Sledding

Axel made a little sledding hill off the deck. Tons of fun!

Super Heros!

Superboy and Supergirl save the day!!!!

Christmas Morning...

Well, this past week has been quite a challenge to say the least. The kids came down with the most awful gastroenteritis virus. It landed Anya in the hospital last Monday. It started out with the vomiting and then the diarrhea...Oh, the diarrhea! Poor Anya went about every 5 minutes and wasn't able to hold in any fluids. We are going on day 8 and finally Anya has fully recovered. Ryan still has a touch of the diarrhea and a mild cough to go along with it. 'Tis the season, right? Merry Christmas! Just very thankful we didn't have travel plans!

Christmas morning with Ry and Anya was great minus the part when Ryan woke up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep because he was so excited for Santa! He did end up going back to sleep after an hour or so. Anya unwrapped all of her presents in a whirlwind...I think it may have taken her a good 5 minutes. Ryan took his sweet time. He would open something and play with it for quite some time before moving on to the next present. Now we are just relaxing and enjoying our gifts while we wait for our 19 pound turkey to cook. I see lots of turkey recipes for this week.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Christmas Morning..

Phillipe Petite

After seeing the documentary and reading the book...Ryan has become obsessed with Phillipe "The Man Who Walked Between the Two Towers". Here is his detailed picture he made at school.

Making Christmas Cookies

Rudolph

Anya and some friends were playing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. When I spied Anya I noticed she colored her nose red with a marker! She wouldn't even let me wash it off until gymnastics class the following day.

Awww

Last night when I went to kiss the kids before I went to bed I couldn't find Ryan. After some searching upstairs I found him fast asleep in his sister's bed. They looked so sweet together.

St. Nick's Visit

Decorating the Tree

I couldn't resist this photo of Anya's little bum! Notice Ryan
laughing and Anya is completely oblivious that we are making
fun!

At the Park

Santa's House

Waiting to see Santa...

Meet Jingle!

Jingle is the newest member of our family. He is an "Elf on a Shelf". Santa left a package at our house and inside was a cute little elf. The children named him Jingle. He is here as Santa's eyes and ears. He watches over the children all day and then while they sleep at night he flies back to Santa and gives a full report of their behavior. This is how Santa knows who is on his Naughty and Nice list. When he flies back to our house he sits in a different place. So, Ryan and Anya must find him in the morning. Now there is one rule that must be followed in order for Jingle to be back tomorrow: Jingle can't be touched. His magic will go if someone were to touch him. He also can't talk as Santa sets the rule. He is a great listener, though. He will listen to all your Christmas wishes and let Santa know. On Christmas Eve when Santa comes Jingle will return to the North Pole but he will come back the following year!

Ryan is mesmerized by Jingle. You can often hear him talking to Jingle. Anya, however, has a different view. She said, "I don't like Jingle watching me. Send him back to the North Pole!" She is slowly warming up to him.

If you would like to know more about the elves visit...www.elfontheshelf.com