Classing up NYE

For a kid-friendly New Year's Eve,

we kicked it off with chicken and shrimp 

at our favorite Japanese steakhouse

then went for ice cream at Dairy Queen

(Custard's, Sheridan's, and Orange Leaf were closed!)

Top it off with snow donuts in the high school parking lot,
and it was a full evening!

Mom and Dad left us with Chelsea

and partying it up with Mika's parents and the other neighbors long into the night.

Ice cream cones and BFF's?

Sounds like a perfect start to 2013 to me!

A bit of post-Christmas R&R

All these holiday parties can be exhausting.

We took a few days off and headed to the Cabin for a bit of relaxation.

There was lots of Ranger riding

And gun shooting

I was REALLY excited to get out my new Easy Bake Oven

Busy mixing up the batter

Careful...careful!

Three proud chefs

Our pretzel masterpieces

They may look a little funny,

but they tasted pretty delish. 

Weston spent some quality time with his new puppy Oak

(I gave it to him for Christmas!) 

We enjoyed bedtime stories with Grandma

Wrestling with Aunt Mandy is ALWAYS fun!

As is cuddling and napping with Dad

After a rousing game or 10 of Tic-Tac-Toe with Grandma...

...me, Grandma, and Mom took the Ranger out for a spin. 

It was a bit cold, but really pretty.

We threw rocks

and climbed up mountains

We went back and picked up Weston once he was up from nap

He was glad to be along for the ride

Grandpa celebrated his birthday with a cookie or two

We helped blow out the candles of course 

It was an AWESOME 3 days at the Cabin!

(so awesome,

I cried all Sunday night, longing to "just go back to Aunt Mandy's Cabin")

Who loves Paradise Park?

We needed to get out of the house

and make a mess somewhere new.

Where should we go?

Paradise Park!

I spent my birthday money and bought a pass for the whole year!

(I was pretty proud to have my own money to spend)

We played in the balls,

slid down the slide,

built this way cool house

Played pizza parlor and HyVee,

Volunteered for the NYE countdown

 (This was a BIG deal!  Jack is usually so shy, he doesn't volunteer for anything!)

Made some crafts,

decorated "party hats"

Mmmmm...

And rounded off the morning with some face painting

Vacation sure is fun!

CHRISTMAS!!! (Parts 3 and 4)

Holy cow!!!

It's here!

It's finally here!

And Santa did NOT disappoint!

A TRAIN!

THAT SMOKES!

We knew his elves could make one!

And bed tents!

Just like Great Wolf Lodge!

That Santa is amazing.

Mom and Dad got West his own train for GeoTrax

(a fire engine--a favorite!)

His favorite was probably the strider bike from Grandma Janice and Papa Bear.

Can you tell by the grin? 

 And Mom and Dad got me a desk!

Look out kindergarten! 

All this stuff will keep us busy for days

After a whirlwind morning

and much needed naps,

we headed for the final "party" as I like to call it

with the Sweeney's

(Grandma Janice's family).

We really love playing with Coleman.

We were overhead having intense conversations about

what Santa brought and what the best thing about Christmas was 

Check this out!

Our very first kids table!

Although we still used our best manners

and asked for (er, demanded)

knives like everyone else to cut our meat.

While I played cars with Coleman,

West took a turn on Uncle Mike's drum set

Oh, yeah!

It was, by all accounts,

the best Christmas yet.

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas (Eve) Part 2

As is our tradition,

we gathered with the Woods family

on Christmas Eve

for food, family and fun.

Everyone was there and in festive form!

Except for the Drabenstotts,

minus one

(Matt is "on the other side of the Earth,"

aka South Africa, on a mission)

 Chelsea and I spent a little quality time before dinner

A fine setting for 

Dad's horseradish-encrusted beef tenderloin,

cheesy potatoes, and sautéed green beans

Cheers!

After dinner,

we gathered to open presents around the tree

Weston and I were thrilled with our new toys,

but not as thrilled as Cousin Vince with his Roos t-shirt.

There was something about a Roo-hop here.

Must have to be a UMKC grad to know...

After more merriment

(that's me and Jack over Dad's shoulders),

we heard Santa's sleigh bells and a "ho-ho-ho" from outside

We booked it into our PJ's,

made everyone promise they were going to leave so Santa didn't skip us,

and went straight to bed.

Can you believe TOMORROW is Christmas???

Perfect morning

We helped clean the windows,

vacuum the floors,

de-fur the couches,

set the table...

it was time for a rest!

Watching the Grinch in Christmas PJ's on Christmas Eve morning?

Perfect.

Christmas Part 1

Aunt Michelle has to work on Christmas Day,

so we got together a bit early to celebrate as a family.

There was a quick pause for a picture...

And then madness ensued!

Kayla was pleased with her earrings

I liked my football

But the biggest hits

were the dump truck and excavator

Papa Kim MADE for us!!!

West and Kayla were pretty pleased with their dress-up clothes too.

There was a LOT of play with our toys

(remote control helicopters, diggers, tractors, legos...the list is long!)

and a LOT of eating

(mmm, lasagna!)

And who could forget dessert?

It was a great way to kick off Christmas

Merry Christmas, Reed Family!