Random Christmas

We had a busy, busy Christmas season with lots of parties, activities, and other celebrations.  Here are some pictures of some of these events.

Dynamite Softball Christmas Party 

Dynamite Softball Christmas Party 

At the Christmas Train

 

At a "Santa on the Roof" Party

 

Gingerbread Houses 

Gingerbread Houses 

Gingerbread Houses

Micah's class party

 

 

Maddie's class party 

Softball friends at the class party 

Maddie's ornament on the tree at school - I think she's got it right :)



Merry Christmas 2012

Christmas came and went so quickly this year.  It was impossible to believe that it was already time for Christmas, and now it is hard to believe that it is already over!  We had a very good Christmas and all the celebrations along the way were fun too.  The kiddos must have been very good this year because they got some great presents!

I think that our kids are much different than most because they love to sleep.  Even Mason seems to enjoy sleeping in and Christmas morning was no exception - we had to wake them up!  They always want to eat breakfast before opening presents, so we had some yummy waffles and bacon and then headed upstairs to open gifts.

 Micah opening his first gift

 

 Trying on his new helmet to go with his new scooter

 

Pink helmet, pink electric scooter = one happy girl 

Sweet smile 

Daddy opening his gifts 

Mason not quite sure what is going on! 

Trying out a new game 

Peek-a-Boo 

Mason and Sissy playing

We had a fun Christmas.  We all stayed in our pajamas all day long and played with new toys and games, took naps, and watched movies.  The only downside is that Micah has been sick for several days with a recurring fever, but as long as we try to keep the fever down he feels okay.  The kids were disappointed though because we had a decent chance of a good amount of snow, but it missed us.  However, the bitter cold did not miss us so the kids have not been able to try out their new scooters.  I'm quite sure that on the first remotely comfortable day, at least Maddie will be out there riding that scooter!

In their jammies by the fire 

Playing Monopoly, while wearing some fake glasses she got for Christmas

We have been blessed with another year together and we are so thankful for the memories that we make at Christmas time, but mostly thankful for the gift that God gave to US on Christmas!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we celebrate with Mimi and Papa and the rest of the clan.  I didn't take very many pictures because I was too occupied with the kids to remember to take pictures, but Drew's girlfriend Mary is a photographer and she took lots of pictures and I'm hoping that she'll send me some like she did on Easter :)

Other than the fact that Micah and Mark were sick with headcolds and fevers, we had a great time at Mimi and Papa's.  Other than his usual mealtime struggles, Mason held up quite well for no nap and was in a decently good mood.

Although I didn't take many pictures, I did take a couple of the boys while they were wearing Santa hats - they just looked so cute!

 

And I stole a couple of pictures from Lisa, who posted them on Facebook.

The wagon was a huge hit with Mason, who sat in it for a big part of the day, as you can see in these pictures!  He loved it and I'm looking forward to a nice day where we can play with it or go for a walk in it.

While it was a great day, it was also bittersweet because it was the first Christmas without Carolyn.  She was definitely missed and the day was a little quieter and less eventful without her.  We also missed Papa Riggs, who hasn't been well for quite a while and didn't feel like coming over.  The reality is that Papa probably doesn't have much time left here but we have the precious memories of many Christmases and other holidays with him, Carolyn, Nanny, and Granny West.  So thankful for those memories!

After we left Mimi and Papa's house, we came home and rested for a little bit but then the kids opened their stockings and their Christmas Eve gift, which is our family tradition.  On Christmas Eve they always get new pajamas and a book.  This year Maddie got a bonus because her pajamas came with a pair for her American Girl doll as well.

Ready to open their stockings and pajamas 

Changed into their pajamas and ready for bed 

Maddie and her dolls - they are ready for bed too!

Funck Family Christmas

We usually celebrate Christmas with Mark's family a couple of weekends before Christmas and we did that again this year.  It is so nice having Nana and Grandpa so close in OKC.  This year we got to meet Uncle Jimmy's new wife and her kids.  All in all, it was a good day.  Thanks to Elmo and the DVD player, the ride to and from OKC was quiet and peaceful.  Other than a couple of meltdowns, Mason did okay and the big kids did pretty good as well.  The only downside is that I forgot the camera.  But I did sneak a picture with my phone of Daddy and Mason taking a little nap.

All in all, we had a great Christmas celebration!

