The last of 2013

Another year has come and gone. Devon grew from a baby to a toddler. Tyler experienced extended overseas travel, and I sympathized with many single mothers. Kaden, Jaren, and Clayton all grew and are starting to become their own distinctive personalities. They are all good little boys and they make me happy.

Our December was probably the busiest that we have ever had. I'm not going to tell you about the myriad of activities, but suffice it to say, that we had only a handful, if that, of nights at home with nothing to do. Between school events, basketball practice, church events, friend outings and getting errands done, we were never NOT busy. I was so glad when we could pull away from our house for a week and have no plans whatsoever. The week of Christmas at the Gibbons' was just what we needed. It was very lazy, which was perfect. I was so sick of running from one thing straight to the next, that I was very happy to just stay home and be lazy.

These pictures are in no particular order, because I don't want to mess with them. So, it's probably not going to make very much sense, but just stick with me. 

 A tree skirt makes a good cape.

 Our tree was a little taller than we had anticipated. The ladder had to come out in order to reach the top. But it was such a gorgeous, perfect tree. I loved having it up. And almost shed a tear taking it down today.

 This little munchkin had so much fun "re-decorating" the tree everyday. The ornaments gradually moved higher up the tree as the month went on. The bottom 1/3 had nothing but lights on it.

 The last day of school before Christmas break was cancelled due to the snow you see in this picture. It was perfect snowman snow. By noon, it was raining, and the next morning it was pretty much gone. The boys were SO bummed that it didn't stick around longer.

Devon figured out that you can eat snow. He laid on his tummy licking the snow until his nose was pink and I brought him inside. He wasn't too happy about that...

I don't know how many times I taped and patched his present up. Too many. Note the long hair he has... 

 "I found Mommy's wallet!!!"

 A perfect hiding spot in his closet...we're working on weaning the pacifier from him.

 Frozen blueberries and blackberries keep these boys happy while I fix dinner.

 Devon made friends with the kitty at Grandma's house. 

I can't believe that he's bigger than the dog, Gizmo. 

 Outside is the best place to be - this is Christmas Day.

 Wagon rides from the brothers. Yes, Jaren is wearing shorts.

 Christmas Day Sunset. The sky was on FIRE!

 We even roasted marshmallows. On Christmas Day. Have you ever done that? 

I hadn't either. It was kind of fun!

Time for his first haircut! It was getting too long. 

 There he is! All happy and not looking like a baby anymore. I shed a tear. 

 Kaden made some origami stars for Jaren for Christmas. He was SO happy. Such a nice thing.

 Late afternoon walks to burn off some energy. They had tried sliding down the side of the ditch bank to walk on the ice the day before. I remember doing that as a kid. They ended up with muddy bums and didn't try it again.

 Santa brought a pellet gun for the boys this year. They tried it out a few times and really loved that.

Tyler took the big boys skiing a few days after Christmas. Kaden and Jaren are going to be better skiiers than me, probably by next year. I'll be hanging out on the easy hills, and they'll be wanting to go and do the crazy stuff. They already try to hit every bump and hill to jump off now. When I watch the movies that Tyler takes (while skiing, sometimes even backwards!), I am impressed with how fast and easily they ski. 

 This is how Devon devours a Subway sandwich. I tried to help him, but he was very intent on doing it himself. And so it begins....

 Loving the tire swing!

Devon and Greyson were so fun to watch. Greyson knows all the cool stuff at Grandma's house. There were things that Devon didn't touch or play with, until after Greyson left. It was pretty funny to me. They were up and down the stairs, finding flashlights, and plotting their escape...

We had a really good time on our short Christmas vacation. I think that I'm ready to be back into a routine, and I know the kids are, too. I don't think that they are ready for school yet. Tomorrow is Kaden and Jaren's first basketball game. Should be fun!