We had an unexpected snow storm today. The kids looked outside this afternoon and couldn't believe it... Sam had been asking for snow since the first day of Winter! 
The boys had a blast sledding, throwing snowballs and rolling around in the white stuff. Brian is stuck across town at work. The freeways are jammed up and there are accidents everywhere. 
One of our snow dogs...
There wasn't a lot of sleeping in our house last night. Ben was up late and Sam up very early -- I heard little feet running through the house this morning checking things out. 
Sam was so thrilled Santa brought him what he asked for! Star Wars pens... I know, pretty boring but for some reason he saw these crazy pens at Costco months ago, and has been asking about them ever since. Pretty easy kid!
Ben has been a stinker lately so I think he was actually surprised Santa brought him a crane for his train set. 
Very excited cousins! 
The boys had a great time with their cousins last night at Char and Duffy's. We couldn't get them all in a photo together -- but here are a few! 
Caden, Grace, Audrey, Duffy, Maddox and Sam.
Ben and Audrey.
Annual white elephant gift exchange!
This race track from Aunt Lacey & Uncle Craig was quite the hit! We got home and the kids were beat... they left some treats out for Santa and his reindeer and were off to bed.
This year I hot glued our gingerbread house together and it made things much easier - no roof collapses! We had some frosting issues but the kids had fun decorating the house and the dogs had fun eating everything that landed on the floor. Ben finally got bored with it and said he was going to go take a bath and I could finish decorating and clean everything up. Hmmm...this sounds familiar. 
Very serious about this project...
Everything was going great, everyone was happy, and then Ben stuck his finger right into the flame of the candle... and then came the tears. But we sang and he sang and he smiled and all was well again. He has been walking around all day like E.T. with one finger in the air.
Both kids crashed out when everyone left... partying is hard work!
Ben turned the big 3 on Wednesday! We met some friends at 5 Guys Burgers & Fries for lunch. It was major chaos with that many little ones but super fun and Ben had a great time.
Ben has his first ever dentist appointment today. In the car he started with "I am sad because I don't like the dentist" and "I don't want to go there" etc. Once he sat in the chair he had the I AM ANNOYED look and promptly told the hygienist that he didn't like the bib or glasses and was NOT going to wear them. Once the dentist came in he announced "I don't like this dentist!" and continued pouting. The little stinker made it through the appointment. Can't wait to take him back in 6 months - NOT!
This is the finished product! Not professional by any means but I still love it!
Brian has had this Santa hat for years. Sam pulled it out last weekend and has been wearing it non-stop except for while sleeping and at school. The minute he gets off of the bus, he marches in the house and puts it on. They are both definitely into Christmas this year. The countdown is underway...
Don't you wish you had a set of Christmas pigs in your yard? My wonderful husband brought home a set of pigs the other night to add to our penguins... which he knows I can't stand, but I just go with the flow because the boys love them. 
Ben has been mesmerized by the crane lifting shingles onto our neighbors new roof. He loves all things construction... trucks, diggers, excavators etc. Pretty exciting to have it right across the street!
