The boys ended 2013 with lots of fun holiday festivities with friends and family. This included picking out and decorating our biggest tree to date. Meeting a few reindeer with their buddies at a Christmas tree lighting at Union Depot in St Paul.
We also got to attend the last Holidazzle parade in downtown Minneapolis with Uncle Daniel & Vanessa.
When Christmas Eve arrived we spent the day in PJs baking cookies and eating candy cane pizzas for lunch.
That night we attended a wonderful Christmas service and then enjoyed a low key celebration and gift exchange at home.
The next morning the boys were excited (and relieved) to see what Santa had left for them. Owen had had trouble falling asleep that night because he was a little worried that he might not have made the nice list! Luckily he had and his request for 2 legendary Pokemon sets were waiting for him. Gavin got a Ninja turtle vehicle and the all the turtles to go with it.
After a yummy Christmas breakfast we headed to Iowa for more family celebrations.
We spent time with the Staples in Jewell and then headed to the Caruths in Ankeny. The boys had fun opening presents with their cousins and sharing the new toys.
Unfortunately all of our stays were brief and the next day we were off to Grandpa Mike's.
Earlier this month I shared with Grandpa that the boys were asking for a zip line that they'd seen in a catalog. Joel and I laughed at this request knowing we had no intention of getting this for them. However Grandpa Mike, who's still a kid at heart, got a zip line for his house. We all got to try it out and I have to admit it was pretty fun! The weather was beautiful and it was great to get outside and have some fun. Of course this meant that a few snowball fights had to happen too!
The other surprise I received from Grandpa Mike is our new "pet" Polly the electronic parrot. We had an "entertainment" theme for our gift exchange this year. So he thought he would be clever and get a gift that was from "As seen on TV". Of course the real entertainment was for him to watch me open this silly gift! The boys are also very entertained by Polly so she now resides in the playroom.
The next day we continued to enjoy really beautiful, mild December weather and met up with Grandma Theresie for a little ice skating in downtown Des Moines.
It was really fun and Owen especially loved it! Even Joel tried out some skates which went well until the very end when he fell pretty hard. He has quite the bruise to show for it!
It was really nice to spend time with family even though it was in brief segments.
After our final Christmas gift exchange we headed home and got ready to ring in the New Year with some good friends.
We were invited to a NYE party at Beth and Jennon's. They set up a balloon drop and milk and cookie toast for the kids. It was really cute and the boys really enjoyed it! I got a little video of it as well.
Click here to see the video- http://youtu.be/mFW7Pj3oNjA
2013 was FILLED with change. There were many new beginnings and a few sad losses. We are hoping that 2014 is a little calmer! What ever it brings we will always be thankful for our 2 happy, healthy and lovable boys.
We wish everyone all the best in the coming year!
-The Caruths
