Tis the season!

Our Christmas season has begun! And boy have we been busy! We started off by heading up to McCall the day after Thanksgiving to spend some much needed time with the VanMiddendorps. We were in for a treat as Santa was visiting town that very day! Everybody got a chance to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted...EVERYONE!! Evan and Freddie
Ben wasn't too sure what to think about the jolly fella. Sulli cracked me up. He got up on Santa's lap with no hesitation and told him that he wanted a motorcycle for Christmas. Sulli wants a motorcycle just like his dads. Sulli was so agreeable with Santa...here is how the rest of the dialogue went:

Santa: You wouldn't want to ride on a big motorcycle. So you want a toy motorcycle.

Sulli: Yes
Santa: What else do you want?

Sulli: Ummmmmm (lasts about 15 seconds)

Santa: A rubber chicken?

Sulli: Yes

So when rehashing the Santa conversation in the car on the way home, Sulli said that he told Santa that he wanted a real motorcycle and a rubber ducky. Oh my he makes me laugh!

Hudson and Sailor

Last Saturday, I had to sing at church and the boys stayed home with Evan. Evan captured some loving moments between the boys. Sulli is trying to convince Ben that he really wants a hug.
Sulli still having fun and Ben not having anything to do with the hugs, pictures or playtime!

Still no Benny smiles but having a much better time with Daddy. Sulli practicing his photography skills again.

Earlier in the day on Saturday, we decided to go exploring as a family. On my way to see one of my patients in Emmett, I drive by a sign that points to a town called "Pearl". We decided to go and see Pearl. We drove on a dirt road for about an hour that took us from Hwy 16 to Hwy 55. We never did see anything that looked like it might be a town, but there was some pretty area that we came across. This was a car sticking out of the side of the hill. Under the car was what looked like an old mine shaft. There was a hot spring coming out of the shaft. After about a half hour on the dirt road with not another car in sight, the boys migrated up to the front seat for better viewing. Sulli "helped" Evan with the navigation.

Sunday night, Evan and I attended our church Christmas party. It was a great time of laughter, fellowship and fun. Not to mention the bazillion desserts that we loaded our plates with. Evan and I volunteered to be a couple in the present wrapping contest. Ev stood behind me blindfolded and wrapped a present. The winner was the couple with the prettiest package. We didn't win but we had a great time. We were both sweating by the end of it!

We sat at a table with our home team. We love these people and have so much fun with them. We are so thankful to have them in our lives.

On Friday night, Evan and I had a Sulli date. We took him to see Sesame Street Live at the Idaho Center. Elmo and all of his friends were there singing and dancing. Sulli had a great time and so did we.

And last night, we attended our first "Christmas program". Sulli's preschool put on an adorable little show. They sang Jingle Bells, Away in a Manger and a couple others. They were so cute and Sulli did great. Mimi and Bumpa were able to come and see as well. Afterwards they had a cookie social. Again...yummy!

So we are in full swing around here. The decorations are up, lights are hung and presents bought. We are choosing to skip the tree this year as I am not up to the challenge of trying to keep Ben away from it 24/7. Kinda sad but next year. We are loving teaching the true meaning of Christmas to our kids and have adopted Fred and Jamie's tradition of reading Luke 2:1-20 every night to the kids so that they learn the story. What a wonderful time of year. Hope that you all are enjoying the time with your families and friends as well. Take care!