Christmas Festivites

this christmas was made extra special by the fact that we had our daddy home for a WHOLE WEEK!! in addition to letting mommy sleep in each morning and caring for the boys, he also planned a fun-filled agenda for each day!

we kicked off the week with a family trip to the "lazy 5" ranch in mooresville, nc. the boys were quite amused by this drive-through zoo of sorts. just a few pics...

ben david found this somewhat scary looking bird quite hilarious and fun to feed.

james making friends with a cow

the next event ben lined up for us was a day at monkey joe's! no pics this time, but we had a blast keeping up with two busy monkeys of our own.

christmas eve was spent at grandmommie and poppie's with the anderson crew. always fun to be had with this gang..7 kids + 6 adults = christmas extravaganza!!

movie break

ben david kept chasing james around with this food strainer while poppie and the other kids read the christmas story. hmmm...maybe next year they will sit quietly???

let the present unwrapping begin!!

remote control car for ben david

ben david and kurt had their own little table
and at the end of the night, we found james here. poor guy was just trying to find a quiet place to enjoy the lollipop from his stocking.


christmas morning brought more family fun with breakfast and lunch at marmie and poppy's with mamie, deuce and kai. there was present opening, lots of eating and even scooter rides for all!
a t-ball set!! atlanta braves, look out!

deuce introuducing james to the scooter

ben david and his marmie

WHEEEEEE!!!!

james and kai hanging out.

CONGRATS TO KAI who took his first steps on christmas day!

and my personal favorite...here are a few shots of the boys enjoying what i think might have turned out to be the best christmas gift ever. for his birthday (two days post christmas) ben was given a grill from the emmrich/wright/anderson and wray families.

while the grill was a HUGE hit...the large cardboard box it came in turned out to be an even bigger hit! ben made it into a great "house" that has proven to provide hours of entertainment.

Christmas Tree Shopping: Not a Spectator's Sport!

while some families enjoy cutting down their own tree (andersons:) along with the ambiance of hot chocolate and a hayride, the wright family has their own tradition.

WE GO TO LOWE'S!!

we start off with a trip to starbucks where ben and i get a holiday beverage of choice, then it is off to pick the perfect (and least expensive) tree.

each year, with the addition of one more mobile child, this tradition has become a bit more challenging. this year, while ben diligently held up tree after tree for my approval/disapproval (being met with such comments such as: "hmmm...that one is too sparse: or "too short" or "lopsided" or "looks like it got eaten in the middle), here are a few pics of what the boys were up to. who know there was so much free entertainment to be had at Lowe's??

for the record...not one of these (with exception of the family shot) were staged!!

ben david, hauling mulch

james pushing a wagon he found

perhaps a good christmas gift??

and finally..the tree is purchased!