Over the river and over the woods, in an airplane to Michigan we go!

This year we decided to spend a weekend in Michigan before all the holiday crazy, so we took off via airplane the weekend prior. The airplane was a the best idea. The boys had a great time flying and we were there in an hour and a half instead of 11 hours. I'm fairly certain we'll be flying from now on, even if it means we have to rent a car when we get there when there are 5 of us.

This trip was exciting because we hadn't seen my family since summer, so the boys were so excited to get to spend time at Nana and Papa's. We also got to see little Maylee, the newest cousin, at only two weeks old. She was soooo sweet and is such a good baby. 

Coming home always feels so good. Part of it is the holiday season, part of it is because we head back to the house I grew up in and part of it is getting to see everyone in one place, but always, always, always when we arrive my heart beams. Its good to be home.

Auntie Andrea came up with Remi for a visit too and the kids were stuck to her for much of the trip.  To round out the family fun my mom and dad hosted a Christmas gathering where GG Ruth came to visit (still driving at 94!) and Aunt Chris and Uncle Pete with Agnes-Grace came too. Anna was sick so she stayed home. GG Ruth is still on her toes, its amazing to see her at 94 going strong. She's a bit more forgetful now, but tarts only to be expected at 94! She was telling us how she knows what she wants to say but the words just won't come out right, which makes her frustrated. I told her she deserves a break after 94 years. She should just point to who she means and say "you!" and we'd all be fine with that.

Its pretty special to us that the boys still have two great grandmas in their lives. I can't recall either set of my great grandparents. I think all were gone by the time I was 2. The boys, hopefully, will have great memories of laughing and cuddling up to GG Ruth. Hopefully they'll cherish these types of pictures. With any luck, their heart will be a bit more full because of all the love they find here in Michigan.

GG wasn't the only great one to see though, we hadn't seen Agnes-Grace since the summer either and she's grown so much! Its so fun to see how articulate she is. Little girls with large vocabularies are precocious! I just adore her, and she adored Maylee! She wanted to hold Maylee over and over again. Unfortunately she had a cold so her Mimi (Aunt Chris) kept insisting that she could not hold her again, which was upsetting to AG. She got over it of course, but made the most hilarious 3 year old arguments. "I'm all better now Mimi! See I can hold her!" or "Just for a minute I'll hold her and I won't cough!" It was too cute.

That same day we were working on the first of two major puzzles we completed, this one was 1000 pieces and so was the second, not pictured here. They were fun to sit down and do as a family. We'd all take shifts and get into the addiction for bits of time, coming and going for cookie and snack breaks.

On Sunday we celebrated "Christmas" with gifts from nana, papa, auntie andrea, uncle nate, aunt faya, maylee and jayla. As usual, Nana and Papa spoiled everyone. I warned them we were flying and that we would have less room to take things back so nothing big was important. Well, nana solved her own problem by getting each of the boys a monogrammed suitcase. So we can with three bags and came home with 5.

That night we met up with the Pinconning ladies. Lori and Pete were in town so they came out and Karen and Jamie to have a drink. We were down at the VI and out comes the bartender with a "shot tree". It was the most redneck thing I've seen all year. I giant bolt with some kid's woodshop invention to hold 12 shots. The best part was it was just 12 dollars. You can't even get a good drink in Minneapolis for 12 dollars. And to top it off I can't even drink! But I bought it and made them all drink them! It was fun and they downed their share of weird old school liquor. I'm fairly certain one of those things looked the electric green of Pucker. Ish.

Once the kids woke up Sunday morning they wandered downstairs and about lost their minds seeing all the gifts! Here are these two ready and anxious to start opening presents. So much fun and joy!

Of course, Owen was all hands on deck to help everyone who needed it. He was happy to open and open. The night before Aunt Chris and Uncle Pete gave him pajamas that he could barely contain himself over- he's wearing them here: you guessed it- construction.

Soon gifts were everywhere. From glowing lego cards to board games to clothes, to Zoobs. Dozens of boxes, books and bits of wrapping paper everywhere!

All the kids were pleased as punch to play with all of their stuff Sunday afternoon and while I prefer Christmas right before any of the gifts are open, it was great to see them so happy.

After playing for a bit we decided to venture up to Pinny Lanes to go bowling. I got to dress Maylee up in one of the outfits we bought her. Isn't she so stinkin' cute?

The bowling alley was sort of like I remembered it, sort of not. I think I liked the nostalgic version from my childhood better. This alley was where I was on a league as a kid in grade school. I used to spend every Saturday morning here and it was a blast! But now it was empty, the balls were few and far between and the alley isn't well cared for, it was sort of sad. Nevertheless, the boys had fun bowling and I'm pretty sure the bumpers used were the same ones from when I was a kid.

Grump faces.

Crazy faces.

Goofing around with Auntie Andrea.

