Christmas 2009

We are grateful for the recent Christmas celebrations with family, friends and loved ones. Christmas Eve was at our house with the Heer Family . . . . . . . . . all 35 of them! Christmas morning was spent at home opening presents with Kyle and Clara, followed by a day of fun at Aunt Jenni and Uncle Scott's house. Finally, the day after Christmas we were back at our house with the James Family where we enjoyed lots of food and even some bowling. :) There were many wonderful memories made and we are thankful for all of them.

We took a lot of pictures at our various parties, but the one below is my favorite. It is Kyle and Clara on Christmas morning. I love it because it is simple, innocent, happy and pure. It sums up our Christmas this year beautifully. :)

Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Kyle's 7th birthday this year by having a small party at our house. Kyle was allowed to invite five of his friends over for pizza, a movie, cake and ice cream. He ended up inviting five of his friends from daycare, three of whom live in our neighboorhood. Anyway, the boys were wonderful and had a great time playing together. They especially enjoyed watching the movie, Night at the Museum 2 and eating a homemade football cake. Overall, a great time was had by all, including Clara, who enjoyed hanging out with the boys for the day. :) Happy Birthday, Kyle!

Kyle and his buddies Tanner, Joe, Jacob, Tyler and Luke.

Lego Club

A while back we signed Kyle up for a free Lego Club Magazine. Kyle LOVES Legos, plus it is free. If you sign up, you will receive a Lego Magazine once a month. Here is a sample of what might appear in the magazine:

• An up-close look at the LEGO® Star WarsTM Y-Wing Starfighter!

• An interview with LEGO® Indiana JonesTM set designer Hans Henrik Sidenius!

• A sneak preview of LEGO Atlantis!

• Action and adventure with the Power Miners!

Plus Cool Creations, Pirates, Castle, Space Police and more!

Kyle was super excited today when we arrived home and found his first Lego Magazine in the mail box. This month the magazine even came with some 3D glasses. Below is a picture of Kyle checking it out. I think I see a lot more Legos in our future! :)

Personalized Santa Video

For those of you with kids, here is a link to their very own personalized Santa video.

Be sure to download a picture of your child(ren) when prompted . . . . . . . it is very cool! Kyle and Clara loved the videos they received from Santa and were amazed by how much he knew about them.
Enjoy! :)

Happy Birthday Kyle

Happy Birthday to Kyle today! He turned seven years old. It seems like only yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. Time sure flies when you're having fun (and getting older)! Ha, ha. :) Here are a few random photos from his younger years.

Kyle's birthday present this year was a new set of Legos (the crawler crane). We gave it to him this morning and he was so excited he literally jumped into Craig's arms. It was very sweet! We are very lucky to have such a happy, healthy boy.

Santa Parade

On Friday evening - after clearing out the 12 inches of newly fallen snow - we went to the Coopersville Santa Parade with our friends (and neighbors) Eric, Jen, and their daughter Kasey. A great time was had by all as we watched the parade go through Main Street. Even Kyle and I got in on the action as we walked with his Cub Scout pack before bailing part way through so we could watch the rest with everyone else. Following the parade, we went to the new middle school and had hot chocolate and cookies with Santa!

Don't BEE Afraid!

Last weekend, when the weather was still nice, Craig and Kyle went outside to do some 'yard work.' One of the things we needed to do before the snow came was dig around the bottom of our pine trees so they could get some more water. They were looking a little dry around the bottom. Anyway, a little while later I heard a knock at our deck door. I went to see who it was and there was Kyle holding a shovel full of bumblees!!!! I kid you not! The bumblebees were humming and flapping their wings, but strangely, they were not moving. The boys thought it was pretty cool. I did not. It was one of the freakiest (for lack of a better word) things I have ever seen! Apparently, Craig and Kyle uncovered a nest of about 100 bumblebees that were hibernating while digging around one of the pine trees. Who knew bumblebees hibernated! Kyle was so intrigued that he asked if he could take some to school for show and tell! Now there's a scene out of a movie for you. Don't worry, he won't be taking bumblebees to school anytime soon. Here are a few photos for you.