Work Clothes

Blake and I were at Target the other day (shocker) and he saw some holiday outfits that he thought were "work clothes" for little boys. So he has been badgering us for some "work clothes" to wear to Daddy's work. I knew they would go on clearance after Christmas so we went to Target this afternoon to get him his new outfit. Pretty dashing huh?

Christmas 2010 - Part 2

Back in Minne-SO-ta (I was informed by a few of Kurt's cousins that after 10 years, the northern accent has finally overcome my midwestern roots :)...we were greeted by a snowstorm at the state line. We were so annoyed that we had made it all that way with no issues, and then we were down to the last 45 minutes, we couldn't drive over 20 mph! But when we finally got home, my parents were there to meet us! We have had their trip planned for a while and the boys (and us) were SO looking forward to spending Christmas with Mammaw and Pappaw. It was a good distraction for Kurt and I for a few days too.

You have no idea how many times it took to get everyone to smile (at the camera)!

Friday morning we hit the ground running and did a little Christmas shopping at where else, but Target! That afternoon, Mammaw and Blake put together a gingerbread train. Mom did most of the work, but Blake lended a hand to test the icing, eat the candy and put some of the candy on the actual train. Then Friday night, Blake got to see a video message from Santa Claus...try this link to see it. http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/yWdzALzmXaUxdZfrZ7WQ0g

Pretty sweet! I wish we would have video taped his reaction to it. We will definitely be doing this again next year and perhaps a few weeks earlier! The boys also got to open their gifts from Mam and Pap...a police SUV for Luke and a dragon cave for Blake. We also reinstated the Grady tradition of watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...after all these years I still laugh at the same parts!

the gingerbread train

hard at work...

or hardly working?? :)

new presents from Mammaw and Pappaw

Saturday morning the boys woke up and luckily Pappaw was there to run interference with Blake. Blake had made it all the way to the main level before being caught...where we did not have our Christmas tree...but when he did not see any gifts by the fireplace he told Pappaw that Santa didn't bring them anything :(. Once Daddy had the camera in position, we took the boys downstairs where Blake was THRILLED to have received the Batcave and Pillow Pet that he has wanted for months! We have been playing with Batcave (still in its' box) at Target and petting Pillow Pets for a long time! Though Luke was a wee bit grinchy Christmas morning, he still had fun opening presents. He really likes his new train set. Blake also got a much anticipated knight costume, Captain America costume, some knights on horses, a toy guitar, the game Guess Who and new Legos. Luke got a Mr. Potato Head, a knight costume, a Woody and Bullseye set, a matching guitar (I won't make the 2009 piano mistake again) and Blake got Luke his very own stuffed "Monkey George." Mommy was SUPER excited to get a suprise from Daddy...tickets to Rascal Flatts at Excel in January!!! Thank you!!!

We had a super yummy Christmas dinner...Kurt made prime rib and Mom and I made Grady favorites - oyster dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. After losing my appetite for about a week, I unfortunately made up for it in about a day.

On Sunday we headed over to Cabela's so everyone could burn some energy. Other than that we spent most of our time hanging out at the house, eating, sleeping, watching tv and letting the boys entertain us. And boy oh boy they sure did that...especially last night. We turned on some music and let the boys dance and go crazy! I know my parents enjoyed getting to see them in all their glory!!

"Look it Mom, a shark!" Or maybe just a really big, ugly catfish! He was keeping his eyes open for a dolphin and a whale too!

Trying out their new guitars with an impromtu concert.

warming up!

Luke reading to Molly (aka May May)

Luke ate 2 bowls of Mam's yummy homeade vegetable soup. He's our "soup man!"

My first try at Monkey Bread...it tasted as good as it looks!

Luke in the Michael Jackson hat...as Blake has dubbed it.

Our future "so you think you can dance" contestants.

We are so happy that they made the trip to Minnesota and helped us make the most of this Christmas. This Christmas magic that the boys bring out in us won't last forever so I am glad they could experience it with us this year.

Christmas 2010 - Part 1

We hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and are looking forward to ringing in the New Year cheerfully (and responsibly)! It's so hard to believe Christmas has come and gone and we are now staring down the last few days of 2010. Most of December seems like a blur to us as we have been deeply saddened by the loss of Kurt's brother, Adam, this month. Adam was a great brother, father and uncle and will be dearly missed. We are so fortunate to have little Jonah to carry on his memory.

