a special day and special visitors

Just a few days after Christmas, John's parents flew into town to be with us for Tyler's special day.  Tyler chose to be baptized and we were so happy to support and love him on this special occasion.

Don't you just love the black eye.  He got that from wrestling with his little brother.  Everyone told me I could Photoshop it out.  No way, I totally want to remember him like this- dressed in white, looking all clean and pure with a big old black eye, indicative of a recent scrap with his brother.  Ha!  Now if only Robby's lip that had been split open in a similar wrestling brawl hadn't already healed from the week before...then we'd have ourselves a Carson family photo!

 I told him I will take another picture exactly like this one when he leaves for his mission, except he will be much, much bigger (boo hoo).

 It was so neat watching Tyler get baptized, but it was even more special to watch him make the decision to be baptized.  I was touched by how seriously he took it.  Several months before the date, he was actually quite hesitant about the whole thing.  As we discussed things with him, it became apparent that his hesitancy came from the fact that he understood what a big deal this was and that it really was the first big decision he would have to make for himself.  I was impressed with how he understood that this wasn't just something he was going to do on a Saturday morning in December, but that it would be the beginning of a commitment to his Savior.  It has truly been a delight to watch him mature in his decision making and in other areas of his life.  He is such a great little boy.  I am so blessed and honored to be his mom.

John's parents stayed for a few days and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Robby and Nani cooked in the kitchen.

 We got together frequently with the cousins.

 We went to the trampoline park

We began a new tradition of watching movies and working on a puzzle on new year's eve.  We finished it up the next morning, and then... 

we went to get donuts...because you can't work on a donut puzzle and not eat donuts!

(I think donuts on new years day morning might be my new favorite tradition)  

 And then we had to stick with an old tradition...

DEMOLITION DAY!

New Year's Day is demolition day at our house.  Out with the old, right?  So it's time to destroy the gingerbread houses that we made.

 I particularly like this candy cane bicycle that John made

 This year we decided to drop some of them off a ladder, 

 and then use some of them for aim practice.

(John's siblings will love this picture of John's mom)

You can't see the gingerbread houses, but they are lined up and ready to be demolished by a speeding fast ball.

so there you have it.  Christmas vacation in a nut shell.  It was a good one!

Christmas Day 2012

Christmas morning came with a bang...literally.  A crazy winter storm came in with lots of wind, thunder, lightening, and hail!.  It was an interesting way to start Christmas morning.  Needless to say, we were up early and ready to start the fun.

The boys came downstairs to find that Santa had indeed visited them and left them a few surprises.  Robby got a little kitchen- he is quite the chef, and Tyler got a Wii (which he didn't even notice for a few minutes after we came downstairs). 

Robby set right to work making food for everyone.

Even Tyler got in on the action (he says he doesn't like the kitchen, but I caught him fixing a few dishes a time or two)

As with most Christmas mornings, there was plenty of Lego construction.

And we all got to practice our driving skills with a little Mario Kart.

I was a very good restaurant customer, and Robby never complained about cooking the loads and loads of food I ordered.  He even makes a pretty good waiter.  

I tried on (and put to good use) the apron my mom sent me,

and John tried on (and thankfully did NOT put to good use) the wet suit I got him.

 And then, we played in the snow!  Yep, snow in Texas on Christmas!  It turns out that that storm not only brought thunder, lightening, wind and hail, but it also brought ice and SNOW!  It was the perfect Christmas day watching the snow fall so peacefully and beautifully.  It made me feel like I was home.  We went out in the morning while the wind was still blowing and only lasted a few minutes.  It was FRIGID!  Tyler wouldn't take off his Star Wars mask because it too cold.  Once it finally warmed up, we went outside for a little sledding...on boogie boards.  The boys loved it!

New Year's Eve and demolition day

We spent New Year's Eve at home watching a movie and eating pizza, and then just before bed we rang in the new year with poppers in the drive way- never mind that it wasn't even 8:00!

Then on New Year's day we started a new tradition- demolition day! I think this is the boy's favorite new tradition and I'm pretty sure that next year's ginger bread houses will be built with a different purpose in mind.

And I've already heard comments from them like, "next year let's see whose is the strongest and we'll try to knock them over with our remote control trucks!" or "next year let's drop them off the roof!" or "next year let's back over them with the car!"

Oh well, it may be destructive, but at least it's memorable.

After Christmas fun

The main activity after Christmas was Lego building. Tyler always impresses me with his ability to follow the instructions for these things, especially with how complex this set was. John helped with the motors that make the moving parts function, but Tyler was very involved even in that process. I think this was a really fun project for these two. They were pretty cute working side by side.

Occasionally we did venture out of the house for a little break from all the construction. Here are just a few of the fun things we did.

We had a few days of really nice weather- chilly, but nice, so we headed outdoors. The boys had a great time playing at the park.

Until it got too cold and everyone needed to head back indoors for more cuddles :)

On another particularly nice day we headed down to Stockyard Station to watch the cattle drive. This is typically one of our Thanksgiving traditions, but we didn't make it out there this year, so we figured we'd head down during Christmas.
While we were there the boys got to ride the ponies. They loved it!