On Monday we were all headed back home, which was sad. Before we went the boys each took a turn holding Maylee so I could get some photos. I asked them how they felt about holding their own sister. They were less than excited. Hopefully they come around to it!

By noon we had to head back to the airport. It was so great to get to see everyone and still get to spend Christmas morning with the boys at home. It was like the best of both worlds. The boys though were not ready to leave. They really adore their nana and papa, and Owen was so sad at the airport. He wouldn't give Nana a hug goodbye and after she stole one and we were walking through he was crying. He said, "I don't want to go home mom. I will miss them too much," as the little tears streamed down his cheek.
Thats how I feel too buddy. Its hard when such a big part of your heart lives so far away.

Owen's Christmas Program

Every year that we've been at Children's Way they've put on a Christmas program. I love that they aren't afraid to talk about holidays even if it means celebrating lots of things. I'd rather my kids know all about Divali, Kwanza, Christmas and Hanukah than be totally ignorant about most of them. So it makes me smile that the preschool tries their best with this and ends with a "Christmas" program.

 Owen was ready to go this year and we had been hearing the songs he would sing for a few weeks at home. All the practice was paying off!

 Collin sat with us as we waited for this how. Unfortunately we picked the wrong side- Owen was sitting clear across the sanctuary, but it was still fun to see all the other children sign and spy him in the middle.

 Here he his walking in to find his spot. And below, its hard to see him, but he's in the back near the other end of the line.

 While the other classes were singing he and his buddy Philip sat and watched. I think they look like a couple of old little men in these photos.

 And here they are singing away. It was such a fun show.

Merry Chistmas!

Happy Christmas Day!

This Christmas we kept with our most recent (and delightful) tradition of being home so the boys can wake up to what Santa brings in their own house. I love this day because its quiet and comforting and everyone is content.

The boys woke up around 7, which is pretty typical for them and Collin came in and asked if he could go downstairs. I told him no, because Drew had to set up the video camera, so they went to the lookout to spy what Santa had brought. I could hear their excitement all the way on the other side of the house warm tucked in my bed.

Collin: "Oh my goodness! (squee!) he brought Ninjago legos!"

Owen: "Look, construction equipment! (commence jumping around)"

They were brimming with excitement, so when we got our act together, grabbed the camera and video camera and made our way downstairs they were anxious to open gifts.

This photo is of Collin on the upstairs couch waiting for the "all clear" to go downstairs.

Here's Owen, trying to contain his excitement.

And Collin, amusing himself as he waited for us.

Then the festivities began! The first items off the top were a book Owen had wanted for awhile (with construction equipment in it) and Collin's latest favorite, the Ninjago legos. Santa doesn't wrap things at our house, so it was easy to see what he brought. Only the gifts from us and other family members are wrapped.

It was clear all morning how much our boys adore books. Once they each had one in their hands they were nose deep in the pages, I had to ask if they wanted to open more gifts. Both were content to sit and look at books.

Santa also brought a crane, which Collin had been asking for, made of the Tonka heavy duty steel so it will be able to go outside come spring and summer. He was attached to this once he got it out of the box. Collin also got a new Slush, which he's been talking about all year since his old one took a dive in the toilet and was not salvageable, thanks to his brother. Owen bought him this for christmas, and Collin decided the crane was the right way to carry him around for a bit.

The boys picked out books for their dad and did a fairly good job for being 4 and 6.

We also got him a router lift, which hopefully will come in handy for all the woodworking to be done in our house!

Recently we found that we were down one babaclava- one of the boys left it somewhere, so Owen got a new one, which he was pretty pumped about.

More legos from Aunt Susie's and Uncle Chris

And blocos for Owen from Aunt Susie and uncle Chris

A couple of ornaments from grandma and grandpa Hollman and great gram Montgomery

and a slew of other games, books and such from mom and dad.

Owen gave us one of my favorite gifts, a calendar he made at school with a handprint image for each month. Its adorable and will always help me remember him as a 4 year old.

Overall it was a great Christmas. The boys were grateful for their gifts and we're please to play all day in their jammies and build legos. Drew picked me up so alcohol free wine so I didn't complain about not being able to drink and we enjoyed a fantastic prime rib for dinner with stuffing, salad and fruit. It was a slow and meandering day with much love and joy across our household. 

These ages are some of my favorites around the holidays, 4 and 6 means that the magic is fresh and there is so much adoration for what is possible on Christmas night. The boys show sheer joy in all the fun of the holiday and really revel in the time they get to play and enjoy their things. I love that the are independent enough to play without us, but also still want to engage in family games and togetherness. Drew spent most of the day building legos with them and later on we played Headbandz, which was fun because it was Drew would could not figure out what his was.

Its hard to imagine that next year there will be five of us around the tree and that we'll be sharing the holiday with our little girl too. I realize its a long way off, but I savored this Christmas as the last one with just the four of us.