Meeting Santa...

We had a visit from Santa at our church Christmas Party. Before the party, Ben explained to his cousin JJ that he might be a "DECOY". In other words, it might not be the REAL Santa. However, after seeing him, Ben was sufficiently convinced that he was not a decoy. Can you believe it? The REAL Santa was at OUR party. Awesome. Here are some pictures...

Santa read a story to the kids...

Sam pointing at Santa. That's as close as he got. Santa was a little scary, even though he's a big fan and can't quit talking about his impending visit to our house.

Waiting in line... (One hour wait, yes ONE HOUR! Once you're in line to see Santa, there's no turning back, so what do you do?? You wait, and wait, and wait.
Ben's chat with Santa...

Christmas Art by Ben

I LOVE my creative boy....

Sam Did This!!

Sam just did this puzzle by himself, and it's a REALLY hard one. I still can't believe he figured it out. Yay Sam!

Bundled

Here's Ben ready to play in the snow (16 degrees outside). Love his smile in the picture...

Sam's First Dentist Appointment

Our dentist (and hygienist Julie) do such a great job with the boys that they LOVE going. This was Sam's first cleaning, though he'd been there to watch Ben's cleaning many times. Sam did awesome. Had his mouth open as soon as he sat in the chair.

Elmo sunglasses because of the bright light.
Sparkly clean teeth! I can't really look at this picture with a straight face. So funny.
Sam said this was like being "at the beach". Here he is lounging, waiting for Dr. Joe to come by.

Sam got a giant blow up basketball and a toothbrush. Ben got a balloon animal (ball python) made by the dentist himself.

Super Hero Sam

Super hero jammies... up, up and away!

Caleb and Sam

The Morgans are staying with us for a few days while Savannah takes her 12-year old birthday temple trip with her Mom and Dad (Orlando! Hope you're having fun, guys!). The big kids are off to school, and Sam and Caleb are playing so sweetly. Sam doesn't do "partner" playing that often. He's usually either playing alone, or getting picked on by his brother. But this morning, they're playing together non-stop. The boys just told me they were in the bedroom telling "ghost stories". This was their scary "ghost story" pose.


And a cute cousin hug...

Dump...

This all happens in one fluid movement within five seconds of entering the house after school. Backpack, lunchbox, coat, hat, shoes. School Ben becomes Home Ben. It's impressive. A little like the transitions in a triathlon...and a little not. :-)

Hooray for Photoshop!

Check out my re-touched smile (thanks, Rob)...a little preview of next month (fingers crossed that the braces come off next visit!). Oh, and check out that cutie next to me too. Couldn't resist posting this picture. Happy memories. :-) :-)

Buddies...

Ben's buddy Hunter from Kindergarten last year FINALLY got to come play on Saturday. The boys were smiling ear to ear when they first got in the car. So happy to be together again. Gabe joined us later. I love having a car full of kids! :-)

Cowboy Ben

There are so many funny things about this picture...

Giant Marshmallows from Grandma

The boys thought these were awesome....and found many, many uses for them. Thanks, Grandma! They're about the size of a baseball, and, honestly, who can resist pegging your brother with a giant marshmallow??!!

Slumber Party

Ben's first slumber party. Can you tell they had fun? And everyone stayed through the night! Brave boys. :-) (For the record, I only took one of these pictures.)

Biker Babes

Kelli, Rebecca and I at the site of the Kansas City Temple. It's about 14 miles round trip by bike.

Why the safety glasses??

I don't know...give me your theories...

Meeting Elder Russell M. Nelson

A couple of weekends ago, Rebecca's husband, Jeremiah, was called as the new Stake President of the Liberty, MO Stake. It was an incredible weekend, especially for her and Jeremiah. We attended the meeting where he was set apart by Elder Russell M. Nelson, who is one of Twelve Apostles called to witness of Christ in our time. Quiet, humble, kind, inspired...it was really a blessing to be near him. The boys and I met him. Ben and his cousin JJ bolted to the front of the line to shake hands. We weren't able to take pictures of that experience, but I did get these cute pictures of the boys while we waited outside the room where Jeremiah would be set apart. Sam was using his walker, and Ben was riding on the back. Amazingly, Sam kept walking, which was not easy with the extra 40+ pounds he was carrying. He was smiling the whole way and grunting as he pulled.

Hooray for Upholstery!

My couch and chair are like new...Thanks, Mom!

Before:


In Progress:

Finished:

Being Studied

Some of you know that Sam has been in a drug study for the past few months. The study is over now, but here are a few pictures of him at the hospital. Such a happy kid.

Scrabble Board

Used EVERY tile. Score was 258 to 257 my favor.

Seven Years Old!!

Happy Birthday Ben!