This was the first time Robby had ever ridden a horse (or pony, I should say). His face was so cute. He smiled from ear to ear the entire time and kind of had this look on his face like, wow. I'm a big boy. I'm really doing this like a real cowboy. He was so cute! They also had a small petting zoo that was also a huge hit. Robby wasn't timid at all, but he did particularly like all the little goats and would say, aw, look at the little baby goats! Come here little goat! Tyler was a little more timid about touching the animals, which I thought was kinda funny.But after watching his younger brother be so bold, he came around.

And of course, no holiday would be complete without a little bowling and a movie (wink, wink- right Grandpa Bob?)

Christmas day

Magical. Is there any other word to describe Christmas morning? Here is a video of Robby's reaction when I woke him up Christmas morning. When he gets excited his voice goes up by like three octaves, but in this video, he's just barely waking up, so his squeaky voice just can't quite go that high. It's dark because I didn't just want to flip on the light, but you can still hear his adorable, excited reaction.

Tyler, of course did not need us waking him up Christmas morning. We told him to stay in his bedroom and not to come out until we came to get him just before 7am. At 6:30, I was awake and told John I was sure Tyler was too so I might as well go upstairs and cuddle with him for a bit. When I went into his room, he was already awake (but still in his bed at least). As we lay in his bed, I said to him, "Do you think Santa came?" He said, "Oh yes. I know he did." Then when I asked him how he was so sure, he kind of stuttered and said, "Um, yeah, because he always comes." Then I started questioning Tyler if he peaked. After a few seconds, he broke down almost in tears and told me that he had in fact peaked and just couldn't help it!" I think he thought I would be mad, but I just laughed and laughed and then we talked about what he saw under the tree.

That's one of the reasons why I love this next video. Tyler has no reaction of surprise for his present from Santa because there is no element of surprise for him. He'd already checked it out earlier in the morning! Robby though, was pretty surprised to see that Santa had remembered that he wanted a truck- so cute!

Santa had brought Tyler this remote control lego truck. I thought it looked way too difficult for Tyler (ages 12-16), but I was wrong. He loves it!

Here he is studying the instruction maunal. Gotta get prepared to build!

Robby also got a remote control truck- it's very cute watching them drive their trucks around together.

And this video I just love because it shows how sweet these brothers are together. I can remember how worried I was about the age difference between these two (family planning isn't exactly up to us), but they are truly the best of friends. Yeah, they fight sometimes, but I'm thankful for that too because that's just what siblings do. But for the most part they play surpsisingly well together and genuinely enjoy one another. This is Tyler giving Robby the gift that he picked out himself. Love it!

We had just enough time to eat and play before heading off to church :)

I loved Christmas being on a Sunday. It was the perfect way to celebrate and to put things back into perspective. This year I particularly enjoyed making a point to be involved with our ward choir. Going to practice each Sunday was a highlight of my week. The music was beautiful. We have so many in our ward who are so musically gifted. I was grateful that they let me participate, even with my minimal talents. It was a treat for me to hear their wonderful voices and try to participate a little too.

We spent the rest of the day over at the cousins house where we had dinner and the kids played so happily. I wish I had taken a few pics, but I suppose I was too busy enjoying the day.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve traditions are some of my favorites- my side of the family gets a visit from Alonzo Snodgrass and John's side of the family gets dinner delivered from Santa. It's difficult trying to mesh the two, but both are equally fun. This year, since we were with the Carsons, Santa was good enough to deliver our Christmas Eve dinner.

Tyler noticed a Christmas ribbon flapping in the wind out the kitchen window. When he went out to investigate, he discovered that the long ribbon was attached to a box placed on our roof. The kids immediately knew it was Santa who must have been in a hurry and simply dropped off our dinner in the most convenient way for him.

After a few attempts at getting the box down, John finally climbed up on the ladder and brought down our Christmas Eve dinner.

We brought the box inside and the kids had a great time opening the individually wrapped meats, cheeses and crackers. Least you think that sounds like a meager meal, let me assure you it is not! This is by far the best meal the entire year. Forget Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve is the best! We have every kind of cheese, meat, cracker, spread, dip, mustard, and a really fantastic fruit platter as well.

The food was fantastic, but the entertainment wasn't too shabby either. We sang songs and acted out the nativity. Robby was especially cute. He did a good job of elaborating on the script and added his own lines. We couldn't get the shepherd to sit still enough for the picture, so he's not in this photo. Oh well.

We were so happy to have cousins and grandparents with us on Christmas Eve. It was so special being together with family. Last year was our first Christmas at home, but I'll admit, it was a little lonely at moments like this. It felt so good to be surrounded by loved ones on this special holiday.

The party ended, and off to bed went the boys. Shortly after putting them to bed, I heard a little voice at the top of the stairs: "Mom, we forgot to put out the milk and cookies."

Whew!