Winter Snapshots

I Heard The Bells On Christmas (Eve Eve)

Last Sunday, the kids at church performed a bell masterpiece for everyone.  Payton and Brady joined in the fun.  Brady and his buddy Noah had quite an enjoyable time.  And, apparently our kids need work on bowing.  Oh well...

Landon Bruce: 2 Year Old

It's hard to believe that our "baby", Landon, is already two!  It feels like just yesterday that we were at the hospital on the night of the lunar eclipse and winter solstice, delivering our hairy little warewolf.  But, here are, 730 days later, and absolutely blessed to have this happy, talkative, sports-loving, tooth-missing, active little man as the 5th member of our family.

Every Monday and Friday, Landon goes to "Inge's" house (he calls her that, not Grandma!), while we are at work.  He is completely spoiled and requests pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  They are his absolute favorite.  So, what better way to celebrate Landon's birthday last Saturday morning than with a breakfast bash! 

We headed over to Village Inn for some breakfast.  Oma and Opa, Grandma Tammy, and Brad, Jayne, Cohen, and Arie joined us.  Gwen and Rylan also stopped by for a few minutes to give Landon his gift.  After breakfast, we headed back to our house for presents and cake.


It was a great party, and as you can see from the video, Landon was definitely surrounded by love.  Thanks to everyone who made his day so special!  God's blessings on year three!

A Christmas Shin-Dig!

For as long as Wes and I have been married (well, almost), Nate, Trish, and Dana have hosted a Christmas Party on the weekend near Christmas.  The only year we didn't go was when Landon was born and was about two days old!  It's a wonderful time...food, drinks, and of course, the traditional gift exchange.  For the past two years, the host/hostesses have reserved a room at the Celtic Tavern.  It's private, cozy, and we don't make such a disaster of Nate and Trish's house!  So, last Friday night, we got all fancied up.  Grandma Tammy came over to watch the kiddos, and we headed out to the Celtic with gifts in hand.

Gwen and Tim joined us this year as well, it was great having them there!

Per Tim's request, a picture showing off Gwen's fancy tights!

Dana, Jen, and Ernie...Kim was home sick :(

Wes and I!

Wes, myself, and photo-bombing Gwen.

Sarah, Toe, Jenn, Jer, and Lindsay.

Getting ready for the Gift "Exchange".  Most of us bring a 20$ nice gift...a few people throw in a White Elephant, so you just never know what you are going to get!

Trish and Nate.  Isn't this a great pic?!

Wes lovin' on Gwenda and her Denver Broncos gnome.

Nate and his cute apron.  He didn't keep this gift, it was stolen by one of the ladies.

Ladies, all the ladies (louder now!)

Trish and I.  Good thing you can't see her showing off my legs in the bottom half of this pic!)

Two of these men are brothers, but Wes might as well be a Van Dussel.  They all had the same idea when dressing for the party!

We came home with a nice bottle of adult beverage and a ladder golf game, so a good showing for us.  I, for the first time in forever, got my wish and had a small dance party at the end of the evening.  There weren't too many people who joined in the party, but it was super fun none-the-less.  So, because I am a teacher, I will definitely give the evening an A.  Thanks, Nate, Trish, and Dana for hosting such a fun Christmas tradition.  We are already looking forward to next year!

Tree Cutting Twenty-Twelve

For some reason, I just couldn't seem to get pictures from our annual Christmas Tree Cutting Adventure to load.  I had just about given up on blogging about this year's festivities, but for whatever reason, the pictures uploaded today, so better late than never I guess!

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we embarked on our 10th year of cutting down our own Christmas Tree. This year, Oma and Opa, Mark, Abby, & the boys, and Brad, Jayne, and their boys all joined in the fun.  I think this was our largest group ever!  The weather was beautiful.  Not exactly Christmas-like, but perfect for a bunch of little boys (and one girl!) to run around and be wild in.

We settled on our hunting spot and got prepared...

The kids had fun climbing rocks (hi Uncle Bradley!)

And off we went!

After 10 years, we have learned that pretty much, every tree looks the same.  So, we didn't spend too long searching for the tree.  Just find one that about 15 feet tall and take the top 8 feet.  Of course, all the kids wanted to help cut it down!

On our way back to the car, the kids allowed me to snap a few photos...

Brothers.

When we got back to the car, Mark and Abby and the boys were already there.  So, we enjoyed a picnic lunch and waited for Brad and Jayne and Oma and Opa.

We all FINALLY :) made it back to the car...

So the boys spent a few minutes exploring and being boys.

And then we headed home.  This is what our kids did about five minutes into the drive.

So, here she is in all of her glory...and our best gifts underneath.

Eat, Drink, and Trade Cookies!

On Monday night, I hosted a Cookie Exchange!  Abby, Jayne, and I each invited a few friends.  We made some apps, brought some drinks, and asked each guest to bring a double batch of baked deliciousness to share.  Here is the spread.  Isn't it awesome?!

Before sharing the cookies, we hung out, had some drinks and apps, and chatted.

My mom, Bre, and Becky (my next door neighbors and student! :))

Dana and Trish, the raven-haired beauties.

Katie, Jayne, Claire, and Lindsay.

Kim, Gwen, Lindsay, and Abby.

And me and my co-hostesses!

I didn't get any pictures of us walking around the table creating our cookie collections.  But, we all went home with an amazing spread of baked goods.  My family has pretty much consumed them all in one week!  Thanks everyone for coming (and thanks Gwen for my cool necklace!).  It was a great night!

Vogelzang Christmas

For the past several years, we have celebrated Christmas with the Vogelzang Fam a) a little early as the holiday calendar is always quite full, and b) with some presents for the kids and then a dinner out for the adults.  So, last weekend, we headed over to the Vogelzang house to kick off the 2012 holiday season.

Brady and Rylan checking out the December countdown village. 

Some shots of all the kiddos...

Landon was SO excited to give "Rey-gee" her gift.  He helped wrap up her new little nike tennis shoes, so he kept jumping up and down saying "Shoes-ies, Open!  Rey-gee!"  It was so cute!

Rylan got a rocket and a Lady and the Tramp DVD.

Brady got a new wallet, complete with a zipping pocket for change, and an airplane launcher.  Landon and Reagan broke the planes before they were even out of the package, so fortunately, he was able to go and trade it in for some legos!

Landon got Ozzzy...an alien/bunny/? stuffed animal.  He couldn't stop squeezing it!  By the end of the night, however, his big sister decided that she wanted Ozzy and worked out a trade with Landon.  So, Payton has now claimed Ozzy in addition to her grow-your-own butterfly kit.

After gifts, the babysitters arrived and the adults headed out to Pasta Jays for dinner.  This has become our Christmas restaurant.  Good food, good drinks, great conversation, and most importantly, great friends!

Thanks for a wonderful evening Gwen, Tim, Rylan, and Reagan.  We love you guys!