Choose The Right

I just had to share these pictures of Isaac. He moved up to the CTR 4 class at church and he got this CTR ring from his new teachers. As you can see, he is totally ecstatic about it. He told me that now he will always remember to choose the right because he will just look at his ring. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed!) :)

Better Late Than Never

We were so busy during the Christmas season
so we didn't make it to the Zoolights until this week.
(We had free passes, so we figured we'd better squeeze it in.)
We went with my brother and his cute little family.

Here are my boys, all bundled up!

Trevor didn't last long.
He is way too cool for the stroller. :)

Isaac thought this peacock was super awesome.

Derek and Trev

Isaac loves his little cousin, Eva.

I'm so glad I caught his reaction here.
I love this picture!

Here are Scott, Jenna, and Eva.
What a cute family...and there will be
another little one in just a few weeks!
These boys are a handful, but they sure are fun!

Celebrating 2011

We had a great weekend!
We spent New Year's Eve at home with some of the Allens.
We watched the big countdown on Youtube
(because it was really 7:30).
I know...I'm a mean mom...I just can't have them up that late.
They thought it was fun!

Here is our countdown and sparkling cider toast.
(We got the giggles at the end because Dave was blowing his nose.)

CHEERS! :)

Baby Kaleb just sat back and enjoyed his toes!

We spent New Year's Day just relaxing together.
I love days like that.Snuggle time

Then we got together with the Jameson crew
for Mexican food and lots of fun.
Look at all of these cute kiddos. :)

We ended the night with some fireworks.

Don't mind Trevor's lack of pants...
He is potty training and refuses to wear pants.
I am just picking my battles! :)

HAPPY 2011!

Our White Christmas (sorta)

We had a fabulous Christmas this year! We went to Lakeside to spend our first white Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Allen. Actually, the snow melted after the first day and then it warmed up...which was my Christmas wish! (I'm just not a snow person.) We were there with 3 of the other 5 Allen siblings and we had a blast! We missed seeing the Jameson family, but we did get to talk to my parents on Skype. It's hard to be away from them, especially during the holidays, but it was nice to have them be a part of our Christmas, too.

We had a wonderful weekend together!
Here's the recap:

Before we left for the mountain,
we let the boys open their presents from Grammy and Papa.
Isaac got a bike and Trevor got a play kitchen.
They were both ecstatic (in case you can't tell).

We had really good road conditions for most of the drive.
There was just one stretch (about 15 minutes) with snow.
It made me a little nervous, but Derek was very cautious
and the boys loved the view. It really was gorgeous!

As soon as we reached Grandma's mountain,
the boys jumped out to play in snow.
They built a little snowman, tasted the fresh snow,
and threw snowballs at Mommy, of course!
I was glad there was some snow that first day,
so they could experience the winter fun.
And then I was really glad it melted. :)

Christmas Eve is always very exciting!
The boys got their new jammies, made cookies for Santa,
and tracked the big man on his route to Grandma's house.

We also did the Christmas story/gift exchange.
Grandma started this tradition a couple of years ago
and the kids LOVE it! Trevor really got into it this year.
So cute.

The boys were up at 5 am...ready to see if Santa came.
Here is a little glimpse of their excitement:

They were thrilled to find everything they were hoping for.
(Isaac got his ladybug Pillow Pet and Trevor got his Zhu Zhu Pet.)
They were quite spoiled! :)

Such a great morning...I love seeing my boys so happy.
(Check out that cute baby Kaleb. He's not mine, but the boys and I are
trying hard to convince Alissa to let us keep him.) :)

Making Christmas sugar cookies with Grandma

Just a few more random pictures of my Christmas cuties.

What a great Christmas!

We are SO ready!

This Christmas season has been so much fun. These boys seem to really understand what it's all about and they are very ready for the big day to come! At least 4 or 5 times a day I get asked, "Mom, how many days 'til Christmas?" But honestly, I don't even mind because I'm pretty excited too. :)

Here are some of the fun things we've been doing
to get ready for Christmas:

Watching (and acting out) "The Grinch"

Decorating the tree

Enjoying some snowman pancakes

Making our traditional Christmas countdown chain
(I love their faces here...such hard workers!)

And here's Trevor showing off the finished product.

And last, but certainly not least, a visit with Santa.
Isaac was determined to be "brave" this year and was
able to tell Santa his Christmas wish (a ladybug pillow pet).
He was very proud of his accomplishment.

Trevor, on the other hand, was not having any of it.
Poor guy. :)

Now we just have to make the drive up to the mountains
and enjoy our first white Christmas!

Pillow-Mania

My boys absolute favorite activity is "pillows,"
which involves throwing all of the couch cushions on the floor
and jumping around like little monkeys. It is wild and crazy!
This week "pillows" has evolved into something new
...and even more hilarious!

See for yourself...

A Tough Job

On the way home from our fun day at the zoo Isaac let out a big sigh and said, "Whew, being 4 is such hard work!" I did my best to stifle my laughter and listen...with all the sympathy I could muster. :)