christmas day

on christmas morning we woke up and the first thing the kids did was check to

see if santa had come....

he ate the cookies we left for him and he left them a note...

then they checked the stockings and saw that they were full...

they looked under the tree...

then we opened the presents from santa and then got ready for 8:30 church...

after we came home from church we opened the rest of our presents...

then we went to grandma and papa's house to open some more presents and have christmas dinner...

we had a wonderful christmas and are so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our savior.

leading up to christmas day

we did a lot of fun activities as a family this year leading up to christmas.

we went and saw grandpa and grandma great's christmas lights. grandpa great always has a beautiful display of christmas lights and it is always a special treat to go see them and to be able to visit.

we went and saw santa claus at a small local store. there weren't very many people there so it was a more personal visit with the jolly guy.

allison was not a huge fan of santa claus this year. she did not want to sit on his lap at all and hardly told him what she wanted for christmas, which was a baby doll. logan had no problem telling santa what he wanted most...a remote control helicopter.

then she got really mad when i tried to leave her there.....

but some cookies and chocolate made it all worth it in the end.

on christmas eve we made our traditional cookies for santa.

then we read some christmas stories...

then we read some christmas scriptures...

then we went home and set out the cookies and milk and carrotts for santa and his reindeer.

hockey

we went to a hockey game with the kids and some good friends of ours. logan was super excited and did pretty well throughout the game.

we got some cotton candy for the kids and when logan was eating it he asked, "mom, do they make this stuff out of hair?" even the thought of it didn't stop him from eating it!

christmas decorating

santa

this year we took the kids to see santa at a local store instead of the mall. it was super low-key which was nice. allison was not having it. she didn't want anything to do with santa. she kept asking for mrs. claus!

after we say santa we wrote him letters and had cookies!

polar express

we decided to surprise the kids and go to the polar express this year. the kids were the perfect age and had so much fun. the weather was perfect for me, cold but not too cold. but dan would've preferred a little snow.we watched polar express the movie on the way up so it was fresh in the kids' minds. on the train ride logan had the window open most of the way. he was looking for wolves and eagles in the forest, just like in the movie.

the kids truly had a magical time. it is so sweet to see them believe and and get so excited for christmas!

logan's first trophy

logan loved playing soccer and learned alot throughout the season.

here he is in action.

logan has wanted a trophy for a long time now. he was so excited and proud that he finally got one!

way to go logan! we are so proud of you!

halloween mega post

halloween was fun, busy, and more busy. we had several activities throughout the month and here they are in no particular order.....

we carved pumpkins...logan carved his own....allison was grossed out....we all had fun....

we went trick-or-treating twice....logan was a scary spider....allison was minnie mouse....

we went to a new pumpkin patch by our house....it was awesome.....we will definitely go back....

we went to ihop for halloween pancakes....had fun with friends....decorated cookies....yum....