I LOVE traditions! And this time of year, we have MANY of them! I snapped this picuture of these two cuties cuddled up in front of the fire and realized that today would be a good day to cozy up on the couch and update the old blog. Get ready for picture overload...you have been warned!
Each year, we go to Zoo lights with our friend's the Essman's. It is a tradition that started 4 or 5 years ago. It is something we look forward to each year. Regardless of years where the weather is freezing cold, years where our kids refused to sit in the stroller and ran wild through the zoo, years where I may have spilled my hot chocolate all over myself and the stroller (okay, that's EVERY year), or years where it took us a good 20 minutes to remember where we parked....it is a tradition that we cannot give up! It is always full of laughs, beautiful lights and good memories. This year was no different, except that it was Baby Jack's first year to attend. I'm pretty sure he was well entertained and loved every minute! Welcome to our Chaos, a tradition you will yourself grow to love!
Joshua and Kenzie ready to check out some animals before sunset!
After hitting the Zoo coffee shop, snappin' a few photos of these monkeys...
we are ready to roll!
First stop....checking out the Elephants in Africa!
Caleb could have stayed here all night!
Baby Jack was totally impressed too!
And who can really pass up a ride on a rhino statue? Not these two!
These pictures don't do it justice, it was beautiful!
And the kids loved running around, searching for animals in the dark, and checking out the amazing lights!
I like to call this picture "caught in my web of love lights!" I'm not sure what setting my camera was on, but it's pretty psychedelic! I'm lovin' it!
Jack didn't find my camera skills that interesting, but he loved this teether!
After refueling, watching the light show set to music over the pond, we hit the indoor aquarium.
Then it was time to go to our place for pizza and a movie!
All snuggled up for Elf! Best Movie Ever!
How did we end up without kids on our couch? It's called wits! We enjoyed movie time all to ourselves! :)-
The Art Teacher at my school holds a Winter Pottery session every year for our staff's children. Mackenzie and I have done this together for the past two years, and each year she makes an adorable finger/footprint plate. My plan is for her to do this each year so that I have a full set of Christmas plates when they are older.
Making this years plate, a Christmas wreath. She came up with this on her own. It turned out super cute!
Each year, we construct Gingerbread houses (and by "we" I mean Jeremy). They are lots of fun, and the kids love decorating and eating the majority of the candy (even after it has been sitting dried on the houses for several
days weeks)!
I adore the one below. They are both so focused and intent on decorating, I truly don't think they even noticed they were both crossing arms to reach the perfect candy topping!
Their Finished Masterpieces! :)
And...what is Christmas without making Buzzard Chex Mix? Ya, you know we made a few batches! :)
This girl is mixin' up the secret sauce! She makes scrumptious chex mix!
And of course, we LOVE Nicholas the Elf! He has been quite a handful this year, but has made our mornings so much fun and filled with laughter. Here's what this crazy guy has been up to:
To our surprise, we found that Nicholas is potty trained! No way!
And that's not the only thing he does in the bathroom....he also brushes his teeth...ok, and plays with the toothpaste. This was Caleb's face the moment he spotted him! Love it!
Sometimes Nicholas needed to leave friendly reminders to us. :)
Such a clever fella!
Mackenzie woke up one morning to find him hanging from her ceiling fan, complete with homemade snowflakes!
I don't even know what to say about this one. Really Nicholas? Underwear on the tree?
Poor guy couldn't escape the sniffles going through the house. Luckily, he was only down for the count one night. Phew!
Where's Nicholas you ask? Why right there, suspended on a zip line running from one staircase to another?
You will be greatly missed buddy!
...and to our surprise, 2 nights before Christmas, another elf appeared. Mackenzie asked Santa for another elf for Christmas. I guess he wanted her to enjoy her (yes, it's a GIRL elf) before they have to return to the North Pole after Christmas. Here is where we found her (Kenzie named her Ella:).
And of course, what better tradition is there than the very first snowfall? We stayed outside for a good 40 minutes, until our little toes couldn't bear it any longer. As you can see, they had a blast!
Ready for "snow" much fun!
This boy LOOOVED eating the snow! He was obsessed!
My little angels!
SNOWBALL FIGHT!
This girls throws a mean snow bomb!
Then it was off to the backyard for some exploration and play on the swingset!
Hangin' in the snow fort!
Look out below!
Weeee....nothing like covering the slide in snow and sliding down!
And who doesn't like a game of chase in the snow?
And taking a break to roll some snow balls for a mini snowman, or a surprise snowball fight! This boy does not wear out easily!
And of course, I can never resist trying to capture one picture in front of the tree where both kids are looking....
It's a Christmas Miracle!
Who doesn't love making and decorating Christmas cookies? These two sure do!
***Stay tuned for Christmas Eve traditions, coming soon! :)
