First time Ice Skating

We tried to do the typical winter/Christmas activity and take the kiddos ice skating with some neighbors. Lets just say it was a good attempt!

 We spent most of the time holding the boys up from falling. Good thing the dads were there because the boys were begging for them to hold them the whole time.

If Jacks wasn't out shaking in his skates, he was sitting along the side saying "I'm not good at this!" Poor kid just kept watching the older kids out there skating around like it was nothing so he instantly got down on himself. Eventually after watching his buddies and Andersen fall and get back up he decided to try it again but definitely preferred to have his shoes on rather than skates.

 Andersen was just fine as long as he had Mom or Dad.

Although the actual ice skating didn't last too long, it was a fun time with the Christensen's like always. And the boys had a blast, so it was the thought that counts in this story, right? Jacks can finally say he has been ice skating!!

Another Nana Date

 A week before Christmas we had family come in town from Texas. Nate's brother and his family spent a few weeks bouncing back and forth from our family to her family depending on what was planned. While they were visiting the Rothe family, it was Nana's request to take the kiddos to see Santa. While the Daddy's were working during the day we meet over at Fashion Place Mall.

 Alicia and I didn't know how Presley and Andersen would react, but Jackson was definitely the only one that understood what we were doing and was completely thrilled about it!

 Long story and one long line later, this is the group picture we got. Luckily Andersen was distracted quickly by a random ball and comforted by standing next to Jackson because his other encounter with Santa this year didn't go as well. Presley reacted more like I thought Andersen would, but Alicia was a good sport to jump in just to get Nana's grand-kid Santa picture.

 After the 10 seconds Presley gave Santa, the Santa workers snapped this one of just the boys. Not the best picture but I love that I can still see Jackson's excitement to be sitting next to Santa

After Santa, Alicia treated us to a little CPK for lunch. I don't think I have ever had a more eventful lunch but it still tasted yummy... that is until I found a hair in my salad! The kids were all over our booth playing musical chairs, but Nana was in heaven surrounded by her babies!

Nana's Christmas Dates

For the past 3 years Jackson has been going with Nana on a special Christmas date. Every year they go get some dinner and then back to her house to decorate a gingerbread house. This date was planned I think for at least "4 sleeps" in advance and the anticipation was killing him. Finally it was time to go and Jacks was super excited! They did their usual stop at Chuckie Cheese for dinner, games, and prizes and then off to decorate they went. A few hours later Nana dropped him off with this beauty of a gingerbread house. This was his best house so far! It really looked awesome for a 4 year old creation. He strategically set light bulb candies around the roof as Christmas lights and even had bushes around the house. I love his imagination lately! He definitely is posing like he knows he is officially a gingerbread pro.

Luckily for Andersen, this was his first year to join in on the tradition. Jacks went first and then a few  nights later it was his turn. They stopped at Village Inn for some happy face pancakes for dinner and then off to Nana's house to decorate. Nana has learned from previous years that the gingerbread house isn't worth doing until the attention span increases, so she had a great idea of letting Andersen decorate gingerbread cookies instead.

Of course he didn't mind! He was so dang proud of these cookies when he got home. Andersen wouldn't leave them alone and all he wanted to do was eat the candies and frosting off them. He even was willing to share with Nana before she left.

 Here is a close up of his cookies. Come the next day, the candies were all eaten and they had little finger lines going through the frosting... Hmmm... I wonder who did it?

Thanks for another fun memory and date night Nana!

Temple Square with the Girls

 Its not Christmas without taking a trip around Temple Square. We usually do it as a family, but this year I only made it with these girls! Love them all and our numbers just get bigger and bigger every year. I also love these ladies below. It definitely wasn't the same with Hollie and Bonnie not there, but we managed to have a good time even though it was freezing. To take the chill off, we treated the girls with donuts and hot chocolate before we took them home for the night.

Let the Christmas Season Begin... Starting with Chippy!

With hearing so many good things about "Elf on a Shelf", I decided to ask Santa for our very own little Elf to watch over the boys! I must have been a good Mommy (wink, wink...) because I got just what I wanted. December 1st, this little guy got dropped off on our porch with a letter and a special surprise for the boys! The boys heard the doorbell and instantly ran after it. Jacks knew immediately that this was from Santa and yelled "Thank you Santa" so loud, hoping Santa was still close enough to hear him. (SO CUTE!!) We brought the packages inside and before they could touch anything, Nate read part of the letter until it told the boys to start opening.

 I don't think I have ever seen Jackson so excited! I am just glad I got it on camera. Andersen on the other hand was clueless to what was happening!

 Before you knew it they were on the floor unwrapping their presents like crazy. Santa brought them a new pair of jammies, our own official Elf, and the movie to go with it.

 Then Nate continued with the remaining part of the letter.

 Soon they learned who this special visitor was, his rules and then he got a name. Multiple names got tossed around including the creative one "elfie" but they eventually decided on "Chippy".

 While they were posing for pictures in their new PJ's, Chippy fell over! Oh no is what Jacks instantly thought. How are you going to fix him if we can't touch him! Good thing moms can quickly prop them back up to sitting position without losing their special Elf Magic.

