Surprise Visitors

Doug's 40th birthday arrived, and I managed to arrange a surprise for everyone. Our besties from Birchwood Hills came!! I had such a difficult time getting through the day (& months before) without blowing the secret.

I left the front door open and they snuck right in. The happy grins and squeals I witnessed as they were discovered were PRICELESS!

We had such a great busy time ..but the weekend sped by! With heavy hearts, we sent them back to Kansas. Thanks for coming Wastlers!

!!magic!!

Daddy received a birthday gift of BBQ from Kansas City. The dry ice gave us an exciting magic lesson:

Winner, Winner, Christmas Dinner

:: costume changes were essential ::




: table set by the littles ::


::dinner made with Kenzie serving as head chef::


:: fancy drinks for all :: wonderful Christmas dinner, smiles from everyone.



::Followed by EZ Bake desert made by Kenzie {heavy on the sprinkles} ::

Christmas

This year was the year of the boy toys. Daddy got a little insulted when Rylan was running about in sissy's princess dresses. And, I noticed how excited Rylan got over boy toys at playdates...

So.. on his "list" was: Rex, Woody, Slinky Dog and Jessie. He got those from Nana Dinkel & Kenzie.

And, we stocked him up good with Batman, Spiderman, and a Pirate costume. Aunt Lori sent Superman. We got him all the cool figures he'd been lusting over at friends' houses... and it's official. He. can. play. like. a. boy. now!!!

Some Day....

maybe you guys will appreciate all the photos Mama took? On this day, you sure weren't interested in being cute in the reflective ornament.. that's for sure!

12 Days, 2010

As has become the tradition, my mom - better known as Nana Bieker - sent the kids very large boxes of the 12 Days of Christmas goodies. This year was especially awesome, because Rylan was old enough to "get it."

Typically, the kids are up at the crack of dawn. But, of course, with this special treat they got up even earlier! Most of our photos are of them with severe bedhead and jammies on. Some are taken because they've convinced me that regardless of how dark it is...it's time to get up and open their daily gift!! I take a lot of photos so my mom can watch them enjoy her efforts. She counts down the days along with us.

Now, Nana goes to great lengths to rewrite the song every year so that the daily goodies are inserted in the song. It's such a crack up to listen to us singing the song...which we try to do before opening the gifts. It's a really fun way to count down the days to the holiday and it makes my kids feel so stinking special. Thanks Nana!

Train ride!

Rylan's a decent fan of trains. The light rail in our new city has been especially fascinating for him - he loves to watch it zip along beside us (in the car) as we drive along a highway.

We thought it would be a great time to ride the train downtown for lunch.
And. We. Were. Right!




Rylan was an awfully tired boy on the way home...

on skates!

This fabulous little shopping area is across the street from our subdivision. It's always dressed in twinkley lights and it has a neat little commons area with a large fireplace in the center of it. Hot Chocolate kiosks are easily found...and there's great shopping everywhere you look. A special treat was discovering that the grass lawn (which holds concerts in the warm months) is converted to an ice skating rink during the winter.

Nana & Poppy Came to Town!

Nana & Poppy came to town to see our new house and love on the kids, since it had been a few months since we'd seen them. We had a wonderful visit showing off our new community. We probably glowed with pride the whole time ~ because they were just as charmed by it as we have been!

We also visited a large number of SA's so that they could do some Christmas Shopping with our wonderful discount. It became a joke as we drove to the next one, looking for another sweet deal. Everyone had a great time, and we even got some hot-tubbin' in.

Although we're loving the Colorado life, it has been a harsh adjustment that our grandparents aren't very accessible anymore. Kenzie and Rylan miss them with a vengeance and it's sure to take many more months before they come to terms with the fact that Friday morning pancakes aren't a possibility anymore.

At least we have wonderful visits like this, to hold us over until next time!!