White Christmas!

We had actual real snow in Plano on Christmas Eve! The day before, it was sunny and in the 70's, but on Thursday the temperature plummeted and the snow started falling around lunchtime. It actually stuck to the ground and we were able to throw snowballs and even make a snow angel!

The boys were surprised at how cold it actually was, but they had so much fun playing outside in the fluffy white stuff. Jackson even tried a lick but was disappointed to report that it only tasted like ice. (I'm not sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that!)

Here's Luke looking shocked that I actually bundled him up in all those layers for a reason!


But boy, did he love watching Jacks and Cody pelt each other with snowballs!


Cody refused to wear his gloves so his little hands ended up red and chapped, but he still crafted some impressive ammo!


Biggest brother and littlest brother, with matching hats!


Anthony has lived in Texas for 32 years and never had a white Christmas. I might have seen one when I was little when we visited my Aunt Polly in Wisconsin for Christmas, but it was really so special seeing it through the eyes of the boys.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Holiday Houses Part II

Since last week's gingerbread house was already assembled and all we had to do was decorate it, we wanted to give actual construction a try with some graham crackers and frosting. We took all the supplies over to Gramma and Grandad's so we could get their help, too.


The boys came up with some amazing structures and impressed us all with their clever use of marshmallows as, among other things, chimneys and snowmen.


Jacks and Grandad came up with a different use for their marshmallows.


Luke was pretty much doing this the entire time. The decorations just kept disappearing into his mouth!


Cody didn't eat ANY of the candy at all. Right? Wink, wink!


The guys were very proud of their creations.


These last pictures were taken 0.3 seconds before the houses were demolished in a feeding frenzy. It wasn't pretty. But it sure was fun! :)

Best Laid Plans

Jackson, Cody and I have been looking forward to today for weeks. We had tickets to see the musical "101 Dalmatians," and we were going to have a special lunch at Cheesecake Factory beforehand.

Unfortunately, midway through lunch, Jacks started feeling pretty ill and it seemed pretty clear he wouldn't be able to make it to the show. Luckily, Gramma and Grandad had joined us for lunch, so Grandad took Jacks home while Cody, Gramma and I headed down to the Music Hall.

The show was great and I think Cody enjoyed it, though we did all miss Jackson. But the Dallas Children's Theater is doing a production of one of the boys' favorite books, "How I Became a Pirate" next month, and I think we're going to get tickets and attempt a "do-over" of today.

Gramma did take a nice picture of the 3 of us all dressed up for their first trip to the theater. Aren't they handsome? :)

Santa 2009

One asked for blue drums. One asked for some Hot Wheels (he already got his BIG present, a new bike, so he toned it down for Santa). And the littlest one? He asked for a tree. LOL

Don't let the choke-hold Santa's got on Cody fool you. The boys were all very polite and talked quite willingly to Jolly Old St. Nick.

I'm cherishing this one, because I'm not sure how many more years I'm going to be able to get all 3 of them to sit on Santa's lap together. ♥

Gingerbread and Bathrobes

We've been keeping busy with fun indoor Christmas activities because the weather outside has been frightful! It has been cold cold cold and the last few days have included rain, too. So yesterday, we decorated a gingerbread house!

Once Luke figured out that the little red and green things his brothers were sticking to the house were edible and, more than that, tasty...it was pretty difficult keeping him from popping the candies into his mouth. And once he finished with his little pile, he started filching them from the house itself which irritated Jacks and Cody no end!

But the finished product came out great. :)


Then today, the boys were all having trouble warming up after school, so they put on their new comfy robes that Daddy got them.


Makes you feel snugglier just looking at 'em, doesn't it?


And now, off to write our letters to Santa!

Washing Dishes

Yesterday, Lucas went to visit Gramma and Grandad for a few hours while Cody and I were at a doctor's appointment. He had a spectacular time playing with cars, reading books, and washing the dishes.

Yes, those wicked grandparents put the poor child to work. Just look.


I mean, don't they know there are child labor laws? Poor thing must have ended up with totally pruney fingers.


Looks truly miserable, doesn't he? ;)

(Thanks for the pics, Grandad! And for the babysitting, too! xoxo)

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

Today is the first day of December, and we actually got some wintry weather to go along with it! So the boys and I decided to have some early Christmas fun.

We opened the first window in our Advent calendars.


And we drank some delicious hot chocolate to warm up. Each of the boys had at least 400 marshmallows in their mug.


We also had so much fun making paper chains to decorate the kitchen.


Christmas is in the air!