Pre-K Christmas Program

There are 3 morning Pre-K classes and 3 afternoon classes.  Every year, the morning classes combine to do a Christmas program for the parents and the afternoon classes do the same.  Today was Micah's performance day.  He is not usually very interested in singing or being in front of others, but he was excited about this performance.  He had been singing the songs around the house and so I was fairly confident that he knew the songs and would probably do a good job.  And he did - he sang the whole time and did the motions most of the time.  We are so proud of him!  Great job, Micah!  Here are a couple of videos of him singing.  And by the way, you can hear several kids screaming in the background and I just wanted to note that none of them are mine.  Mason was perfectly behaved and happily watched "Bubba" sing the whole time.  :)

 

And I wanted to throw in a little funny in here as well.  Micah is letting his hair grow a little longer and it is not a fun process.  It is coarse and it sticks straight up and will not easily lay down.  Usually I just spray some rewetting spray on it and can make it look presentable, but since he was going to be singing I decided to use some styling gel and spike it up, which is usually his Sunday morning look.  So I fixed it and it actually looked great.  It was laying down where I wanted it to, and standing up in the right places as well.  But Micah has this terrible look on his face and in a quiet, little sad voice he says "I don't like it". I asked him why and he was nearly in tears but eventually said "I look like a porcupine".  So I spent the rest of the morning convincing him that he looked great, and nothing like a porcupine, all the while having to keep a straight face.  You just never know what he might say next . . .

Jolly Old St Nick

Mark's work always has a Christmas party for the kids at different places across town.  This year, it was at Andy B's, which is a bowling alley that also has lots of arcade games, laser tag, Go Carts, and other stuff as well.  Santa also comes every year for photo opps and also delivers some gifts to the kiddos.  I had Maddie and Micah's picture taken with Santa in Branson but couldn't get Mason to do it, but decided that whether he was happy or sad, he would have his picture made with Santa at this party.  My plan didn't work out quite like I thought because he had a death grip on Daddy and was not going to be put on the strange bearded man's lap under any circumstances.  So, we got great pictures but Daddy is in Mason's picture :)

The kids had a great time at the party although we were in a rush because we had to hurry to Maddie's first basketball game of the season.

And I'm pretty sure that Mason didn't share any Christmas wishes with Santa, but Maddie told him she wants an Electric Scooter and Micah told Santa he would like a DS.

Halloween

Halloween was lots of fun this year.  Maddie and Micah already knew what to expect and so naturally they were super-excited, but Mason just had no idea what he was in for.  Halloween was on a Wednesday this year, which was really not the best night for us because the kids go to Awana that night.  But, we decided to skip out on Awana because they were just having a play night anyway, and trick-or-treat the neighborhood instead.  Right when Maddie got home from school, we quickly changed into our costumes and went to visit Mimi and Papa for a few minutes.  They always love going to Mimi and Papa's house so that was fun for them, of course!

Posing with Mimi and Papa

 

After we left Mimi and Papa's, we ran through a drive-through to pick up a quick dinner and then headed home to eat and then get ready to head out.  After we ate, it was still pretty light out so we told them we were going to wait a bit before heading out, but we quickly noticed that there were plenty of trick-or-treaters already out.  So we headed out as well.  It took a few times for Mason to get the hang of it, but after just a couple of houses, he figured it out and was having a ball.  He was funny though because after they gave him candy, he just kept standing there.  I guess he was waiting for more!  And he looked so stinking cute that lots of people did give him more :)  He never caught on to saying "trick-or-treat" though, but I have a feeling that next year he will catch on pretty quick!  Once again, Mason insisted on walking the entire way and made it more than two streets before he starting tiring out.  So Mark took him home to hand out candy and the big kids and I continued to trick or treat until they were tired too.  We all handed out candy until we ran out, then headed in the house to gorge ourselves on candy.  Well, Mason actually went to bed before the gorging started.  And the only one that really gorged was Micah - he ate so much candy I thought he would throw up.  I always let them eat lots of candy on Halloween night, which often makes them tired of it and then they don't beg for it after that.  And Micah certainly took advantage of his candy-eating liberty!

 



Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin patch is one of my all time favorite picture-taking backgrounds.  We always visit Carmichael's, which is way out past Bixby and the kids love it.  There are plenty of activities to do after they finish climbing around on multiple stacks of pumpkins, which is a fun activity itself!  This year was equally fun and was Mason's first year to be big enough to actually participate and he loved it too.

First we hit the pumpkins and let them climb and pose for pictures.  Maddie chose to ride a pony, which Micah didn't want to do and Mason was too little for.  There were several mazes that the kids did and then we finished the day by going through the caine maze.  The caine maze was fun and we made it through in pretty good time.  Mason would not let us carry him and insisted on walking the entire maze, so he was pooped out after our big outing to the pumpkin patch.

 They are on their way to the pumpkin patch

 

 A sweet little pumpkin holding a pumpkin

 



 Another sweet little pumpkin holding a pumpkin

 

 Love this face

 

 Can't believe this girl is already 8 years old

 

 Love this little boy so much

 

 Gotta wonder what he is thinking about?

 

 The three cutest kids ever

 

 The boys

 

 Riding a pony

 

Mason and Mama