Who needs snow? Let's go sledding!

The kids had just enough snow to have fun!!

Christmas Day

Look at all the presents we got!

The present of all presents!!

This one make me really happy. I spent all day learning how to play again. I've spent 10 long years away from a piano and I'm so glad to have one again.

BAKUGAN

It's the only thing Jacob asked Santa for.

We broke down and got a Leapster for the kids. We swore off video games, but finally caved in with Leapster. The boys love it. Ethan has a Wall-E game and Jacob has a Star Wars game that they got from Grandma Vivi.
Ethan actually took this picture...

...and this picture. I think he might have a future in photography.

(i.e. there was no cropping involved)

Our family photo!!

It's time for bed and everyone got new PJ's.

Can you feel the excitement?

ROARI am so happy. We had a great day Mommy.

Christmas Eve

This year I decided to take each of the kids to Target by themselves to pick out a $10 gift for their siblings. It was very interesting to see how they responded to this task. Jacob thought long and hard about which gift he wanted to pick out for Audrey and Ethan. Ethan seemed to already know exactly what he wanted to get. However, Audrey was completely distracted the entire time with all the toys. She was able to pick something out for Ethan, but she couldn't stay focused for Jacob's gift so I picked something out for her. As soon as I got home with them we would go upstairs, wrap the gifts and they would put them under the tree. For Christmas Eve Doug and I decided it would be special if they opened each others gifts. They had a lot of fun and of course loved what they got. Who else but siblings would know exactly what each other would want. After that, they each picked out a cookie for Santa, got a glass of milk and Jacob left his picture and note for him. Jacob was so excited about Santa this year. His questions were endless and his excitement was addicting. It was so much fun to be a part of.

Eating the Sugar Cookies

They ALL waited impatiently for the cookies to dry before I let them eat them. I got a picture of everyone except for Audrey with their favorite cookie.

Audrey..."I am sooooo excited to eat one of these."

Ethan..."Sorry mom, but I just couldn't wait any longer."

Doug..."My favorite is the one with different colored sugar."
Jacob..."Just hurry up and take the picture so I can eat it PLEASE!!"

Decorating Sugar Cookies

I only had enough patience for each of them to decorate three cookies, but I think they had just as much fun decorating them as they did eating them!!

Snow Day!!

We had a dusting of snow that the kids took full advantage of. They had fun going down the hill in our backyard. WE can't wait until we have enough snow to go sledding down the hill.

Our Christmas Tree

We went to a Christmas tree farm to cut down a Christmas tree, but our high hopes for a good Christmas tree were dashed when we found out they spray painted some of their trees so they would look green. We were quickly reminded that we weren't in Washington anymore. So, we went to a country store that had Christmas trees which were probably brought in from Washington.

The kids were very excited to find Christmas ornaments we had made when they were babies. The molds of their hands were done sometime between 3 and 6 months of age.

Santa's Express

The Missouri USO had an event for military families at Union Station in St. Louis. It was a great day with the kids and Jones Family. The kids were very excited to ride the train from Scott AFB to Union Station.

When we got there they enjoyed picking out a free toy. The toys were surprisingly really nice. Audrey got Silvermist from Tinkerbell, Ethan got a Transformer and Jacob got a remote control helicopter.
Jacob was the only one who was excited about sitting on Santa and Mrs. Claus' lap. It was a good thing Mrs. Claus was there because I think Audrey would have backed out on the whole thing if she wasn't sitting there.

They all enjoyed getting their face painted.

Audrey got a Santa.

Alex got a reindeer.

Ethan watched very carefully to see that the lady made his snowman right. As we were leaving he said "Wait, she forgot to draw a carrot nose." It was almost as if he knew something was missing, but he just couldn't figure it out right away. Jacob was very happy with his face painting. It cracked us up that he chose Santa's beard and mustache to be painted on his face.

A Great Day!!

Doug planned a great day for me to celebrate my birthday. I spent the day at the spa getting a massage, facial and haircut. It was so much fun being pampered and I really needed a day to relax. While I was gone at the salon Doug made my birthday cake with the kids. He said is was one of the toughest things he's done. I thought they did a great job for not know what they were doing. It also tasted pretty good.

Jacob learned to ride his bike!

We've been working with Jacob since the beginning of summer to learn how to ride his bike without training wheels. He was very resistant to the idea of learning to ride on his own, but we kept encouraging him and he continued to be willing to try. After moving here he said he wanted to ride his bike like the other kids in the neighborhood, so Doug worked with him yesterday and that's when he took off on his own. I got him on video yesterday and took pictures of him today. We are so proud of him for not giving up!!

$10 Shopping Spree

The kids got money from Grandma Rapp for Halloween and Thanksgiving, so Doug took them to Toys 'R Us on Friday to find something to buy for $10. Ethan and Jacob stayed within their budget, but Audrey got Doug to spend a little bit more. Audrey loves her Hello Kitty set that included fake nails, lip gloss and nail polish. Ethan has been asking for Zurg from Toy Story II for over a month and was thrilled to find one. Jacob picked out a Star Wars Lego and immediately put it together when he got home.

Thanksgiving

We had an awesome Thanksgiving. Doug and I thought it was going to be just the five of us, then we found out that some friends moving here from Washington were arriving on Monday. So, we invited the Jones' over for Thanksgiving. Jeremy's parents were here too, so we got to entertain four more adults. It made all the cooking much more enjoyable knowing that Doug and I wouldn't be the only ones eating everything. The kids were also very excited that they were going to have a new friend to play with. They had a blast playing with Alex all afternoon. For our Thanksgiving feast I made two pumpkin pies, an apple pie, "my" famous cranberry sauce and sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and an apple shallot dressing, which is going to be a new addition to my Thanksgiving menu. The one thing I made that didn't turn out well were the green beans. We used fresh ones and there was definitely something wrong with them. I take a lot of pride in the fact that my green beans always turn out great, so it was disappointing that the one thing I make all the time didn't turn out well. However, no one seemed to mind that there was one thing that didn't taste all that great. Doug used a high temperature cooking method for the turkey and it couldn't have been more perfect. It was the moistest turkey we've ever had. His sausage stuffing was also a big hit and they couldn't get enough of the gravy I made. They actually said it was the best gravy they've ever had...and their big time gravy people. We had a great time with lots of good memories. We're also very happy that Jeremy, Jen and Alex are here. It's nice having more friends at Scott AFB that were also in Washington with us.