not forgotten

chewy is a lucky dog

he got to spend his christmas tormenting my mom's girl dogs ;) ...

and he came home to some special treats ...

ben had made him a card

 

and together we baked him his very own christmas cut out treats

it isn't quite as fun when you can't eat the dough ...

BUT chewy seems happy ;)

merry christmas, chewy.

you may drive me crazy sometimes ...

but you sure do make a few boys around here very happy!

christmas in pictures ... mostly

before heading to WI ...
we woke up to find elfred and a note he had written -
he told us that although santa had stopped and brought some surprises,
he allowed elfred to stay one more night so that he could tell the boys goodbye
he said that he had a lot of fun
and hopes that he can come back next year.



the boys loved that he got to stay to say goodbye
AND that santa had lifted his magic so that the boys could touch elfred ONE time ...
to give him a hug.

we finished up the morning opening our gifts



a few of their favorites were ...
*harlem globetrotter tickets
*a titanium necklace
*gander mountain hunting game for wii
*stuffed phinneas, ferb, and perry

the rest of our christmas was spent in wisconsin ...
and i'll let the pictures do the talking ... mostly

i have no idea what i'm doing ... but only 8 weeks left!!!

 

my mom's 'granite peak' creation for aiden's lego snowboarders

alex got HIS OWN camera!!
for anyone out there who wants to get their kid a camera
i HIGHLY recommend it

as seen on the counter one afternoon ... 

what we woke up to Christmas morning ...

thanks, santa.

i hope everyone had a merry Christmas!!!
we sure did! ;)

a sugary send off

yesterday was the boys last day of school before break
that meant that 2 things
1. yesterday was a LOT of fun
and
2. they consumed a LOT of sugar!

thankfully i was there to enjoy most of the day with them!

i started out the day in alex's classroom for a party
his teacher was full of good ideas



they got outfitted in rudolph antlers

played in some 'snow'
since we are still lacking in the real stuff

 

made candy canes

made some christmas trees

 

and prepared to sing 'jingle bells' at the sing along

a few hours later ...

i helped make sundaes for the 5th graders



can i just say ...
with the amount of mountain dew, dr pepper, and candy that was being consumed ...
i am very thankful that i was only taking one of them home with  me ;)


drew has such a fun ... good ... group of kids in his class
he has a great teacher who has fun right along with them

and watching how much they have changed in just the past few months
has been a lot of fun

on a sidenote ... 
just yesterday we got a letter talking about drew's placement for middle school.
5th grade seems ok ... but middle school?!?!
not there yet.


i digress


we finished the day with the all school sing along

ben's class sang 'deck the halls'
and
drew's class sang 'the 12 days of christmas'

they also did 'jolly old st nicholas' and
drew was selected as one of 5 kids to play the metallophone 

and he rocked it.

i'm thinking a future in percussion wouldn't be all that bad.
has to be better than the trumpet.
right?!


as always ... i had fun being a part of their day.
they had fun ...
how can you not when your entire day is one giant party?!
and we are NOW officially ready for Christmas!

star of the week

this week alex was the star of the week



he had to decorate a 'mini-me'

he had to fill out this 'all about alex' poster

yes ... if he could have ANYTHING in the world ...
he would want hot cocoa.
you'd think i never let him have it?!
AND
i love that of all the things he could choose ...
he wants to be a dad ...
to FIVE kids specifically (one baby)

his work spent the week on the classroom's board



alex also got to be the teachers special helper,
he got to lead the line,
and he got to sit WHEREVER he wanted on the rug!

you are a special little guy, alex!
i hope you had fun being celebrated!

how exciting our life REALLY is

so ...
although elfred seems to have taken my blog hostage ...
i thought i'd give a quick recap of where the rest of us have been this week ...
prepare to be blown away with excitement.

FIRST ...
stacey ran out of places to build shelves
and cut holes in the ceiling
so he took it upon himself to fix our washer
which was starting to sound like a jet engine each time it hit the spin cycle



he took the complete washer apart ...
replaced a part ...
put it back together ;)
and now it is perfect!
 NICE WORK, fletch!

and no ... in case you were wondering ...
he still hasn't shaved the 'stash.
in fact ... now i believe he is working on something he calls ... 'decembeard'
yes ... it's lovely.

meanwhile ...
the boys have been outside enjoying some BEAUTIFUL weather!
although it wasn't 70 ...
 it is the middle of december and the kids played outside
without snow gear
and without coming in complaining

complete bliss.

another highlight ...

ben used his behavior bucks from school
to bring us this little gem of a friend ... 

it is the perfect addition to our christmas decorations ...
and has taken up a wonderful spot on our counter.

the more i look at it though, i am thinking it would look better at grandma's house ;)
perhaps this should mark the beginning of the best game of hide and seek with the snowman ...
at grandma's house ...
ever.
;)

shhhh ....
don't tell.

elfred's final week

since i know you are all dying to know ...

yes ...
elfred is still hanging around
and yes ...
he is still very busy.

he has been fishing in the bathtub ...

 

he has been pretending he was on the final jury for survivor ...
like me ... he wishes ozzy would've gone all the way
and taken the million ;)

he has been baking ...
for himself ...
but he did bring treats for the boys as well ;)

he found the PERFECT spot for spying ...

and he even found a fun way down from his crazy perch ...




the easter egg dipper works REALLY well as an elf zip line device ;)
i mean ... that's what it looks like he used anyway ;)


we sure are going to miss you, elfred.