Christmas

We were so blessed with another amazing Christmas this year. 

 Christmas Eve day was relaxing & sweet. We hung around the house enjoying a quiet day

 and the warm weather during a family walk through the woods. 

 It was then time to get ready for Christmas Eve mass. 

 This year, Kate was a shepherd who lead the way to Bethlehem. 

 After a quick costume change, she held the star of Bethlehem. 

 After mass we celebrated with the Cavanagh family, over the traditional feast of crab legs and butter. The best. 

Cavanagh cousins.

 Christmas love. 

 The kids blessedly slept until after 7 on Christmas morning, and then opened presents from Santa. 

 Later that morning we drove to Grandma & Grandpa Vogel's where we opened more presents and spent lots of time with family, including this little cutie. 

This time of year more than ever, we are overwhelmed by the love of the season & family. 

"It's not what's under the tree that matters. It's who's around it". -Charlie Brown 

Our Little Climber

Everyone who knows Kate knows that she loves to climb. This is a picture of her at less than two, having climbed up the outside of our stairs. I have had to adopt the strategy of "just don't look" because otherwise I spend the time at the park freaking out. 

So...yesterday Jason took her to an indoor climbing park. She stayed for four hours and loved every minute of it. 

 

 "Though she be but little, she is fierce." -Shakespeare 

There is no stopping the heights this one will climb!

Lately

The holidays are in full swing around here and we are enjoying the magic of season! 

From election day: he accidentally ripped his "I Voted" sticker at school (he voted for original Oreos instead of the vanilla ones), so he made his own sticker.   

Our annual trip to the Playhouse. This year's production was The Boxcar Children, which Kate loved. 

 Kate + Grandma C.

 The weekend after Thanksgiving we got to work decorating for Christmas. This was the first year I just sat on the couch and watched the kids put up the ornaments. Listening to them chatter about all of their favorites is the best. 

 Stockings were hung.

 

 December has also meant basketball weekends. Both kids are playing this year and they both love it. So proud of them for trying something new!

 Kate + Papa Jack

Tonight Kate and I took a winter walk around the neighborhood. Never too cold to pass up a good climbing tree!

 The fun of Christmas has only begun and we can already tell it's going to be a good one!

Thanksgiving

We just got back from a super-fun road trip over Thanksgiving break. 

First stop: Davenport on Thanksgiving morning. Here are the kids showing off the turkey cookies we brought, which were a big hit!

The three Cavanagh cousins carrying on the tradition of making the Heavenly Hash. We spent the day eating, relaxing, watching football, and eating even more. We then got in the car and drove 7.5 hours to Duluth, where we immediately went to sleep. 

 The next morning we got to meet cousin Reed, who is the sweetest baby ever. Both kids loved holding him...so much so that we had to set a timer for everyone (including me), so that we all got equal cuddle time. 

 Both Jason & I got to slip away for a morning run, which was beautiful and not as cold as we were thinking it would be so far north in late November!

 We then checked into the water park in town and the kids spent tons of time doing the monkey bars, enjoying the lazy river, playing water basketball, and relaxing in the hot tub. 

 While the kids were playing, I got to enjoy a delicious lunch with this cutie, who slept through the whole date.  

 That night, Aunt Angela took us to an amazing light display, where we walked through over 4 million lights next to Lake Superior. The night wasn't too cold and the kids had so much fun seeing the lights, eating cookies and popcorn and drinking hot chocolate. It was the best!

 The next morning we went over for some last cuddles, and then headed home, via the Mall of America where we made a quick stop to stretch our legs and pick out Lego sets. 

 It was a whirlwind trip, covering just over 1,000 miles in three days, and we had an absolute blast. We are so thankful for our sweet family, new adventures, and baby cuddles.