good-bye

On Monday, we said good-bye to all the grandmas and grandpas in Storm Lake and headed back to Ames. We really had a wonderful visit, but there is just something about heading home...being in your own house and sleeping in your own bed.

We gave Grandma Petersen some big hugs...

...and squeezed in a Petersen family photo (minus Jen & Joey, who we will see TOMORROW)!

Back in Ames, we unpacked, ate a yummy steak supper, and then...more presents to open! Getting a cute picture of these 2 together is getting more and more difficult... :)


Will was digging into his presents from mommy and daddy (new clothes)...

...and Keatin is loving her new/new-to-her present...her own computer (AKA - an old Mac with lots of preschool games from my principal/her daughters)! (Here she is opening the keyboard).

Ah - the best part of the day...clean, good-smelling, sleepy kids. :) Thanks G & G Barber for the matching jammies...we love them!

CHRISTMAS 2011

Christmas 2011 has come and gone...whew!

We had a wonderful time celebrating in Storm Lake with family...and are so lucky to be able to see both sets of grandparents in one trip...and not only see them, but they really are the greatest...and even though Keatin and Will are little, I ABSOLUTELY love the way Keatin's eyes light up and the way Will wiggles out of my arms when they see their grandparents.

Our Christmas Day was jam-packed and busy...but so fulfilling at the same time. I can say this is the first year I really saw Christmas through my children's eyes...or, for sure, Keatin's eyes. :)

It all started before 6 am when Keatin woke me up...but I convinced her to stay in bed until at least 6:09 am. :) We came racing out to see if Santa had come...and I am not joking when I say she just stood in front of the fireplace for 2 minutes, staring at her stocking and the partially eaten cookies/carrot...

...and once the shock wore off and we woke everyone else up, there were presents to be opened...

...and leftover food to be eaten - ha! :)

Santa was SO smart...he knew Keatin would love a Tangled Rapunzel doll...

...and Grandpa enjoyed brushing her hair with Keatin. :)

Will enjoyed his new car/steering wheel toy from G & G Petersen...


...but smiled even bigger when he finally got himself up on the fireplace. :)

Then...over the river and through the woods to G & G Barber's house we went! We were all dressed up and ready to open more presents...


...but we had to take a few pictures. The dogs were first - Crimson (our dog), Abby, Lucy (Paul & Dee's dogs), Bendyr, and Lily (Bri & Tyler's dogs).

After that important picture was over, we propped our camera for a pretty decent shot of all the Barber clan...

...and then one of the grandkids/grandparents.

Finally! Presents! Will got this blow-up Santa balloon from Santa...and he was so enthralled with it. Honestly, it was a CRAZY BUSY day...and Will was in such good spirits the whole time. (Now today...urgh...a completely different story, thanks to 2 more teeth that are trying to make an appearance.)

After playing that hard, a man needs a drink! :)


And who would have thought...a box full of packing peanuts kept these 2 entertained forever! Thank heavens for packaging!

Whew - time to eat...

...and then some more playing before naptime.


After naps, Keatin tested out her new Hungry Hungry Hippos game (LOVES IT!)...

...and Will got a tan with the dogs in the sunshine. :)

We ended our Christmas Day by hopping the van and driving to LeMars for the extended Petersen family Christmas party. It was really fun to see family members that I haven't seen in a LONG time...and of course, Keatin found some play pals. :) Here she is with some of my cousins kids!

I had the bath stuff and jammies all packed to bring along so we could get washed and cuddled up before driving back to Storm Lake...but I left that bag by the back door at my parents house. :( We survived without it. :)

What an awesome Christmas!

~ a theme ~

I have loved looking back on all the photos I took over Christmas.

And as I browsed, I noticed a theme.

All the photos below were taken of Will at some point on Christmas Day.

Do you notice the theme? :)








Did you catch it????

Christmas in SL - Day 2 [X-mas Eve]

Day 2 of our Christmas adventures in Storm Lake was Christmas Eve. Keatin did rounds with Grandpa Barber at the hospital in the morning...otherwise, we just kind of hung out until...

...Christmas Eve Mass! Ready to head out the door...45 minutes before church was scheduled to begin. :)

We survived church...but it was exhausting! After a yummy supper of lasagna and my mom's strawberry rhubarb pie (Josh's FAVORITE), we washed the kids up and prepared for Santa. This is the first year Keatin really understood this whole Santa business...and it was so fun. :) She helped get Santa some milk and cookies, and picked out a big carrot for the reindeer. She even wrote Santa a note so he would know who all the goodies were from! Off to bed Keatin and Will went...dreaming of Santa. :)

Two thumbs up for the Big Guy!

Christmas in Storm Lake - Day 1

Christmas in Storm Lake...One day down, 3 more to go. :)

Day 1 consisted of...

1 - Watching Alicia Keys & Elmo sing Christmas songs on the Sesame Street website. :) (Josh made a comment about singing with Elmo as the high-point of someone's career.) :)


2 - Helping put "sparkles" (AKA - sprinkles) on Grandma's cookies & Mommy's bars...minus a pair of pants. :)



3 - Having G & G Barber over for supper...so we poured some wine. My mom likes to tease me about how I never finish a glass of wine...so funny her, she poured me the glass on the left and herself the glass on the right. Ha ha, huh? :)

4 - Wearing matching sweaters...not on purpose. Don't these 2 look all cheery???

5 - Eating some of those cookies that had WAY TOO MANY sprinkles on them. All the adults could barely choke them down because of all the sugar. Will, on the other hand, inhaled two. :)

6 - The big event of the day/night - heading to Santa's Castle in Storm Lake! (I spent years going to Santa's Castle when I was growing up - it is a big display of antique, animated Christmas characters). Both sets of grandmas & grandpas joined us, and I think both kids enjoyed themselves...minus the waiting in line for over an hour to see Santa. :( HOWEVER, in the end, it was worth it because...(drum roll please)...Keatin actually sat on his lap! And not only did she sit there, there was no tears, she talked to him, and after we left, she told my mom how "that Santa was a nice guy!" Ha!






Yes - Keatin is laying on the floor. Hey - we were resorting to all sorts of techniques to keep her entertained while waiting. :)


And there she is - on Santa's lap!


This may be where Santa is telling Keatin that he will bring her "pink clothes, pink princesses, and a green car." :) (This is all she has talked about since we have left...so, of course, Santa went shopping this morning to make sure she would receive these items.) :)





What a great, exhausting day! Christmas can wear you out - ha! I may have fallen asleep on the couch last night before 9:30. :)