!

Me trying to light the candles without burning myself or my boys.

Eric having to get his "USC" sign in anywhere he can.

My beautiful purse cake Tricia made for me!

I LOVE the fall colors!

I absolutely LOVE all the colors that fall brings with it! I am certainly no photographer by any means, however I wanted to attempt to share with you a little of the beauty right outside our door.