CHRISTMAS DAY!

Each year we put up 2 trees. We have a "formal, fancy" tree in the living room but this

tree is my favorite. It is filled with ornaments that each carry a special memory.

The santa ornament near the top I actually made when I was maybe 5 or 6 with a friend of my grandma's! Chris and I have ornaments and the kids have many they'll be able to put on their own trees someday.

Despite a late night on Christmas Eve, the kids were ready for more presents.

These presents on the fireplace weren't there before we went to bed!

Santa definitely stopped at our house!

We are just so thankful Shannon was making a quick recovery after her stay in the hospital!

Shannon got a Club Penguin game for her DS. Caitlin loved her new Tinkerbell and Rosetta dolls.

The only thing Logan asked Santa for was the Madden 10 game for Wii.

Santa was worried it would be too difficult for Logan but brought it anyway.

Logan was so happy and it isn't too hard! He loves it!!!

And of course, Hercules got presents too!

He liked stealing the scraps of paper and bows more then he liked his presents!

After we opened our presents at home, it was time to go to Grammy's for brunch and more presents. We took this great group shot of almost all of the grandkids. Unfortunately, my niece Sarah, her husband Chad and the twins, Aaden and Connor couldn't be here this year.
Logan had lots of fun playing with his cousin Adam.
This is one of my favorite pictures from the holidays!
When we were in Eagle River last summer the weather was pretty crummy.

One night we had a Wii homerun Derby.

Of course, Logan won (maybe we let him a little)

We decided to get Uncle Jerry his own Wii so he can practice this winter and

be ready for next summer's homerun derby!

Caitlin, Kennedy, and Shannon are all smiles in front of the mound of presents at Grammy's house. The kids definitely got way too many presents as usual :)

We also went out by Chris' brother in Lisbon to visit for Christmas.

The kids took time out of playing for a picture with Grandma and Grandpa Clarey.

Sean is 13, Ryan 11, Shannon 11, Aidan 8, Caitlin 8, Peytan 5, and Logan 5.

I truly believe our kids are so lucky to have such a close and loving family.

Family is what really makes the holidays special!

CHRISTMAS EVE CELEBRATIONS!

We always start our Christmas Eve celebrations out at Grandma and Grandpa Clarey's.
They have a life-size singing Santa that the kids get a kick out of each year.

Logan and his animals trying out his new sled. As soon as we get some more snow, we'll be out on the hills! Logan was too busy sledding so he missed the picture with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Dave.

Then we make another stop on Christmas Eve at Uncle Jerry's.

Filled stockings decorate the fireplace each year.

This year not only were they full of fun treats but they came with Puffles too!

Logan...

Caitlin...

and a much healthier Shannon - thank goodness...

Once we finish with stockings, Uncle Jerry checks the news to see how close Santa is to his house. When he's near the airport, we know he's getting closer to arriving!

Everyone gets to sit on Santa's lap.

Shannon trying to convince Santa she really was a good girl this year.

She really is except for some pre-teen moments now and then :)Caitlin couldn't wait to see what Santa brought her this year. Neither of the girls really had any ideas for Santa this year, so much of what they got truly was a surprise!

No tears in Logan's eyes this year. He was all smiles for Santa.

Santa did take the time to remind Logan to always wear his seatbelt when he's in the car!

Caitlin and Kennedy showing off what they got from Santa!

Shannon showing her cousin Jordan her new Build a Bear and box.

Logan got a pitching machine from Uncle Jerry. Just in time - Little League try-outs are on Jan. 23rd. Now he can get some practice in before the season starts.

The best part of Christmas at Uncle Jerry's is that it is a huge family celebration full of laughter and fun. More than 30 people gather and spend a great evening together!

We feel so lucky to have such close and caring families!

FAMILY PICTURES

We like to take as many family pictures as we can as the kids are growing up so fast. We always dress up for our Christmas Eve celebrations and dress down to relax on Christmas Day. Sometimes we find it hard to believe how big the kids are getting.

First the girls....

Then the boys...and finally our family...We are so lucky and truly blessed!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We took a little less formal Christmas card picture this year with our new blow up polar bear.

We thought it turned out rather cutely! We're still in the midst of our holiday preparations.

We've been sidelined a bit with illness.

Shannon had a nasty virus that turned into pneumonia and landed her in the hospital for 3 days.

She's home now and hopefully will recover quickly with antibiotics.

We have gifts to wrap and cookies to bake so we are so very glad to be home.

WE ARE THANKFUL

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of every day life, we forget how blessed we are to have each other. We truly are lucky to have such a beautiful family.

We shared this Thanksgiving with both of our families.

The kids loved playing with their cousins for the afternoon.

Then we went to my Uncle's for another delicious meal and time together. After dinner, we did our annual Christmas crafts.

The table was full of many different things to do.

All of the kids are old enough and more independent so the craft time is much easier!

Grammy, Logan, and Shannon worked on their penguin door hangers.
We love the traditions of each holiday!

SHANNON'S BDAY!

We had a birthday party for Shannon a few days after her "real" birthday.

It's hard to believe she is 11 already and fully immersed in 5th grade!
She definitely is a pre-teen and very "into" clothes, hair, lotions, sprays, etc.

This year she chose music notes as her birthday theme.

Of course, Aggie the baker, came through with this very cool cake!

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN...

We made our traditional trip downtown for the Milwaukee Christmas Parade.

We were lucky this year because the weather was really quite nice.

The sun was shining and it actually got up into the 50's!The kids were all smiles and excited to see the parade.Showering Grammy with lots of love!

Grammy always brings the treats...frosted animal crackers and delicious hot chocolate :)
We had fun watching the many participants.
There were lots of dogs, marching bands, "famous" people, and
a bunch of different balloons.
We thought this penguin was especially festive!

Then of course...SANTA!

We've now reached one of my favorite times of year for many reasons including using

"the elves are watching" to encourage good behavior!!!

FALL FUN

It was so nice out this afternoon we decided to take a leisurely hike through the Seminary Woods. The kids had never been in them so it was fun exploring. We saw the beautiful grotto and the old cemetery with graves from the 1800's! Chris was reminiscing about how he used to ride bikes through these woods when he was a kid.Then we walked through the Seminary grounds. The kids thought this statue of St. Francis was very cool along with the beautiful architecture of the old, old buildings!
I figured out how to use the timer on our camera so we were able to take a few family pictures along the way!

We hiked a lot so everyone should sleep good tonight!

Halloween Costumes

I never got the chance to update with a Halloween costume picture.

Logan was Scooby Doo, Caitlin a vampiress, and Shannon a disco queen!

PUMPKIN FUN!

We went to the pumpkin farm last weekend. It was cold and very, very muddy but we still had a lot of fun! It's fun to watch the kids change over time. I remember taking a picture in front of this sign when Logan was just over one month old!
We always enjoy the challenge of the corn maze. Chris was trusting Logan to lead the way out. I'm not so sure he thought we'd get out at this point.

Then today we took some time to carve our pumpkins so we'll be all set for Halloween.

For the first time ever, Logan carved his pumpkin all by himself. He even cleaned out the "guts"! I love those little pumpkin carving knives. They work great and no one lost a finger or needed a band-aid of any kind!

Caitlin's goal was to get a scary looking pumpkin. Her pumpkin endend up with scars and a mouth that looked like fangs. Nothing "girly" about this little girl!Shannon wanted her pumpkin to look "fancy" this year. I think she did a great job!

The finished products looked awesome outside.

Trick-or-Treating is next Saturday.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we'll have a beautiful indian summer day...or at least a somewhat decent temperature and no rain or snow ;)