'Tis the Season

So, I was all prepared to talk about why the average American gains 7 pounds during the holidays. The proof is in the pictures. Or so I thought.









It seems plausible that a person could gain 7 lbs, right? Well, I decided to do some research before I quoted this age-old statistic. Sure enough, I found many articles like this one that state that the only scientific research that has been performed on this topic has determined that the average person only gains one pound. Huh. Makes me want to dive into all those holiday cookies I've acquired from our numerous cookie exchanges and holiday parties. Oh wait. I've already done that.

'TIS THE SEASON. You know how I know? Because of this:



And this:



And THIS (that's a German Advent calendar, by the way)



Seriously people. If you want me to prove that 1 pound statistic wrong, I am well on my way!

I love the holidays. I really do. I love the get togethers, and the gift exchanges and the spiked cider and ornate cookies. I love eggnog. Eggnog lattes are THE BOMB. I would drink one every day if I wasn't afraid of the 7 pound weight gain. (And for the record, since I just de-bunked the 7 pound myth, I will enjoy daily eggnog lattes from now until 2012! yahoo!)

But mostly, I love seeing these faces when they do Christmas crafts



Or when they open playgroup Christmas presents



And especially when we take a trip down Eucalyptus with our best friends, The Robins, to see the Christmas lights















Do you remember my previous posts about our visits to Eucalyptus street in 2008 and 2010? As documented, in 2008, this man had 493,174 lights. My how he has grown. And so has our family. :)



I hope this becomes an annual Robins/Broxterman tradition. Because it is one I immensely enjoy. Last year, they captured a photo of us in this same spot. I only felt it fair to return the favor in 2011.



Four more days until Christmas! Santa is already TIRED and ready for a vacation!

Sibling Love

There are, on occasion, days when I can't believe how well these 2 are playing together. And thanks to technology, I can whip out my phone and start recording at any given moment. I don't video the constant fights and tears -- for good reason. These are the memories I hope to hang on to forever.



He loves to entertain her (and my reciprocal amusement doesn't hurt his cause, either)



I have to give myself points for taking 2 kids to see Santa by myself 2 years in a row. Truth be told, these 2 love themselves some Santa so the trip to the mall is (for once) a rather painless one. If only those kids ahead of us wouldn't talk so darn long to Santa! We could have been in and out of there in 5 minutes had it not been for those chatty kids (ha).

Waiting in line for Santa



Jacob telling Santa what he wants for Christmas. I love how patiently Maddie sits there and waits.



Maddie telling Santa what she wants for Christmas. And Jacob patiently waiting! I promise I did not drug my kids. I did, however, bribe them with ice cream.



Apparently Santa told Maddie he would grant every wish!



I am thankful for these not-so-shy-Santa-loving children!

Happy Belated Turkey Day

I know, I know, I've been neglecting the blog again. November was a busy month but really my excuse is that I have SO much to write about, SO many stories to tell, SO many things to share...and it's overwhelming thinking about how behind I am! So, I'll start with Thanksgiving.

We spent a week in Kansas with Nanny and Papa and despite the travel being long and exhausting, the week was an awesome one. I learned that if we had 4 older cousins that lived closer, me and Mark's jobs as parents would be 100 times easier! Jacob and Maddie were so entertained by their older cousins all week. It was awesome.

I also finally got to meet Eric's fiance, Kelly, and I couldn't be happier for all of us -- having such a wonderful addition to this family. She's a gem!

We started out the week at a children's museum in Topeka. This place was fantastic. The kids could paint on the walls...





Paint on your friends faces (Nanny is SUCH a good sport)...





And work with REAL tools



I had to walk away once Jacob grabbed a real saw. I was in a total panic.





The weather was incredible mid-week and we played lots of football and duck, duck, goose outside. Inside, we entertained ourselves with lots of Wii games and cards and even attempted a family gingerbread house. Attempted.



Maddie of course got involved b/c all she wanted to do was eat the candy.





I'm pretty sure a hair dryer is not one of the required gingerbread house tools. But they were trying everything to keep this thing standing!



Unfortunately, it didn't stay upright for long. But at least we got a picture of it!





Then it was time for a few family photos



Jacob is in love with his cousin, Caroline



Love the camera self-timers!



And a great silly one. This is a framer for sure.



Nanny and Papa and all their grandkids.



Eric and Kelly and their nieces/nephews!



The beautiful bride and groom to be!