 After all the excitement was over, they both wanted to call Santa to tell him thank you!

This definitely got the family in the Christmas spirit and we enjoyed spending the next 24 days finding all of Chippy's sneaky hiding spots.

Thanksgiving

Because of the distance between both families, we switch every other year as to where we celebrate Thanksgiving. This year was our year to go to Colorado to spend time with my parents and other siblings that could join.. They only live 5 and 1/2 hours away, but I still get anxious every time we hit the road because you just never know what the kiddos will throw at you while you are driving. I'd say it was another successful ride! On the ride there they both took a little snooze, but never at the same time unfortunately. Andersen was crashed first,

and then it was Jackson's turn!

We arrived on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and spent the first and 2nd days hanging out with my Sister and her family until my 2 brothers and some of their families joined the party. Then it was finally Thanksgiving Day. I think my mom spent the whole day cooking! Luckily she had plenty of extra hands to help, including this cutie! My mom made everything from salads, homemade rolls, and all the usually holiday sides

 while my Dad and Mike fried up 2 birds! We have been deep frying our Turkeys for years and I would definitely say that is the way to go!

Many hours later the Feast was ready! Since we have multiple tables my mom had the smart idea of serving it up buffet style. We all took a walk through, once or twice, and then took our seats to eat. I am not a huge fan of the actual Thanksgiving menu itself, but there is just something different about enjoying a nice meal surrounded by family. Nothing but good times and the conversations with the Sampsons never disappoint! The last Thanksgiving we were in Colorado for, Andersen was just a couple weeks old and Jacks slept through it all.

This year Andersen took his turn to catch up on some Zzz's even before the turkey buzz could hit.

He was more than happy to wake up for dessert though and help Grandma Kay make the whipped cream for pumpkin and blueberry pie.

The rest of the time spent in Colorado the kids found plenty to keep them busy. Uncle Jared brought pop rocks for everyone. Definitely a hit and the kids loved it!

That is all but Andersen. He didn't know what to think of the crazy stuff in his mouth, but he kept going back for more!

The kids also loved to spend time with the Horses. They have about a dozen horses that someone just lets roam in the many acres behind them. The kids loved feeding them weeds and seeing how close they could get without the horses touching them.

A new activity at Grandma's house is the Wii and XBOX Kinect. They danced it up all hours of the day. This is where Jacks found his love for dancing and only wanted to do the "robot" dance on Just Dance 2. He loved it so much that we tracked the game down for him for Christmas.

We also took a quick trip over to the bowling alley. Jacks and Andersen loved every second of this! Jacks has only been a couple times, but this was Andersen's first. It definitely didn't disappoint for either of them, especially Andersen. Aunt Lynne found his soft spot and shared her game with him and the rest is history. He was very standoffish to Lynne for a couple days since he didn't know her but bowling is where their little buddy friendship for the rest of the weekend started.

The highlight though of the weekend was shooting guns with Grandpa. It just wouldn't be a trip to Colorado without Grandpa letting the big and little kiddos blow some stuff up right in their backyard.

This year it was Grandma Kay's cracked bowling ball, from the bowling alley earlier that day, that we used as a target. Grandpa put them out a few yards and set up a steady shooting station for all the grandkids to take a couple shots.

Jacks got to go first! He was so excited. Definitely his first time shooting a gun, so Grandpa helped him line it up quite a bit. Jacks still hasn't stopped talking about this!

I think Jacks got a couple hits, but just after a few shots from the kids the bowling ball starting looking like this.

A few more rounds from everyone else including me and Uncle Mike,

 

and we eventually shattered it to pieces!

If you have ever wondered what was inside a bowling bowl, Riley is holding it! Nothing but a small weight. Definitely entertaining no matter what was inside the ball at the end. This kept us all busy for a couple hours.

Overall, I would say the weekend was memorable. We all shared many laughs and good stories, but more importantly the kids got to hangout at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Here is grandma with only half the grand-kids. We are definitely low on the girls in this family, but the kids don't seem to mind. They loved every second of this Thanksgiving break.

But I think the one that got spoiled the most was this little guy! He was always sneaking treats or going to see the horses with Uncle Jared, cuddling and napping with anyone that would hold him, getting into mischief, or playing with his new friend Aunt Lynney.

Definitely some fun times with family! I just wished we all lived a little closer to do it more often.

An Early Feast!

Since the holidays aren't the same without celebrating with friends, Cassie and Nikki thought it would be fun to celebrate as friends before we all went our separate ways for the actual holiday.  Because of this cool lady and all her hard work, a few of our neighbors had an early Thanksgiving feast.

 All of us helped bring a dish or two to help, but Cassie was the super star and made the main dishes and hosted it all. She was darling and had a kids table,

 and a couple adult tables.

 Nate had school on Wednesdays nights at the time, so that left me and the boys joining the party alone but it was still fun. Nikki felt bad I wasn't in any of the pictures so she willing posed for a solo picture with me as proof I was really there too. We really feel like we have the best neighbors around! It is always fun times getting together.