circle of clouds

Eric and Sam noticed these clouds. At one point, they were in a perfect circle. I didn't get the camera quite fast enough!

Red tailed hawk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk
Right when I was about to take the picture the hawk flew off! You can see it if you look towards the bottom of the picture, right underneath the branch that goes across from one tree to the other. I have seen the hawk flying around our house a few times, but could never get a picture. He must have heard me coming!

Winter wonderland

Eric made this wintery scene by the front window.

Eric's ice

Eric found this huge piece of ice that had frozen in the sled. He carried it around awhile before he shattered it in the street.

Owen had to help opening some presents.

round two

When they opened this gift, they thought maybe it was a mistake. It looked like a younger kid's riding toy. But, it turned out to be the most fun! It is called a Plasma Car (weird name!) and you sit on it and slowly move the steering wheel back and forth to make it go. They had a blast zooming around the corners. The next day, Eric decided that it would be more fun if they both had one, so he used some of his Christmas money to buy a second one. They did this for hours! The ages on the box says 3 to 103!

Eric said he thought it would be so cool to get a box full of money! So, here he is opening his box full of money.

Sam loves to go to Olive Garden for dinner, so he got a giftcard.

We already had a pre-Christmas a few weeks ago, but by the time Christmas came Eric and Sam were ready for round two!

Shopping at Ikea

We are lucky enough to have a new Ikea store right around the corner from us now. We went shopping for Tim's Christmas present (he wanted a new chair for his office). I am pretty sure Sam and Eric had more fun riding around on the carts than the shopping! Ikea has nice long smooth aisles, so they took turns pushing each other. Eric loves wearing his heelies there too because the floors are so smooth.

Sam's cupcakes

Sam and a friend made some yummy cupcakes tonight.

Eric's magic

Eric was watching YouTube videos that showed people doing magic tricks with Zippo lighters. He thought it was so cool, that he wanted to give it a try. So, off we went to find a lighter. It was funny to think of what the salesperson was thinking when I kept checking in with Eric to make sure he got the one he wanted! We made up stories on the way home as to what the person could have been thinking. And, then we talked about how we never really know what people are thinking, only if they tell us. It is easy to think we know what a person's motive is for something, or why they choose to do things, but the fact is, we don't know, we can only guess! One trick he learned is to put a pair of scissors through the flame, which makes it go out, then he waves his hand over the lighter, and the flame comes back. Very cool!

Sam's Ipod Touch

Sam was so excited to get the Ipod! It was so neat for me to watch him figure out ways to make money so that he could buy it himself. He loves it!

Small spaces

After Sam got the bottom cleared out, Eric thought he would try to squeeze himself into the small spot. He said that he remembered hiding in this spot many times. oops, I think it has been awhile since he actually could fit in there, and be able to close the door! Luckily we were able to pull him out unharmed! lol

Cleaning out to make money

Sam has been trying to earn some extra money so that he can buy an Ipod Touch. So, I have been trying to help him by thinking of things he can do in order to earn money. He really wanted to be able to buy it himself, with his own money. Well, it wasn't hard to think of two things right off, that he could do! Our pantry was a disaster, and our coat closet needed some help. So, here he is working hard straightening out the closet.

Family Guy

Sam got the the Fun Pack of Family Guy for one of his Christmas presents. Here is the cool case they came in.

Watch out for the gnome

Sam's gnome getting ready for Christmas.

I couldn't resist

We were giving Owen some new ideas on how to wear his bandanna. He looked so adorable, I just couldn't resist taking his picture.

Giddy-up

Playing horsie up and down the hall. The horsie collapsed a few times, mostly from laughter!

Three Doors Down

Tim took Sam to his first concert tonight-Three Doors Down. Switchfoot was the opening band. They had a great time! They share a love of music.

Peace!

This was one of Sam's gifts. He loves t-shirts!

A present

We are celebrating Christmas over many days instead of all at once this year. Here is Eric opening one gift. It was an air blaster which has been quite enjoyable (and sometimes annoying to those of us getting blown away!)

Playing together

Playing Call of Duty together, laughing, and having a good time together!

Yummy hot chocolate

It has been so cold here! Time to break out the hot chocolate! Yummy!! Lots of marshmellows!

pop pop pop

Eric is throwing popcorn kernels into the fire to watch them explode into popcorn. Fun!

Christmas sing along

We went to a Christmas sing-a-long today. We were somewhat disappointed because we didn't recognize quite a few of the songs. We enjoyed the dancing and the characters that came out.

Goofing around with friends

We went to the museum center today with some friends.

The finished picture

Here is the painting when he was done. I love watching the process of creating something physical from an idea.

The urge to paint

Sam decided that he wanted to paint a picture.

Favorite ornaments

Sam took a picture of two of his favorite ornaments on the tree.

Hanging out listening to music

I walked in the kitchen to find Sam laying on the bench munching on almonds, listening to Christmas music.

The finished tree

It is funny how much smaller the tree looked outside. We brought it in the house, and it looks huge!

Shopping for a tree

I wish I would have taken my camera to the mall with us yesterday. Nana came down to visit us and to go to the mall. The outfit that Sam is wearing is the one that Nana bought him. He really loves to go to the mall. I just wish I had a picture of them shopping. Darn! Eric hates the mall, so Nana brought him a RC car that drives on walls and ceilings, and a shirt.

Tim took the day off today, so we decided it would be a good time to get our Christmas tree. There were so many beautiful trees. We talked about a real tree vs. an artificial tree because we really hate the idea of cutting down a tree. We decided to go with the real one, after finding out that the farm plants 5000-7000 trees a year, and we know that our tree will be used for mulch when we are done with it. We were going to get one that could be planted after Christmas, but they are only good for about 10 days indoors, and they are difficult to keep alive in the house.

Owen's antics

There was a toy from Frosted Flakes laying on the floor. It was a guitar hero toy that plays music when you push a button. Owen kept rolling over it to make it play music, then he would sit up and look at it. Did you hear that, people? I can make music!

Carriage ride

We also went on a carriage ride with Daisy pulling us. Her son Howdie was pulling the other carriage.

Tennis anyone?

We had fun playing a friendly game of tennis.

The whole crew

Finally, a picture with the four of us!

Smile...or not

Ok, you can take one more picture!

Horseback riding

Horses are my absolute favorite animal! I love horseback riding,and anything to do with horses. Sam decided that he wanted to try it, so he and I went for a trail ride. His horse was smaller, but was higher in the "pecking order", so when my horse got too close, D-Boy (Sam's horse) turned around to nudge me and Mucho away. For the rest of the trail ride, the guide decided it was best to hold D-Boy's lead line, which made us feel much better!

Eric peeking at the lights

Eric had a front row spot for checking out the Christmas lights. The hotel had lights up everywhere.

More fun

The hotel had an awesome pool with dolphins shooting water. Tim, Eric, and Sam stood underneath to get the full effect.