Christmas Eve 2010

Mark and I spent most of Christmas Eve cooking and the boys spent it making more decorations and gifts and playing in the rain. After an early dinner, the boys and I took a pie and gift to one of my meals on wheels clients and then we spent the rest of the evening reading and playing games. They were so excited about the next morning!

Realization

Out riding bikes with the boys this evening, Cameron looks up at the moon and exclaimed, "Hey, that's where the astronauts walked!"

Jr Engineering - LED ornaments

Today at Jr Engineering, the class made LED ornaments. First they illustrated different kinds of circuits using the kids holding hands representing parts of the circuit: wire, light, battery (I thought this was really clever). Carson volunteered to be a light in the circuit. Then we put together our LED circuit. We did the first one together and Carson did the second one on his own. Then the boys painted the round bottles which became their light housing. It was my favorite class yet! Thanks Deb for all the hard work putting it together!

Horse drawn wagon ride

We enjoyed this evening with four other families by taking a horse drawn wagon ride through a neighborhood famous for it's elaborate Christmas lights. We brought cookies to share and Carson tried so hard to get everyone to sing Christmas carols. The boys loved enjoying the lights with their friends.
With Mark starting his new job today, we weren't sure if he was going to make it but he did and it all worked out.

Christmas PJs

Here is a picture of the boys in front of our Christmas tree in last year's Christmas pjs. They still fit!

Star Wars Museum Exhibit

We traveled to a galaxy far, far away. Well, at least another state and the entire family thoroughly enjoyed the museum. Carson said that he feels like the 7-hour drive was worth it. The Millennium Falcon experience (although very short) was one of the highlights. Carson has read all of the Star Wars novels, but hasn't seen any of the movies. The short Star Wars movie clips they played illustrating fact from fiction were just enough as to not overwhelm them and brought a lot of pictures in his head (from reading) to life.

Carson's 7th Birthday

It's hard to believe my boy is 7 years old! He is such an amazing person and I am so fortunate to be his mom. He is bursting with new ideas daily and contributes so much to our family. I feel like he is not only my son, but he is my friend and I love spending time with him every day. He is a thoughtful and caring brother and is such a positive role model.
His big birthday wish was to go visit a science museum in Louisiana that currently has a Star Wars exhibit. That's a 7-hour drive!
We started his birthday with a quick breakfast and he opened a few gifts (one of which is a helium tank which is 'just what he wanted' for experiments!). After that, I finished packing and we hit the road. The trip was pretty good and just 30 minutes from our destination, we watched a beautiful fireworks grand finale. We called them Carson's birthday fireworks :)
Finally, in our hotel room in our pajamas, we sang Happy Birthday, ate some cake and installed his computer flight simulator - his first computer game. He was so excited!

Life without fast food

The boys saw a guy eating french fries in the car next to us. Little one declared, "eeewww, he's eating worms!"

The Grinch Musical

We are at the Winspear Opera House in downtown Dallas to see The Grinch Musical. We are having a cocktail in the lobby right now. I think Mark and I are more excited than the boys!

Soldier Letter

A good friend of mine is sending a care package to her brother-in-law in the armed forces serving in Iraq until next August. She expressed how the soldiers love to receive letters from children. When I told this to Carson, he immediately wrote this letter without help or prompting. I love this boy.

Gingerbread Houses

A good friend brought her daughters over to make gingerbread (graham cracker) houses with the boys. I also made some salad and pizza for dinner. She was so sweet to buy all kinds of colorful goodies from the natural grocery store..  All the kids get along so well and had a great time playing.  I am so fortunate to have such amazing friends!

Angel Tree

Every year I choose a child from an angel wish tree and buy their Christmas gifts for them. Today the boys and I went to the mall to choose a child. We decided to buy for a boy that was the Cole's age. There was also a wish card from an elderly woman that Carson and I just had to help. I wish I could help them all.

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Picture frame

The boys made wooden picture frames at home depot this morning. Carson did his mostly on his own, but Cameron needed a bit of my help. I think they are going to give them as gifts.....ssssshhh.

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Christmas Tree Lighting

Last night the boys and I made gingerbread cookies and went to the annual Dickens Christmas tree lighting. We ran into other families we know and had a great time. Too bad Mark is out of town and had to miss all the fun.

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Spies

Here are some of the boys from park day today. I can't believe they held still long enough for this photo. The weather was gorgeous!

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Snow Queen

I took the boys to the Dallas Children's Theater with a group of friends.  We watched The Snow Queen which is based on a story by Hans Christian Anderson.  They did an awesome job and we really
enjoyed the show. Mark is out of town again this week so I am trying to keep the boys super busy as they are missing him terribly.