Karina Robeznieks

Very early on Christmas morning, Oma passed away in her sleep at the age of 101. She will be missed.  We love you, Oma!

Merry Christmas!

The boys had a wonderful Christmas. They both slept in until about 6:45. We went downstairs and saw that Santa had visited during the night. We made some cinnamon rolls and then started opening gifts. The boys received a lot of fun presents and enjoyed playing with each toy as they were opened. The hit of the morning was the big gift Santa left for both boys (see video below). 

 In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa came over. The boys were so happy to see them and show off their new things. Grandma and Grandpa were very generous and Will spent the rest of the afternoon riding around the house on his new scooter and Alex went down his roller coaster countless times. 

After Grandma and Grandpa left, we curled up on the couch (under the new Snoopy and Lightening McQueen blankets Aunt Katie made the boys) and watched Polar Express.

 

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we went to Grand Rapids to celebrate at Aunt Mara and Uncle Ken's house. The boys got dressed up and were on their best behavior. Katie and Billy were in from Royal Oak and Uncle Art came into town from Atlanta. The boys had so much fun! Alex was bright eyed on the drive home but William fell asleep once we got on the "big road." When we got home, they put out cookies for Santa and both went to bed right away!

So preppy!

Cool new picnic table - custom made by Uncle Ken!

Cookies for Santa

Snow

The boys have been having so much fun in the snow! They love climbing on the pile in the cul-de-sac.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Yesterday, the boys and I went to Grand Rapids to see Santa at Breton Village. We met Grandma and Grandpa for lunch first and then went to see Santa. Alex was a little nervous at first. Will hopped right up and shared his list. Then Alex decided it was ok and posed for a few photos. Then we spent about an hour watching the trains in the center of the mall. The boys love trains! We watched them at ground level, watched them from above, and walked around the set-up more times than we could count.

Another one...

Not quite as funny as the office party, but not bad:

The Perfect Game

On Thursday, Will threw a perfect game in Wii bowling. He had been getting scores in the upper two hundreds and finally got a 300. He was so proud of himself. We did frozen yogurt after dinner to celebrate.

Holiday Cheer

Chicago Weekend

We had a busy weekend in Chicago! Grann came over on Thursday night and we all hit the road first thing Friday morning. Phil and Will dropped us off at the hotel and then went to find street parking. Will was excited because he got to ride the El back. Once we were all checked in and settled, we worked our way down to Water Tower for lunch and some escalator rides. We also made a stop at the Lego store. We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit and then walked our way down to the Macys on State Street. We put our name in for dinner in the Walnut Room and then wandered the store and went down to the skating rink and the bean. Both boys liked watching the skaters and finding themselves in the mirror. We had a really nice dinner by the big Christmas tree and then went back to the hotel for the night. The boys fell asleep almost instantly. 

On Saturday, we had breakfast at the hotel and then walked down to Millennium Station to take the Metra to the Museum of Science and Industry. The kiddos spent a lot of time in the kid area, explored the weather room (which the grown-ups also liked), rode some farm equipment, and watched the trains. The water room and the trains were definitely the favorites! We took the train back and grabbed lunch. After a quick rest, we took a trolley to Navy Pier to check out Winter Wonderfest. The kids got to ride a carousel, ferris wheel, and go in several bounce houses. They were worn out again by the time we got home! 

On Sunday, we took the boys for another El ride up to Loyola since it was pretty cold out. Then we got the car, picked up Grann, and headed for home. It was a great weekend!

Lego Store!

The Bean

Walnut Room Tree

Will has had it with pictures!

Watching some cartoons in the hotel

Riding the Metra

Playing with water

Watching the trains

Navy Pier

Top of the Ferris Wheel

Alex and his Buddies

So excited to go for a train ride

Museum Field Trip

Last Thursday, I went along on Will's class field trip to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. We had so much fun! We had never been to the museum before (we were saving it for winter) and it was fun to see all the exhibits. Although it wasn't a children's museum, it did have a lot of hands on activities. Will really enjoyed the race cars, magnet sculptures, the music room, and the tornado simulator. It was fun to see him playing with his classmates.

Race Track

Racing Cars

Magnet Sculpture

Waiting with his Classmates

Tornado Simulator

Plate Tectonics