Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was great! We were so happy to have Mom and Corey in town to help us celebrate. Christmas morning stared around 8a (there was a 4:20a wake up but Doug put the boys back to bed and slept in their room). The kids opened presents and we ate breakfast. It was very festive and relaxing. Later we went to the Larkin's for their annual Christmas open house...cannot believe we've been going to this for three years! It was great to see everyone and visit. The kids had fun playing and we even had to pick Annemarie off the floor she was so exhausted from all the Christmas fun.

"Don't mind me, I'm just going to rest for a minute."

"Is it rude if I fall asleep on the floor?"

Christmas Eve

We had a nice Christmas Eve this year. Mom, Erin, Corey and I all went to Mass and then we had dinner here at the house. The kids were very excited about Santa.

Jack insisted on wearing his stocking as a sock...

Santa, we're ready!

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Houses with Tutu

While Mom was visiting us here in Whitefish she took on the task of building gingerbread houses with the boys. I'm so glad she did. I always remember doing this as a kid and really enjoying it. So when she mentioned doing this I was thrilled! The boys had a great time. Thanks Tutu!

It looks good enough to eat!

Jack's masterpiece.

The Littlest Christmas Tree

The 1st grade holiday program this year was called The Littlest Christmas Tree. Will was one of five Christmas Trees. He said three lines and did such a great job. The 1st grade class has about 120 students so having a speaking part was a big deal. We were so proud of him.

I call this the "Crabbiest" Little Christmas Tree.

There's the smile we like to see!

Looking for Some Holiday Cheer?

Darling Annemarie modeling reindeer antlers...
Crazy Annemarie yelling at the paparazzi...
Our little reindeer singing fa-la-la-la-la...

Will Turns 7!

Our little man turned 7 today! Will had a full day of skiing with Doug, Erin and Jack. Then this evening we celebrated with his favorite dinner - risotto and a M&M ice cream cake for dessert. Will received many nice gifts and was so excited! Thank you everyone!

Jack and Annemarie were very attentive and patient while Will opened his gifts. Jack was especially interested in anything LEGO or Star Wars related.

Yay, a new basketball!

We were still singing...

and Will started blowing out the candles!

The ice cream cake was delicious. We have 80% left, please stop by and have some. Happy Birthday Will. We love you!

Deck the Halls

We've been a little behind at getting our Christmas decorations up this year. But as of today we're ready for Christmas! The outdoor lights are up and the Christmas tree is decorated.

Time to decorate.

This year's tree is beautiful. Will picked it out and it's almost 9 feet tall.

Doug putting up the star.

Almost done...

So Pretty!

The Best Seat in the House

Any time the fireplace is on you'll catch someone in front of it. Gus is always there, and if Gus is there then Annemarie will usually lay down next to him and pretend she's a dog too. Will loves to color in front of the fire and stand within millimeters of the glass. So far no burns or melted clothing.

Opening Weekend

Whitefish Mountain Resort aka Big Mountain is officially open. Doug got up yesterday for some powder skiing and today he went of with the boys and Erin. We have lots of snow and it's looking like it's going to be an amazing season. Ski lesson for the boys don't start until the new year but if you watch the video you'll see they look great. Great picture of the boys!