Christmas with Nana Sharon & Pappy Dave

 We celebrated Christmas with Nana Sharon and Pappy Dave on Sunday night.  We got there early to give the boys some time with play with the train.  They played seek and find with Pappy Dave and searched the train set for signs, people and animals.

 We gave Nana Sharon and Pappy Dave an Apple TV and a new squirrel feeder for Christmas.  The cousins all exchanged presents next.  Lots of paper and giggles.  The girls got Monster High dolls and the boys got remote control trucks.

 Lasagna (David's favorite) for dinner and lots of giggling at the kids table in the kitchen.

Mischievous Elf

Chester was a little mischievous this week!  The boys woke up with red noses on Tuesday.  We found a note from Chester on the kitchen table that said "Look in the Mirror!  Ha Ha!!  Funny!"  He had the red paintbrush in his hands.  Sneaky Elf!

Gingerbread Houses

 We spent the afternoon decorating Gingerbread houses today!  I love this activity - candy, happy children, candy. . . it's so fun!  We always surprise them by setting everything up in the dining room while they're upstairs playing.  They both came running downstairs and screamed with excitement when they saw all the candy on the table.  LOVE!!!

 They were both so proud of their creation s!  Ryan worked really hard to get the little gingerbread men to stand up all around his house.  David worked really hard to cut his name and the year out and put it on the roof of his house.  So happy!

 The next morning the boys came running into my room and told me that the elf had destroyed Ryan's house with a can of milk!  It was early, and I had them repeat it again, but I still didn't understand what they were talking about.  When I got downstairs I found the house torn apart and the can of evaporated milk that we had used to stabilize the sides exposed.  The boys thought the elf was being mischievous.  It's a good thing that Twix goes to work with Paul everyday, because her life may have ended that morning.  It was not the elf, it was Twix whole enjoyed a midnight snack of decorated gingerbread house!  Poor Ryan cried for his beautiful house!  I promised we would do another one before Christmas.

The Polar Express

We took a ride on the Bellefonte Polar Express on Friday night.  We sang holiday songs and listened to the Polar Express story while we rode from Bellefonte to Pleasant Gap roundtrip.  We had a visit from Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, the Gingerbread Man,  and The Grinch. 

 The boys told Santa they wanted "A Thousand Legos" for Christmas.

 After the ride we walked to Pizza Mia for dinner with friends.  The kids had their own booth.  We were happy to have most of the restaurant to ourselves.  The kids were great, but great in a way that only a parent can appreciate.  We weren't sure anyone without children would have enjoyed dinner the way we did!  :-)

Ryan's Preschool Christmas Program

This was our last Preschool Christmas Program.  The teachers and students start working on the songs at the beginning of the school year.  They don't have a graduation ceremony at the Preschool, so this is their time to shine for all the families.  Ryan's Afternoon class got to stand in front of the group and sing Feliz Navidad.  Ryan has really enjoyed practicing this song.  He did really great with the bells and the arm motions.  No preschoolers were injured during the show.  :-)  

 After the program they have cookies and milk for the families.  Ryan did not want to pose for this picture in front of the tree, he wanted to eat the cookies downstairs!  It was such a warm day.  He didn't even wear his Christmas shirt and sweater.  It felt like a spring concert.

Chester Cringle

An Elf arrived at our house the day after Thanksgiving this year.  The boys saw one at the neighbors  and asked their elf (Franklin Foddle) if he would please send us an elf.  Chester arrived the next day.  He's been disappearing every night to head to the North Pole to give a report.  He returns in the morning and freezes in place when the boys wake up.  He has left 2 notes explaining to the boys that they are "unassigned" - not on the Naughty or Nice list yet.   On this morning we found he held up by the lego police officers.  His magic brings some of the other toys to life at night.  He's also played poker with the stuffed animals and decorated the hallway with toilet paper - very naughty elf!

Ryan is FIVE!!!

 Ryan is FIVE!!!  Ryan picked Wegmans with Daddy for lunch on his birthday.  He loves the lo mein noodles, rice, and chicken with broccoli.

 Ryan also got to pick dinner that night.  He requested brown bread from Outback and chicken noodle soup from Hoss's.  He got both!

  This is a great picture of Ryan opening his Monster Lego gift.  He's so happy to get this set.  And it also shows David standing behind Ryan realizing that Ryan's set has more pieces than the set David got for his Birthday.  Totally captures both of their emotions!  We had no idea the number of lego pieces would be an issue. . . Oh, the things we learn!  :-)