We ended the week with a visit to the Indoor Aquatic Center. Jacob got to show off his new swimming skills (after months of lessons!)



Nanny also threw an amazing bridal shower for Kelly on Saturday. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera and don't have any pictures from that day but it was great. Again, so blessed to have such a beautiful family!

Thank you, Nanny and Papa, for a great week!

Five Days of Halloween

Halloween with kids is a week long candy fest. I am so disappointed that we even purchased candy this year because a) Jacob and Maddie came home with enough sugar to feed an army and b) nobody trick-or-treats on our street! Granted, we got home around 7:30 last night, but we only had 1 group of trick-or-treaters at our door and yes, I was prepared to dump our whole bowl of candy into their bags (let someone else's parents deal with the constant demand for sweets!)

But alas, we have (literally) pounds and pounds of candy. Not great for a mama that loves sugar and is trying to watch what she's eating. I've heard you can box it up and send it somewhere. I'll be googling that right after this post.

So our festivities began last Wednesday with a special Halloween playdate at Owen/Nathan's house.



This picture is FULL of "say cheese!" faces. LOVE IT. There were actually many more kids present but this is the best we could do when trying to capture a group photo.



On Friday, we participated in the Goblin Walk again in San Carlos. (This was the event where our picture was taken last year and them remarkably appeared on the cover of the SC Parks and Rec Guide). I had to get a picture of Jacob with his mustache on immediately as he could only stand wearing it for about .05 seconds.



Cover worthy?



You'll notice a trend with Maddie. In the majority of her trick-or-treating pictures, she is sporting a lollipop in her mouth. She couldn't stand having to wait to eat all the candy she was collecting. Lollipops are always her first choice.



How many Marios and Luigis do you see? Apparently, we are not original.



Mark was a super trooper. His costume was extremely too tight and the back of it (secured by ridiculously small pieces of velcro) would not remain closed.



Then of course we ran into our friends the Pirates (err, the Robins)



But unfortunately Nathan refused to wear his costume



But Owen sported his pirate suit beautifully!



Of course we had to stop and take candy-eating breaks



Then, there is always that moment when we realize that we are D.O.N.E. This was exactly that moment.



(This was only a fraction of the Halloween photos -- to see all that we took, click here).

On Saturday, the kids got to wear their costumes once again for a Halloween Party at Marcia's house (unfortunately I didn't take any pictures that day). The highlight of that day was when the kids got to dress their "mummy". I'll see if I can grab a pick from a friend's camera but Maddie and Jacob got to use toilet paper to wrap me up like a mummy. Those little fingers don't realize how strong they are -- they ripped the toilet paper with each wrap so Mark had to jump in and help!

On Sunday, we headed to Lemos Farm as a family. We've been to Lemos many times in the past but we had to make one more trip to take some Halloween pictures and capture the true Fall spirit. Jacob, as always, LOVES to feed the goats.



Maddie, however, will have absolutely nothing to do with it -- no matter how many times Daddy asks.



She will, however, pet a baby goat





And these cut outs are always a good time









Time for pony rides







And pumpkin picking





And "say cheese" faces







And it's not Halloween without more sugar





Mark was sweet and offered to take some pics of me and the kids since I seem to be the one always holding the camera. Of course it's impossible to get BOTH kids in a picture. So we took one with each.





Finally, we had to stop and measure ourselves on the way out



As always, Lemos was a great time for all! (Again, this was only a portion of our Lemos trip photos. Click here for the whole album.)

Finally, the "real deal" came on Monday night when we celebrated Halloween at Tyler and Sydney's house. They invited us last year and it's always a good time. We start off with dinner and play time at their house, then we all head out in one big trick-or-treating group in their beautiful San Carlos neighborhood (no hills!)

Mark and I opted to be comfortable and didn't dress up for this one, but the kids certainly didn't even notice!

Trying to get a group photo:



This picture pretty much sums up the chaos that ensued:





So much fun!



Every so often, Jacob made me take a picture of his loot.



I had to throw this in. Notice the lollipop?





Nathan was about to start hosing people down



Which I wouldn't have minded much -- as Maddie was clearly a sticky, sticky MESS.



(Click here for all of the Halloween night photos.)

Ahhh, as much fun as Halloween is, I'm always relieved to move on to Thanksgiving and Christmas! Especially as this year we'll be heading to Kansas AND Angel Fire, NM. Many more fun times to follow this holiday season!