Happy New Year!

A Smashing Good Time

On Christmas Eve we let the big boys open their present from Simon early, mostly because they were itching for something to do, and this fit the bill perfectly. They were totally stumped as to what could be in that box - it weighed 22 pounds!


Whoa, what is it, what is it??? A BIG box of rocks!?!


Look at the size of that one! These aren't just ordinary rocks, however, they're GEODES full of crystals!

Safety goggles on and SO excited to break open the first one.

Concentration is key. Take a few practice swings to line up your shot.

Crack! It's open!

Each one was different - some solid, some hollow, big crystals, tiny crystals, sparkly and glittery ones and ones that were more dull and multicolored.

They smashed and smashed until the entire box was emptied. Then they took old toothbrushes and soapy water and cleaned each one of all the loose debris and dirt until they sparkled.

This one was the biggest one, and it was packed full of the largest crystals.

We chose our favorite pieces to put on the nature table - since the sun went behind the rainclouds again soon after we broke the geodes open, these pictures don't even come close to showing show sparkly they really are. Great fun, educational, and the kids got to smash things with hammers...needless to say it was a fantastic family activity!

If you want to pick up geodes of your own, I highly recommend this Ebay Seller! He lets you choose the sizes or number of rocks that you need and then fills up a flat rate priority mail box for you. Definitely the most inexpensive BY FAR - other smash-your-own-geode kits go for around $6 each and only come with one tiny 2" rock!

Gingerbread Houses

I spent a good chunk of Saturday night making graham cracker houses for Sawyer and Sutton to decorate with their classmates at school. The boys were so excited to see all the houses laid out across the kitchen counter when they woke up on Sunday, and they waited patiently until today when their teachers finally set them out to be decorated. When I picked them up from school today they were both waiting by the door, jumping up and down with their gingerbread houses in hand. They were SO proud of their work that they didn't even mind when I told them I need to take pictures of them before they broke them apart and devoured them :)

Brunch With Santa

This morning we went to brunch with Santa at our community clubhouse. This was the first year that they've completely sold out the event, and it was packed! Luckily there was no waiting for breakfast, so after we had our fill of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and cookies we got in line to see the Big Man in Red.


This guy was so excited to see Santa that he hardly ate any breakfast!


Sutton and I made a few crafts while Daddy waited in line for us. We made a picture frame for his Santa picture and a glittery stocking.


We waited...and waited...and waited some more. Mom made everyone stand by the big Christmas tree and take pictures.


Everyone say "Cheeeeeese!" I love that Simon has his arm up on Sutton's shoulder ♥


Finally it was our turn to see Santa! Sawyer hopped right on up into Santa's lap, and Sutton was pretty quick to join him. I was worried that they were going to be shy and scared, but they really weren't - yay!




The boys told Santa that they want Legos for Christmas (surprise, surprise!)


Santa's elves gave them candy canes and jingle bells.


Happy Holidays!

Cute Baby Fix

Here are your cute baby photos for the day! I finally managed to capture a couple of his goofy baby smiles :)






(I'm cute even when I'm serious) ♥

Sneak Peek

I finally got our holiday cards ordered! So, by the time we get them back and I get them mailed out, it'll probably be Christmas Eve lol. Oh well! I couldn't decide which layout to choose, so I made five different ones ;)

Love Hope Joy Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Holiday Card Photo Outtakes

(for Grandma, who's been patiently waiting two weeks for new pictures) ♥

Sweet, Sweet Victory

If you know my family at all, you've probably heard about our annual Thanksgiving Day tradition. Every year between dinner and dessert we kill a little time with a round of gambling Yahtzee. Everyone antes up $5 to play, spreads themselves out between two or three large tables, and then we decide if the kitty should be split between the winners from each table or if we will give one lump sum to the overall high score winner. This year we decided that the winner should take all: $80 from the sixteen players.

You can bet that there were fifteen bummed out adult losers when this little four-year-old walked away with all that cash :)

He got lucky and scored a Yahtzee on his very first roll! He got another one a few rounds later. He also managed to fill in every single box in the scoresheet, maxing out most of the values. Oh, did I mention that he's never even played the game before!?! All of that beginner's luck and pocket full of cash translated into a big Lego off-road fire engine set that he has been wanting for a very long time. He also shared his winnings and bought Sutton a monster truck game for the Wii ♥


He looks a little crazy here lol, but it was the only time I could get him to look up from his assembly job!


This boy is Lego cRaZy!

This Week in Photos

Baby kept on growing. This is what I like to call his "Old Man Sweater" look.


The boys read Stone Soup at school on Tuesday, and each child brought a vegetable from home to prepare and add to the classroom soup pot. Since the boys don't go to school on Wednesdays (when the soup was actually cooked and served), we decided to make our own Stone Soup at home. Sutton was truly this thrilled with the idea, and he happily cut up loads of carrots and potatoes with his veggie chopper (if you don't have something for your young kids to cut with, I highly recommend these!). After all that hard work we had come up with a really tasty chicken and vegetable soup.


Yum!


We have been baking bread several times a week thanks to the fast and easy techniques from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I've had my eye on this book forever, and when it finally dropped to an all-time low price on Amazon last month I snatched it up. I make up a batch of the basic dough on Sunday evening, and then the boys and I can make up to three loaves of bread during the week from one single batch of dough. Best part...it's amazingly delicious!


A picnic outside on the patio is the perfect way to unwind after all that hard soup and bread prep work. They got these sherpa and suede boots from Grandma and Grandpa on Halloween, and I'm pretty sure they haven't taken them off since then. Even when it briefly jumped back into the mid 80's last week, Sutton was running around in shorts, shirtless, with the fuzzy boots on. Love it ♥

Sutton snuck downstairs this morning while I was still upstairs getting Simon dressed and fed, and I caught him lurking behind the dining room table with the entire Tupperware full of Goldfish crackers and a large pile on the floor in front of him. Instead of Sutton getting in trouble, Sawyer somehow managed to turn the whole situation into a photo op. "Hey Sutton, come here. Hey Mom, go get your camera...cause this is funny, right?"

{Make a Funny Face!} Stella came over today to play with Sawyer & Sutton. They both adore her so much, and she fits right in with them perfectly. She always makes me laugh with how girly and how rough-and-tumble she can be at the same time ♥

Mitch worked on getting Simon to give him one of those killer big smiles. He's been smiling more and more often, but he still refuses to perform on command (aka when the camera is ready!)! :)

The mandatory Sleeping-Baby-and-Sleeping-Daddy picture. Every baby needs to have a dozen or so of these photos taken. So sweet ♥

Simon got a new Exersaucer today, and he loves it! This is him loving it, I swear ;) He's still too tiny for it, so we rolled up blankets in the seat for better support and put another blanket under his feet so he can touch the ground solidly. We decided on getting him one without music and bells and whistles, and I'm so glad we made that choice. After watching the big boys rattle, shake and spin every toy that came with this version, I'm thrilled that there's not going to be any more noise added to our already booming house full of boys!