Even with the not so great circumstances we ended up back in Indiana last week and got to see most all of Kurt's family and my sister, Jill, and the kids (we missed you Ross). The boys had so much fun visiting with Grandma Lana, Uncle Brett, Aunt Rachel, Annabelle, Uncle Kyle, Grandpa Dave, Grandma Susie and getting to bunk up with Aunt Lisa. Lisa hasn't met Luke before and hasn't seen Blake since he was a baby so she was in for some fun!! Kurt and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with Lisa and definitely wish we could do it more often. Lisa has spent the last decade in Louisiana and had forgotten what snow is like! I know visiting us here in Minnesota in the winter is probably last on her list of things to do! And dear little Annabelle...I can't begin to describe how sweet this little girl is. She is just a doll and is THE best "4 year old sharer" I have ever met! I just love her sweet little smile and wish we could see her more often too. Kurt and I got to see pretty much all of his extended family and it was so nice to see them and be surrounded by so much love and support.

We were also able to spend some time with my sister last week. She so generously offered to drive to Warsaw and stay at our hotel for a few days so she and my sweeties (Maddie & Jacob) could keep the boys entertained while we attended Adam's funeral. I didn't hesitate to accept the offer and was so glad to have had her there. I know she has some good pics so I'll have to wait for her to share before posting. :)

Here are some pics of the week...

The boys "sliding" with Annabelle on an empty box!

the boys "helping" her open her new dollhouse. Needless to say after 4 years of buying boy toys I was super excited to indulge in some girly gifts!

Annabelle is literally growing up so fast...she is about 6 weeks younger than Blake and about a foot taller!

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Susie at their house in Huntington

Blake pretending to wear an Elf hat out of wrapping paper...

that's better!

Reading their new books!

Opening presents at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

So then, last Thursday we dashed back home in our 4 wheel drive sleigh to greet my parents who had flown in from Indiana to spend Christmas with us. On to part 2....

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Once again we find ourselves scratching our heads wondering how on earth did we get to the holiday season so quickly and how did another year pass by so fast. I work in retail, this is my life, yet every year I am fascinated at how quickly the months tick away. So here we are! I can't begin to write down all the things we are thankful for, but more than anything we are so grateful for these two little boys and the overwhelming joy they bring to our lives. We are thankful for each other and to have someone else to enjoy this life we call our own with. We are so grateful for all the wonderful people in our lives whom we can call friends and family. This year has brought us even more, as we have met so many wonderful families in our new neighborhood.

We have been enjoying a few nice relaxing days off from work and school. We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with our neighbors, the Slyter Family, and both sides of their extended family. It was so kind and generous of them to invite us. We had so much fun...tons of kids, great food and great conversation! Yesterday, I got to do a little Black Friday shopping (at 7 am...no camping out at midnight for me). We also enjoyed lunch at our house with Kurt's tennis buddies, Uncle Dave, Uncle Randy and Rodrigo before they all went to play tennis.

I am so excited for December to finally get here. I'm actually 99% done with Christmas shopping so now I can sit back and enjoy the upcoming festivities! The BEST part of all is that we get to spend Christmas with Mammaw and Pappaw this year!! I am SO happy that they are coming to visit and the boys are getting super excited too. Every time I remind Luke that they are coming he asks if Pappaw will have his blue tractor! I don't think that will get through security...

Monkey George and the Meatballs!

Last Sunday, we gave the boys an early Christmas present and took them to see Curious George Live. We have had the tickets for a few months and managed to keep it a secret from them until we got to the show. They both love "Monkey George", as Blake long ago dubbed him, and were so happy to see all the other characters too. And who knew that the entire show would be about MEATBALLS! One afternoon, a while back, as I was getting Luke from school and I asked him what he had for lunch and he told me meatballs. I thought it was funny and perhaps not true so I started laughing. Well, it was true and apparently he loves meatballs so much that after his classmates are done avoiding their meatballs he gets up and snatches them off their plates! So now he tells me that he eats meatballs everyday for lunch!

The boys had a great time and all in all it was a really cute and entertaining show.