Merry Christmas!

The boys both slept in William's room and woke up around 7am. I heard them whispering in the hallway and then they "woke us up" by yelling "Merry Christmas!" They were so excited to go downstairs to see if Santa had arrived. They waited very patiently while we baked our cinnamon rolls and bacon and brewed some coffee. It helped that they had their last advent door to open and got to open Charlie Brown/Snoopy holiday mugs. After breakfast, William wanted to distribute the gifts he bought everyone at the holiday shoppe at school. Alex received a bouncy ball and a blue "popper." Phil got a back scratcher, an "Allstar Dad" trophy, and a Pistons' pennant. William gave me a "silk" rose and a beautiful ring. Then we opened our stockings all together before starting on the presents under the tree. We took turns and opened them one at a time. And if we wanted to stop to play with something we did! It extended gift opening past 10 am. The highlights were the Lego Diesel Train (from us) and the Foosball table (from Santa). Alex was also very excited to get his very own (new) baseball glove and hockey stick. Then we spent a few hours playing with all the new items and tidying up a bit before Grandma and Grandpa came over. The boys were excited to show them their new things. William and Grandpa immediately started a game of Checkers and Alex had Grandma help him with a new Lego set. Then we had a light lunch and convinced the boys to open some more presents. Later in the evening, we watched Will's new movie "The Mighty Ducks." They both loved watching the kids playing hockey and were so excited that the Ducks won the championship. Then it was time for bed! This morning, the kids slept until 7:30. We have done some science experiments, played foosball, started assembling the Lego train station, and worked on some hot wheels ramps.

Exchanging their gifts to each other

Exchanging their gifts to each other

Lego Diesel Train!

Story Time

Happy Boy

Foosball!

Grandpa needed some help

New Razor 360 Bikes from Grandma and Grandpa

Mad Scientist

Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve at the Hofmeyer's. Festivities started around 3pm. Katie and Will were in town from Royal Oak and Uncle Art came in from Atlanta. We enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve fare and Alex performed for us before we opened gifts. We played a few games and visited before putting the kids in their PJs for the trip home. Both kids fell asleep in the car, but woke up long enough to put out cookies for Santa.

Caroling, Caroling Through the Night

On Tuesday night, we went Christmas caroling with some other families in the neighborhood. The kids all wore Santa hats and belted out Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells. They did a great job. Especially Alex - he sang with a lot of enthusiasm. After caroling, everyone came back to our house so the kids could have hot chocolate, play, and watch the Polar Express.

Holiday fun in GR

The boys had a special treat this week - they got to spend a couple nights in Grand Rapids with Grandma and Grandpa. They went to visit Aunt Mara and Uncle Ken while they were there and also went to see the trains at the botanical gardens and Breton Village. They sure love their trains...

Go Elf Yourself!

They added some new dances this year! Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah!

Gingerbread Houses and Holiday Parties

It was a busy week of gingerbread houses, holiday parties, and school programs. The boys had a lot of fun and are so excited for Winter Break!

Gingerbread Houses at CHUM

Alex's Class with Mrs. DiJulio

Reindeer Games

Moorsbridge Holiday Party